Keys to Effective Corporate Health Promotion Programs

Collaboration and Effective Corporate Health Promotion Programs

Why should you collaborate?

Active, ongoing partnerships and cooperative efforts multiply Wellness Program resources in order to better serve Employees and their families.

How can you build collaboration into a Corporate Health Promotion Program?

Get Ready…
• Brainstorm a list of every potential Wellness partner you can think of. Be innovative!
• Be a politician: introduce yourself to everyone BEFORE you need their help.
• Develop a plan to get Senior Management support from as high up the chain as possible. Ensure that to include specific ways that your Wellness Program will impact force readiness.
• Determine how YOU can help your organizations (not just what they can do for you).

Be Steady…
• Get input from everyone that your Wellness Program will affect. Make a special effort to talk to the people closest to Wellness Program implementation (those with “boots on the ground”).
• Your most frequently asked questions should be: “What would you suggest?” and “How do you think this would work best?”
• Locate someone who has done the same type of Wellness Program before and ask their advice. (Hint: the Wellness Program has a list of many Wellness POCs.)
• Plan NOW to show Wellness Program effectiveness. Identify who may ALREADY BE COLLECTING information that will show the Wellness Program is working.

Get Set…
• Step back and review your Wellness Program from a potential partner’s point of view.
• Brainstorm questions your collaborators might have, and have the answers ready.
• Be ready to frame your “selling points” in terms that are important to each specific partner.
• Put the Wellness Program benefits in language your collaborators will understand.
• Emphasize to potential partners how this Wellness Program will provide benefit to them.

And Go…
• Build as many partnerships as you can BEFORE you implement a Corporate Health Promotion Program.
• Make your partnerships a two-way street: always let your collaborators know what you can do for them – then follow-up and do what you say you would do.
• Maintain Senior Management support by offering a regular flow of information. Invite Senior Management participation in the Wellness Program and special events whenever possible. (Hint: they make great judges if you have a contest.)
• Offer regular feedback to your collaborators.
• Don’t hog the spotlight: let your collaborators share in the visibility of the Corporate Health Promotion Program.