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Create a Holistic Employee Wellbeing Program

Move beyond perks to an approach that targets employee needs and systemic barriers.

  • Wellbeing initiatives often do not align with employee needs, as they are regarded as perks offered to individuals (e.g. healthcare allowance) rather than components of a holistic program that addresses employee needs across multiple wellbeing dimensions.
  • If systemic barriers are not adequately addressed before a wellbeing program is implemented, its impact will be negligible.
  • The development of a wellbeing program is often relegated to a side-of-desk task that lacks adequate resources and involvement of key stakeholders.

Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst.


  • Get on-demand project support
  • Get advice, coaching, and insight at key project milestones
  • Go through a Guided Implementation to help you get through your project

Our Advice

Critical Insight

  • Organizations must embed a focus on employee wellbeing into their day-to-day operations, culture, and leadership to thrive in today’s environment. This requires a shift from viewing a wellbeing program as a couple of stand-alone initiatives to understanding it takes an integrated and holistic approach to meet employee needs and address systemic barriers.

Impact and Result

  • Gather data and employee feedback to identify gaps in existing initiatives and uncover employee wellbeing needs.
  • Select the organization’s wellbeing priorities and build a program composed of initiatives that meet employee needs and address systemic barriers.
  • Create a customized and targeted communications plan to ensure employees are fully aware of the wellbeing initiatives being offered.

Create a Holistic Employee Wellbeing Program Research & Tools

2. Review and select wellbeing initiatives

Plan to address systemic barriers, review current and identify additional wellbeing initiatives, create a shortlist based on feasibility and stakeholder input, and draft a business case to present to senior leaders.

3. Prepare to launch

Draft a wellbeing initiative roadmap, create a communications strategy, identify training opportunities for managers, and plan an evaluation and iteration process for the wellbeing program.


Workshop: Create a Holistic Employee Wellbeing Program

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Assess Current State

The Purpose

  • Assess the current state of wellbeing and identify program strengths and gaps.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Current-state assessment
  • Program strengths and gaps

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Review wellbeing concepts.

1.2

Explore available wellbeing data to evaluate the current state (focus group responses, data collection, initiative inventory).

  • Insights from current-state analysis
1.3

Identify program strengths and gaps.

  • Program strengths and gaps identified

Module 2: Finalize Wellbeing Themes

The Purpose

  • Explore systemic barriers to wellbeing and wellbeing themes to inform program goals.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Identification of systemic barriers and wellbeing themes
  • A wellbeing philosophy statement

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Explore systemic barriers to wellbeing.

  • Systemic barriers and wellbeing themes identified
2.2

Identify wellbeing themes.

2.3

Create a wellbeing philosophy statement.

  • Wellbeing philosophy statement created

Module 3: Define Program Goals

The Purpose

  • Define and identify the specifics of the wellbeing program, including wellbeing priorities, goals, metrics, and plans to address systemic barriers.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • A list of wellbeing priorities
  • Goals and metrics to measure wellbeing program efforts

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Determine employee needs and select wellbeing priorities based on current-state analysis.

  • List of five to seven wellbeing priorities drafted
3.2

Define program goals and select metrics.

  • List of goals and metrics identified
3.3

Plan to address systemic barriers.

Module 4: Select Wellbeing Initiatives

The Purpose

  • Create and finalize a list of wellbeing initiatives and identify internal accountabilities.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • Evaluation of current wellbeing initiatives
  • A wellbeing program with a list of feasible initiatives

Activities

Outputs

4.1

Identify wellbeing initiatives to keep and new ones to add.

  • List of existing initiatives to keep, modify, remove, or add drafted
4.2

Determine the feasibility of selected wellbeing initiatives to determine shortlist.

  • Shortlist of additional initiatives created
4.3

Outline internal accountabilities.

Module 5: Next Steps and Wrap-Up

The Purpose

  • Create a plan to integrate and communicate the wellbeing program.

Key Benefits Achieved

  • A plan to integrate the wellbeing program throughout the organization.

Activities

Outputs

5.1

Draft a program roadmap.

  • High-level program roadmap drafted
5.2

Create a communications plan.

  • High-level communications plan created

About McLean & Company

McLean & Company is an HR research and advisory firm providing practical solutions to human resources challenges via executable research, tools, diagnostics, and advisory services that have a clear and measurable impact on your business.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your HR problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst

Get the help you need in this 3-phase advisory process. You'll receive 7 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.

Guided Implementation 1: Assess the current state and set program goals
  • Call 1: Discuss creating a wellbeing project team and review wellbeing data sources.
  • Call 2: Review inventory of current wellbeing initiatives and existing data to identify insights. Plan to collect additional data on employee needs.
  • Call 3: Identify systemic barriers and wellbeing priorities, select program goals and metrics, and review program constraints.

Guided Implementation 2: Review and select wellbeing initiatives
  • Call 1: Discuss a plan to address systemic barriers, review current wellbeing initiatives to determine alignment, and identify additional wellbeing initiatives to create a shortlist.
  • Call 2: Review the finalized shortlist of wellbeing initiatives and business case to present to senior leaders.

Guided Implementation 3: Prepare to launch
  • Call 1: Outline a wellbeing initiative roadmap and communication strategy.
  • Call 2: Identify wellbeing training opportunities and discuss a plan to evaluate and iterate the wellbeing program.

Contributors

  • Jessica Assaf – Corporate Communications Expert and Wellness Advocate
  • Dr. Viswanath Baba – Professor, Human Resources and Management, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University
  • Dr. Andrew A. Bennett – Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Old Dominion University
  • Professor Sir Cary Cooper – Professor of Organizational Psychology & Health, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester
  • Christine Devine – Wellness Specialist, Michael Garron Hospital
  • Lisa Dodwell-Greaves – Manager, Organizational Wellbeing, WestJet
  • Dr. Gloria González-Morales – Associate Professor of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University
  • Grace Lee – Manager, Wellbeing, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
  • Bronwyn Ott – Wellbeing, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Leader, Unilever
  • Zofia Sharman – Well-Being Ambassador, Harneys
  • Nicole Stibbe – Coach, Wellbeing and DEI Consultant, Affirm You