Workplace Wellness: A Lunch and Learn to Promote Healthy Opportunities in 2015
Posted by Amelia K. on Thursday, November 20th, 2014 with 2 Comments
As we’re entering the time of year when we all start thinking a little more about our health – namely, the open enrollment period of our health insurance plans – it’s the perfect time to plan a healthy living lunch and learn for your staff. Not only will it give you the opportunity to share how employees can take advantage of the benefits a plan offers, it brings up an opportunity to answer some of the biggest questions the staff has about health care and other benefits offered. Additionally, it’s a good way to start promoting any changes you’ll be making from a wellness perspective with your team, to help them know what to anticipate in the new year.
That might sound like a lot to cover over a one-hour lunch and learn, and depending on the amount of information you plan on presenting, you might need to extend your sessions a bit. For example, you could offer an extended lunch and learn, which would take up an extra hour of your staff’s afternoon, or spread the sessions out over two lunchtime sessions, depending on what works best for your company’s structure. Remember, there’s not a one-size-fits-all option here. Planning the right session for your team is about making the lunch and learn work best for the information you want to get across to your staff and creating the format that works best to keep your business operating at full productivity. And the place to start is by determining what information you plan on presenting within this engaging session for your employees.
A company-wide lunch and learn can help your staff understand what your health care benefits are – and how to take advantage of them.
Photo source: Flickr user jurvetson
Company Health Plan
One of the hardest benefits for employees to understand is how health care plans works. And that’s likely not through any fault of your own. Since there can be so many nuances associated with any health care plan, there can be different aspects that apply to some employees and not to others. The best way to cover important topics is to reach out to your staff in advance and have them submit their questions and areas of concern. Depending on the number of responses you receive, you can have an HR representative or your healthcare rep answer the most common questions at the lunch and learn, as well as give an overview on what your plan covers. A short lunch and learn isn’t the best place to open the floor to everyone’s questions. You’ll want to keep it a little more concise; make sure you offer contact information for your internal HR representative so anyone who has additional questions can reach out on their own after the event.
This is also a great space to have your HR representative discuss any programs that employees can take advantage of which are offered through your insurance provider. For example, some plans offer programs with incentives in the form of gift cards to help individuals quit smoking, manage their cholesterol, or even stay healthy during pregnancy. There could be discounts to local gyms, restaurants, or other establishments employees may like to visit. The more your team understands the benefits the plan offers in the form of healthy living, the more likely they are to take advantage of the opportunities available to them – and healthier employees is what will keep your company’s health care costs under control in the future.
Internal Opportunities
As you start developing your company’s workplace wellness goals for 2015, don’t forget that promoting what your business offers is the best way to increase engagement across your program. Use your lunch and learn as an opportunity to share with your employees what’s coming. This will give you the chance to present all of your changes – from healthier vending machines to yummy lunch options through our Virtual Cafe to exercise programs – in an exciting, positive way that sparks enthusiasm across your brand. And don’t forget to continue promoting what your company will be changing beyond the lunch and learn. Including snippets of what employees can look forward to in your monthly newsletters, encouraging them to sign up for any courses you’re offering in the new year, and putting up posters that generate buzz about new options can help you to sustain excitement and gain more employee participation, helping you to integrate a healthier culture into your office environment.
Don’t Forget the Food
Central to any great lunch and learn is a great meal. And this is definitely not a situation where you want your employees to brown bag their lunch. Because this session is focused on their health, it’s a great opportunity to offer nutritious lunch options – grilled meats, yummy winter salads, and tasty fruit desserts are an excellent way to continue promoting healthy choices and integrate more awareness about how to find delicious, healthy lunch options. You could even invite a nutritionist to come in and talk about the healthy meal choices that you’re serving and why they’re great for employees to consider for midday meals.
Are you becoming intrigued? We thought so! With only six weeks left in 2014, there’s no time to waste. Start planning your health awareness topics today and let Waiter.com help take care of the meal planning. With our support, you’ll plan the best wellness lunch and learn in the city!
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As the HSE Engineer for a very large aerospace firm, we have just started a new program to go along with our overhauled wellness program. Before the start of each shift, we are now doing company-wide (yes, including office staff) stretching exercises. Data has supported that these “warming up” routines not only contribute to wellness and mental health, stress release and the like, but also potential decreases in on-the-job injuries (and reduced OSHA-recordable injuries) and increases in productivity. We have found it also helps with socialization and team-building.
I love hearing data like this! Let us know if you build out any reports on how to build an effective program!