The Benefit Company
If I am going birding, there is one question I must answer before I set out. And that same question has to be answered before I can suggest a wellness solution to an employer.
Whether we are looking for birds or looking to implement a wellbeing strategy, knowing our objective is critical to success.
In birding, knowing my objective will help determine where I go to see the birds I seek. Before I slip on my hiking boots, clean the lens on my camera, and pack my binoculars, water, and snacks in my backpack, I must first determine the destination for my search.
The photos of the Red-headed Woodpecker were photographed by the author just after filming the video that corresponds to this post. The photographs were taken Black Shoals Park in Rockdale County, Georgia while the woodpecker feasted on termites.
If my objective is to see blue jays, cardinals, sparrows, finches, bluebirds, robins and crows, then my local park (or my back yard) will work just fine. If my objective is to see herons, ducks, kingfishers, cormorants, or an eagle, then I may want to head way down yonder to the Chattahoochee, or to any large body of water such as a lake. However, if my objective is to see gulls, sandpipers, ospreys, wood storks, pelicans, painted buntings, anhingas, and terns, then Jekyll Island would be a great destination. But if I simply want to see a House Sparrow, a city street or the nearest Walmart parking lot should bring me success.
When we come alongside an employer to assist in implementing a wellbeing strategy, the first question I want to ask is the same as when I go birding: “What are your objectives?” Why do you want a wellness program? What are the compelling reasons for having a program? What is the motivation for implementing wellness? Once we know the “Why,” we can then find the “What.”
If the objective is simply checking the box to say, “We have a wellness program,” then there are as many vendors as there are, yes, Walmart parking lots. However, in most cases, the objective is something more substantial.
Your objective could be to enhance company culture, or drive employee engagement, or curb future healthcare costs, or simply to find an inexpensive platform for challenges. Or your objective just might be, “We are employee-centric, and we love and care for our employees and their families.”
The good news is that there are great solutions available to meet each of these objectives. However, you will rarely find one vendor who will be the best solution for every situation. That’s why knowing your unique objective is critical to finding the right wellness solution.
At The Benefit Company, we take pride in bringing innovative solutions to your unique objectives. Let’s connect and discover together your objectives for employee wellbeing. Then let’s find the right solution for you and your employees.
Jack W. Bruce, SPHR, Director of Population Health & Wellbeing
- Population Health
- Employee Wellness & Wellbeing
- Human Resources
- (Member of Georgia Audubon)