How to Turn Big Ideas Into Wellness Winners — a New Guideline by Health Enhancement Systems

MIDLAND, Mich. - May 20, 2013 - PRLog -- The guideline, How to Turn Big Ideas Into Wellness Winners, is a free employee wellness resource from Health Enhancement Systems. It’s 1 of 12 new Need to Know guidelines designed to support wellness and HR professionals with time-saving insights for successful programs. Each guideline is presented in a convenient 1-page checklist format ideal for just-in-time learning or in-service training.

“We’ve been creating fun, engaging wellness campaigns for over 20 years, and we’re sharing our best insights in the Need to Know guidelines,” remarks Dean Witherspoon, President and founder of Health Enhancement Systems, which develops popular online wellness campaigns (http://www.hesonline.com/employee-wellness-products/wellness-challenges) like Le Tour de Fitness, All In, and Ola Ala. “Employee wellness and HR professionals face a demanding environment, often wearing multiple hats. We want to make their jobs easier by cutting through industry hype and sharing time-tested, practical strategies that form the foundation of a successful workplace wellness program.”

Hot-button issues like ROI, financial incentives, and biometric outcomes may tempt wellness managers to bring a numbers-driven campaign to the table. But successful wellness programs that engage participants and lead to long-term behavior change use strategies like these found in How to Turn Big Ideas Into Wellness Winners:

• Put it through a stress test. Understanding what’s wrong with your idea is the most important first step. With that in mind, recruit 6 or more critical thinkers — professionals who will give you honest feedback.

• Pull together the talent needed to build it. You’re looking for at least 3 people who share the same passion for the idea as you and bring different skills to the group. Among the talents you’ll need are someone who thrives on the fine details, a dealmaker, and a strategic thinker.

• Outline your game plan. What are you going to do? Why? What will it produce for the organization? How? When? How much will it cost? Who can make it happen? How will you promote it? Your game plan helps sell the idea and gives you a compass for moving ahead. Be prepared to change it, though — and often if it’s a really big idea.

• Give it a name. For any new service, come up with a handle to make it stick. Keep it simple, easy to remember, and as descriptive as possible.

“Sustainable behavior change is incredibly hard,” explains Witherspoon. “Anyone can design a wellness program, but it takes more than a flashy website, badges, and status updates to inspire lasting lifestyle change. In this free guideline, we offer a step-by-step plan for turning big wellness ideas into viable programs that boost employee and family health to improve quality of life.”

For more information, download How to Turn Big Ideas Into Wellness Winners at http://www.hesonline.com/employee-wellness-products/free-stuff/needtoknow/bigideas.

Health Enhancement Systems creates employee wellness programs for organizations in North America and throughout the world. More than 20 effective, engaging HES wellness campaigns have been adopted by over a thousand organizations — serving hundreds of thousands of participants successfully.

For more information about Health Enhancement Systems, visit www.HealthEnhancementSystems.com or call 800.326.2317.