How Long-Term Employee Wellness Programs Transform Workplace Culture

Three years is a long time if you're waiting for something to work, but not if you are trying to change a culture.

When Hendrickson began working with HealthSource Solutions, leadership already understood the importance of employee health and wellbeing. The challenge was turning that commitment into consistent engagement across 4,300 employees and 20 locations. The company was struggling with program buy-in and limited resources, while trying to serve a workforce spread across locations with their own needs and cultures.

Building the Infrastructure to Keep Going.

The first step was developing an annual plan that could create consistency across the organization while leaving enough flexibility for individual locations to add their own flavor. That meant building a communication strategy, visiting locations to understand employee needs, collaborating with local HR teams, coordinating biometric screenings, and bringing existing benefit vendors together rather than allowing them to operate in silos. The onsite HealthSource staff also worked with each location to tailor experiences around its particular culture.

None of these things are especially dramatic on their own, but together, they created the foundation the program had been missing. And then came the most important part...do it again.

Wellness programs rarely change an organization overnight. Programs need to be adjusted based on current issues, what’s working/what’s not, and changing priorities. That requires ongoing leadership commitment and someone to keep initiatives consistently moving forward.

HR's Priorities Change. The Strategy Doesn't Have To.

Over the four years, Hendrickson's HR teams had plenty of responsibilities demanding their attention. It was our staff’s role to maintain the strategy, communications, vendor coordination, location-specific programming, and accountability. We helped build internal advocates through local HR partners and a Champion committee. We expanded opportunities for employees to participate and helped turn wellness into something that would work differently across Hendrickson without losing the larger organizational strategy.

That support allowed HR to remain an important part of the program without requiring them to carry all of the work behind it.

Four Years Later.

Over the four-year period, Hendrickson's wellness program expanded and has become more deeply integrated into the organization. The incentive structure was redesigned to be more inclusive. Virtual meditation breaks reached five sites, including manufacturing floors. Preventive screenings received greater visibility. Local initiatives created opportunities for employees to connect, and the Champion committee helped build advocates inside the organization.

Years of consistent work eventually change what employees expect, what leaders support, and what becomes part of the culture. The underlying infrastructure behind a wellness program may not look particularly exciting, but it's the solid foundation that allows the structure to expand and grow.