The Young Entrepreneur Council is an invite-only organization composed of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. Read previous SmartBrief posts by YEC.
If you enjoy this article, join SmartBrief’s e-mail list for our daily newsletter for entrepreneurs.
Q. If you have ever tried initiating a wellness program for your team, what was the key to its success?
1. Practice Kundalini
While meditation is an inseparable component from all yoga practice, and meditation is a common practice in wellness initiatives in the workplace, Kundalini has very specific benefits. It is the ultimate awakening of creativity and for this reason, we encourage the practice in my business and sponsor it. Continued practice releases blockages, including those at work and improve performance. — Matthew Capala, Search Decoder
2. Keep it fun and voluntary
The best way to encourage people to develop healthier habits and exercise is to make it into a fun, voluntary and social endeavor. You might buy a group gym membership for your team, but don’t try to pressure them into using it. It’s also fun to plan group activities such as hikes, bike rides or anything active. Focus on the positive, and let people do as much as they want. — Shawn Porat, Scorely
3. Make it convenient
While we provide a stipend for any type of fitness program that the employee chooses, we went as far as to find an office that is connected to a gym. We worked out a deal with the owners to provide discounted pricing for our employees, their spouses and their children. We have workout days, e.g. “beef” (as in beefcake) on Tuesdays, and most of the team works out together at 5 p.m. — Brooke Peterson, Causely
4. Create a group chat
Our company launched a wellness program, where everyone was given a Fitbit to track their own progress. They thing that really made the program a success was by creating a chat group (we chose WhatsApp) where people could post their activities and progress. The group chat created an informal form for team members who chose to share, could, and others were motivated by the activity. — Diego Orjuela, Cables & Sensors
5. Focus on one aspect
Too many try to offer everything there is about health and wellness when the key is to focus on one aspect. You can change these every quarter or year, but stick to one thing like adding gym memberships or allowance for exercise time. — Murray Newlands, Sighted
6. Poll your team to find out what they want
Your employees have an idea of what they need and want for their wellness but just don’t have the time to act on it. My focus was to find out what I could give them, and their feedback shaped the type of program we have initiated. They know best what works for them, so this is the key to success, rather than me just giving out some benefits that they can’t or don’t use. — John Rampton, Calendar