New Workplace Wellness Guideline Addresses Politics Involved in Health Promotion

MIDLAND, Mich. - Nov. 26, 2013 - PRLog -- With the release of its new guideline, Winning at the Politics of Wellness, Health Enhancement Systems offers wellness managers important insight on gaining office-wide support for employee health promotions.

“Office politics can be detrimental to worksite wellness,” says Health Enhancement Systems founder and President Dean Witherspoon. “But when properly attended to, politics can also be instrumental in sustaining a successful program.”

Winning at the Politics of Wellness (http://www.hesonline.com/employee-wellness-products/free-stuff/needtoknow/politics) likens the strategy behind wellness politics in many ways to traditional campaign tactics:

* Shake hands and kiss babies. There’s an unfortunate side effect of enhanced electronic communication: many health promoters are less visible than they were a decade ago. People may know your name, but haven’t met you or had a conversation. When it comes time for a vote of confidence — like supporting the wellness program when benefits are being cut back — it’s a lot easier to vote against the function without a face.

* Get the easy votes. Wellness managers sometimes obsess over reaching the hard to reach, to the detriment of reaching the easy to reach. Establish a strong base by designing and marketing your services first to those most likely to participate. Once you’ve got a firm base you can go after the undecideds. And don’t waste time on the hard opposition (those who think your programs are a waste of resources). You’ll never change their minds; don’t spend time and energy you could use to expand your base.

* Prepare for the debate. Share regular or annual presentations/reports on your program’s success — and prepare, just like the candidates. Do your homework, have the facts and figures at your fingertips, anticipate the inevitable naysayer (the person in the audience who’s just looking for a chink in your armor), and practice. You want to be as confident in your delivery as you are in your record of achievement.

Part of the dozen 1-page checklists offered on Health Enhancement Systems website, the guideline offers additional suggestions to succeed in wellness politics, such as constantly gauging a program’s progress and repeatedly delivering specific messages to employees.

For more information, download Winning at the Politics of Wellness (http://www.hesonline.com/employee-wellness-products/free-stuff/needtoknow/politics).

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.

For more information about Health Enhancement Systems, visit (http://www.HealthEnhancementSystems.com) or call 800.326.2317.