Identifying Elements Critical to the Successful Implementation of an Employee Wellness Program
Authors:   , McDeavitt David , Phillips Joy C. 
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this study was to identify strategies that impact the successful implementation of an education employee wellness program. Specific strategies that were studied include rewards, program availability, program configuration, and leadership involvement. The problem this study sought to investigate was employee participation and the impact an employee wellness program can have on insurance costs in a self-funded healthcare consortium for an educational entity. The study explored if a high rate of education employee participation in employer sponsored employee wellness program appeared to help reduce healthcare costs for schools participating in a healthcare consortium. This research was conducted using a single-instrument qualitative case study research approach that included six one-to-one interviews, one focus group interview, one observation, and data analysis. The research was conducted at an intermediate unit within a healthcare consortium. The six interviews were conducted with leader representatives from the planning committee. A pilot study was conducted to deliver content validity. All data collected through interviews were transcribed and categorized according to emerging themes. Themes were used to identify patterns that were used to answer the research questions. Research conducted on educational entities within a healthcare consortiums is limited. The results of this research will add to a limited body of existing research that could be used to inform other administrators of other healthcare consortiums interested in adopting employee wellness programs. The following results have been developed through a qualitative research approach that was conducted with the upmost ethical standards. It appears through this research that there is not one single significant factor that leads to implementation success, rather a combination of items that are as follows; contractual language, clear implementation steps, monetary incentives, leadership involvement, planning committee involvement, preventative screenings, physical fitness and nutrition classes, and effective communication. It is recommended by this researcher that after careful data analysis, intermediate units and school districts interested in creating an employee wellness program can experience savings on healthcare costs by improving employee wellbeing. Specific recommendations for implementing an employee wellness program are to create an employee wellness program that is focused on employee wellbeing by promoting employee wellbeing throughout the organization. It is also important to ensure that the employee wellness program is written into the support staff and professional staff contracts and that agreed upon timelines are met through effective and consistent employee communications. Future research can be furthered by studying how to sustain and employee wellness program and the impact that it could have on employee sick use, job satisfaction, and a correlation of employee wellbeing, and the impact on standardized test scores.