LAMBERT ON: Corporate wellness programs to help nurture a culture of wellness within companies

Tips to avoid any unwanted set backs!

Workplace wellness programs can often be the catalyst towards better health, however occasionally individuals can do too much too soon. Here are a few quick tips to avoid injury, even if you are a frequent gym goer -not just for those starting out.

Preventing injuries at all costs
Most sporting injuries occur to ligaments, tendons and muscles, with only about 5% of sports injuries involving broken bones. Most frequent sports injuries are sprains (injuries to ligaments) and strains (injuries to muscles) caused when an abnormal stress is placed on tendons, joints, bones and muscle.
Ways to reduce injury:

• Wear the right equipment - Comfortable clothing and appropriate footwear;

• Increase flexibility - Stretching exercises before and after exercise;

• Strengthen muscles – Adding resistance exercises to your workouts;

• Use the correct technique- This should be reinforced during the initial stages;

• Take breaks – Certain rest periods can reduce injuries and prevent heat illness;

• Stop your workout - If there is sharp pain or a pain that is getting worse with your activity.

• Avoid heat injury - By drinking plenty of fluids before, during and after exercise. Decrease or stop during high heat/humidity periods and prevent heat injury by wearing lighter clothing.

Our point of difference
Beyond our specialisation in wellbeing, we continuously demonstrate an unwavering passion and belief in the role that wellbeing plays in modern society. We have an innate ability to spark large-scale change within corporates, community organisations and individuals; becoming a catalyst for companies and individuals to understand their symbiotic relationship between each other and the environment in which they live and work. It is this innate ability that produces extraordinary results, time after time.

Our core purpose
To help corporates, community organisations and individuals be the best that they can by embracing physical, spiritual, psychological and emotional wellbeing.

Our mission statement
Our mission is to provide professional wellbeing services to corporates, community organisations and individuals who fully understands and appreciate their importance. By providing world-class consultation and action planning, LAMBERT is instrumental in improving the quality of life in corporates, community organisations and individuals, therefore ensuring that wellbeing is seen as a routine necessity, not a luxury.

Our brand values
Belief
Has confidence, faith and trust
Determination
Has complete and wholehearted devotion
Discipline
Always maintains a state of control
Respect
Shows regard and consideration
Accountability
Holds themselves liable, or answerable
Knowledge
Has a capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding and an aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts and meanings

Promoting similar values
Belief
Helping you to believe - give you confidence, faith and trust
Determination
Helping you to have complete and wholehearted devotion
Discipline
Helping you to always maintain a state of control
Respect
Helping you to show regard and consideration
Accountability
Helping you to hold yourself liable, or answerable
Knowledge
Helping you to have a capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding and an aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts and meanings

Our brand promise
Ultimately, we promise to help corporates, community organisations and individuals be the best that they can be through physical, spiritual, mental and emotional fitness.

Value proposition
Beyond our specialisation in organisational wellbeing, we continuously demonstrate an unwavering passion and belief in the role that wellbeing plays in modern society. We have an innate ability to spark large-scale change within corporates, community organisations and individuals; becoming a catalyst for YOU to understand YOUR symbiotic relationship between YOURself and the environment in which you exist.


LAMBERTS aim for you - whether you want to implement a c-wb program in your org/improve your body-image in the gym/lose weight/reduce any aches, pains or discomfort - or just to generally feel better tomorrow than you do today
The aim of LAMBERT and our wellbeing consultants is to raise public awareness of ill-health, and assist business owners, their employees, families and local communities to make healthy lifestyle changes and to:
Draw attention to the rise in ill-health and the risks involved of ‘doing nothing’ - to enable key decision makers to intervene in areas such as;
How to improve nutrition, exercise tolerance and reduce stress - addressing any barriers in these areas….and more!

These aims are appropriate now more than ever, because every one of us is a key decision maker (business owner / community representative / and carers for those you love-friends-family- parents of children for e.g. - and once you become more aware of the important part YOU play, and how poor lifestyle choices may be causing YOU or those you are responsible to...

What does your physical environment look like?
Analysis of your physical environment -
In short your company culture needs to show the following: You need to show that you are providing ‘up to date information’ about physical activity, and sending out active messages to your workforce? So Let us know -What exercise / P.A messages and information you are supplying to your workforce? For e.g. are you providing prompts to promote physical activity near stairwells or elevators etc? Are you planning to provide or support physical activities (competitive and non-competitive), that help develop the skills needed to participate in physical activities? Similarly, how you are encouraging physically active behaviours? for example: Discouraging watching TV on breaks and/or discouraging sitting for long periods of time. Let us know how you are providing your workforce with adequate breaks DURING working hours, AND encouraging them to be active during those breaks? If not, will you allow employees to be able to use physical activity facilities outside of work hours? AND IF THIS IS THE CASE what incentives are you offering, for engaging in physical activity (e.g., merchandise, coupons or cash)? Will you offer incentive-based programs to encourage activity (e.g., pedometer walking campaigns) etc? Instead of having sit-down meetings, how is your company allowing for walk and-talk meetings to encourage such physical activity? IMPORTANT -
What do you provide by way of ‘flexible scheduling’, so your whole workforce/employees can make time for exercise? If you provide an on-site exercise facility, what does it include i.e. classes such as aerobics, kickboxing, yoga, etc? If so, do you provide on-site childcare coverage to facilitate physical activity participation? If not, are you planning to support local fitness centres and provide free, discounted or subsidised memberships to your employees? Or similarly will you offer them company-sponsored fitness programs or clubs? What effort you are making to map out ‘on-site’ or ‘nearby walking trails?’ And how are you encouraging employees to map their own biking or walking routes to and from work i.e. by way of support are you going to provide bike racks in safe and convenient locations, and/or are you providing showers or changing facilities for them?

How to overcome low participation, low engagement, low morale and general dissatisfaction.
It is not uncommon for such organisations wellness programs to struggle with: 1) low participation 2) constantly experiencing low engagement 3) low morale and general dissatisfaction. “IMPORTANT-Keeping your expectations to realistic levels”  Our programs are ‘not off the shelf’, they are designed specifically for your org -however all ‘similar’ wellness programs that LAMBERT has helped org’s to plan/design/execute and sustain would have been tested with many different types of organisations. Communication between the whole workforce is of paramount importance, which always leads to participants having positive experiences. A bridge will always need to be built between management and employees -which helps to create an understanding of the big picture.  Employee engagement has to be maintained, which ultimately helps to improve individual/group/organisational morale and helps sustain the quality of the program.  Program results will depend on the interventions planned, but management and front line staff must work together to ensure participation is monitored regularly towards sustained results. As a whole organisation, your management and workforce will collectively all form new ideas -to solve problems that may be faced and move forward in a positive manner. Committment during the first two months (in preparation for a future program start date)
TO DO:  Allocate key members of your organisation to form a wellness team/ committee to meet frequently -this time for meetings can taper off to monthly later.  Once the program has been established, the time to facilitate such team/committee meetings should be approx 10 hours/month. Plan for unforeseen eventualities- that if key people should leave (rotated system in place) Providing they have the right skill set, existing program managers can be trained to facilitate such meetings.  similarly, always look towards building: a) involvement b) participation and c) keeping commitment, morale and engagement high. The No 1 aim- is to get to the root cause of the business and individual employee concerns, keep expectations low and implement solutions to your needs gradually i.e. over time not all at once. that are proposed. Keep all channels of communitaion open, listen to the proposed ideas but more importantly -regularly providing feedback to ensure the program remains a solution-based strategy. Continuously work as a team to address all concerns and suggestions towards sustainable success.  Management can partake in LAMBERTS leadership program, which will provide them with the skills towards fostering positive relations with the employee participants.
 Plan – an option is to trial your first wellness program with a single dept i.e. like a pilot study - just to see if the program is a comfortable fit with your organisation.

9 important things to do to promote participation in your corporate wellness program.

For it to work, your wellness program needs to promote participation well, so here are a few ways in which you can do this:

• All meetings should address the wellness program, and announce updates

• All new-joiners should be provided Information during their orientation

• There should be a regular distribution of fliers

• Bulletin boards should always contain content on the wellness program

• Employees should be mailed letters….and newsletter articles too

• Incentive and/or reward programs should be promoted to entice participation

• Recognition of ALL achievements should be made public – important

• Discounts should be agreed with Health insurance companies

• Your organisation should connect with local communities in any number of ways i.e. local fitness providers, home-grown food suppliers (farms etc), sports teams etc and

• You could even sponsor employees and local events, using this as a springboard to advertise your companies name

LAMBERT briefly covers here, simple nutrition guidelines and tips for any aspect of your wellness journey i.e. whether you are at home or at work -but for any goal you may like to achieve.

From accountability, to justifying your actions and keeping your expectations low despite your dreams and aspirations. What you should do, shouldn't do and what you should try to do if it is possible and part of your plan.Discussing what is realistic, unrealistic but ultimately how to best plan for failure when it comes so that you can turn things around -knowing that you have planned for such situations. Relapse prevention is key to succeeding, and sets you apart from those that have failed before you.

How to plan your weekly fitness routine | What I do day-to-day | LAMBERT ON: Your Fitness Potential

A little more detail than the 'my journey' audio. What I do on a weekly basis, and how you can plan your week ahead. Your fitness routine should be a ‘must do’ part of your day/week.

Pre-empting Management Concerns

There are often common concerns from management, regarding the implementation of a wellness program -so we need to address these areas before continuing. “All content shared with you today is purely for the program to be effective enough for long-term success”

If the process of program implementation is followed to the letter, it is very likely to be satisfactory to all participants. However, the key point is having a supportive management - and if this structure is in place and works -so will the program.

So, how do you plan for better participation rates/and interest with your wellness program?

Firstly, you must create solutions for every single employees’ needs, therefore the process should be designed and customised to your organisation as a whole.

Secondly, ensure that a budget is consistently available and set aside/readily available for your wellness program. But WHY is this?

As you may or may not be aware, hhealthcare costs continue to explode out of control, as does worker compensation costs, etc etc. BUT Health IS wealth, so no budget should be restricted in this area……..

Another important point: Your organisation can start testing the program without much cost at all, by implementing certain parts of it first.

So start thinking about: bridging the gap between both the business needs and the needs of each individual employee -this is the key to success.

It is also important to note that the cost of doing nothing is more expensive, and if a wellness program has previously been half-heartedly implemented -then such organisations always pay the price for such acts of cutting corners.

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LAMBERT is a provider of professional services in health and wellbeing, and is instrumental in improving the quality of life of companies, individuals, their families and the communities in which they live. LAMBERT is committed to ensuring that health and wellbeing is seen as a routine part of daily life,

LAMBERT is instrumental in improving the quality of life in corporates, community organisations and individuals, therefore ensuring that wellbeing is seen as a routine necessity, not a luxury.