Shawn M. Connors
The Best C+ Student in the Wellness Biz
Shawn is the President and Founder of Hope Health. For over 30 years, his works has focused on bringing clear, easy-to-read and watch health messages to the public via workplaces. He bills himself as the “Best C+ Student in the Wellness Biz” because, as he says, “I like to challenge the notion that there is no such thing as a stupid question.” Shawn is on a mission to tie workplaces into their surrounding communities to share resources and ideas in an effort to improve the health of all Americans.
You may reach Shawn at sconnors@HopeHealth.com or 800-334-4094.
Put your wellness efforts into the one area that gets your company the most bang for limited wellness dollars and staff time. The health care industry is massive and often complex. Your workplace communication about the field doesn’t have to be. And if you’re short on resources, it simply can’t be. Think of your wellness…
Clarity is “the cake” when communicating to employees about health care, wellness and benefits. But many workers (especially younger ones) are more likely to engage with messages if they also get some “icing.” Social-media tools can help you captivate employees before you inform them. Most companies communicate to employees (emails from the HR department, meetings…
Don’t just have a workplace wellness program; sell its benefits to your audience through effective marketing communications Company A informs employees about its workplace wellness program during new employee orientation and then periodically through a general company newsletter. Company B uses short, often humorous, messages with eye-catching visuals to provide workers with information on the…
Quick Summary: A print or email newsletter can be an ideal way to explain your organization’s initiatives and impart valuable insight to employees. With a little planning and creativity, yours can be on target. The internal newsletter is an ideal way to communicate with employees about health, wellness and benefits issues. Problem is, many of…
A basic truth that wellness committees can embrace: People evaluate their well-being in financial terms before they do so in health terms. If they feel pain in the pocketbook, then the seemingly priceless details in your conventional wellness communication might be worthless to them. Money issues are dominating your employees’ brainwaves, so including simple financial…
Communication — including workplace wellness program communication — is the exchange of thoughts, information, and/or messages between people. The key word being exchange. If it’s not a back-and-forth, two-way discussion, it’s one-way lecturing, and who appreciates a lecture? Smart organizations ask employees for their wellness program questions and comments, and invite employees to participate in…
Dieting is a popular ingredient in wellness communication, but true wellness goes by the wayside when food intake becomes an all-consuming focus. A smarter approach is to deliver relevant, compelling messages about intuitive eating. Most wellness committees deliver frequent messages about food—tips sent with good intentions that prescribe what to eat, when to eat, and…
There is a big difference between employees thinking, “It’s nice that our company has this wellness program” and employees enthusiastically cheering, “I want to be part of these workplace wellness efforts!” For a workplace wellness program to be as effective as possible, employees need to feel like they’re on the inside of a fun, entertaining…
Many companies are redesigning their wellness initiatives to broaden their appeal. But you can do more than fix a few wrinkles—reveal a new-look program by renewing your commitment to communication. Early wellness programs were anchored in fitness centers with a couple of exercise bikes that attracted the already healthy, but today’s wellness programs are designed…
What do your employees want to know or accomplish? Their answers to a simple interest survey can be the catalyst for effective wellness communication. Wellness communication is often an afterthought, viewed by organizations as a necessary byproduct of their wellness plans. Most companies try to figure out ways to elicit employee participation in only after…