Serving the Needs of Many as a "Workplace Wellness Concierge"

[Welcome back to?Cultivating Vibrant Workplaces!?In Issue #15, we share an inspirational profile of a graduate from our certification programs who is featured in our?forthcoming book. This profile will be of particular interest to wellness professionals with an interest in or currently involved in Workplace Wellness program delivery and small to mid-sized organizations looking to provide holistic, full-service, cost-effective wellness offerings to their people. Also, be sure to check out our newly updated certification programs/tracks re-commencing January 30, 2023.]

In today’s dynamic and uncertain climate, the question “Why Workplace Wellness?” should be replaced with these two questions. First, “What are employees' wellness and employability needs today?” Second, “How might we best serve and support these needs?”

These are the very questions Christina Della Rocca, a graduate of our programs and a Workplace Wellness Concierge based in Quebec, Canada, presents to organizations she consults and works with through her Montreal-based business, Peak Sante.

While training and supporting Christina through our certification programs, I was continually impressed by her ability to identify and serve the unique and varied needs of client organizations and their employees.

The making of Peak Sante. Christina began building a career in health, fitness, and wellness in 1994 after becoming a Group Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer, and Health & Fitness Appraiser.

As she shared in an interview for our book:

Within a year, my business exploded, and I was featured on TV and in magazines. From this exposure, a woman from Merrill Lynch contacted me to learn more about my wellness offerings. She later asked if I would be willing to speak to their employees on the topics of health and fitness. At the time, I was not comfortable speaking in front of a group and wondered how I would do it or what I would even say. But I rolled up my sleeves, got to work on a presentation, and wowed everybody. It was quite the experience.

Shared below are additional recollections from this presentation and her experiences with subsequent offerings:

During this first experience in Corporate Wellness, I spoke to an established group of Financial Planners interested in what I had to say and how I could help them create work-life balance. I went on to deliver a variety of presentations and workshops to different types of organizations and employee groups. What really inspired me was reaching the people in what I call ‘the dark corners of the office’ who needed help. Who needed someone to talk to and someone to help them lead a healthier, happy life. The people in the gyms, fitness centers, and doctor offices are already seeking help, solutions, and community, no matter their goals or needs. But many people are not and, in some cases, may not even know they need to. Being able to reach and support those who may need what I have to offer as a Workplace Wellness Professional is very motivating. I receive immense joy in helping people become the best version of themselves. And, knowing I can just show up and be the catalyst in the health and well-being of others is very rewarding.?

"Every successful business is founded on a solid value proposition." Peak Sante

I asked Christina about her value proposition as a Workplace Wellness Concierge and her competitive advantage—what differentiates her from other wellness providers. Here was her response:

As a Workplace Wellness Concierge, I position myself as a strategic business advisor—a go-to source of support for organizations to cultivate cohesive, thriving work cultures, and healthy employees. Employees are the lifeblood of a business. When they are happy and healthy, the business has a much better chance of flourishing. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. When employees are unhappy and unhealthy, the results can be detrimental to the morale in the workplace and, ultimately, the bottom line. We know that personalized, employee-centric wellness solutions that drive participation and ensure employee engagement have astounding effects on morale, retention, performance, and productivity. They also help reduce costs associated with absenteeism, presenteeism, turnover, and preventable health conditions. Having the tools to keep employees happy, healthy, and engaged is crucial to the success of every organization.

Peak Sante’s ‘Five Pillars of a Successful Workplace Wellness Program.’ Christina differentiates her programs and services using these five success factors and objectives.

1.?????Creating a Workplace Wellness Vision and Plan – to produce results

2.?????Employee Initiation (Assessments & Goal Setting) – to motivate participation

3.?????Transformational Programs and Services – to ignite wellness

4.?????Wellness Events and Retreats – to stimulate engagement

5.?????Personalized Experiences – to personalize care

As we discussed her views and approach to executing and delivering on each of these five pillars, I was particularly impressed with factors two and five from her business profile described below. As you’ll see, they exemplify the cost benefits and efficacy of Workplace Wellness Concierges, particularly for small to mid-size organizations that may not have the resources to hire or need the services of a full-time Workplace Wellness Coordinator.

[Factor #2–Employee Initiation] There are three steps to initiating employees and motivating participation in our Workplace Wellness programs. The first step is offering presentations that generate excitement, create awareness of upcoming programs, and get people signed up. The second is assessing employee health, fitness, and overall wellness, motivating participation, and benchmarking progress. The results from the personalized assessments help contribute to effective program design and enhancement. The third is continuous program refinement.

[Factor #5–Personalized Experiences] Trends show that employees want personalized experiences in corporate wellness programs. Every employee’s journey is different and unique. Therefore, wellness solutions should be as flexible and accommodating as possible to meet varied needs. Peak Sante’s mission is to provide employees and family members opportunities to work one-on-one with a private wellness practitioner through its custom offerings.

Christina’s customizable wellness solutions are designed and well-suited for:

·?Small companies with too few employees to offer large group programs.

·?Executive and management perks. This helps encourage top managers to lead by example and strengthens the involvement of employees in wellness offerings.

·?Employees who prefer to work privately with a personalized coach/practitioner either on company premises or offsite.

·?Employees working remotely.

·?Family and friends of employees.

Meeting employees ‘where they are’ via multi-dimensional offerings. With the support of contracted wellness practitioners, guest presenters, and a wellness portal she named Essentials for Peak Wellness, Christina is able to offer a variety of just-in-time, on-demand wellness programs. Multi-dimensional offerings that support diverse and unique wellness needs when and as needed. Through monthly membership subscriptions and Peak Sante’s wellness portal, organizations can provide their employees with both live and recorded wellness sessions (e.g., fitness classes, meditation, wellness workshops, virtual assessments, and health coaching programs, to name a few.) Occasionally, she’ll include a community component in her programs to help further drive engagement and connectivity among employees.??

Engaging the support of managers as a Workplace Wellness Concierge. I asked Christina about her strategies for garnering the support of managers. She shared that she’ll sometimes coach them on their personal wellness needs before launching initiatives with employees. Doing so helps them experience the benefits of her offerings and builds goodwill and support for and with future contracts.

Here is one of many glowing testimonials she has received over the years:

"Christina Della Rocca has overseen our company’s fitness classes for the past five years. Our employees were disappointed when COVID-19 forced all gyms to close, including our office gym and fitness classes. Christina jumped into action and did not miss a beat. We quickly moved to online fitness classes and maintained regular live sessions with Christina and her instructors. They were a saving grace during long workdays from home—a reason to take a break from sitting in the same place. As they were live sessions, we could see and interact with co-workers—they held us accountable to show up. What’s also great about the virtual fitness classes is that if you miss or want to retake one, you have the freedom to do so at your leisure. Christina's bonus meditation sessions, Facebook Group, wellness workshops, and health coaching couldn’t be more effective and simpler to follow. Thank you, Christina, for putting this virtual fitness community together at a time when we needed it the most."

Most impressive, Christina; keep up the excellent work! I look forward to hearing about your future pursuits and accomplishments.

Small to mid-sized organizations, nurture the well-being of your employees and cultivate a thriving work culture via the services of a WWCOE-certified Workplace Wellness Concierge like Christina. Contact us today at [email protected] to learn more.

Upcoming Offerings to Support Your Professional Development!

Workplace Wellness Certification Programs commencing Jan. 30, 2023! To learn how to become a Workplace Wellness Concierge (or an internal Workplace Wellness leader), explore our certification programs and join our?VIP Group (email list). As one of our email subscribers, you will receive upcoming announcements on our 2023 certification programs, monthly Masterclasses, and our new CHVW Podcast, and will receive our free, reproducible?"30-Seconds to Wellness"?tip sheets and other actionable Workplace Wellness resources provided via our YWWT newsletters. Subscribe to our email list?here!

Book Update!?Our book is in the final production stages and we are most excited about its launch this January 2023. Visit our website to sign up for our?Book Interest List?to receive book release notifications and special promotional offers!

Subscribe to our CVW newsletter!?If you have not already, subscribe to?our CVW newsletter?to receive future issues in your inbox and notifications of our?soon-to-be-launched podcast,?Cultivating Healthy & Vibrant Workplaces [The Podcast].?Our?kickoff episode features a three-part segment discussion between Philippa Dawood, of Scarborough Health Network, Jesse Gavin of Baylor College of Medicine, and Ryan Wolf, of Gallup, Workplace Wellness leaders who are blazing trails in organizational and employee well-being.

CVW Newsletter Reference:

Christina Della Rocca, Workplace Wellness Specialist, Health Coach, Naturopath, and Fit Pro, Peak Sante, interview with author, Sept 28, 2021.