WELCOA

The Power of Planning

A GOOD PLAN TODAY IS BET TER THAN A PERFECT PLAN TOMORROW BY DAVID HUNNICUT T, PHD

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ne of the biggest mistakes that we run across in helping companies to build resultsoriented wellness programs is that people dont spend enough time planning. Its easy to see how this happens. With employee health and wellness programs presenting a great business opportunity for organizationspeople dont want to waste time with the planning process. As a result, in the name of urgency, people fast forward into implementation in hopes of meeting managements expectations and capitalizing on this great opportunity.

ABSOLUTE ADVANTAGE

But thats not the only reason that companies fail to plan. In fact, some companies skip the planning process because they are already behind the curve with respect to developing a comprehensive wellness program. (As an aside, its no secret that the companies who are thriving today built their programs years ago). For those who are now just getting into the arena, its obvious that they are feeling the very real pressure to get the initiative up and running. And in their minds, the fastest way to do this is to skip the planning process. Whatever the reason, failing to plan is most assuredly planning to fail.

No doubt you will hear the stories of companies who piecemealed a program together and achieved positive results. But, from where we sit, even a broken clock is right twice a day. The smart money follows the notion of creating a comprehensive plan and then working that plan to achieve the desired outcomes. In fact, 99.9% of the time, this is how the great programs are built. Specically, there are important reasons why you should undertake a systematic planning process when building a results-oriented wellness initiative.

4 Reasons Why Planning Is Important 1 2 3 4

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Planning Forces You To Think Through The Details In Advance Planning Makes Your Program Transparent Planning Is Empowering Planning Creates Alignment

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Weve found from numerous successful wellness practitioners that its unrealistic to think that you can develop a great plan in a couple of days.

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ABSOLUTE ADVANTAGE

REASON #1

Planning Forces You To Think Through The Details In Advance

One major reason people dont like to plan is because its hard work. Its not that its physically exhausting, but theres no question it can be mentally draining. Thats because developing a great plan requires a lot of intellectual energy to think through what youre going to do in the next

one to three years. And because people dont want to work through this creative tension, they simply forgo the planning process and move right into implementation. This is a big mistake. By carving out adequate time to plan and strategize you are exponentially increasing the likelihood of succeeding in your quest

to improve employee health and contain costs. So the question ultimately becomes, How do you make the planning process less intellectually draining? In our minds, thats the $64,000 question and the one that deserves an answer. In working with companies who have successfully navigated the rough waters associated with planning, the key seems to be doing it in small doses. And this makes a lot of sense. Weve found from numerous successful wellness practitioners that its unrealistic to think that you can develop a great plan in a couple of days. In all reality, its really more like a couple of monthsbut its not that its a 24/7 grind during this time. The really successful practitioners carve out a couple of hours each day for several months, and as a result, they get their plans done, and they get to keep their hair and sanity throughout the process.

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REASON #2

Planning Makes Your Program Transparent

For worksite wellness programs, transparency is everything. By transparency we mean that the entire health management process from beginning to end is an open book. Obviously, were not referring to individual health information or health status here. However, we are referring to the notion that the great wellness programs let everyone know how the program works, whats expected, how rewards are achieved, and when victory will be declared. Make no mistake; the planning process is the key ingredient to making your program transparent. Think about it. When you develop your plan, you are in essence

announcing to the world (or at least to everyone in your organization) what, when, and how youre going to run the wellness initiative. If you dont do a good job in the planning process, therell be a lot of people who wont know or understand how your program works. And this can be a bad thingespecially if something goes wrong. For example, consider a similar situation in two dierent companies. The rst company didnt spend enough time developing and communicating their wellness plan to senior management or the associates on the front line. And when there was confusion about the distribution of monetary incentives, the people who took the fall were the wellness practitioners. On the other hand, consider the company who spent signicant

time in the planning process and every constituent throughout the organization was crystal clear on how the program worked and how incentives could be achieved. When the same problem arose, it was just a matter of reiterating what had been set forth and communicated in the wellness plan. The wellness practitioners received full support from senior executives because they had covered their bases through the planning process. In essence, your plan is your contract. And by adhering to what you say youre going to do in your plan, you are essentially fullling your overt obligations to the organization. Its not a mysterious or secretive process. Rather, the whole thing is transparent and everybody is clear on what needs to be done and whos going to do it.

When you develop your plan, you are in essence announcing to the world (or at least to everyone in your organization) what, when, and how youre going to run the wellness initiative.

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ABSOLUTE ADVANTAGE

PLANNING CREATES EMPOWERMENT AND ALIGNMENT

Adapted from Steven Senges, The Fifth Discipline, these graphics demonstrate the importance of coupling empowerment with alignment. For more information on this topic, be sure to read Senges classic book.

REASON #3

Planning Is Empowering
When you develop your wellness plan and get the organizations stamp of approval, you are, in a sense, fully empowered to get moving and to get things done. The plan is the essential element in giving you this power to be productive. Indeed, in those organizations that dont spend time on the planning process, youll generally nd wellness practitioners who sit around waiting for someone to approve the things that theyd like and need to do. If only theyd spent time developing a comprehensive plan and getting it approved at the beginning of the scal year, theyd be fully empowered to make things happen. But without a plan, they have to get the green light on each new activity and that can really bog things down. Moreover, this inertia takes a serious toll on talented wellness practitioners because good people dont want to spend their time sitting around and waiting for approval to do things that make good business/health sense. And, perhaps worst of all, a lack of empowerment ensures that your employees will get very frustrated with the wellness program because theres too much stop/start going on. To be successful, you need to develop an organizational rhythm and the plan helps you to accomplish this. If you fail to plan, you can pretty much expect to spend a lot of time waiting during the course of the yearand thats not healthy for anybody.

Empowerment Alone

Alignment Alone

Empowerment & Alignment

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4 Reasons Why Planning Is Important 1 2 3 4

Planning Forces You To Think Through The Details In Advance Planning Makes Your Program Transparent Planning Is Empowering

Planning Creates Alignment

REASON #4
Planning Creates Alignment
Finally, when you develop a good wellness planand you get the blessing from the powers that beit creates organizational alignment. This means that people at all levels in the company are committed to executing the information and strategies that are contained within the plan. And when you get this kind of commitment and focus, its a very powerful thing. Metaphorically speaking, alignment is analogous to everybody rowing in the same direction. If you dont think that this is important, consider the hard lessons learned by organizations that get blown

about by every wind of change that comes through the eld of health promotion. For example, weve seen organizations initiate important health promotion programs at the beginning of the business year, only to change them because some new report was issued on another entirely dierent health topic. For organizations that have a plan in place, this doesnt happen. Certainly program priorities change, but not on a spur of the moment basis. Moreover, whats really nice about having a plan in place is that you dont have to spend a lot of time politicking and trying to convince people to do certain things. Again, the plan is your contract and your key to getting everyone in the organization behind you. And if

you do a good job, organizational alignment is a great byproduct.

Summary
In this article, weve discussed four reasons why planning is an essential part of developing a results-oriented wellness program. We cant stress enough how important this step is to the entire process. To neglect the planning process, is to roll the dice not only on the success of your program, but on the health and well being of your employees as well.
All information Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA) 2007. WELCOA provides worksite wellness products, services, and information to thousands of organizations nationwide. For more information visit www.welcoa.org. Suggested Citation: Hunnicutt, D. (2007). The Power of Planning. WELCOAs Absolute Advantage Magazine, 6(7), 5-11.

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