Your how-to: Customising digital wellness platforms based on employee feedback
Customising digital wellness platforms based on employee feedback in the workplace is, at its core, tailoring the wellness programmes and initiatives offered by your organisation to fit the unique needs and feedback of your employees. This is facilitated through digital platforms with the aim to increase engagement, and thereby improving the mental wellbeing of staff.
With a rise in remote workforces, especially in Australia due to current COVID-19 restrictions, these digital platforms allow for the provision of wellness resources to all employees, no matter their location. The platforms can include resources such as mindfulness apps, fitness challenges, mental health support services, resilience training, among others.
The customisation aspect refers to the process of actively seeking, incorporating, and responding to employee feedback about those wellness initiatives. It centers on adapting and evolving the programmes according to the workforce's changing needs, which can include anything from better stress management techniques to improving work-life balance. Consideration must be given to the Privacy Act 1988 and Australian Workplace Health and Safety regulations to ensure the safe handling of sensitive employee data throughout this process.
In essence, the aim is to create a wellness package that feels personalised, focussing on employees' specific concerns and mitigating potential mental health stressors in the workplace. This, in turn, supports employee wellbeing, satisfaction, and productivity.
Step by step instructions
Assess the Current Situation: Assess the current state of your organisation’s wellness programmes, to understand what is already working well and what needs improvement. This includes identifying the digital platforms you are already using and the initiatives they offer, as well as examining the ease of access and usage of the platforms amongst employees.
Analyse Feedback: Evaluate and analyse the feedback received from the employees. Use this feedback to identify key issues, preferences, potential improvements and opportunities. Highlight aspects that repeatedly come up in feedback as these are your priority areas for change.
Implement Changes: Once you’ve mapped out the changes, start implementing them onto your digital wellness platforms. You might need to work with your in-house IT team or an external service provider for this tech-based task.
Monitor Impact: After implementing changes, monitor their impact on employee wellness, job satisfaction, and productivity. You can use surveys or observation methods here. This evaluation helps understand how effectively the feedback has been used in customisation and would reveal areas that need further alterations.
Gather Employee Feedback: Distribute a survey or questionnaire to your employees to gauge their opinions on the existing programmes and platforms. Ask about their experiences, what they liked, where they identified gaps, and what improvements they would suggest. Remember, under the Privacy Act 1988, you must maintain confidentiality when handling this sensitive information.
Plan Your Customisation: Start designing changes for your digital wellness platforms based on gathered feedback. This can include adjusting existing resources or introducing new ones that address the needs and preferences of your employees. It’s important to also consider how flexible and adaptable your changes are for future modifications.
Communicate Changes to Employees: Announce the changes to your employees and provide them with clear instructions on how to use these new resources. This communication should also acknowledge the feedback received from them and explain how it has been used to improve the platform.
Plan Regular Review: Ensure you have a plan in place for regular reviews and feedback sessions. Workplaces and employee needs are ever-changing, so your digital wellness platforms should be adaptable according to these variances.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
In Australia, privacy legislation is stringent, and non-compliance can lead to heavy fines and potential legal disputes. As such, it's critical to ensure that your platform respects and protects employee data. Avoid rushing the deployment of a digital wellness platform without thoroughly reviewing privacy policies or implementing protective measures.
Perhaps the first and foremost pitfall that you must avoid while customising digital wellness platforms based on employee feedback is scaling without a clear aim. Digital wellness involves multiple components, such as fitness, mindfulness, sleep, and stress management. Without a clear goal, you risk implementing changes that may not benefit your employees or working environment, causing confusion and discouraging platform usage.
Workplace diversity plays a key role in adopting any workplace initiative. With the vast cultural diversity in Australia, it's essential to customise your digital wellness platform to cater to the varying needs and preferences of all your staff. Ignoring this could lead to poor uptake and engagement.
When customising your wellness platform based on employee feedback, avoid expecting immediate results. Behavioural change is a process that takes time and patience. In fact, expecting rapid uptake can lead to disappointment and may push you into hasty decisions that could jeopardise your wellness initiative.
Even if your digital wellness platform is top-tier, employees are unlikely to use it if they don't see the value or understand how. Make a conscious effort to inform them about the importance of wellbeing initiatives and how to use the platform.
Every digital platform comes with potential technical issues. If unprepared, these can lead to project delays, budget overruns and even user resistance. Ensure your IT team is completely on board and able to handle any challenges that may arise.