Hundreds upon thousands of Australians have to call in sick and take the day off when flu season rolls around each year. While there is significant amount of research that proves corporate flu shot programs help prevent you from getting sick, there are still plenty of people who don’t get immunized. If you are a business owner and don’t think that these programs are worth it, it’s time to rethink your priorities.
Sickness waves in workplaces costs Australian businesses millions of dollars. Corporate flu shot program aim to reduce this number while also promoting a healthy workforce for many Australian companies. If you feel like your company would benefit from a corporate flu shot program, continue reading to figure out how to organize one.
Find an agency to work with
One of the most important and the first step you should be taking is identifying an agency that you are going to work with. It may take some time to find the right one for you and your employees but it will be worth the effort. You may want to talk over the phone with a couple of companies to ask them about their procedures and what methods they take to ensure that your workforce will be looked after.
When you are looking at different companies you should be taking into consideration the following factors:
- Experience of the company
- Quality of their staff
- Pricing structure along with cost
- How easy the process will be
- Do they have customer support?
Schedule the corporate flu shot program
If you plan ahead you will find that the process of scheduling a corporate flu shot program will become a lot easier. Instead of finding a clinic to work with at the last minute you will be able to have the clinic and dates that you want and thus will fit in with the work schedule perfectly. Most providers require at least a month’s notice to get everything in order for the session.
When you are scheduling the event you should always have the convenience of your employees in mind. Choosing the right date and time can definitely affect the morale of your team, so choosing the most appropriate slot is vital. During lunch break is a very popular time for these events but if you have employees on different work schedules be aware that some people may not share a common break.
Offering everyone several different times allows people to get their immunizations as well as not having to wait in a big long line. This may be the right way to go for companies with larger work forces.
Promote the corporate flu shot program
To make sure that everyone participates, you should be promoting the event constantly. Aim to have the news of the event spread early as to reach as many people as you can. Different methods of communication such as posters and emails are great ways to catch people’s eye.
If your communication and promotion plan is effective you should have people looking forward to the corporate flu shot program, rather than being disgruntled by it. Help your workforce understand the benefits of these events and that they will be receiving these immunization for free.
Document the success of the event
Employers that host these events should document how successful they were. This step is vital for determining the return of investment of the event. Compare the number of employee sick days prior and after the event. Tracking this data and sharing it with your workforce will help illustrate its importance and how effective it is in reducing the number of sick days that your company has.