At the 2025 WV Workplace Wellness Conference, we brought together passionate, “boots on the ground” experts from across the state. We knew the most valuable insights wouldn’t come from a single speaker, but from the collective wisdom in the room. We challenged attendees to ask their toughest questions, and today, we’re answering the top three with the practical, proven advice shared by your peers and our expert panel.
1. The Engagement Enigma: "How do we get people to actually participate?"
This was the number one challenge. The answer? Stop pushing one-size-fits-all programs and start listening. The key is a flexible, employee-driven approach.
- Build a Team of Peers: One of the most powerful strategies is to ensure your wellness committee is a mix of employees and not just management. This creates genuine peer influence and helps build trust from the ground up.
- Listen and Adapt: What works for one team may not work for another. The panel advised to always add variety and listen to feedback. When one panelist learned that after-work classes had low attendance, they successfully transitioned to lunchtime offerings.
- Foster Social Connection: Engagement often grows from social connection. Try organizing team walking challenges to get people talking , or host quick social coffee get-togethers to boost morale.
- Aim for Progress, Not Perfection: Remember, you will never achieve 100% participation, and that’s okay. Focus on the positive momentum, or as one panelist described it, the “snowball effect“.
2. The ROI Riddle: "How do we prove our program is valuable to leadership?""
To get support, you need to show your program works. The key is to start by telling a powerful story backed by visible progress.
- Focus on Storytelling: Before you have hard data, you have stories. A key piece of advice was the importance of “Getting the stories out there of the success“.
- Celebrate the Small Wins: Actively celebrate all the steps and successes, no matter how small. This demonstrates momentum and is the tangible “evidence” leaders can see and understand immediately.
- Measure What Matters: When you do measure, focus on what your boss wants to see, such as improvements in productivity, retention, and engagement. The panel also discussed tracking things like participation numbers and success stories. This led to a key internal takeaway for us at Active SWV: We should put together a ROI packet for worksites that can be presented to upper management.
3. The Resource Hurdle: "How do we succeed with no time, no funding, and no buy-in?"
These foundational barriers can feel overwhelming, but the conference provided a clear path forward: be strategic, persistent, and adaptable.
- Start with No-Cost “Seeds”: You don’t need a big budget to start. When funding is a challenge, partnerships can help bring in resources. Prove your concept with no-cost initiatives first to build trust for larger projects.
- Find Your Advocate: For leadership buy-in, the panel was clear: “Find the person in upper management who can be the advocate“. Gaining the support of even one leader can make all the difference.
- Be Fluid and Flexible: For the challenge of finding time, you must be adaptable. As one panelist advised, be “Fluid, flexible. Don’t give up“. Instead of big events, focus on integrating five-minute “movement snacks” or mindfulness breaks into the existing workday.
By starting small and proving value, you can build the momentum needed to gain more resources, time, and support for your wellness program.
The challenges of advocating for wellness are real, but the most powerful takeaway from our conference is that you are not alone in facing them. The solutions to our biggest hurdles—from engaging employees to proving value—are found right here within our own community of passionate, dedicated professionals. By sharing our collective wisdom, we can turn these common obstacles into shared opportunities for growth and success.
What’s your next step?
Share Your Wisdom: Do you have a success story or a solution to one of these challenges? Leave a comment to help our community grow.
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Get in Touch: Have a specific question? Contact me directly at kelly@activeswv.com.
Stay Active!
Kelly Fox
Workplace Wellness Director
Active Southern West Virginia