Workplace Physical Activity Programs - Management Support.

Gaining management support is crucial to the success of a exercise initiative.

Whether the changes you’d like to make involve the work environment, overall policies or specific programs, successfully implementing your ideas depends on management support.

Support from management is critical for three reasons -

• You need their agreement to involve staff members in a workplace initiative.

• When management pays attention to and supports an initiative, staff members also see the initiative as worthwhile.

• Management has the power to give work time and money to support the initiative.

It’s important to keep management involved throughout a exercise initiative, but at three points you’ll need support for -

• an overall concept, including a go-ahead to assess what employees want to do within the limitations of your workplace environment.

• A detailed plan (based on the assessment above) coupled with resources to carry out the plan.

• Assessing the initiative to improve it along the way or to advocate for continuing or expanding the initiative.

Approaching Management

Before approaching management to gain initial support for promoting exercise during the workday, do your homework.

• Prepare a company case obviously outlining how the organization will benefit by promoting exercise during the workday.

• List the individual, social and corporate benefits of physical activity and the benefits of being active during the workday.

• Present some general ideas about what the program might include. See the Success Stories and Ideas sections on this website to highlight what other workplaces have done.

Expect questions such as the following from management -

• How’ll this help our company?

• How can we motivate staff members to participate?

• How much will it cost to run this program or make this change?

• How are we going to know a year from now if this was a good use of time and resources?

Ask managers about the range of activities they would support. Often managers have ideas of their own they would like to see acted on to improve the workplace.

Do not forget to include middle managers when gaining support for your initiative. They may be very helpful when you need volunteers to lead teams in corporate exercise challenges.