Did you know the average length of illness from the flu is seven days? That’s a long time to feel under the weather, a massive loss for your business (up to $1,500 in productivity/person), and a handful of stress added to your home life. The flu shot can help you avoid these consequences, and you can make it easy and convenient for your employees by hosting a flu shot clinic on-site in four easy steps.
Step 1: Find a flu shot administrator.
Contact your local flu shot administrators, but don’t settle for the first one who answers. It’s vital that your employees are in the best care, so it’s essential to do your due diligence. Ask questions about the company’s experience administering flu shots, the quality and knowledge of the nurse, pricing, and the support the company will provide in hosting your clinic. We have used Pacific Blue Cross (talk to Shannon at syuill@pac.bluecross.ca), and CBI Home Health for our flu shot clinics in the past and had a positive experience with both.
Set a date and prepare estimates about how many flu shots you think will be administered. If you have multiple locations, be sure to include those in a separate count.
Step 2: Choose a date & time
Choosing a date can be more challenging than it sounds. You need to ensure that your employees don’t have job sites they need to be on or any other important meetings. So it is best to provide some flexibility with the timing of your clinic and consider convenience for your employees.
Also, having some kind of commitment before the clinic was more effective than having drop-ins. It might be helpful to have scheduled appointments for each employee so they don’t have to wait in lineups.
Step 3: Promote the clinic
Imagine putting in all this work organizing your clinic, and no one shows up. In order to keep your clinic top of mind, you must communicate the event long before you even set a date. Mention that it’s coming up in team meetings, through email or posters in your office. Use your communication pieces to educate your team about the importance of getting the flu shot and excite them by including a draw prize or reward them with lunch. We entered everyone who took a photo with our “I got my flu shot” sign into a giveaway for a Fitbit.
Also, be sure to send reminders during the week of the event. Your employees are working hard and sometimes that extra reminder is the push they need to get their flu shot.
Step 4: Prepare for the day of the clinic
Check with the clinic’s provider to find out if there’s anything specific they need for the nurse. Usually, they will request a clean private room containing a lined waste bin. If possible, arrange a waiting room for your staff. We included some healthy snacks, water, and juice in our boardroom. We also promoted other company events we had going on and encouraged contest entries into our Fitbit giveaway.
