Expert speakers are individuals, hired internally or externally, who share their knowledge and experience with a company in order to enhance the knowledge of workers and add value to them. Corporate wellness workshops invite expert speakers so they can educate the workers in a company on how to take care of themselves in terms of their health, work-life balance and general stability.
Expert speakers are able to understand a business model and provide a company with a meaningful strategy. This strategy is customised to the business model and culture of the company. An external expert speaker is able to provide a strategy that is most likely to be unbiased since the speaker is looking at the company from the outside perspective.
During the corporate wellness workshops, the employees can get inspiration and be motivated by the expert speaker who can explain to them how to perform well. New ideas and thoughts can be generated in the corporate wellness workshops by having an outside force that challenges the employees to think differently. This can innovate new ways to improve wellness.
The expert speaker is knowledgeable and experienced because they have years of experience tackling corporate wellness, knowing exactly what a company may need to progress. The years of experience allow these expert speakers to identify what will work in a company and what might not work.
Types of Expert Speakers
A corporate wellness workshop will cover a range of topics and issues which will require expert speakers who have specialised in different categories. These categories may be in relation to diet, physical exercise, mental health or general motivation. Based on the demand and requirements of the issue a company may be facing, different expert speakers will be hired.
- Motivational speakers are one of the most common expert speakers who are hired to increase the engagement and motivation level of staff with their work. Though motivational speakers are not ideal for long-term sustainability, they do help in the short term by stimulating the employees and charging them up.
- Health and fitness expert speakers provide companies with the great advantage of covering the physical aspect of the workers. Most office jobs require workers to sit in their chairs for an extended period of time. This can raise issues regarding their body poster and ergonomics. Expert speakers can provide guidance on how to tackle these issues and be able to stay physically fit and avoid injuries.
- Mental health expert speakers are able to guide the employees to make better decisions and have a work-life balance. There are habits that can be adapted by the employees to allow them to manage their mental health with proper time management and taking adequate breaks to refresh their minds.
Technology and Digital Platforms
Expert speakers don’t necessarily have to be present at the location of the company to deliver corporate wellness workshops. With access to basic technology and the internet, a speaker can train and educate employees from one end of the earth to another. This can be seen as a huge benefit where the location of the speaker is not an issue any more. There are also possibilities to reduce the cost by not paying for plane tickets or accommodation. Virtual workshops are the future. More and more companies and organisations located in different parts of the world are going to rely on technology. Smaller companies will have to ensure they have a reliable internet connection to avoid any interpretations and cutoffs. Some of the tools that are widely used for conducting virtual workshops include Zoom, Skype and Webinar.
Challenges and Limitations
A company may have to face a number of challenges when conducting wellness workshops and hiring speakers. To save the cost, an employer may prefer to give the speaker’s job to an existing internal employee who can conduct a workshop. Though it may help to reduce the cost, it can be a limiting factor where the speaker is likely to be biased toward the company. Along with that, a lack of innovation and outside perfection can be experienced.
When hiring an external expert speaker, the challenges may be in terms of delays due to flight cancellations or scheduling issues. An external expert speaker will also need to familiarise themselves with the company culture. Only by carefully understanding the existing culture of the company, the expert speaker will be able to help and strategise solutions that will result in beneficial outcomes.
As addressed before, some speakers are experts in general topics and others are experts in specific issues, such as mental health or physical health. An employer will have to identify the current needs of the workforce and hire the ideal speaker that will resolve the actual issues. Therefore, before selecting an expert speaker, employee feedback and opinions must be gathered to understand what are their needs and what will truly help them.