Worksite Wellness ProgramsWorksite Wellness Programs

A representative Worksite Wellness Program Committee is a cornerstone of a successful Worksite Wellness Program, regardless of the size of the company.

Membership of your Worksite Wellness Program Committee

Aim for a committee of a manageable size (no more than 15 members, depending on your company’s size). Your Worksite Wellness Program Committee should represent all employee groups (e.g., full-time and part-time workers, managers and front-line staff, salary and hourly workers, union representation, HR, marketing or communications, legal, and occupational health/safety).

Here are some additional considerations:

• Worksite Wellness Program Committee members can be selected by leadership or can be selected from among volunteers.
• Determine in advance how long Worksite Wellness Program Committee members will support and how new members will be selected. Balance the need for continuity with the need to bring fresh ideas and energy to your company’s Worksite Wellness Program.
• It’s not important, or even desirable, to have your healthiest workers on the Worksite Wellness Program Committee. Ideal Worksite Wellness Program Committee members are those who best can represent their peers, motivate others and support the implementation of the Worksite Wellness Program.
• Consider offering an incentive or recognition to Worksite Wellness Program Committee members. It legitimizes their positions and encourages participation. Some companys that have started stipends have generated enough worker interest that the selection of Worksite Wellness Program Committee membership becomes a competitive process. The Worksite Wellness Program Committee responsibilities become a formal component of the member’s job accountabilities.

Role of your Worksite Wellness Program Committee

In some companys the Worksite Wellness Program Committee is responsible for the implementation of the Worksite Wellness Program. In other companys, the Worksite Wellness Program Committee plays an advisory role. In either case, the group members can be asked to:

• Attend regular meetings of the Worksite Wellness Program Committee.
• Help establish a vision and name for the company’s Worksite Wellness Program.
• Represent their peer group by sharing ideas, needs, concerns and feedback from their work areas and colleagues about proposed Worksite Wellness Program Procedures, policies, and programs.
• Make available feedback on the possible barriers to proposed Worksite Wellness Program Procedures and offer suggestions for addressing those barriers (e.g., how does a proposed policy fit with the schedules of workers?).
• Suggest effective Worksite Wellness Program communication Procedures and solutions to challenges. For example, what is the best way to communicate with workers who work the third shift? How will workers react to a proposed message from leadership?
• Be a voice of support for a culture of health, carrying the message from the Worksite Wellness Program Committee to their work areas and colleagues.

Functioning of your Worksite Wellness Program Committee

Meet. Schedule regular Worksite Wellness Program Committee meetings on paid work time. Your Worksite Wellness Program Committee may want to meet very often at first, then slightly less often as your health improvement strategy is more established. If your Worksite Wellness Program Committee is new, it might be useful to ask members to provide information about themselves and their interests.

Communicate. Set up frequent channels of communication with Worksite Wellness Program Committee members so they are up to date and engaged. An email list is often the easiest way to do this. Encourage communication to flow both ways: from Worksite Wellness Program coordinator to members and from members to coordinator.

Check-in. At least once a year, assess how effectively the Worksite Wellness Program Committee is functioning. Is the Worksite Wellness Program Committee serving its original purpose? Ask committee members for their feedback. Do they feel like their work is making a difference? Do they feel like their input is valued and taken into account when planning and implementing initiatives? Do they understand their expected Worksite Wellness Program roles and responsibilities? Are there members who want to rotate off of the committee? How will new members be selected?

Beginning a Worksite Wellness Program need not be expensive, but will require the commitment of some financial resources. If possible, include the Worksite Wellness Program in your company’s annual business plan and budget as you do for other efforts important to your company’s success.

How much to budget for the Worksite Wellness Program?

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for establishing a Worksite Wellness Program that results in improved employee health. Organizations differ in how much money they need and how much they can make available for the Worksite Wellness Program. Consider the following common expenses in developing an adequate Worksite Wellness Program budget:

• Worksite Wellness Program staffing costs (either internal salaries or consultant fees)
• Worksite Wellness Program data collection costs (including health risk assessment costs, if relevant)
• Worksite Wellness Program incentives and rewards for healthy behaviors (such as discounts on premiums for non-smokers)
• Costs of Worksite Wellness Program Procedures to be started (such as costs of covering tobacco quit medications or costs of subsidizing healthy foods in the cafeteria or vending machines)
• Worksite Wellness Program administrative and communications expenses

In times of tight finances, be prepared to justify your requested Worksite Wellness Program budget. Arm yourself with data on potential short- and long-term outcomes of the proposed Worksite Wellness Program Procedures. Itemize the Worksite Wellness Program expenses of past initiatives and share projected expenses for initiatives planned for the upcoming year.

Sustaining Worksite Wellness Program Financing

A dedicated Worksite Wellness Program line item in your company’s budget makes it more likely to be regarded as a need, rather than as a “nice-to-have” amenity that could be cut when funds run low.

One of the best Procedures for ensuring continued financial support for the Worksite Wellness Program is frequent communication to leadership, including:

• How many workers have you reached through the Worksite Wellness Program? Has morale increased? Have health risks decreased, e.g., fewer workers using tobacco, more workers active?
• How well are you managing the Worksite Wellness Program resources you’ve been given? Where and how has your budget been spent? Keep track of the staff time required for each initiative and be able to present the numbers at any time.
• Anecdotal Worksite Wellness Program success stories from workers. Don’t underestimate the power of a good story to put a human face on your success.

Supplemental sources of Worksite Wellness Program Financing

If necessary, have the individuals responsible for establishing a Worksite Wellness Program look for ways to supplement available internal funds. Are there grants or other financing available that can help support your Worksite Wellness Program ? What community Worksite Wellness Program resources could you use to meet some of your needs?

Locating an individual to guide your company in establishing a Worksite Wellness Program

Without a qualified Worksite Wellness Program coordinator to guide and manage your company’s creation of a culture of health, efforts can be scattered and momentum can stall. While it’s vital that the creation of a culture of health be someone’s priority, not all companys need a full-time coordinator. There are a number of ways to obtain the time of a qualified coordinator.

Be careful not to confuse Worksite Wellness Program skills with fitness skills. You are not looking for a personal trainer or a nutritionist to run your Worksite Wellness Program. The following are good indications that an individual may be qualified to be a Worksite Wellness Program coordinator:

• knowledge of community health, population health and worksite Worksite Wellness Programs
• experience working with and understanding aggregate data, preferably Worksite Wellness Program data
• experience managing projects, including developing timelines and facilitating meetings
• experience in strategic planning, including defining goals and related objectives
• ability to understand, and use the findings of, journal articles on effective Worksite Wellness Program Procedures.

What will a Worksite Wellness Program coordinator do?

The Worksite Wellness Program coordinator is responsible for guiding a process that establishes worksite facilities, policies and practices that promote health. The individual may do some of all of the following for your Worksite Wellness Program:

• act as a liaison between leadership and the Worksite Wellness Program employee advisory workgroup
• interpret health-related data on your Worksite Wellness Program
• establishe and manage work plans and budgets for implementation of selected Worksite Wellness Program Procedures
• facilitate Worksite Wellness Program Committee meetings
• guide your company in establishing measurable goals for the Worksite Wellness Program
• recommend effective Worksite Wellness Program Procedures, using the evidence in the health behavior literature and national and/or recommended best practices
• document and report short-term and long-term progress on Worksite Wellness Program Procedures and goals.

Where can we find a qualified Worksite Wellness Program coordinator?

Explore the following when looking for a Worksite Wellness Program coordinator:

• Existing staff: Are there individuals on staff who have the background, or are interested in gaining the skills, to support as a Worksite Wellness Program coordinator? Is it possible to dedicate a portion of someone’s time (e.g., .5 FTE) to the position of coordinating your company’s Worksite Wellness Program Procedures? If possible, budget enough to cover not only salary but also continued learning, journal subscriptions and membership fees for this Worksite Wellness Program position.
• New staff – Can you hire an individual to be your company’s Worksite Wellness Program coordinator? Would it need to be a full-time position, or would part-time be sufficient?
• Worksite Wellness Program Consultation – Various companys (e.g., health plans, benefit consultants and public health departments) provide Worksite Wellness Program consultation on building a culture of health within a worksite.

An outside Worksite Wellness Program consultant can advise an internal Worksite Wellness Program coordinator and your Worksite Wellness Program Committee on establishing priorities and selecting Procedures. Or, you can contract with a Worksite Wellness Program consultant to be your coordinator. If you choose the latter approach, you’ll want to contract with the individual for sufficient hours to carry out all of the responsibilities associated with coordinating an effective strategy.

Strong and visible leadership support for the Worksite Wellness Program encourages health and is vital to securing necessary Worksite Wellness Program resources (staff, time, and money) and implementing recommended changes.

1. Identify a Worksite Wellness Program champion

In a small company, there may be a single leader who is the clear choice to champion the Worksite Wellness Program. In a larger company, look for an executive with the authority to influence others in the highest levels of the organization regarding the Worksite Wellness Program. The Worksite Wellness Program champion need not be the fittest member of leadership. Rather, look for a Worksite Wellness Program leader with the disposition to be a visible and vocal supporter of worksite policies that encourage healthy behaviors. Organizations with multiple sites can consider whether it would be useful to have an executive Worksite Wellness Program champion at each site.

2. Find existing Worksite Wellness Program allies

There may already be a number of individuals within your company who recognize the value of a Worksite Wellness Program. Think about who those individuals are in your company; consider areas such as occupational safety, union representatives, risk management, medical officers, and human resources when looking for a Worksite Wellness Program ally. Capture their stated support for the Worksite Wellness Program. Worksite Wellness Program support could include contributions of staff time or expertise, financial resources, agreement to endorse/support policy and environmental changes, or agreement to participate in, and voice their support for, changes in the worksite that will help to build a culture of health.

3. Build a business case for the Worksite Wellness Program

There is a reason that more and more businesses are finding a way to promote employee health via a Worksite Wellness Program and policies: A Worksite Wellness Program makes good business sense. employees with healthy behaviors, on average, are more productive when at work (higher presenteeism)1 and incur lower medical care costs than workers with less healthy behaviors.2,3 As a result it would be foolish not to have a Worksite Wellness Program.

4. When developing a Worksite Wellness Program use what you know about leadership styles and the decision-making process within your company

Every company is different. Build leadership support for the Worksite Wellness Program in the way that makes the most sense for your company. Think about the following as you plan how to approach leadership for Worksite Wellness Program support:

• What are the current priorities and pressures facing executives? How could a Worksite Wellness Program and a healthier workforce support those priorities?
• How do the leaders prefer to receive data: written documents? verbal presentations?
• What kinds of Worksite Wellness Program information are likely to influence decisions? Do they want data and Worksite Wellness Program statistics specific to your company, or are state or national data sufficient? Are the leaders more influenced by internal factors or by what competitors are doing?
• Who would the leaders see as a credible messenger for this Worksite Wellness Program information? Does someone from the risk management area carry more clout than someone from the human resources area?
• How do decisions really get made in your company? Informal committee meetings? Formal or informal meetings between executives? Plan accordingly and you improve the odds that the Worksite Wellness Program will become a reality.

5. Maintain Worksite Wellness Program support once you have it

Once you have appropriate Worksite Wellness Program support, ensure that you maintain it by regularly updating the leaders on employee health and progress toward establishing a culture that encourages health. Ask upper management how often they want to receive Worksite Wellness Program progress reports.

Source Information:
1 Bunn, JOEM, 2006, 48:10.
2 Foldes, Bland, An et al. Modifiable Health Risks and Short-Term Health Care Costs. BC/BS of Minnesota internal research, submitted for publication.
3 Anderson, 2000, American Journal of Health Promotion, 15:1.

The worksite environment is a powerful, but often overlooked, element in managing worker health. Here we will identify some of the best-practices in establishing a Worksite Wellness Program that supports your organization’s employee health strategy and allows workers to take charge of their own health. For example, a Worksite Wellness Program that includes a smoke-free worksite policy improves the likelihood that workers will try to quit smoking and will quit using tobacco successfully. Similarly, a Worksite Wellness Program that includes discounting healthy foods in your cafeteria and vending machines helps increase workers’ consumption of healthy foods which supports your investment in disease management programs for workers with diabetes, heart disease or hypertension. The following will guide you through the ten key steps in establishing a Worksite Wellness Program and worksite environment that encourages worker health.

In an era of increasing medical care costs and fervent competition, businesses have a vested interest in the health of their workers. Research has found that, on average, workers with healthy behaviors (such as not using tobacco or being active for 30 minutes a day) incur lower medical care expenses, are absent from work less often, and are more productive when at work (higher presenteeism) than workers with unhealthy behaviors.

Worksite Wellness Program: Capturing Upper Management Support

Worksite Wellness Program support from the highest level of leadership is vital to your success in establishing a culture of health within your worksite. Look for Worksite Wellness Program support from a leader who is respected by and can influence other leaders. (It’s not important that he or she be the fittest executive within your organization just that they directly support the Worksite Wellness Program.) You will be relying on this culture-of-health champion to advocate for changes that you recommend and to ensure the organization allocates adequate Worksite Wellness Program resources (staff, time, and money) to maintain and improve the worksite policies, physical environment, and social norms.

Capture Worksite Wellness Program Staff and Financing

The creation and maintenance of a Worksite Wellness Program within your company needs to be someone’s priority. However, unless your company is quite large, you likely don’t need to hire a full-time staff person for the Worksite Wellness Program. There are a number of ways to find an individual with the necessary skills to guide and support your company’s Worksite Wellness Program.

Beginning facilities and Worksite Wellness Program policies, such as those allowing workers to be physically active during the workday, does not need to be expensive, but it does require adequate and sustained financing. If possible, include the creation of a worksite environment that supports the Worksite Wellness Program as a permanent component of the operating budget; that helps to ensure it’s an ongoing priority for your company.

Staff Member Involvement in the Worksite Wellness Program

Setting up a representative group of employees to advise your company’s Worksite Wellness Program ensures that improvements in worksite facilities, policies and practices address the true needs and barriers of all groups of employees. In addition, these workers can support as the front-line Worksite Wellness Program supporters of policies and practices with their peers.

Create a Worksite Wellness Program “Brand” and Vision

A Worksite Wellness Program vision and a brand are powerful first steps in moving a Worksite Wellness Program from an idea to a reality. What would you like your worksite environment to look like five years from now? A succinct Worksite Wellness Program vision statement summarizes for all (workers and leaders alike) the reasons for establishing a Worksite Wellness Program. It also reminds everyone of the link between worker health and your company’s ability to achieve its overall mission.

Branding your company’s Worksite Wellness Program conveys to workers that the company’s commitment and support of healthy behaviors is important and is here to stay. Select a Worksite Wellness Program name and logo that resonate with workers. Then use that brand on all Worksite Wellness Program communications with workers about the policies, facilities and programs your company offers to promote healthy behaviors.

Determine Your Present Worksite Wellness Program Situation

Exactly how your company establishes a Worksite Wellness Program that encourages healthy eating, physical activity, and reduces tobacco use will depend on the unique characteristics of your company and employee population.

Determine how the current worksite facilities, policies, and unwritten norms support — or discourage — healthy behaviors.

Gather information on the health and health-related behaviors of your employee population. The most common method is by using a validated health risk assessment. If you don’t have data specific to your workers, you can estimate the prevalence of different health risks and behaviors within your employee population using state or national data. Note: Information on employees’ health interests alone is not sufficient; but can be a useful supplement to health risk data and might help you set priorities.

Establish Worksite Wellness Program Goals and Priorities

Use what you’ve discovered about employee health and about your current worksite environment to determine your company’s Worksite Wellness Program priorities. From those Worksite Wellness Program priorities, define clear and measurable Worksite Wellness Program goals for improving employee health and your company’s culture. Well written goals will provide the basis for planning and for measuring your progress.

Select Worksite Wellness Program Procedures

Focus your company’s Worksite Wellness Program resources (time, energy and money) on strategies that are most likely to produce results: an increase in healthy eating, an increase in physical activity, and a reduction in tobacco use. There’s no need to guess at what might work. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reviewed thousands of studies and has identified the Worksite Wellness Program approaches most likely to result in significant, lasting, and widespread improvements in health behaviors. Those Worksite Wellness Program strategies are included in the physical activity, tobacco, and healthy eating sections of this website.

The formula for Worksite Wellness Program success is to make the healthier choices the easier choices.

Implement Worksite Wellness Program Procedures

Once you’ve chosen your Worksite Wellness Program Procedures, it can be useful to arrange the work on a timeline. The “right” amount of time for implementing each Worksite Wellness Program strategy depends on the staff time, budget, and business demands of your company. Work plans maintain your efforts moving and help to ensure that plans to start a Worksite Wellness Program stay on track even if there are changes in staffing or other challenges.

Educate and Communicate About the Worksite Wellness Program

Ensure workers are aware of the Worksite Wellness Program opportunities you’ve provided. Planning your Worksite Wellness Program communications allows you to communicate regularly with workers without overwhelming them at any one time.

Monitor and Report Your Worksite Wellness Program Results

At the same time that you plan your Worksite Wellness Program Procedures, think about how you’ll measure success. It’s much easier to gather information – or to start systems for collecting information — before you implement a Worksite Wellness Program strategy rather than as an afterthought. Keep in mind that you’re likely to see improvements in worker morale and/or behaviors before you see decreases in rates of absenteeism or medical care claims.

Report both your Worksite Wellness Program successes in building a healthy worksite environment (such as complete implementation of a policy that provides workers time for walking during the workday), and Worksite Wellness Program successes in getting employees to take charge of their health (an increase in the number of workers who contacted the stop-smoking program, or an increase in the number of fruit-cups purchased from the cafeteria following a promotion and price-cut).