Wellness Program A to Z

(Adapted from The Health Promotion First Act prepared by David Anderson, Ph.D., StayWell Health Management)

Staff Member Lifestyles Impact Staff Member Health
•    Approximately 40% of all deaths in the United States are premature (at least 900,000 deaths annually) and are due to unhealthy lifestyle choices such as tobacco use, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, misuse of alcohol and drugs, and accidents. Other contributors to early death include genetic predisposition (30%), social circumstances (15%), poor access to quality medical care (10%), and environmental  exposures (5%).
•    Unhealthy lifestyle is the primary contributor to the six leading causes of death in the U.S. – heart disease, cancer, stroke, respiratory diseases, accidents, and diabetes – which collectively account for over 70% of all deaths.
•    People with healthier lifestyles live an average of 6 to 9 years longer,  postpone disability by 9 years and compress disability into fewer years at the end of life.
•    The prevalence of obesity among U.S. adults rose to 30% in 1999-2000, a 33% increase from a decade earlier,  and the prevalence of diabetes also rose by 33% during approximately the same period (1990 to 1998).
•    About two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, 55% do not get enough physical activity,  26% are completely inactive,10 and only 25% eat recommended amounts of fruit and vegetables  If diet/physical activity patterns continue worsening at their current rate, these behaviors will soon surpass tobacco use as contributors to mortality.
•    Among young people, the prevalence of overweight has more than quadrupled in the past 20 years to 16%,  daily participation in high school physical education classes has dropped from 42% in 1991 to 28% in 2003,  more than 60% eat too much saturated fat, and almost 80% do not eat recommended amounts of fruit and vegetables.
•    Lifestyle diseases disproportionately affect women, racial and ethnic minorities, the poor and seniors:
•    The prevalence of diabetes among African Americans is about 70% higher than among white Americans, and the prevalence among Hispanics is nearly double that for white Americans.
•    Women comprise more than half of the people who die each year of cardiovascular disease.
•    Chronic conditions significantly limit daily activity for 35% of persons over 65 years of age.

Financial Impact of Lifestyle
•    It is estimated that lifestyle-related chronic diseases account for 70% of the nation’s medical care costs,  which translates to over 11% of the entire U.S. gross domestic product.
•    Two comprehensive scientific reviews identified 83 peer-reviewed studies reporting that people with unhealthy habits have higher medical costs.
•    Research conservatively estimates that high health risks (high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc) account for at least 25% of total medical costs.
•    Recent research indicates a direct relationship between modifiable lifestyle risks and lower worker productivity, and relevant data suggest that the costs to businesses in lost productivity due to poor employee health may be substantially more than the direct medical and disability costs.
•    Unhealthy lifestyles frequently lead to chronic disease, many of which cannot be cured and require years or decades of expensive treatments. Below are estimated annual costs of selected unhealthy lifestyles and chronic diseases including obesity,  tobacco use,  hypertension,  diabetes,  stress,  and inactivity.

Workplace Wellness Programs Improve Health and Yield Major Savings
•    Comprehensive scientific reviews identified 378 peer-reviewed studies showing that Workplace Wellness Programs improve health knowledge, health behaviors, and underlying health conditions.
•    Research has demonstrated that lifestyle modification may frequently be more effective and cost-effective than medical intervention in decreasing morbidity  and mortality.
•    Several scientific reviews indicate that Workplace Wellness Programs reduce medical costs and absenteeism and produce a positive return on investment (ROI).  The most definitive review of financial impact reported that:
•    18 studies indicated that these programs reduce medical costs, and 14 studies indicated that they reduce absenteeism costs.
•    13 studies that calculated benefit/cost ratios all showed the savings from these programs are much greater than their cost, with medical cost savings averaging $3.48 and the absenteeism savings averaging $5.82 per dollar invested in the programs.
•    Medical costs are expected to exceed 16 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2005 and to grow at 7.2 percent annually through 2015, when medical expenditures will account for 20 percent of GDP:
•    Per capita medical costs in the U.S. are the highest in the world and more than double the median for OECD countries,  yet the United States ranks 26th in terms of healthy life expectancy.
•    Medicaid is the second largest item in most state budgets, and its portion of the total budgets is increasing each year.
•    Rising medical costs for U.S. businesses continue to outpace general inflation, averaging 12 percent per year for the past 10 years.   This trend is causing a tremendous financial hardship on U.S. businesses.

1. Senior management involvement in the Workplace Wellness Program- Evidence of enthusiastic commitment and involvement of senior management helps employees understand their businesses’ serious commitment to health.  Employees need to perceive that their senior management, supervisors, and coworkers have positive attitudes toward health since these factors have all been associated with improved employee health status.   Management-related factors have been shown to contribute more to success than the content of the intervention.

2. Participatory planning - A Workplace Wellness Program should be undertaken in partnership with the workforce.  Employees from all levels of staff should be actively engaged in the health and management aspects of the project as well as all on-going processes of any Workplace Wellness Program.  Planning must also include processes for maintaining communication with all staff and building their commitment to the process.   Creating Workplace Wellness Program steering committees to lead interventions during the planning and delivery of workplace health promotion programming improves worker awareness, participation, and satisfaction. Staff Member committees may identify perceived employee interests regarding educational programming, determine work site-specific characteristics that may affect the intervention or influence participation, and suggest the best methods for promotion and delivery of Workplace Wellness Programs and activities.  Ways to maximize employee input and involvement might include interest surveys, focus groups, and peer counsellors.

3. Primary focus on employees’ needs - A Workplace Wellness Program should meet the needs of all employees, regardless of their current level of health and recognize the needs, preferences, and attitudes of different groups of participants. Program designers should consider the major health risks in the target population, the specific risks within the particular group of employees, and the business’s needs.   In other words, interventions should be tailor-made to the characteristics and needs of the recipients.   This means that different programs must be provided at different levels.   Participation and commitment may be increased if a group of workers has the opportunity to address a specific modifiable risk factor of their choice.

4. Optimal use of on-site resources - Planning and implementation of Workplace Wellness Programs should optimize use of on-site personnel, physical resources, and organizational capabilities.   For example, whenever possible, initiatives should use on-site health and safety, management, work organization, communication, HR, and other specialists.   Well-qualified external leadership may be introduced when in-house expertise is lacking.

5. Integration - An overall workplace health policy should be developed.  The policies governing employee health must align with the corporate mission, vision, and values, supporting both short- and long-term objectives. These consistent policies must affirm the value of employee health and a commitment to engage employees in health enhancement.  Workplace Wellness Program Procedures should be integrated into a company’s regular management practices and eventually should be formally incorporated into the company’s corporate plan  with adequate resources attached to them.

6. Recognition that a person’s health is determined by an interdependent set of factors - Any Workplace Wellness Program must address multiple components of an individual’s life:
•    the workplace physical and psychosocial setting;
•    their personal resources such as social support, sense of empowerment, etc.; and
•    their lifestyle practices influencing health.

7. Tailoring to the special features of each workplace setting  - Workplace Wellness Programs must be responsive to the unique needs of each workplace’s procedures, organization and culture.   Integrating health behaviors and program participation into the existing corporate culture will normalize program participation.

8. Workplace Wellness Program Evaluation - Project management should flow through needs analysis, setting priorities, planning, implementation, continuous monitoring, and evaluation.   Evaluation must include a clearly-defined range of process measures and outcomes  as well as mechanisms for monitoring the impact of non-intervention workplace changes such as plant closure, major workplace re-organization, and new technology on staff health.

9. Long-term commitment - To sustain the benefits of the Workplace Wellness Program, the worksite must continue the initiative over time, reinforcing risk-reduction behaviours and adapting the programs to ongoing personal, social, economic, and workplace changes.

Introduction to Workplace Wellness Programs

Risky health behaviors by employees cost a company. Changing those behaviors can save the employer money and increase the employee’s productivity.

Because work gives an employee a stable setting and support system, Workplace Wellness Programs can have a great impact on decreasing high-risk behaviors. This impact results in reduce health claims cost, less absenteeism, and less short-term disability.

Workplace Wellness Programs may include:

Awareness Rasing Activities: Health and wellness newsletters, health topics covered in payroll stuffers, healthy emails.

Health Risk Assessment: Employee health screenings, health and wellness fairs, health rist assessments.

Educational Programs: Lunch and Learn wellness presentations, guest speakers at staff meetings.

Skill Building: Healthy cooking demostrations, activity challenges, CPR instruction opportunites, stress management classes, weight management classes.

Interventions: Massage, smoking cessation, and skills to help you get the most out of your doctor visit.

Physical setting: Healthy items in the vending machines and cafeterias, clean air practices, ergonomics, bike racks, flex time, welllit stairways.

Evaluation: Staff Member needs assessment, baseline Workplace Wellness Program evaluation measures, ongoing Workplace Wellness Program evaluation of overall effectiveness.

Why Offer Workplace Wellness Programs

The typical employer spends about $8,000 a year on an employee’s healthcare. This includes health insurance, disability and worker’s compensation. As these costs climb, health insurance is expected to rise at least 10% per year.

A 1999 study showed that corporations using Workplace Wellness Programs had a return on investment (ROI) from $1.49 – $13 in benefits per dollar spent. The amount depended on the nature of the Workplace Wellness Programs used. (S. Aldana, American Journal of Wellness, 2001; 15:296-320)

One study showed that a “stop smoking” element to Workplace Wellness Programs may save between $404 -$40,829 per employee, depending on the age and sex of the employee.

The Workplace Wellness Programs at Traveler’s Company included a self-care book, a newsletter, single-topic brochures, and videotapes. The Workplace Wellness Programs saved the company $7.8 million in employee benefi t costs, decreased doctor visits, and it lowered absenteeism by 1.2 days per employee per year. The estimated Workplace Wellness Programs ROI was $3.40 per dollar spent.

In 1998, the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) reported a study of 46,026 employees from six large businesses for three years. Employees with an inactive lifestyle had 10% higher costs; employees with depression had 70% higher costs.

Benefits of Workplace Wellness Programs

Increased Productivity - The Canada Life Assurance Company realized a 4% rise in productivity after beginning an employee fitness program.

Increased Job Satisfaction - According to employee opinion surveys conducted by the Silverstone Group about thier Workplace Wellness Programs, employees’ morale increased, which helped support a more creative work setting.

Enhanced Recruitment & Retention - In the midst of a tight labor market, Workplace Wellness Programs could be a vital tool to draw new recruits.

Decreased Absenteeism - Canada Life Assurance Company’s absenteeism dropped 42% among employees in the Workplace Wellness Programs.

Decreased Workers Comp & Disability - In one year, Boeing Company’s number of back injuries decreased by 34%. Six million dollars was saved by tracking injuries as they occurred.

Managed Medical Care Costs - Golden, Colorado Adolf Coors Company’s Workplace Wellness Programs returned $6.19 for every dollar spent.

Why have Workplace Wellness Program objectives?

Workplace Wellness Program objectives take your business’s priorities for employee health improvement and make them specific and measurable. Well-defined Workplace Wellness Program objectives provide direction for deciding on Procedures and a basis for which to measure progress.

Writing Workplace Wellness Program objectives

Writing Workplace Wellness Program objectives is not complicated or difficult. It does require some thought, about your business’s Workplace Wellness Program vision for a culture of wellness and they should be:

Specific Workplace Wellness Program Goals
Measurable Workplace Wellness Program Goals
Attainable Workplace Wellness Program Goals
Realistic Workplace Wellness Program Goals
Timely Workplace Wellness Program Goals

Specific Workplace Wellness Program Goals: What is the specific outcome your business is looking for? “Reduce tobacco use among employees” is more specific than “Improve the health of employees.” You may wish to write some objectives about specific outcomes (reducing smoking among employees) and other objectives about specific progress (implementing a tobacco-free campus policy or decreasing the price of fresh fruit in the cafeteria to 25 cents a piece).

Measurable Workplace Wellness Program Goals: Making your objectives measurable provides a means of evaluating your progress and success. There is a saying: “what gets measured, gets done.” Goals which are measurable can be powerful motivators for your business. “Provide more time for employees to be physically active” is much less measurable than “implement a daily 15-minute walking break into the schedule of all employees.” “Increase the number of employees who want to quit smoking” is less measurable than “increase enrollments in the stop-using tobacco program to 120 employees per year.”

Attainable Workplace Wellness Program Goals: Determine objectives that challenge your business to change and that will demonstrate a real commitment to employee health. At the same time, set objectives that are achievable. Goals that are set too far out of reach can be overwhelming and may become a barrier rather than a motivator.

Realistic Workplace Wellness Program Goals: Write objectives that are do-able, given the skills, time, finances and overall strategy of the business. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn’t break them.

Timely Workplace Wellness Program Goals: When do you hope to achieve the goal? Next week? Next year? Without a timeframe, the goal is still not clear and is much less likely to galvanize resources and energy within your business.

“Reduce the percent of employees who use tobacco from 20% to 10%” is much less of a challenge than “By the end of 2010, reduce the percent of employees who use tobacco from 20% to 15%”.

If your business is interested in measuring the impact of your Workplace Wellness Program efforts in future years, you’ll want to gather relevant baseline data on the health and health behaviors of your employee population.

Workplace Wellness Program Data on your employee population

Health Risk Assessments

Some health plans offer businesses free web-based health risk assessments (HRA), complete with summary aggregate reports. If your health plan does not offer a free HRA, you could pay for an HRA either through your health plan or through a third party vendor.

To encourage participating in an HRA, assure employees of confidentiality and consider providing incentives and rewards for completing the assessment. The higher the participation rate, the more likely that the aggregate data will accurately represent the behaviors and risks of your employee population.

Workplace Wellness Program Health Surveys

You can get a general sense of employees’ health-related attitudes and behaviors using a “lowtech” paper survey. As with a health risk assessment, employees will be more likely to respond to a survey if there is an incentive and if they are confident that their responses are confidential. Remember that without widespread participation you’ll only get a “feel” for employee behaviors rather than a statistically accurate picture.

Workplace Wellness Program Focus Groups and Informational Interviews

The information you can collect from focus groups or informational interviews with employees is an important supplement to the anonymous survey or HRA data. Listening to employees discuss their attitudes, values, receptivity and barriers related to health provides a wealth of information on which to base decisions on how to improve your business’s Workplace Wellness Program. Workplace Wellness Program focus groups are especially useful for securing information from hard-to-reach employee populations, such as those for whom English is a learned language.

Keep Workplace Wellness Program focus groups small (8-19 employees, ideally all of a similar job class). If possible, offer incentives and rewards such as movie tickets or lunch, to recruit participants. Develop a list of open-ended questions in advance and allow 60-90 minutes for the discussion.

Informational interviews are an alternative to Workplace Wellness Program focus groups. The Workplace Wellness Program coordinator of your health improvement Procedures or selected members of the Health and Wellness Committee can conduct one-on-one interviews with employees in a variety of positions to better understand their attitudes, interests and barriers related to a) health behaviors and b) the workplace policies, settings and practices.

Population data

If data on the employee population are not available, you can use state or national data to estimate the prevalence of risk behaviors among employees.

In addition to looking at the health behaviors of employees, take a good look at your business. The following questions can help you identify opportunities for your business to support and encourage healthy behaviors among employees.

A strong foundation for employee health improvement

1. To what extent does the senior management in your business actively and visibly support the Workplace Wellness Program?

__ No support for the Workplace Wellness Program
__ Support, but not at senior level
__ Support at senior level, but not visible to employees
__ Strong and visible Workplace Wellness Program support
Comments:

2. Is the Workplace Wellness Program tied to your business’s mission statement?

__ No
__ Yes, the Workplace Wellness Program is tied to business plan OR mission statement
__ Yes, the Workplace Wellness Program is tied to both business plan and mission statement
Comments:

3. Is there an employee within your business whose job responsibilities include Workplace Wellness Program coordination?

__ No
__ Yes, but has little time available to dedicate to Workplace Wellness Program
__ Yes, and has at least part of the job dedicated to Workplace Wellness Program
__ Yes, and has at least one full-time position dedicated to Workplace Wellness Program
__ Yes, and has at least part of the job dedicated to wellness AND has a background that includes Workplace Wellness Program qualifications
__ Yes, our business has at least one full-time position dedicated to health improvement AND the employee’s background includes Workplace Wellness Program qualifications
Comments:

4. Does your business have an active wellness committee with diverse representation?

__ No (does not have a Health and Wellness Committee, or has a committee that doesn’t meet)
__ Yes, we have a Health and Wellness Committee, but with limited representation
__ Yes, we have a Health and Wellness Committee with widespread representation
__ Yes, we have a Health and Wellness Committee with widespread representation AND committee involvement is part of each representative’s job responsibilities
Comments:

5. Does your business have an annual budget for Workplace Wellness Program expenses? (Workplace Wellness Program expenses may be associated with providing a health assessment, paying for behavior change programs/coaching programs, covering incentives and rewards that encourage healthy behaviors, subsidizing healthy food options, communications and programs around specific health topics, fitness centers/walking paths, etc).

__ No
__ Yes, but funds are earmarked for Workplace Wellness Programs (e.g. only for Weight Watchers or fitness discounts) and do not meet all existing Workplace Wellness Program needs
__ Yes, funds are available to meet current Workplace Wellness Program needs
Comments:

6. Does your business have a plan for engaging employees in the Workplace Wellness Program?

__ No
__ Yes, we have a communications plan for our Workplace Wellness Program
__ Yes, we have a communication plan AND we offer meaningful incentives or rewards (such as premium discounts or debit cards) for the Workplace Wellness Program to engage in healthy behaviors.
Comments:

A data-based approach to the Workplace Wellness Program

7. Does your business have clearly stated Workplace Wellness Program objectives and priorities for employee health improvement?

__ No
__ Yes
__ Yes, data (e.g. HRA, claims, productivity) are the basis for defining Workplace Wellness Program objectives or priorities
__ Yes, data AND evidence-based best practices are a basis for defining Workplace Wellness Program objectives or priorities
__ Yes, data and best practices are basis for defining Workplace Wellness Program objectives or priorities as well as measuring Workplace Wellness Program progress (evaluation)
Comments:

8. Has your business completed a Health Risk Assessment?

__ No
__ Yes, but more than 2 years ago
__ Yes, within the last two years, and achieved a participation rate of less than 50%
__ Yes, within the last two years, and achieved a 50% - 79% participation rate
__ Yes, within the last two years, and achieved an 80% or greater participation rate
Comments:

A workplace setting that supports healthy behaviors

9. Does your business’s tobacco reduction strategy reflect best practices?

(Check all that apply)
__ A no-tobacco use policy that includes both buildings AND grounds
__ 100% coverage for the cost of over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy
__ Staff Member access to – and strong promotion of — a tailored stop-smoking program
Comments:

10. Does your business provide opportunities (time and places) for physical activity during the work day?

__ No
__ Yes, indoor places for physical activity (on-site fitness center) OR outdoor places for physical activity (walking paths)
__ Yes, both indoor AND outdoor places for physical activity
__ Yes, indoor and outdoor opportunities AND workers can use work time for physical activity
Comments:

11. Does your business promote healthy eating by providing access to fruits and vegetables?

__ No
__ Yes, fruits and vegetables are available at the workplace (in vending machines, break areas, or cafeterias)
__ Yes, fruits and vegetables are available and discounted at the workplace
Comments:

Benefits that support employee health improvement

12. Does your business provide employees with self-care resources?

(Check all that apply)
__ Distribution of self-care books
__ web-based access to health information
__ Nurse advice line
Comments:

13. Which of the following preventive services are covered at 100% by your business’s health benefits?

(Check all that apply)
__ Vision screening
__ Hearing
__ Immunizations (per CDC/ACIP recommendations)
__ Radiology
__ Laboratory services
__ STD screening
__ Preventive medical examination for adults
__ Cancer screen (includes: colon, cervical, breast, prostate and ovarian cancers)
__ Contraceptive management
Comments:

14. Which of the following are included in your business’s pharmacy benefit?

(Check all that apply)
__ Mail order or other 90-day supply option for medications
__ Specialty pharmacy network
__ Incentive-based tiered formulary design
Comments:

15. Do your business’s health benefits provide coverage for behavioral health (such as depression, mental illness, counseling, stress management, and chemical dependency)?

__ Yes, at the same level as medical benefits
__ Yes, but at a lower level (less coverage) than medical benefits
__ No coverage for mental or behavioral health
Comments:

Why it’s important and how to do it

The Workplace Wellness Program Vision

A Workplace Wellness Program vision statement is a concise statement that summarizes the purpose and objectives of your business’s commitment to beginning a Workplace Wellness Program. Taking the time to clarify and describe your business’s Workplace Wellness Program vision can provide a focus and a consistent direction for your Procedures for years to come. The vision statement reminds leaders and employees of the link between employee health and the business’s ability to achieve its overall mission.

Answer the following questions and you’ll have the components needed to build a simple and powerful Workplace Wellness Program vision for your business’s culture of wellness:

• What do you want your Workplace Wellness Program to accomplish?
• How do you plan to accomplish it?
• How does this Workplace Wellness Program mission support or further the business’s mission?

A sample Workplace Wellness Program vision statement might be . . .

To have employees who perform at their best and who enable XYZ Corporation to be an industry leader in printing quality and customer service (business’s mission), XYZ Corporation is committed to providing opportunities for healthy behaviors during the workday (how) in order to encourage employees not to smoke, to be active, and to eat healthfully (what).

The Workplace Wellness Program Brand

In the same way that your business’s name and brand image provide visibility for your business, your Procedures toward beginning a Workplace Wellness Program will benefit from being easily recognizable to employees:

• A consistently used Workplace Wellness Program brand on all communications conveys to employees that the commitment to a culture of wellness is here to stay.
• A Workplace Wellness Program brand institutionalizes the culture and makes it more likely to withstand changes in staff and budget.

Do what you can to engage employees in beginning the identity (brand) for your business’s Workplace Wellness Program. Not only are they more likely to accept the name, it’s also a great way to announce to employees the business’s Workplace Wellness Program commitment. Here are two possible approaches to involving employees:

Option 1: Have a Workplace Wellness Program contest

1. Announce the Workplace Wellness Program contest guidelines and deadline.
2. Have the Health and Wellness Committee review the ideas submitted, and select a name.

If, for example, your business, Premier Building and Design, is in the commercial construction business, you might receive the following Workplace Wellness Program ideas from employees:

• Cornerstone: Feeling well is what it’s all about
• Premier Elements: Building healthier employees
• Custom Build: Building health builds wealth
• Building Health: Designing better employee health

After reviewing the entries, your Health and Wellness Committee determines that it likes the name “Premier Elements” and the subtitle “Building health builds wealth”. Your committee awards the “name the Workplace Wellness Program contest” prize to the two employees, those who submitted the pieces of the name that represent the final product.

Premier Elements: Building health builds wealth

3. Select a Workplace Wellness Program logo to go with the name.

The Workplace Wellness Program logo is an important piece of the branding

• Review any ideas submitted for Workplace Wellness Program logos.
• If you’re fortunate to have a graphic design professional at your business, enlist her or his help with developing the Workplace Wellness Program logo!
• As an alternative, select a piece of clip-art that fits with the Workplace Wellness Program name you’ve selected. For example, the business referenced above might look for a symbol that conveys building, health and wealth.

Option 2: Health and Wellness Committee determines the name and brand

1. Have your Health and Wellness Committee brainstorm Workplace Wellness Program names.
• To get ideas flowing, ask members to write down all health-related words and words associated with your business or industry.
• Try clustering words together as in the construction business example above.
2. Once your Health and Wellness Committee has narrowed down the possibilities to about three ideas, have committee members vote to select a name for your culture of wellness.
3. Select a Workplace Wellness Program logo to go with the winning name.
4. Announce the business’s Workplace Wellness Program and the corresponding Workplace Wellness Program name. Explain that workers on the advisory committee chose the name.

Sample Workplace Wellness Program meeting agendas and topics for discussion

Is your business’s Workplace Wellness Program Health and Wellness Committee new?  Has it existed on paper but been inactive for a while?  In either case, some of the following may be appropriate agenda items for your first Workplace Wellness Program meetings.   You may also want to revisit these topics annually.

•    Clarify roles of Health and Wellness Committee members
­    Are members responsible for implementing changes or recommending changes?
­    How long are members’ terms on the Health and Wellness Committee?
­    How will new members be selected?

•    Determine Health and Wellness Committee meeting frequency and processes
­    Determine dates, times, and locations.
­    Determine how agendas will be set.
­    Plan for recording and distributing meeting notes.

•    Plan Workplace Wellness Program communication with upper management
­    Does a leader sit on the group or does the coordinator report on progress (and to whom)?
­    How frequently do leaders want reports on Workplace Wellness Program progress?

•    Select a name and brand for your business’s Workplace Wellness Program

•    Create a vision statement for your business’s Workplace Wellness Program

•    Identify existing allies Workplace Wellness Program for promoting employee health within your business
­    Who do Health and Wellness Committee members know who could be relied on to support workplace changes required to develop a culture that encourages health?

•    Brainstorm challenges your business may face in working to develop facilities, policies and Workplace Wellness Program practices that promote employee health
­    What do committee members regard as opportunities? How about potential Workplace Wellness Program obstacles?

•    History of past Workplace Wellness Program efforts
­    If relevant, summarize past Workplace Wellness Program efforts. Discuss what your business learned from those efforts.
?    What has the business tried over the last few years?
?    What has worked well?
?    What hasn’t worked well?
?    How, if at all, was success of previous Workplace Wellness Program efforts measured?

A representative Health and Wellness Committee is a cornerstone of a successful Workplace Wellness Program, regardless of the size of the business.

Membership of your Health and Wellness Committee

Aim for a committee of a manageable size (no more than 15 members, depending on your business’s size). Your Health and Wellness Committee should represent all employee groups (e.g., full-time and part-time employees, 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:

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

Role of your Health and Wellness Committee

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

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

Functioning of your Health and Wellness Committee

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

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

Check-in. At least once a year, evaluate how effectively the Health and Wellness Committee is functioning. Is the Health and Wellness 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 Workplace Wellness Program roles and responsibilities? Are there members who want to rotate off of the committee? How will new members be selected?

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

How much to budget for the Workplace Wellness Program?

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for beginning a Workplace 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 Workplace Wellness Program. Consider the following common expenses in developing an adequate Workplace Wellness Program budget:

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

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

Sustaining Workplace Wellness Program Financing

A dedicated Workplace Wellness Program line item in your business’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 Workplace Wellness Program is frequent communication to upper management, including:

• How many employees have you reached through the Workplace Wellness Program? Has morale increased? Have health risks decreased, e.g., fewer employees using tobacco, more employees active?
• How well are you managing the Workplace 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 Workplace Wellness Program success stories from employees. Don’t underestimate the power of a good story to put a human face on your success.

Supplemental sources of Workplace Wellness Program Financing

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