Employee Health Promotion

Sample Employee Health Promotion Program meeting agendas and topics for discussion

Is your organization’s Employee Health Promotion 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 Employee Health Promotion 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
­    Set dates, times, and locations.
­    Determine how agendas will be set.
­    Plan for recording and distributing meeting notes.

•    Plan Employee Health Promotion Program communication with leadership
­    Does a leader sit on the group or does the coordinator report on progress (and to whom)?
­    How often do leaders want reports on Employee Health Promotion Program progress?

•    Select a name and brand for your organization’s Employee Health Promotion Program

•    Develop a vision statement for your organization’s Employee Health Promotion Program

•    Identify existing allies Employee Health Promotion Program for promoting employee health within your organization
­    Who do Health and Wellness Committee members know who could be relied on to support workplace changes needed to develop a culture that promotes health?

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

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

A representative Health and Wellness Committee is a cornerstone of a successful Employee Health Promotion Program, regardless of the size of the organization.

Membership of your Health and Wellness Committee

Aim for a committee of a manageable size (no more than 15 members, depending on your organization’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 organization’s Employee Health Promotion 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 Employee Health Promotion Program.
• Consider providing an incentive or recognition to Health and Wellness Committee members. It legitimizes their positions and encourages participation. Some organizations that have started 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 component of the member’s job accountabilities.

Role of your Health and Wellness Committee

In some organizations the Health and Wellness Committee is responsible for the implementation of the Employee Health Promotion Program. In other organizations, 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 organization’s Employee Health Promotion Program.
• Represent their peers by sharing ideas, needs, concerns and feedback from their work areas and colleagues about proposed Employee Health Promotion Program Strategies, policies, and programs.
• Provide feedback on the possible barriers to proposed Employee Health Promotion Program Strategies and offer suggestions for addressing those barriers (e.g., how does a proposed policy fit with the schedules of employees?).
• Suggest effective Employee Health Promotion Program communication Strategies 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 leadership?
• 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 frequently at first, then slightly less often 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 frequent and regular channels of communication with Health and Wellness 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 Employee Health Promotion 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 Employee Health Promotion Program roles and responsibilities? Are there members who want to rotate off of the committee? How will new members be selected?