Employee Health Promotion

Establishing an active Health Promotion Committee provides opportunities for both executive management and worker involvement in the health promotion program.  The Committee should be a team of personnel and managers who formally meet to plan activities to promote healthier worker lifestyles.

Typical Functions of a Health Promotion Committee -

o  Investigating needs and interests

o  Brainstorming health promotion program ideas

o  Developing activities

o  Developing communication plans

o  Advertising wellness programs to colleagues

o  Serving as champions of the Health Promotion Programs

o  Helping with investigation

Your Wellness Committee should be representative of all levels of the business.  Consider all areas of the workforce â.” multiple sites, shift personnel, diversity (race, gender, ethnicity), and departments.

It’s also crucial that you consider who’ll chair or co-chair the Wellness Committee and whether or not there are the finances to support a wellness manager or occupational health specialist, even on a part-time or contractual basis.  Click here for additional information on the benefits of a health specialist.

Depending on your corporation size and resources, when you already have a corporation Safety Committee you could want to consider making it the Safety and Wellness Committee.  You can request volunteers or invite workers to participate.

The number of Wellness Committee members depends on the size of your company; nevertheless, you need enough members to get the work done and yet not too many to keep it manageable, usually a minimum of 4 members and maximum of 12 to 15 members.

It is imperative that you include skeptics of wellness as well and not just those workforce already practicing healthful life choices.

Depending on your workplace, consider representatives from the following areas -

o  Worker representatives from a cross section of different departments,

o  Upper-Level management ,

o  Health and safety expert(s),

o  Human resources expert(s),

o  Benefits staff or someone from finance,

o  Your employee assistance program (EAP) provider (if applicable), Click here for additional information on EAPs

o  Medical or occupational health staff (if applicable).

Establish an effective Wellness Committee!  the Wellness Committee should meet regularly with a planned agenda and action items.  Successful Wellness Committees have a shared mission, vision and objectives.

Members need to believe that their participation is worthwhile and appreciated, that their work is important, benefits the corporation and peers, and they’re recognized for their contributions. Refer to the NC Workplace Programs section for instances of what other corporations have implemented.

As with any wellness program, the two vital elements for the success of your wellness program are upper-level management support and employee involvement. Executive management sets the vision and provides the resources from which action plans flow.

Genuine support from upper-level management also lends credibility to the wellness program. It is key that upper-level management be visible supporters and role models for your Wellness Program.

Employees need to be involved on several levels so that they feel ownership of the health promotion program. Employees are the health promotion program stakeholders!

All personnel should’ve an opportunity to provide input and feedback through needs and interest surveys and wellness program examination tools.  The information gathered should be used to plan wellness programs that target those needs and interests to ensure participation, buy-in, and support.

There are a few methods to identify employee needs and interests such as -

o  Conducting Worker Focus Groups

o  Discussing Wellness Interests During Department Meetings

o  Distributing and Summarizing a Needs and Interest Survey

o  Including an Opportunity to Give Suggestions on Each Examination Tool

Any one or combination of a few techniques will ensure that the health promotion program meets what staff want.  Click here for a sample Needs and Interest Survey.

Step 3 provides additional information on determining health promotion program needs.  But first, establishing a Wellness Committee can help you involve senior level management and staff members, determine need, and plan your health promotion program.