Employee Health Promotion

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?