Employee Health Promotion

A Employee Health Promotion without goals/objectives is somewhat akin to taking a family trip without any planning; you won’t know where you’re going, how to get there, what you want to do once you have arrived, or even whether or not you have arrived! The trip may end up ok, or it may end up disastrously. Yet, with a modest amount of thoughtful planning, you broaden your chances for a successful experience. Clear goals/objectives are necessitated to plan your wellness program in order to ensure success! Wellness program goals/objectives are different from one business to another depending on the population, needs, interests and resources. However, well thought out objectives based on your company’s needs assessment will form the foundation of a successful wellness program!

Employee Health Promotion Mission Statement

The first consideration is a mission statement for your Employee Health Promotion . The mission statement is the central expression of what the Employee Health Promotion Committee wants to accomplish by launching a wellness program. It is valuable to consider how your Employee Health Promotion fits in with the business mission statement, contributes to the central mission and supports the business bottom line. This will integrate your efforts throughout the business operations.

Here are some examples of Employee Health Promotion mission statements:

“At XYZ Corporation, maintaining an environment that supports employee health and safety is our underlying value. It is the mission of the Employee Health Promotion to assist in planning Employee Health Promotion services that fosters and upholds that value.” “It is the mission of the XYZ Employee Health Promotion Committee to cultivate healthier lifestyle choices to decrease health risk factors, better central well-being, and maintain a constructive, active work force.”

Employee Health Promotion Goals

The goals/objectives further define your mission and are based on your needs assessment. Depending on the needs assessment, upper management expectations and employee interests, examples of goals/objectives can include: The objective(s) of XYZ Employee Health Promotion in year XXXX is to: (one or more of the following examples)

• Decrease absenteeism by one day per employee
• Cut down on musculoskeletal injuries by 10%
• Cut down on unnecessary emergency room visits
• Cut down on or contain healthcare costs
• Improve dietary habits of employees
• Cut down on health risk factors

Employee Health Promotion Objectives

Specific Employee Health Promotion objectives help meet your long-term goals/objectives. Both short term and long term objectives ought to be developed as the stepping stones to accomplish the goals/objectives. In addition to objectives for the expected attendant outcomes, process objectives ought to also be developed for the program process itself. For example, process objectives may include the number of employees you want to participate in the programs, the number of sessions on a topic will be available, the type of wellness sessions that will be implemented, etc. Objectives must be easily measurable within a set time frame. Try using the SMART formula to create both your long and short-term goals/objectives:

• Specific (one behavior or outcome)
• Measurable (one result that can be observed or evaluated)
• Attainable (but also challenging)
• Realistic (do you have the resources to achieve?), and
• Time specific (within 3 months – up to 5 years)

This is the who, what, when, where, why, and by how much method. For example, a goal for a weight loss program that has an central objective of improving healthy eating and promoting a healthy weight is that: Participants (who) will lose an average of .5 – 1 lbs per week (specific what that is measurable) at the end of the 12 week lunchtime program (time specific what, when and where) for a minimum of 6 lbs weight loss per attendant (attainable and realistic). Or: Participants (who) will go to 11 of the 12 sessions (specific what that is measurable) and name at least one healthier eating change at the end of the program (specific what, when, where) An example of a goal for coaching employees with high cholesterol might be: To decrease the total cholesterol (specific what) of elevated risk employees with cholesterol over 240 mg/dl (specific who) to 200 mg/dl (measurable how much) through one-on-one counseling sessions available at the worksite (where) by X date (ex, after 6 months) (attainable, realistic & time specific when) to decrease the risk factor for heart disease (why). And one last example of a process mission for a tobacco cessation program with an central objective to assist participants in committing to quit for life: By the end of the 4-week tobacco cessation program, 10% of the participants will have quit smoking. Each attendant will be contacted at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months from the program’s end to determine quit status (process mission) and 10% of those who quit will still be smoke-free after one year. You have now completed Steps 1 through 4, including establishing your Employee Health Promotion Committee. It is now time to plan your wellness activities!