Employee Health Promotion

Creating an active Employee Health Promotion Committee provides opportunities for both upper management and employee participation in the program. The Wellness Committee ought to be a group of employees and managers who formally meet to plan activities to encourage healthier employee lifestyles. Typical Functions of a Employee Health Promotion Committee:

• Evaluating needs & interests
• Coming up with program ideas
• Starting activities
• Establishing communication plans
• Promoting programs to co-employees
• Serving as champions of the Employee Health Promotion Programs
• Assisting with evaluation

Your Employee Health Promotion Committee ought to be representative of all levels of the business. Consider all sections of the workforce – multiple sites, shift employees, diversity (race, gender, ethnicity), and departments. It’s also valuable to consider who will chair or co-chair the Employee Health Promotion Committee and whether or not there are the finances to support a Employee Health Promotion manager or occupational health consultant, even on a part-time or contractual basis. Click here for more information on the benefits of a health consultant. Depending on your business size and resources, if you already have a business Safety Committee you might want to think about making it the Safety & Employee Health Promotion Committee. You have the potential to request volunteers or invite employees to participate. The number of Employee Health Promotion Committee members depends on the size of your business; however, 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’s valuable to include skeptics of wellness as well and not just those employees already practicing healthy lifestyles. Depending on your worksite, consider representatives from the following areas:

• Employee representatives from a cross section of different departments
• Senior Leadership
• Health and safety consultant(s)
• Human resources consultant(s)
• Employee benefits representative or someone from finance
• Your EAP provider (if applicable), Click here for more information on EAPs
• Occupational health employee (if applicable).

Establish a strong Employee Health Promotion Committee! The Employee Health Promotion Committee ought to meet often with a planned agenda and action items. Effective Wellness Committees have a shared mission, vision and goals/objectives. Participants must believe that their participation is worthwhile and appreciated, that their work is valuable, benefits the organization and co-employees, and they are appreciated for their contributions. Refer to the NC Workplace Programs section for examples of what other organizations have implemented.