Employer WellnessEmployer wellness programs and employer wellness consulting services

If your employer is interested in measuring the impact of your Employer Wellness Program efforts in future years, you’ll want to gather relevant baseline data on the health and health behaviors of your staff member population.

Employer Wellness Program Data on your staff member population

Health Risk Assessments

Some health plans offer corporations free internet-based Health Risk Assessments, complete with summary aggregate reports. If your healthcare plan does not offer a free HRA, you could pay for an HRA either through your healthcare plan or through a third party vendor.

To encourage taking part in an HRA, assure staff members of confidentiality and consider offering rewards for completing the assessment. The higher the participation rate, the more likely that the aggregate data will accurately represent the behaviors and risks of your staff member population.

Employer Wellness Program Health Surveys

You can get a general sense of staff members’ health-related attitudes and behaviors using a “lowtech” paper survey. As with a health risk assessment, staff members will be more likely to respond to a survey if there is an incentive and if they are confident that their responses are confidential. Remember that without widespread participation you’ll only get a “feel” for staff member behaviors rather than a statistically accurate picture.

Employer Wellness Program Focus Groups and Informational Interviews

The information you can collect from focus groups or informational interviews with staff members is an important supplement to the anonymous survey or HRA data. Listening to staff members discuss their attitudes, values, receptivity and barriers related to health provides a wealth of information on which to base decisions on how to increase your employer’s Employee Health Promotion Program. Employer Wellness Program focus groups are especially useful for getting information from hard-to-reach staff member populations, such as those for whom English is a learned language.

Keep Employer Wellness Program focus groups small (8-19 staff members, ideally all of a similar job class). If possible, offer rewards such as movie tickets or lunch, to recruit participants. Develop a list of open-ended questions in advance and allow 60-90 minutes for the discussion.

Informational interviews are an alternative to Employer Wellness Program focus groups. The Employer Wellness Program coordinator of your health improvement Procedures or selected members of the Health Promotion Committee can conduct one-on-one interviews with staff members in a variety of positions to better understand their attitudes, interests and barriers related to a) health behaviors and b) the workplace policies, environments and practices.

Population data

If data on the employee population are not available, you can use state or national data to estimate the prevalence of risk behaviors among staff members.

In addition to looking at the health behaviors of staff members, take a good look at your employer. The following questions can help you identify opportunities for your employer to support and encourage healthy behaviors among staff members.

A strong foundation for employee health improvement

1. To what extent does the senior management in your employer actively and visibly support the Employee Health Promotion Program?

__ No support for the Employer Wellness Program
__ Support, but not at senior level
__ Support at senior level, but not visible to staff members
__ Strong and visible Employer Wellness Program support
Comments:

2. Is the Employer Wellness Program tied to your employer’s mission statement?

__ No
__ Yes, the Employer Wellness Program is tied to business plan OR mission statement
__ Yes, the Employer Wellness Program is tied to both business plan and mission statement
Comments:

3. Is there an staff member within your employer whose job responsibilities include Employer Wellness Program coordination?

__ No
__ Yes, but has little time available to dedicate to Employer Wellness Program
__ Yes, and has at least component of the job dedicated to Employer Wellness Program
__ Yes, and has at least one full-time position dedicated to Employer Wellness Program
__ Yes, and has at least component of the job dedicated to wellness AND has a background that includes Employer Wellness Program qualifications
__ Yes, our employer has at least one full-time position dedicated to health improvement AND the staff member’s background includes Employer Wellness Program qualifications
Comments:

4. Does your employer have an active wellness committee with diverse representation?

__ No (does not have a Health Promotion Committee, or has a committee that doesn’t meet)
__ Yes, we have a Health Promotion Committee, but with limited representation
__ Yes, we have a Health Promotion Committee with widespread representation
__ Yes, we have a Health Promotion Committee with widespread representation AND committee involvement is part of each representative’s job responsibilities
Comments:

5. Does your employer have an annual budget for Employer Wellness Program expenses? (Employee Wellness Program expenses may be associated with offering a health assessment, paying for behavior change programs/coaching programs, covering rewards that encourage healthy behaviors, subsidizing healthy food options, communications and activities around specific health topics, fitness centers/walking paths, etc).

__ No
__ Yes, but funds are earmarked for Employee Health Promotion Programs (e.g. only for Weight Watchers or fitness discounts) and do not meet all existing Employer Wellness Program needs
__ Yes, funds are available to meet current Employer Wellness Program needs
Comments:

6. Does your employer have a plan for engaging staff members in the Employee Health Promotion Program?

__ No
__ Yes, we have a communications plan for our Employer Wellness Program
__ Yes, we have a communication plan AND we offer meaningful incentives or rewards (such as premium discounts or debit cards) for the Employer Wellness Program to engage in healthy behaviors.
Comments:

A data-based approach to the Employer Wellness Program

7. Does your employer have clearly stated Employer Wellness Program goals and priorities for employee health improvement?

__ No
__ Yes
__ Yes, data (e.g. HRA, claims, productivity) are the basis for defining Employer Wellness Program goals or priorities
__ Yes, data AND evidence-based best practices are a basis for defining Employer Wellness Program goals or priorities
__ Yes, data and best practices are basis for defining Employer Wellness Program goals or priorities as well as measuring Employer Wellness Program progress (assessment)
Comments:

8. Has your employer completed a Health Risk Assessment?

__ No
__ Yes, but more than 2 years ago
__ Yes, within the last two years, and achieved a participation rate of less than 50 percent
__ Yes, within the last two years, and achieved a 50 percent – 79 percent participation rate
__ Yes, within the last two years, and achieved an 80 percent or greater participation rate
Comments:

A workplace environment that supports healthy behaviors

9. Does your employer’s tobacco reduction strategy reflect best practices?

(Check all that apply)
__ A no-smoking policy that includes both buildings AND grounds
__ 100 percent coverage for the cost of over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy
__ Worker access to – and strong promotion of — a tailored stop-smoking program
Comments:

10. Does your employer provide opportunities (time and places) for physical activity during the work day?

__ No
__ Yes, indoor places for physical activity (on-site fitness center) OR outdoor places for physical activity (walking paths)
__ Yes, both indoor AND outdoor places for physical activity
__ Yes, indoor and outdoor opportunities AND staff members can use work time for physical activity
Comments:

11. Does your employer promote healthy eating by offering access to fruits and vegetables?

__ No
__ Yes, fruits and vegetables are available at the workplace (in vending machines, break areas, or cafeterias)
__ Yes, fruits and vegetables are available and discounted at the workplace
Comments:

Benefits that support employee health improvement

12. Does your employer provide staff members with self-care resources?

(Check all that apply)
__ Distribution of self-care books
__ internet-based access to health information
__ Nurse advice line
Comments:

13. Which of the following preventive services are covered at 100 percent by your employer’s health benefits?

(Check all that apply)
__ Vision screening
__ Hearing
__ Immunizations (per CDC/ACIP recommendations)
__ Radiology
__ Laboratory services
__ STD screening
__ Preventive health examination for adults
__ Cancer screen (includes: colon, cervical, breast, prostate and ovarian cancers)
__ Contraceptive management
Comments:

14. Which of the following are included in your employer’s pharmacy benefit?

(Check all that apply)
__ Mail order or other 90-day supply option for medications
__ Specialty pharmacy network
__ Incentive-based tiered formulary design
Comments:

15. Do your employer’s health benefits provide coverage for behavioral health (such as depression, mental illness, counseling, stress management, and chemical dependency)?

__ Yes, at the same level as health benefits
__ Yes, but at a lower level (less coverage) than health benefits
__ No coverage for mental or behavioral health
Comments:

Why it’s important and how to do it

The Employer Wellness Program Vision

A Employer Wellness Program vision statement is a concise statement that summarizes the purpose and goals of your employer’s commitment to creating a Employee Health Promotion Program. Taking the time to clarify and describe your employer’s Employer Wellness Program vision can provide a focus and a consistent direction for your Procedures for years to come. The vision statement reminds leaders and staff members of the link between staff member health and the employer’s ability to achieve its overall mission.

Answer the following questions and you’ll have the components needed to build a simple and powerful Employer Wellness Program vision for your employer’s culture of health:

• What do you want your Employer Wellness Program to accomplish?
• How do you intend to accomplish it?
• How does this Employer Wellness Program mission support or further the employer’s mission?

A sample Employer Wellness Program vision statement might be . . .

To have staff members who perform at their best and who enable XYZ Corporation to be an industry leader in printing quality and customer service (employer’s mission), XYZ Corporation is committed to offering opportunities for healthy behaviors during the workday (how) in order to encourage staff members not to smoke, to be active, and to eat healthfully (what).

The Employer Wellness Program Brand

In the same way that your employer’s name and brand image provide visibility for your business, your Procedures toward creating a Employer Wellness Program will benefit from being easily recognizable to staff members:

• A consistently used Employer Wellness Program brand on all communications sends a message to staff members that the commitment to a culture of health is here to stay.
• A Employer Wellness Program brand institutionalizes the culture and makes it more likely to withstand changes in staff and budget.

Do what you can to engage staff members in creating the identity (brand) for your employer’s Employee Health Promotion Program. Not only are they more likely to accept the name, it’s also a great way to announce to staff members the employer’s Employer Wellness Program commitment. Here are two possible approaches to involving staff members:

Option 1: Have a Employer Wellness Program contest

1. Announce the Employer Wellness Program contest guidelines and deadline.
2. Have the Health Promotion Committee review the ideas submitted, and choose a name.

If, for example, your corporation, Premier Building and Design, is in the commercial construction business, you might receive the following Employer Wellness Program ideas from staff members:

• Cornerstone: Feeling well is what it’s all about
• Premier Elements: Building healthier staff members
• Custom Build: Building health builds wealth
• Building Health: Designing better staff member health

After reviewing the entries, your Health Promotion Committee determines that it likes the name “Premier Elements” and the subtitle “Building health builds wealth”. Your committee awards the “name the Employer Wellness Program contest” prize to the two staff members, those who submitted the pieces of the name that represent the final product.

Premier Elements: Building health builds wealth

3. Select a Employer Wellness Program logo to go with the name.

The Employer Wellness Program logo is an important piece of the branding

• Review any ideas submitted for Employer Wellness Program logos.
• If you’re fortunate enough to have a graphic design professional at your corporation, enlist her or his help with developing the Employer Wellness Program logo!
• As an alternative, choose a piece of clip-art that fits with the Employer Wellness Program name you’ve selected. For example, the corporation referenced above might look for a symbol that conveys building, health and wealth.

Option 2: Health Promotion Committee determines the name and brand

1. Have your Health Promotion Committee brainstorm Employer Wellness Program names.
• To get ideas flowing, ask members to write down all health-related words and words associated with your employer or industry.
• Try clustering words together as in the construction corporation example above.
2. Once your Health Promotion Committee has narrowed down the possibilities to about three ideas, have committee members vote to select a name for your culture of health.
3. Select a Employer Wellness Program logo to go with the winning name.
4. Announce the employer’s Employer Wellness Program and the corresponding Employer Wellness Program name. Explain that staff members on the advisory committee chose the name.

Sample Employer Wellness Program meeting agendas and topics for discussion

Is your employer’s Employer Wellness Program Health Promotion 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 Employer Wellness Program meetings.   You may also want to revisit these topics each year.

•    Clarify roles of Health Promotion Committee members

­    Are members accountable for implementing changes or recommending changes?
­    How long are members’ terms on the Health Promotion Committee?
­    How will new members be selected?

•    Determine Health Promotion Committee meeting frequency and processes

­    Determine dates, times, and locations.
­    Determine how agendas will be set.
­    Plan for recording and distributing meeting notes.

•    Plan Employer Wellness Program communication with upper management

­    Does a leader sit on the group or does the coordinator report on progress (and to whom)?
­    How frequently do leaders want reports on Employer Wellness Program progress?

•    Select a name and brand for your employer’s Employer Wellness Program

•    Create a vision statement for your employer’s Employer Wellness Program

•    Identify existing allies Employer Wellness Program for promoting staff member health within your employer
­    Who do Health Promotion Committee members know who could be relied on to support workplace changes needed to develop a culture that encourages health?

•    Brainstorm challenges your employer may face in working to develop facilities, policies and Employer Wellness Program practices that promote staff member health
­    What do committee members regard as opportunities? How about potential Employer Wellness Program obstacles?

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

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

Membership of your Health Promotion Committee

Aim for a committee of a manageable size (no more than 15 members, depending on your employer’s size). Your Health Promotion Committee should represent all employee groups (e.g., full-time and part-time staff members, managers and front-line staff, salary and hourly employees, union representation, Human Resources, marketing or communications, legal, and occupational health/safety).

Here are some additional considerations:

• Health Promotion Committee members can be selected by leadership or can be selected from among volunteers.
• Determine in advance how long Health Promotion Committee members will support and how new members will be selected. Balance the need for continuity with the need to bring fresh ideas and energy to your employer’s Employee Health Promotion Program.
• It’s not necessary, or even desirable, to have your healthiest staff members on the Health Promotion Committee. Ideal Health Promotion Committee members are those who best can represent their peers, motivate others and support the implementation of the Employee Health Promotion Program.
• Consider offering an incentive or recognition to Health Promotion Committee members. It legitimizes their positions and encourages participation. Some employers that have started stipends have generated enough staff member interest that the selection of Health Promotion Committee membership becomes a competitive process. The Health Promotion Committee responsibilities become a formal component of the member’s job accountabilities.

Role of your Health Promotion Committee

In some employers the Health Promotion Committee is accountable for the implementation of the Employee Health Promotion Program. In other employers, the Health Promotion Committee plays an advisory role. In either case, the group members can be asked to:

• Attend regular meetings of the Health Promotion Committee.
• Help develop a vision and name for the employer’s Employee Health Promotion Program.
• Represent their peers by sharing ideas, needs, concerns and feedback from their work areas and colleagues about proposed Employer Wellness Program Procedures, policies, and programs.
• Make available feedback on the possible barriers to proposed Employer Wellness Program Procedures and offer suggestions for addressing those barriers (e.g., how does a proposed policy fit with the schedules of staff members?).
• Suggest effective Employer Wellness Program communication Procedures and solutions to challenges. For example, what is the best way to communicate with staff members who work the third shift? How will staff members react to a proposed message from upper management?
• Be a voice of support for a culture of health, carrying the message from the Health Promotion Committee to their work areas and colleagues.

Functioning of your Health Promotion Committee

Meet. Schedule regular Health Promotion Committee meetings on paid work time. Your Health Promotion Committee may want to meet regulary at first, then slightly less frequently as your health improvement strategy is more established. If your Health Promotion Committee is new, it might be useful to ask members to provide information about themselves and their interests.

Communicate. Set up frequent channels of communication with Health Promotion Committee members so they are up to date and engaged. An email list is frequently the easiest way to do this. Encourage communication to flow both ways: from Employer Wellness Program coordinator to members and from members to coordinator.

Check-in. At least once a year, evaluate how effectively the Health Promotion Committee is functioning. Is the Health Promotion 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 Employer Wellness Program roles and responsibilities? Are there members who want to rotate off of the committee? How will new members be selected?

Starting a Employer Wellness Program need not be expensive, but will require the commitment of some financial resources. If possible, include the Employer Wellness Program in your employer’s annual business plan and budget as you do for other efforts important to your employer’s success.

How much to budget for the Employee Health Promotion Program?

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for creating a Employer Wellness Program that results in improved employee health. Organizations differ in how much money they need and how much they can make available for the Employee Health Promotion Program. Consider the following common expenses in developing an adequate Employer Wellness Program budget:

• Employer Wellness Program staffing costs (either internal salaries or consultant fees)
• Employer Wellness Program data collection costs (including health risk assessment costs, if relevant)
• Employer Wellness Program rewards for healthy behaviors (such as discounts on premiums for non-smokers)
• Costs of Employer Wellness Program Procedures to be started (such as costs of covering tobacco quit medications or costs of subsidizing healthy foods in the cafeteria or vending machines)
• Employer Wellness Program administrative and communications expenses

In times of tight finances, be prepared to justify your requested Employer Wellness Program budget. Arm yourself with data on potential short- and long-term outcomes of the proposed Employer Wellness Program Procedures. Itemize the Employer Wellness Program expenses of past initiatives and share projected expenses for initiatives planned for the upcoming year.

Sustaining Employer Wellness Program Funding

A dedicated Employer Wellness Program line item in your employer’s budget makes it more likely to be regarded as a need, rather than as a “nice-to-have” amenity that could be cut when funds run low.

One of the best Procedures for ensuring continued financial support for the Employer Wellness Program is frequent communication to upper management, including:

• How many staff members have you reached through the Employee Health Promotion Program? Has morale increased? Have health risks decreased, e.g., fewer staff members using tobacco, more staff members active?
• How well are you managing the Employer Wellness Program resources you’ve been given? Where and how has your budget been spent? Keep track of the staff time needed for each initiative and be able to present the numbers at any time.
• Anecdotal Employer Wellness Program success stories from staff members. Don’t underestimate the power of a good story to put a human face on your success.

Supplemental sources of Employer Wellness Program Funding

If needed, have the individuals accountable for creating a Employer Wellness Program look for ways to supplement available internal funds. Are there grants or other funding available that can help support your Employer Wellness Program ? What community Employer Wellness Program resources could you use to meet some of your needs?

Finding an individual to guide your employer in creating a Employer Wellness Program

Without a qualified Employer Wellness Program coordinator to guide and manage your employer’s creation of a culture of health, efforts can be scattered and momentum can stall. While it’s essential that the creation of a culture of health be someone’s priority, not all employers need a full-time coordinator.  There are a number of ways to obtain the time of a qualified coordinator.

Be careful not to confuse Employer Wellness Program skills with fitness skills. You are not looking for a personal trainer or a nutritionist to run your Employee Health Promotion Program. The following are good indications that an individual may be qualified to be a Employer Wellness Program coordinator:

• knowledge of community health, population health and worksite Employee Health Promotion Programs
• competent working with and understanding aggregate data, preferably Employer Wellness Program data
• competent managing projects, including developing timelines and facilitating meetings
• competent in strategic planning, including defining goals and related objectives
• ability to understand, and use the findings of, journal articles on effective Employer Wellness Program Procedures.

What will a Employer Wellness Program coordinator do?

The Employer Wellness Program coordinator is accountable for guiding a process that establishes workplace facilities, policies and practices that promote health. The individual may do some of all of the following for your Employee Health Promotion Program:

• act as a liaison between upper management and the Employer Wellness Program employee advisory workgroup
• interpret health-related data on your Employer Wellness Program
• establishe and manage work plans and budgets for implementation of selected Employer Wellness Program Procedures
• facilitate Health Promotion Committee meetings
• guide your employer in establishing measurable goals for the Employer Wellness Program
• recommend effective Employer Wellness Program Procedures, using the evidence in the health behavior literature and national and/or recommended best practices
• document and report short-term and long-term progress on Employer Wellness Program Procedures and goals.

Where can we find a qualified Employer Wellness Program coordinator?

Explore the following when looking for a Employer Wellness Program coordinator:

• Existing staff: Are there individuals on staff who have the background, or are interested in gaining the skills, to support as a Employer Wellness Program coordinator? Is it possible to dedicate a portion of someone’s time (e.g., .5 FTE) to the position of coordinating your employer’s Employer Wellness Program Procedures? If possible, budget enough to cover not only salary but also continued learning, journal subscriptions and membership fees for this Employer Wellness Program position.
• New staff - Can you hire an individual to be your employer’s Employer Wellness Program coordinator? Would it need to be a full-time position, or would part-time be sufficient?
• Employer Wellness Program Consultation - Various employers (e.g., health plans, benefit consultants and public health departments) provide Employer Wellness Program consultation on building a culture of health within a workplace.

An outside Employer Wellness Program consultant can advise an internal Employer Wellness Program coordinator and your Health Promotion Committee on establishing priorities and deciding on Procedures. Or, you can contract with a Employer Wellness Program consultant to be your coordinator. If you select the latter approach, you’ll want to contract with the individual for sufficient hours to carry out all of the responsibilities associated with coordinating an effective strategy.

Strong and visible upper management support for the Employer Wellness Program encourages health and is essential to securing needed Employer Wellness Program resources (staff, time, and money) and implementing recommended changes.

1. Identify a Employer Wellness Program champion

In a small employer, there may be a single leader who is the clear choice to champion the Employee Health Promotion Program. In a larger employer, look for an executive with the authority to sway others in the uppermost levels of the organization regarding the Employee Health Promotion Program. The Employer Wellness Program champion need not be the fittest member of upper management. Rather, look for a Employer Wellness Program leader with the disposition to be a visible and vocal supporter of workplace policies that encourage healthy behaviors. Organizations with multiple sites can consider whether it would be useful to have an executive Employer Wellness Program champion at each site.

2. Find existing Employer Wellness Program allies

There may already be a number of individuals within your employer who recognize the value of a Employee Health Promotion Program. Think about who those individuals are in your employer; consider areas such as occupational safety, union representatives, risk management, health officers, and human resources when looking for a Employer Wellness Program ally. Gain their stated support for the Employee Health Promotion Program. Employer Wellness Program support could include contributions of staff time or expertise, financial resources, agreement to endorse/support policy and environmental changes, or agreement to participate in, and voice their support for, changes in the workplace that will help to build a culture of health.

3. Build a business case for the Employer Wellness Program

There is a reason that more and more corporations are finding a way to promote the health of the employees via a Employer Wellness Program and policies: A Employer Wellness Program makes good business sense. staff members with healthy behaviors, on average, are more productive when at work (higher presenteeism)1 and incur lower health care costs than staff members with less healthy behaviors.2,3  As a result it would be foolish not to have a Employee Health Promotion Program.

4. When developing a Employer Wellness Program use what you know about leadership styles and the decision-making process within your employer

Every employer is different. Build upper management support for the Employer Wellness Program in the way that makes the most sense for your employer. Think about the following as you plan how to approach upper management for Employer Wellness Program support:

• What are the current priorities and pressures facing executives? How could a Employer Wellness Program and a healthier workforce support those priorities?
• How do your leaders rather receive data: written documents? verbal presentations?
• What kinds of Employer Wellness Program information are likely to sway decisions? Do they want data and Employer Wellness Program statistics specific to your employer, or are state or national data sufficient? Are your leaders more influenced by internal factors or by what competitors are doing?
• Who would your leaders see as a credible messenger for this Employer Wellness Program information? Does someone from the risk management area carry more clout than someone from the human resources area?
• How do decisions get made in your employer? Informal committee meetings? Formal or informal meetings between executives? Plan accordingly and you increase the odds that the Employer Wellness Program will become a reality.

5. Maintain Employer Wellness Program support once you have it

Once you have appropriate Employer Wellness Program support, ensure that you keep it by regularly updating your leaders on the health of the employees and progress toward creating a culture that encourages health. Ask upper management how frequently they want to receive Employer Wellness Program progress reports.

Source Information:

1 Bunn, JOEM, 2006, 48:10.
2 Foldes, Bland, An et al. Modifiable Health Risks and Short-Term Health Care Costs. BC/BS of Minnesota internal research, submitted for publication.
3 Anderson, 2000, American Journal of Health Promotion, 15:1.

The workplace environment is a powerful, but frequently overlooked, element in managing staff member health.  Here we will identify some of the best-practices in creating a Employer Wellness Program that supports your organization’s employee health strategy and allows staff members to take charge of their own health.  For example, a Employer Wellness Program that includes a smoke-free workplace policy increases the likelihood that staff members will try to quit smoking and will quit using tobacco successfully. Similarly, a Employer Wellness Program that includes discounting healthy foods in your cafeteria and vending machines helps increase staff members’ consumption of healthy foods which supports your investment in disease management programs for staff members with diabetes, heart disease or hypertension. The following will guide you through the ten key steps in creating a Employer Wellness Program and workplace environment that encourages staff member health.

In an era of ever-increasing health care costs and fervent competition, corporations have a vested interest in the health of their staff members.  Studies have found that, on average, staff members with healthy behaviors (such as not using tobacco or being active for 30 minutes a day) incur lower health care expenses, are absent from work less frequently, and are more productive when at work (higher presenteeism) than staff members with unhealthy behaviors.

Employee Health Promotion Program: Securing Upper Management Support

Employer Wellness Program support from the uppermost level of upper management is essential to your success in creating a culture of health within your workplace. Look for Employer Wellness Program support from a leader who is respected by and can sway other leaders. (It’s not necessary that he or she be the fittest executive within your organization just that they directly support the Employee Health Promotion Program.) You will be relying on this culture-of-health champion to advocate for changes that you recommend and to ensure the organization allocates adequate Employer Wellness Program resources (staff, time, and money) to maintain and improve the workplace policies, physical environment, and social norms.

Gain Employer Wellness Program Staff and Financing

Starting and maintaining a Employer Wellness Program within your employer needs to be someone’s priority. However, unless your employer is quite large, you likely don’t need to hire a full-time staff person for the Employee Health Promotion Program.  There are a number of ways to find an individual with the needed skills to guide and support your employer’s Employee Health Promotion Program.

Starting facilities and Employer Wellness Program policies, such as those allowing staff members to be physically active during the workday, does not need to be expensive, but it does require adequate and sustained funding.  If possible, include the creation of a workplace environment that supports the Employer Wellness Program as a permanent component of the operating budget; that helps to ensure it’s an ongoing priority for your employer.

Worker Involvement in the Employer Wellness Program

Pulling together a cross section of staff members to advise your employer’s Employer Wellness Program ensures that improvements in workplace facilities, policies and practices address the true needs and barriers of all groups of staff members.   In addition, these staff members can support as the front-line Employer Wellness Program supporters of policies and practices with their peers.

Create a Employer Wellness Program Vision and “Brand”

A Employer Wellness Program vision and a brand are powerful first steps in turning a Employer Wellness Program from an idea to a reality. What would you like your workplace environment to look like five years from now? A succinct Employer Wellness Program vision statement summarizes for all (staff members and leaders alike) the reasons for creating a Employee Health Promotion Program. It also reminds everyone of the link between staff member health and your employer’s ability to achieve its overall mission.

Branding your employer’s Employer Wellness Program sends a message to staff members that the employer’s commitment and support of healthy behaviors is important and is here to stay. Select a Employer Wellness Program name and logo that resonate with staff members. Then use that brand on all Employer Wellness Program communications with staff members about the policies, facilities and programs your employer offers to promote healthy behaviors.

Determine Your Existing Employer Wellness Program Situation

Exactly how your employer establishes a Employer Wellness Program that encourages healthy eating, physical activity, and reduces tobacco use will depend on the unique characteristics of your employer and employee population.

Determine how the current workplace facilities, policies, and unwritten norms support — or discourage — healthy behaviors.

Gather information on the health and health-related behaviors of your employee population.  The most common method is by using a validated health risk assessment. If you don’t have data specific to your staff members, you can estimate the prevalence of different health risks and behaviors within your employee population using state or national data.  Note: Information on staff members’ health interests alone is not sufficient; but can be a useful supplement to health risk data and might help you set priorities.

Determine Employer Wellness Program Goals and Priorities

Use what you’ve learned about the health of the employees and about your current workplace environment to determine your employer’s Employer Wellness Program priorities. From those Employer Wellness Program priorities, define clear and measurable Employer Wellness Program goals for improving the health of the employees and your employer’s culture. Well written goals will provide the basis for planning and for measuring your progress.

Select Employer Wellness Program Procedures

Focus your employer’s Employer Wellness Program resources (time, energy and money) on tactics that are most likely to produce results:  an increase in healthy eating, an increase in physical activity, and a reduction in tobacco use. There’s no need to guess at what might work. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reviewed thousands of studies and has identified the Employer Wellness Program approaches most likely to result in significant, lasting, and widespread improvements in health behaviors. Those Employer Wellness Program tactics are included in the physical activity, tobacco, and healthy eating sections of this website.

The formula for Employer Wellness Program success is to make the healthier choices the easier choices.

Implement Employer Wellness Program Procedures

Once you’ve chosen your Employer Wellness Program Procedures, it can be useful to arrange the work on a timeline.  The “right” amount of time for implementing each Employer Wellness Program strategy depends on the staff time, budget, and business demands of your employer.  Work plans keep your efforts moving and help to ensure that plans to start a Employer Wellness Program stay on track even if there are changes in staffing or other challenges.

Educate and Communicate About the Employer Wellness Program

Ensure staff members are aware of the Employer Wellness Program opportunities you’ve provided.   Planning your Employer Wellness Program communications allows you to communicate regularly with staff members without overwhelming them at any one time.

Monitor and Report Your Employer Wellness Program Results

At the same time that you plan your Employer Wellness Program Procedures, think about how you’ll measure success.  It’s much easier to gather information – or to start systems for collecting information — before you begin a Employer Wellness Program strategy rather than as an afterthought.   Keep in mind that you’re likely to see improvements in staff member morale and/or behaviors before you see decreases in absenteeism or health care claims.

Report both your Employer Wellness Program successes in building a healthy workplace environment (such as complete implementation of a policy that provides staff members time for walking during the workday), and Employer Wellness Program successes in getting staff members to take charge of their health (an increase in the number of staff members who contacted the stop-smoking program, or an increase in the number of fruit-cups purchased from the cafeteria following a promotion and price-cut).