Posts from — August 2009

As employers today continue to compete in the worldwide economy, cost containment strategies will be increasingly significant. Controlling the rising cost of employee ill health is becoming a priority for corporate leaders. The emerging corporate culture in America is one which has an employee population centered in health, safety and wellness.

Establishing a corporate strategy for Company Health Promotion Programs and disability management makes great business sense. The following eight-step process ensures a strategic, integrated, needs-driven and results-oriented approach.

The following process works best in companies with strong leadership and a long-term responsibility to employee health.

1. Identify Your Corporate Health Promotion Program Champion

This person should be a leader in your organization and a strong advocate of health. Usually this is an individual who actively pursues his or her own personal quest for optimal health.

The program champion must have the resources and authority to drive the program forward. The program champion’s key role is to make sure the strategic plan for health is in line with with the corporation’s objectives, strategic focus and corporation values. For example if the organization promotes that “our strength is our people” the wellness program must prove how initiatives will nurture and protect that significant resource.

2. Form Your Workplace Health Promotion Program Strategy Team

The Company Wellness Program Strategy Team ought to include decision makers and stakeholders from areas of the business that are able to impact health and the company’s bottom line. These areas may include; finance, human resources, training and development, health services, compensation and benefits, employee assistance services (EAP), marketing, facilities, health and safety, rehabilitation, cafeteria or diet services and the union. A group of six to eight representatives is recommended.

The role of the Strategy Team is to cultivate and start the strategic plan, look for opportunities to reward health, be sure the program is integrated into key areas of the organization, streamline efforts, maximize corporation resources and program evaluation.

3. Complete an Organization Health Audit

The purpose of an Corporation Health Audit is to evaluate your existing programs and services, physical environment and policies & procedures that support health. It is also significant to look at your employer culture or “how things are done” around the employer.

Participants of the Strategy Team complete the Audit independently and then meet to discuss their evaluation. During the evaluation process, health issues and opportunities are discussed in preparation for the development of the strategic plan.

4. Analyze Your Organization’s Cost Pressures

Cost pressures are identified by analyzing a number of areas including; benefit expenditures, Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) claims, drug usage, type of paramedic claims, absenteeism data and EAP utilization. This process helps to target areas that have the potential to be positively impacted by a Worksite Wellness Program and to provide a baseline for evaluating change.

5. Conduct a Health Risk Appraisal or Employee Needs & Interest Survey

The next step is to determine your employee’s health risks, interests and readiness to change. A confidential health risk appraisal can accomplish countless goals/objectives. It provides a baseline from which to measure personal lifestyle changes, provides workers with relevant health information, motivates workers to take charge of their health and assists in program planning. Most health risk appraisals offer individual reports and a corporate report identifying elevated-risk areas in the corporation.

Many employers choose to administer customized needs and interest survey to evaluate employee needs. The benefit of this approach is that the organization is able to gather information on the employees’ perceived wellness needs and program interests. This information can be incorporated into the strategic plan. Administering a survey also has the added benefit of fostering a sense of employee ownership to the program.

6. Organize Your Strategic Plan for Wellness

The strategic plan must incorporate information collected from the Organization Health Audit, your organization’s expense pressures, and health risk appraisal data or employee survey results. The strategic plan must include your program mission, three or four objectives and several initiatives under each intention. The strategic plan supports a framework to encourage, support and evaluate “best health practices.”

It is also valuable that the plan align itself with the vision, goals of the organization.

The sample strategic plan that follows was developed for blue jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. (Canada) Inc. Levi Strauss & Co.’s mission statement and aspirations (how workers interact with each other in a organization environment) guided the development of the plan.

Levi Strauss & Co.’s aspirations include the following statement: Above all, we want satisfaction from accomplishments and friendships, balanced personal and professional lives, and to enjoy our endeavors. The wellness program plan included a number of components to ensure that it embraced this statement including the following:

1. A vision statement, which tied in with the company’s aspirations.
2. An incentive system to encourage and reward the accomplishment of healthy milestones.
3. A recognition system to applaud effectiveness.
4. Friendly competitions between Levi Strauss & Co. locations to ensure a fun environment.
5. Opportunities to take part in small group educational programs to cultivate group reinforcement.
6. Initiation of support groups for employees completing wellness programs (i.e. smoking control support group).
7. Programs concerning work and family balance.

Other information that was analyzed and used to foster the plan included:

1. Business demographics
2. Focus groups
3. Cultural audit
4. Top prescription drug report
5. EAP utilization
6. Employee benefit services report
7. Health and dental claims
8. Operational success summaries
9. Health risk appraisals
7. Prepare a Organization Case to Support Your Plan

Your organization case for wellness provides the necessary details for approval at the senior staff level. The organization case includes:

1. The Strategic Plan for Health
2. A proposed program budget
3. Marketing strategies
4. Program leadership options
5. An implementation plan
6. Assessment methodology.

In presenting the strategic plan it is significant to highlight how the plan aligns itself with the strategic direction of the organization.

The program budget must include educational resources, marketing costs, incentives, leadership costs and supplies.

Marketing strategies should address how the program will be promoted and rolled out to various groups within the organization i.e. decentralized locations, high risk workers, older workers.

Program leadership must address how volunteers will be used, internal resources  and whether consultants have been proposed. All play an equally valuable role in the implementation of your wellness program.

The program implementation plan ought to incorporate the following types of programs that help foster awareness of beneficial health practices, assist  employees in making lifestyle changes and initiatives, which support long-term change.

Awareness programs create an awareness of the effect of healthy lifestyle practices and arouse workers to take the next step. Examples of awareness programs include posting educational posters, newsletter articles and lunch and learn classes.

Lifestyle change programs are more all-inclusive and longer in duration. They are designed to support  employees in changing behavior. Examples of lifestyle change programs are nutrition education programs, stress management programs, back care classes and smoking control programs.

A supportive corporate environment encompasses everything from corporate policies & procedures, the physical environment and creating a corporate culture that supports great health practices. Follow-up sessions and support groups for workers who have completed 6-10 week wellness programs also offer a supportive environment for long-term change.

Analyzing the effectiveness of a Worksite Wellness Program is ongoing. A formal assessment must be conducted each year and may include; re-administering steps three to five, program participation statistics and a year end survey to revisit “soft” issues such as morale, program satisfaction and future program direction.

8. Solicit Input and Communicate Your Plan

Employee input is critical to the long-term success of your program. An Employee Advisory Committee must be formed to roll out the plan. Another key responsibility of this team is to solicit feedback from all levels of the organization to ensure buy-in. Front line Manager’s Information Sessions and focus groups are also important. This group needs to buy-in to the notion that they play a key role in supporting beneficial health practices. Regular gatherings are advised with front line managers to receive ongoing input, address problems and orient new managers.

Conclusions

The World Health Organization’s definition of health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellness and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.” In order for us to set up healthy workplaces, wellness drives must have a program champion, have employee ownership, be senior staff supported, results driven and strategically aligned with the overriding organization objectives of the organization.

Wellness program that embrace these qualities will have a positive influence on an organization’s bottom line. Canadian research points to numerous case studies where onsite programs have resulted in lowered absenteeism, reduce claims and increased productiveness.

Corporations who have embraced wellness as part of “how they do business” have one thing in common. They prove a commitment to their most significant resource – their people. They be aware of the increased pressures associated with downsized organizations, a rapidly changing workplace, an aging work force and the challenge of balancing work and family obligations. And they share a common belief that healthy employees are happier, absent less and more advantageous.

References:
Design of Corporate Wellness Programs by Michael P. O’Donnell. 1995. Published by the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Pro Fit-ability by Veronica Marsden. Group Healthcare Management. May 1997.
Meeting Expectations by Laura Mensch. Employee Health and Productivity. August 1999
7 Steps to Health Promotion by Daphne Woolf and Veronica Marsden. Group Healthcare Management. February 1996.
Published in The Journal of Health Promotion for Northern Ireland, Issue 9, March 2000

Want some wellness program ideas and wellness policy ideas to get you started? Or maybe you want to jump start or better upon your current wellness program? The list below provides ‘best practices’ that are able to help meet any wellness program budget! The Worksite Wellness Program ideas are divided into topic areas.

General Wellness Progam Ideas

• Administer an Employee Needs & Interest Survey
• Create a Company Health Promotion Program Committee
• Identify medical programs that cover expenditures for weight management and smoking cessation
• Remove co-pay or reimburse for preventive medical care visits
• Put up handouts on a variety of wellness subject matters for staff members to take
• Design a wellness resource center or library with videos, books, magazines, DVD’s on a variety of topics of interest to staff members
• Identify employees who are mentors or champions for healthy activities and ask them to present or to list as a contact for other employees
• Plan and promote periodic or regular educational sessions.
• Create monthly educational sessions on the national health observance topic
• Put up a Wellness Bulletin Board & update it monthly
• Put up messages from national health observances during the month
• Post healthy tips in newsletters, paycheck stuffers, bulletin boards, etc.
• Offer a benefits fair
• Develop employer fitness and healthy eating challenges
• Offer company wellbeing and health fairs or other onsite programs

Nutrition Programs

• Provide free, healthy snacks for staff members (fruit, nuts, popcorn)
• Offer healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at organization programs
• Provide information to workers about the nutritional content of food served in the cafeteria
• Develop a fresh fruit “snack basket” in the breakroom or cafeteria
• Stock snack machines with healthier options
• Partially fund healthy foods in the cafeteria or vending machines (10¡ apples may be more appealing than $1.00 candy bars)
• Create a weekly or monthly healthy lunch club
• Give brochures available on a variety of healthy eating topics
• Include nutrition articles in employer newsletters
• Provide a healthy meal tasting contest Free
• Have educational sessions at lunch-time on a variety of nutrition issues of interest
• Develop an employee healthy food cookbook. Either sell the cookbook and use profits for programs, or purchase a cookbook for all staff members

Weight Loss Programs / Weight Management Programs

• Provide flexible work schedules so that employees are able to participate in weight-loss programs
• Subsidize registration expenditures for weight-management programs
• Offer a support group to help staff members who are trying to lose weight
• Arrange for registered dieticians near your workplace as a resource for staff members who want information on healthy eating, meal planning or weight control
• Provide individual counseling for employees trying to lose weight
• Offer onsite fitness and weight-management programs through your local hospital, Weight Watchers, TOPS or local, registered dietician
• Provide an educational session on diet myths and healthy eating

Physical Activity Programs

• Provide flexible work schedules to encourage exercise
• Develop a fitness space with aerobic equipment, and weights
• Establish accessible walking paths, trails, and/or bike routes
• Urge staff members to walk more by parking farther away from the entrance
• Develop a gym with aerobic equipment, weights, aerobic classes, fitness professionals
• Hold walking meetings
• Make the stairways more appealing (carpet, fresh paint, artwork, posters)
• Provide reduced gym membership fees to all staff members
• Offer facilities for workers to secure bikes
• Have 5 – ten minute stretch breaks during the day
• Partially fund gym membership for staff members who take part a minimal number of days per week (ex., 3 days per week)
• Support lunchtime walking/running clubs or corporation sports team
• Encourage stairwell use and incentives/rewards
• Install a basketball hoop outside
• Urge & support community walks or fitness programs
• Promote walking during breaks and other off-time periods
• Offer periodic fitness incentive programs to encourage physical activity
• Have educational sessions on fitness activities

Smoking Cessation Programs / Tobacco Cessation Programs

• Design a smoke-free grounds
• Establish a smoke-free workplace
• Encourage the use of 1-800-QUIT-NOW, North Carolina’s free Tobacco Use Quitline. Or check www.QuitlineNC.com
• Fully reimburse (or partially reimburse) for tobacco replacement products
• Partially fund the cost of smoking cessation workshops
• Offer handouts and information on health effects from tobacco use and tobacco cessation
• Provide awareness sessions to encourage workers to try to quit tobacco use
• Have worksite tobacco cessation sessions

Employee Health Screening

• Discount healthcare insurance premiums or cut co-payments for workers who participate in screenings and who participate in managing their risk factors
• Install Blood Pressure (BP) monitoring equipment
• Provide flu shots for staff members and family members
• Provide Health Risk Assessments to all staff members, including counseling and follow-up
• Provide periodic Blood Pressure (BP) screenings and follow-up
• Offer periodic screenings for cholesterol, blood sugar, body composition, etc.

Stress Management Programs / Work Life Balance Programs

• Offer flexible schedules for family/work life balance
• Offer and encourage an Employee Assistance Program
• Give information on substance abuse prevention
• Provide brochures and information on stress management and mental health
• Give brochures and information on work life balance, such as monetary planning, childcare, parenting, elder care, etc.
• Provide supervisor and manager training on communication, relationship building, corporation stressors, etc.
• Assess business policies and work schedules to identify business stressors
• Assess the Employee Assistance Program to make sure it is meeting the needs of the employees and business
• Schedule educational sessions on stress management and work life balance
• Have sessions on relaxation, stress management, and work life balance issues

Health screenings are important programs to identify chronic disease in their early stages. Once identified, wellness behavior modification programs can help prevent a disease from progressing. Working with local hospitals and other corporations, you can get information on offering assessment and behavior modification programs that could better your employees’ health and save your corporation money in absenteeism, treatment for disease complications, and reduced productiveness. Below are some ideas to assist you in getting started.

Based upon your Employee Needs & Interest Survey and the demographics of your workplace, consider offering periodic screenings to find specific health risks such as:

• Blood Pressure (BP) Checks to identify workers with pre-hypertension or hypertension (high blood pressure),
• Cholesterol Screenings for total, HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol) and/or Triglycerides
• Blood Sugar Screenings fasting or non-fasting to screen for possible diabetes,
• Body composition, such as body mass index (BMI) or body fat measures
• Bone density for potential risk of osteoporosis,
• Cancer screenings such as, skin examinations, mammograms, or PSA screenings,
• Vision checks for glaucoma, or visual acuity
• Other health screenings depending on your worker population and needs

Your local hospital, employer physician practice, or health department may provide assistance. However, if you have employees you may want to concentrate on programs that will keep them healthy rather than screening for early identification of chronic disease. The focus of your wellness program might be healthy lifestyle practices to decrease risk and prevent disease.

In addition to the health screenings, consider offering a Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment to all employees. The Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment will help to identify factors that may lead to additional risks, such as smoking history, stress levels, perception of health, family history, job satisfaction, support systems, and mental health. Often the assessment results are included on the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, which supports a more inclusive snap shot of health risks. The summary results offer the significant information to plan appropriate interventions.

Employee Health Promotion Program Interventions

The key to the performance of screenings and Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s) is the interventions or follow-up programs. The data collected during the screenings increases awareness and frequently motivates employees to consider making healthier changes. It’s the follow up interventions that provide the important backing and assistance needed for employees to actually make and maintain those changes. The interventions are able to include individual follow-up and ongoing counseling, individual or group health coaching on the risk factors, behavior modification programs, and/or corporation backing. Examples include:

• Strategies to lower Blood Pressure
• Managing diabetes
• Taking care of your heart
• Healthy eating
• Weight loss strategies
• Growing physical activity
• Tobacco Cessation

Of course, this is for individual information only. Any follow-up interventions planned by the corporation would be based on interest expressed by the employee.

Based on the results and your Employee Health Promotion Program Committee goals you can plan the best strategies for your business and employees. Consider the area resources available to support services, such as health associations, hospitals, medical providers, and/or public health agencies.

Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals, are an assessment tool or questionnaire scientifically designed to identify health risks and outline information to assist  American citizens in making healthy changes that impact their health and prevent chronic conditions.

Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals have four standard elements in worksite settings:
• A Questionnaire
• A Computer Program to Review Health Risk Factors
• Confidential Individual Reports
• Group Summary Report

Workers complete a lifestyle questionnaire that includes for example diet practices, height and weight, exercise habits, family history, stress perceptions, smoking history, and work satisfaction. Another significant feature to consider is readiness to change questions to determine participation interest. Including wellness screenings such as blood lipids and Blood Pressure (BP) results increases the advantages of an Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment by offering a more accurate health assessment and therefore improving lifestyle choice decisions and program options. Nonetheless, it is significant to determine if the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment can be used without including this information.

The health risk questionnaire information is entered into a computer program and an individual confidential report is generated that summarizes health risks as well as information on how to lower risk factors. Individual reports are totally confidential. Depending on the reason for implementing the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, it’s valuable to consider the type of report the organization will receive as well. A group report summarizing major risk factors and recommendations for programs to enable in order to lower employee and organization risks supports valuable information for your wellness program.

The Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s) are able to be used to:
• Raise awareness to individual employee’s health status
• Encourage employees to make healthier lifestyle changes
• Coach high-risk workers
• Establish Company Health Promotion Programs based on the identified needs
• Review program effectiveness by comparing Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments completed at set intervals such as yearly.

There are a myriad of advantages to thinking of a part-time or full-time occupational and environmental health nurse (OHN). Occupational health nursing is the specialty practice that supplies for and delivers health and safety programs and services to employees, and worker populations. The practice focuses on promotion and restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury, treatment of work and non-work related injuries and illnesses, and protection from work related  and environmental hazards.

Onsite Heath Professional roles can include: Case management, Counseling, Workplace Wellness Program, Legal and regulatory compliance, Clinical services, and Hazard detection and controls. The American Association of Occupational and Environmental Health Nurses is the national association, www.AAOHN.org. The State Chapter also has a website with information including local chapter information to help you locate a contact near you, www.NCAOHN.org.

Health educators are able to design, conduct and evaluate activities that help improve the health of all your employees. They are subject matter experts who may be a significant asset regardless your program needs and objectives. They are able to help form a Company Health Promotion Program Committee and start numerous of its programs and services, for example or depending on the structure and time commitments of your Company Health Promotion Program Committee, they are able to also plan the entire program as well. Integrating the activities of the Committee and/or Company Health Promotion Program professional services within your operations, including within your safety and occupational health program will offer additional advantages!

We are planning Workplace Wellness Programs to help you feel better and stay healthy. In order to plan programs that best meet your needs and interests we would like your suggestions! Please take a few minutes to answer some questions about your interests. Your answers will be combined with those of others’ and reviewed to help plan programs for you. Do not sign your name.

Please complete the survey today and return it to__________. Thank you for your important input! Your help is important for drafting efficacious programs. Return the completed form by _____________.

Rate your interest on a scale of 1 – 3 with one (1) being of little or no interest; two (2) being of some interest and three (3) indicating that you are very interested. Indicate your response by circling or ‘Xing’ the number.

I am interested in:

Participating in wellness programs before work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs after work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs during my lunch break 1 2 3
Adopting healthy eating options to lose weight 1 2 3
Sports nutrition 1 2 3
Healthier cooking 1 2 3
Helping my children eat healthier 1 2 3
Quick, healthy meals for full lifestyles 1 2 3
Healthy snack options 1 2 3
Learning how to quit smoking 1 2 3
Attending classes to help me quit smoking cigarettes 1 2 3
Stress Mangement skills 1 2 3
Balancing work, family, and personal life 1 2 3
Time upper management skills 1 2 3
Participating in a beginning physical activity program 1 2 3
Developing time to exercise for busy people 1 2 3
Getting health information that I can read or watch at home 1 2 3
Learning about cancer prevention 1 2 3
Heart health options 1 2 3
CPR and First Aid 1 2 3
Team sports activities at work 1 2 3
Learning how to stretch 1 2 3
Learning how to improve intake of fruits and vegetables 1 2 3
Parenting Topics (age of children: ) 1 2 3
Onsite exercise classes: walking Yoga aerobic other: 1 2 3
Health evaluation such as Blood Pressure (BP), blood lipids, blood sugar 1 2 3

Program evaluation may be The last step, but it ought to be planned at the beginning of your efforts!  Assessment helps you identify what parts of the program are working well and what parts could use improvement.  Then, based on the evaluation data, adjustments are able to be made to fine-tune your wellness program.   Adjusting the program based on evaluation data is essential to its continued success.  

Evaluating your program does not have to be be terribly complex.  However, it is important to plan how you will monitor your wellness efforts and determine performance during the planning phase or Step 5.  Also be sure to to evaluate the program based on the objectives you already identified during your organizing process.  

In order to evaluate your program you must have a system to document specifics as you go along.  This can be as simple as maintaining file folders on programs that are offered, or a computer document with a table or spreadsheet summarizing information collecting.  Consider:

• Program topic and numbers of employees who participated
• The numbers of brochures taken by employees or distributed and on what subject matters
• The number of participants in a behavior change program and how many met their goals as well as how many attended all of the sessions
• Numbers of workers who continued the healthy behavior change following the program?
• Overall employee satisfaction with the program or each topic.  

Depending on your goals and objectives, gather desired data and compare it to previous data gathered during the initial assessment to determine if the goals and objectives were met.  Such data might include

• Absentee rates
• Injury rates
• Health risk factors Insurance expenditures  

Summarize and Report Corporate Wellness Program Results

Once you have collected all of the evaluation information it needs to be reviewed with the Employee Health Promotion Program Committee and summarized.  You will probably have beneficial results and some areas where a change is needed or additional focus needed for continuous improvement.  This not-so beneficial information can be used to make any needed changes as well as to plan for next year and is valuable to include in your report.  

It is significant to communicate the wellness program outcome to both upper management and workers.  Consider how upper management usually receives reports on operations and productivity issues and include the annual wellness program report in the same format.  At some corporations the reports are made during upper management meetings using presentation styles such as authority point slides.  At other corporations, graphs and bar charts are the norm or a list of the objectives and the summary outcomes announced.  

No matter the format, it’s significant to convey the outcomes and successes achieved, including any anecdotal stories, as well as areas for improvement.  Be sure to link the outcomes to the company mission and bottom line whenever possible.

Workers want to receive the same information!  You might use the same communication channels used when informing staff members of the wellness program:

• Employer newsletters,
• Bulletin boards,
• E-mails  

Also consider celebrating successes and recognizing achievements by:

• Posting pictures from events
• Highlighting effectiveness stories
• Posting pictures of successes
• Having a celebration
• Recognizing champions  

Armed with data, Worksite Wellness Program topic preferences and objectives – and a Worksite Wellness Program Committee rearing to get things done – it is now time to decide how best to take action.  This website supplies tools to help you!  You can read about the various types of wellness programs available by other employers to get an idea of what could possibly work for your business.  There are Statewide Resources listed along with national non-profit groups offering resources, and specific examples of resources available on various wellness subject matters.  In addition, keep looking under Steps to an Effective Program for ideas to get you started!

If your planning phase was well executed, you ought to simply have to follow through with the plans you have already made.  

Important Workplace Wellness Program considerations include:

1. Formally Introduce the Employee Health Promotion Program and consider policy statements that state the significance of the wellness program.  Examples include a general policy concerning the responsibility to employee health and safety as well as specific policies such as No Smoking, Healthy Eating and Physical Activity.
2. Communicate Your Program: The best planned program with great wellness programs won’t be beneficial if your workers are unaware of it or do not know the options or how to participate.  Communicate your wellness program using a variety of methods to ensure the message and “how-to’s” are heard!

   Employee Health Promotion Program Communication Strategies might include:

   • Newsletter articles
   • Postings on the company’s intranet or internet
   • A designated Champion of the program
   • Formal or informal meeting to announce program, “the kick-off”
   • Flyers / pamphlets / brochures / table tents,
   • Bulletin boards / kiosk where all material is promoted or found,
   • Email / phone messages,
   • Mailings or distributions  

3. Use Corporate Health Promotion Program Incentives:  You’ll be amazed to learn what people will do for a free T-shirt.  Incentives are able to both support and excite participation among staff members.  Consider both formal or organization incentives and informal or program rewards/prizes from local resources to reinforce participation in Corporate Health Promotion Programs. Either way, it’s important to provide incentives that are attractive and meaningful to your staff members.

   Formal Employee Wellness Program Incentives:

   • Discounts on employee medical insurance premiums or co-pays, or contributions to 401K programs, employee stock options, or other mechanisms.  
   
   Click here for more information on health plan incentive ideas
   
   • gym/Fitness Center discounts or enrollment fee coverage
   • Public transportation vouchers
   • Flexible work time options
   • “Wellness Days” off work  

   Prizes or Informal Employee Wellness Program Incentives:

   • Cash – a most effective incentive!
   • Prize incentives and rewards such as gift certificates to heart-healthy restaurants; music player to use while exercising, emergency kits, or any other prizes that would encourage your employees.
   • T-Shirts, water bottles, or other inexpensive rewards

4. Assess community resources available to offer some of the wellness services.  The local health department or your employer medical care provider may be able to support  you with this information.  There are also vendors throughout the State providing great wellness services for employers.  They are available to help you strategize and find the best options available.

5. Launch your program as planned documenting information and outcomes as you go such as numbers of participants, dates of activities, and any other special details you are tracking.

The Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee must set out a plan for the entire year that outlines accomplishing goals/objectives, as well as supports details for marketing and evaluating the program. The plan is the detailed map of what types of programs will be offered, when and where they will be scheduled, how they will be marketed and evaluated, and what the budget is.  It is significant to plan your wellness activities based on your goals/objectives, as well as the budget since different strategies will yield different outcomes.  By way of example, if your mission is to broaden awareness on a topic, then distributing handouts or scheduling a one-time education session may be appropriate.  However, if your intention is to change behavior, then different strategies may be necessary, such as ongoing weekly meetings and support groups.  Click here to link to Program Design Options for additional ideas.

Company Wellness Program Marketing

Now is the time to plan your marketing strategies!  How can you market the wellness program and ongoing activities?  No matter how you decide to, market often, keep it fresh, and remind employees repeatedly!  Consider having an overall kickoff activity to inform everyone of the wellness program.  Senior Leadership should offer the introduction or invitation so that all employees are aware of their support and leadership in the program.

Possible marketing methods:

• Sending email messages, including reminders
• Design flyers,
• Hanging bulletin board postings,
• Composing articles,
• Mailing letters or
• Mailing special invitations.  

Other Company Health Promotion Program Considerations:

• Is the Company Wellness Program promoted to all workers or to a specific group?
• Do you have a Employee Wellness Program champion (someone who is joined with different groups in the organization, and well respected) who can help in your promotion efforts?
• If your marketing efforts don’t seem to be working, do you have a way to revisit and change your strategy?
• How will you determine effectiveness and evaluate your program?  And how will you collect the information needed to evaluate your program?  

Topics most frequently included in Worksite Wellness Programs:

• Nutrition
• Physical Activity/Exercise
• Tobacco Use Cessation
• Bone Health
• Cardiovascular Health
• The Spine
• Stress Reduction
• Chronic Disease Awareness & Prevention
• Self-care; Wise Medical Care Consumer
• Screening Services (BMI, Blood Pressure (BP), bone density, blood lipids, glucose, posture, vision, and other…)
• Ergonomic Assessments
• Health Fairs
• Kids/family Events
• Others topics that employees have interest in  

The topics and type of Employee Health Promotion Program planned depend on the needs and interest, overriding goal and resources available.  Program Design Options   include awareness programs such as brochures and/or education sessions, behavior modification programs such as smoking cessation and weight loss classes, and environmental or business backing such as no smoking policies or healthy selections in vending machines.  

The programs planned also depend on the demographics of your workforce.  If you have a young, healthy workforce, you may want to focus the wellness attention on keeping workers healthy and not need to screen for disease.  Instead you might want to focus on healthy lifestyle behavior such as exercise and great nourishment to prevent the on-set of disease.  Click here for more information on strategies for keeping workers well, identifying disease early, or returning workers to work who already have a chronic conditions.

It is also valuable to consider, and plan how you will evaluate the success of your wellness program.  The system needs to be shown for tracking certain data and recording events depending on the program goals.  Step 7 discusses program evaluation in more detail.   And Step 6 will launch your program!

A Company Health Promotion Program without goals 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 little thoughtful planning, you increase your chances for a successful experience.  Clear goals are necessitated to plan your wellness program in order to ensure success!

Wellness program objectives and goals are different from one corporation to another depending on the population, needs, interests and resources.  Nonetheless, well thought out objectives based on your company’s needs assessment will form the foundation of a successful wellness program!

Company Wellness Program Mission Statement

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

Below are some examples of Company Wellness Program mission statements:

“At XYZ Company, maintaining an environment that supports employee health and safety is our underlying value.  It is the mission of the Company Health Promotion Program to assist  in planning Company Health Promotion Program services that fosters and upholds that value.”

“It is the mission of the XYZ Worksite Health Promotion Program Committee to foster healthier lifestyle choices to reduce health risk factors, better central well-being, and maintain a beneficial, active work force.”

Workplace Health Promotion Program Goals

The objectives and goals further define your mission and are based on your needs assessment.  Depending on the needs assessment, management expectations and employee interests, examples of objectives and goals can include:

The objective(s) of XYZ Worksite Health Promotion Program 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 ten percent
• Lower unnecessary emergency room visits
• Cut down on or contain medical care costs
• Improve dietary habits of staff members
• Cut down on health risk factors  

Employee Wellness Program Objectives

Specific Worksite Health Promotion Program objectives help meet your long-term goals/objectives.  Both short term and long term objectives must be developed as the stepping stones to accomplish the goals/objectives.  In addition to objectives for the expected participant outcomes, process objectives must also be developed for the program process itself.  For example, process objectives may include the number of staff members you want to participate in the programs, the number of sessions on a topic will be offered, 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 objectives and goals:

• Specific (one behavior or outcome)
• Measurable (one result that can be monitored 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.  By way of example, the mission for a weight loss program that has an central goal 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 an intention for coaching workers with high cholesterol might be:

To cut the total cholesterol (specific what) of elevated risk staff members with cholesterol over 240 mg/dl (specific who) to 200 mg/dl (measurable how much) through one-on-one counseling sessions available at the workplace (where) by X date (ex, after 6 months) (attainable, realistic & time specific when) to cut the risk factor for heart disease (why).  

And one last example of a process goal for a smoking cessation program with an overall intention to support  participants in committing to quit for life:

By the end of the 4-week smoking cessation program, ten percent 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 objective) and ten percent of those who quit will still be tobacco-free after one year.

You have now completed Steps 1 through 4, including instituting your Company Health Promotion Program Committee.  It is now time to plan your wellness activities!