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1. Senior management involvement in the Employee Health and Wellness Program- Evidence of enthusiastic commitment and involvement of senior management helps workers understand their companies’ serious commitment to health. Employees need to perceive that their senior management, supervisors, and coworkers have positive attitudes toward health since these factors have all been associated with improved employee health status. Management-related factors have been shown to contribute more to success than the content of the intervention.

2. Participatory planning - A Employee Health and Wellness Program should be undertaken in partnership with the workforce. Employees from all levels of staff should be actively engaged in the health and management aspects of the project as well as all on-going processes of any Employee Health and Wellness Program. Planning must also include processes for maintaining communication with all staff and building their commitment to the process. Starting Employee Health and Wellness Program steering committees to guide interventions during the planning and delivery of workplace health promotion programming improves worker awareness, participation, and satisfaction. Worker committees can identify perceived worker interests regarding educational programming, determine work site-specific characteristics that may affect the intervention or influence participation, and suggest the best methods for promotion and delivery of Employee Health and Wellness Programs and activities. Ways to maximize worker input and involvement might include interest surveys, focus groups, and peer counsellors.

3. Primary focus on workers’ needs - A Employee Health and Wellness Program should meet the needs of all workers, regardless of their current level of health and recognize the needs, preferences, and attitudes of different groups of participants. Program designers should consider the major health risks in the target population, the specific risks within the particular group of workers, and the company’s needs. In other words, interventions should be tailor-made to the characteristics and needs of the recipients. This means that varied programs must be provided at different levels. Participation and commitment can be increased if a group of staff members has the opportunity to address a specific modifiable risk factor of their choice.

4. Optimal use of on-site resources - Planning and implementation of Employee Health and Wellness Programs should optimize use of on-site personnel, physical resources, and organizational capabilities. For example, whenever possible, initiatives should use on-site health and safety, management, work organization, communication, HR, and other specialists. Well-qualified external leadership may be introduced when in-house expertise is lacking.

5. Integration - An overall workplace health policy should be developed. The policies governing employee health must align with the corporate mission, vision, and values, supporting both short- and long-term goals. These consistent policies must affirm the value of worker health and a commitment to engage workers in health enhancement. Employee Health and Wellness Program Strategies should be integrated into a company’s regular management practices and eventually should be formally incorporated into the company’s corporate plan with adequate resources attached to them.

6. Recognition that a person’s health is determined by an interdependent set of factors - Any Employee Health and Wellness Program must address multiple components of an individual’s life:
• the workplace physical and psychosocial setting;
• their personal resources such as social support, sense of empowerment, etc.; and
• their lifestyle practices influencing health.

7. Tailoring to the special features of each workplace setting - Employee Health and Wellness Programs must be responsive to the unique needs of each workplace’s procedures, organization and culture. Integrating health behaviors and program participation into the existing corporate culture will normalize program participation.

8. Employee Health and Wellness Program Evaluation - Project management should flow through needs analysis, setting priorities, planning, implementation, continuous monitoring, and assessment. Evaluation must include a clearly-defined range of process measures and outcomes as well as mechanisms for monitoring the impact of non-intervention workplace changes such as plant closure, major workplace re-organization, and new technology on staff health.

9. Long-term commitment - To sustain the benefits of the Employee Health and Wellness Program, the worksite must continue the initiative over time, reinforcing risk-reduction behaviours and adapting the programs to ongoing personal, social, economic, and workplace changes.

Introduction to Employee Health and Wellness Programs

Risky health behaviors by workers cost a company. Changing those behaviors can save the employer money and increase the worker’s productivity.

Because work gives an worker a stable setting and support system, Employee Health and Wellness Programs can have a great impact on decreasing high-risk behaviors. This impact results in reduce health claims cost, less absenteeism, and less short-term disability.

Employee Health and Wellness Programs can include:

Awareness Rasing Programs: Health and wellness newsletters, health topics covered in payroll stuffers, healthy emails.

Health Risk Assessment: Employee health screenings, health and wellness fairs, health risk appraisals.

Educational Programs: Lunch & Learn wellness seminars, guest speakers at staff meetings.

Skill Building: Healthy cooking demostrations, activity challenges, CPR instruction opportunites, stress management classes, weight management classes.

Interventions: Massage, tobacco cessation, and skills to help you get the most out of your doctor visit.

Physical setting: Healthy items in the vending machines and cafeterias, clean air practices, ergonomics, bike racks, flex time, welllit stairways.

Evaluation: Worker needs assessment, baseline Employee Health and Wellness Program assessment measures, ongoing Employee Health and Wellness Program assessment of overall effectiveness.

Why Make available Employee Health and Wellness Programs

The typical employer spends about $8,000 a year on an employee’s healthcare. This includes health insurance, disability and worker’s compensation. As these costs climb, health insurance is expected to rise at least 10 percent per year.

A 1999 study showed that corporations using Employee Health and Wellness Programs had a return on investment from $1.49 – $13 in benefits per dollar spent. The amount depended on the nature of the Employee Health and Wellness Programs used. (S. Aldana, American Journal of Wellness, 2001; 15:296-320)

One study showed that a “stop smoking” element to Employee Health and Wellness Programs can save between $404 -$40,829 per employee, depending on the age and sex of the worker.

The Employee Health and Wellness Programs at Traveler’s Company included a self-care book, a newsletter, single-topic brochures, and videotapes. The Employee Health and Wellness Programs saved the company $7.8 million in employee benefi t costs, decreased doctor visits, and it lowered absenteeism by 1.2 days per worker per year. The estimated Employee Health and Wellness Programs ROI was $3.40 per dollar spent.

In 1998, the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) reported a study of 46,026 workers from six large companies for three years. Employees with an inactive lifestyle had 10 percent higher costs; workers with depression had 70 percent higher costs.

Benefits of Employee Health and Wellness Programs

Increased Productivity - The Canada Life Assurance Company realized a 4 percent increase in productivity after beginning an employee fitness program.

Increased Job Satisfaction - According to employee opinion surveys conducted by the Silverstone Group about thier Employee Health and Wellness Programs, workers’ morale increased, which helped support a more creative work setting.

Enhanced Recruitment & Retention - In the midst of a tight labor market, Employee Health and Wellness Programs could be a vital tool to draw new recruits.

Decreased Absenteeism - Canada Life Assurance Company’s absenteeism dropped 42 percent among workers in the Employee Health and Wellness Programs.

Decreased Workers Comp & Disability - In one year, Boeing Company’s number of back injuries decreased by 34 percent. Six million dollars was saved by tracking injuries as they occurred.

Managed Medical Care Costs - Golden, Colorado Adolf Coors Company’s Employee Health and Wellness Programs returned $6.19 for every dollar spent.

Why have Employee Health and Wellness Program goals?

Employee Health and Wellness Program goals take your company’s priorities for employee health improvement and make them specific and measurable. Well-defined Employee Health and Wellness Program goals provide direction for selecting Strategies and a basis for which to measure progress.

Writing Employee Health and Wellness Program goals

Writing Employee Health and Wellness Program goals is not complicated or difficult. It does require some thought, about your company’s Employee Health and Wellness Program vision for a culture of health and they should be:

Specific Employee Health and Wellness Program Goals
Measurable Employee Health and Wellness Program Goals
Attainable Employee Health and Wellness Program Goals
Realistic Employee Health and Wellness Program Goals
Timely Employee Health and Wellness Program Goals

Specific Employee Health and Wellness Program Goals: What is the specific outcome your company is looking for? “Reduce smoking among workers” is more specific than “Improve the health of workers.” You may wish to write some goals about specific outcomes (reducing smoking among workers) and other goals about specific progress (implementing a smoke-free campus policy or decreasing the price of fresh fruit in the cafeteria to 25 cents a piece).

Measurable Employee Health and Wellness Program Goals: Making your goals measurable provides a means of evaluating your progress and success. There is an adage: “what gets measured, gets done.” Goals which are measurable can be effective motivators for your company. “Provide more time for workers to be physically active” is much less measurable than “implement a daily 15-minute walking break into the schedule of all workers.” “Increase the number of workers who want to quit smoking” is less measurable than “increase enrollments in the stop-using tobacco program to 120 workers per year.”

Attainable Employee Health and Wellness Program Goals: Determine goals that challenge your company to change and that will demonstrate a real commitment to employee health. At the same time, set goals that are achievable. Goals that are set too far out of reach can be overwhelming and may become a barrier rather than a motivator.

Realistic Employee Health and Wellness Program Goals: Write goals that are do-able, given the skills, time, finances and overall strategy of the company. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn’t break them.

Timely Employee Health and Wellness Program Goals: When do you hope to achieve the goal? Next week? Next year? Without a timeframe, the goal is still vague and is much less likely to galvanize resources and energy within your company.

“Reduce the percent of workers who use tobacco from 20 percent to 10 percent” is much less of a challenge than “By the end of 2010, reduce the percent of workers who use tobacco from 20 percent to 15 percent”.

If your company is interested in measuring the impact of your Employee Health and Wellness Program efforts in future years, you’ll want to gather relevant baseline data on the health and health behaviors of your worker population.

Employee Health and Wellness Program Data on your worker population

Health Risk Assessments

Some health plans offer companies free web-based health risk assessments (HRA), complete with summary aggregate reports. If your health plan does not offer a free HRA, you could pay for an HRA either through your health plan or through a third party vendor.

To encourage participating in an HRA, assure workers of confidentiality and consider providing incentives and 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 worker population.

Employee Health and Wellness Program Health Surveys

You can get a general sense of workers’ health-related attitudes and behaviors using a “lowtech” paper survey. As with a health risk assessment, workers 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 worker behaviors rather than a statistically accurate picture.

Employee Health and Wellness Program Focus Groups and Informational Interviews

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

Keep Employee Health and Wellness Program focus groups small (8-19 workers, ideally all of a similar job class). If possible, offer incentives and 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 Employee Health and Wellness Program focus groups. The Employee Health and Wellness Program coordinator of your health improvement Strategies or selected members of the Health Promotion Committee can conduct one-on-one interviews with workers in a variety of positions to better understand their attitudes, interests and barriers related to a) health behaviors and b) the workplace policies, settings 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 workers.

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

A strong foundation for employee health improvement

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

__ No support for the Employee Health and Wellness Program
__ Support, but not at senior level
__ Support at senior level, but not visible to workers
__ Strong and visible Employee Health and Wellness Program support
Comments:

2. Is the Employee Health and Wellness Program tied to your company’s mission statement?

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

3. Is there an worker within your company whose job responsibilities include Employee Health and Wellness Program coordination?

__ No
__ Yes, but has little time available to dedicate to Employee Health and Wellness Program
__ Yes, and has at least part of the job dedicated to Employee Health and Wellness Program
__ Yes, and has at least one full-time position dedicated to Employee Health and Wellness Program
__ Yes, and has at least part of the job dedicated to wellness AND has a background that includes Employee Health and Wellness Program qualifications
__ Yes, our company has at least one full-time position dedicated to health improvement AND the worker’s background includes Employee Health and Wellness Program qualifications
Comments:

4. Does your company 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 a component of each representative’s job responsibilities
Comments:

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

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

6. Does your company have a plan for engaging workers in the Employee Health and Wellness Program?

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

A data-based approach to the Employee Health and Wellness Program

7. Does your company have clearly stated Employee Health and Wellness Program goals and priorities for employee health improvement?

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

8. Has your company 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 setting that supports healthy behaviors

9. Does your company’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 company 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 workers can use work time for physical activity
Comments:

11. Does your company promote healthy eating by providing 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 company provide workers with self-care resources?

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

13. Which of the following preventive services are covered at 100 percent by your company’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 company’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 company’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 reduced level (less coverage) than health benefits
__ No coverage for mental or behavioral health
Comments:

Why it’s important and how to do it

The Employee Health and Wellness Program Vision

A Employee Health and Wellness Program vision statement is a concise statement that summarizes the purpose and goals of your company’s commitment to beginning a Employee Health and Wellness Program. Taking the time to clarify and describe your company’s Employee Health and Wellness Program vision can provide a focus and a consistent direction for your Strategies for years to come. The vision statement reminds leaders and workers of the link between worker health and the company’s ability to achieve its overall mission.

Answer the following questions and you’ll have the components needed to build a simple and effective Employee Health and Wellness Program vision for your company’s culture of health:

• What do you want your Employee Health and Wellness Program to accomplish?
• How do you plan to accomplish it?
• How does this Employee Health and Wellness Program mission support or further the company’s mission?

A sample Employee Health and Wellness Program vision statement might be . . .

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

The Employee Health and Wellness Program Brand

In the same way that your company’s name and brand image provide visibility for your business, your Strategies toward beginning a Employee Health and Wellness Program will benefit from being easily recognizable to workers:

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

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

Option 1: Have a Employee Health and Wellness Program contest

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

If, for example, your company, Premier Building and Design, is in the commercial construction business, you might receive the following Employee Health and Wellness Program ideas from workers:

• Cornerstone: Feeling well is what it’s all about
• Premier Elements: Building healthier workers
• Custom Build: Building health builds wealth
• Building Health: Designing better worker 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 Employee Health and Wellness Program contest” prize to the two workers, those who submitted the pieces of the name that represent the final product.

Premier Elements: Building health builds wealth

3. Select a Employee Health and Wellness Program logo to go with the name.

The Employee Health and Wellness Program logo is an important piece of the branding

• Review any ideas submitted for Employee Health and Wellness Program logos.
• If you’re fortunate to have a graphic design professional at your company, enlist her or his help with developing the Employee Health and Wellness Program logo!
• As an alternative, choose a piece of clip-art that fits with the Employee Health and Wellness Program name you’ve selected. For example, the company 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 Employee Health and Wellness Program names.
• To get ideas flowing, ask members to write down all health-related words and words associated with your company or industry.
• Try clustering words together as in the construction company 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 Employee Health and Wellness Program logo to go with the winning name.
4. Announce the company’s Employee Health and Wellness Program and the corresponding Employee Health and Wellness Program name. Explain that workers on the advisory committee chose the name.

Sample Employee Health and Wellness Program meeting agendas and topics for discussion

Is your company’s Employee Health and 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 Employee Health and Wellness Program meetings. You may also want to revisit these topics annually.

• Clarify roles of Health Promotion Committee members
­ Are members responsible 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 Employee Health and 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 Employee Health and Wellness Program progress?

• Select a name and brand for your company’s Employee Health and Wellness Program

• Develop a vision statement for your company’s Employee Health and Wellness Program

• Identify existing allies Employee Health and Wellness Program for promoting worker health within your company
­ Who do Health Promotion Committee members know who could be relied on to support workplace changes necessary to develop a culture that encourages health?

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

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

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

Membership of your Health Promotion Committee

Aim for a committee of a manageable size (no more than 15 members, depending on your company’s size). Your Health Promotion Committee should represent all employee groups (e.g., full-time and part-time workers, managers and front-line staff, salary and hourly staff members, union representation, HR, 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 serve and how new members will be selected. Balance the need for continuity with the need to bring fresh ideas and energy to your company’s Employee Health and Wellness Program.
• It’s not important, or even desirable, to have your healthiest workers 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 and Wellness Program.
• Consider providing an incentive or recognition to Health Promotion Committee members. It legitimizes their positions and encourages participation. Some companys that have started stipends have generated enough worker interest that the selection of Health Promotion Committee membership becomes a competitive process. The Health Promotion Committee responsibilities become a formal part of the member’s job accountabilities.

Role of your Health Promotion Committee

In some companys the Health Promotion Committee is responsible for the implementation of the Employee Health and Wellness Program. In other companys, 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 establish a vision and name for the company’s Employee Health and Wellness Program.
• Represent their peers by sharing ideas, needs, concerns and feedback from their work areas and colleagues about proposed Employee Health and Wellness Program Strategies, policies, and programs.
• Make available feedback on the possible barriers to proposed Employee Health and Wellness Program Strategies and offer suggestions for addressing those barriers (e.g., how does a proposed policy fit with the schedules of workers?).
• Suggest effective Employee Health and Wellness Program communication Strategies and solutions to challenges. For example, what is the best way to communicate with workers who work the third shift? How will workers 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 very often 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 and regular 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 Employee Health and 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 Employee Health and Wellness Program roles and responsibilities? Are there members who want to rotate off of the committee? How will new members be selected?

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

How much to budget for the Employee Health and Wellness Program?

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for beginning a Employee Health and 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 and Wellness Program. Consider the following common expenses in developing an adequate Employee Health and Wellness Program budget:

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

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

Sustaining Employee Health and Wellness Program Financing

A dedicated Employee Health and Wellness Program line item in your company’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 Strategies for ensuring continued financial support for the Employee Health and Wellness Program is frequent communication to upper management, including:

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

Additional sources of Employee Health and Wellness Program Financing

If necessary, have the individuals responsible for beginning a Employee Health and Wellness Program look for ways to supplement available internal funds. Are there grants or other financing available that can help support your Employee Health and Wellness Program ? What community Employee Health and Wellness Program resources could you use to meet some of your needs?

Locating an individual to guide your company in beginning a Employee Health and Wellness Program

Without a qualified Employee Health and Wellness Program coordinator to guide and manage your company’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 companys need a full-time coordinator. There are a number of ways to secure the time of a qualified coordinator.

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

• knowledge of community health, population health and worksite Employee Health and Wellness Programs
• competent working with and understanding aggregate data, preferably Employee Health and 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 Employee Health and Wellness Program Strategies.

What will a Employee Health and Wellness Program coordinator do?

The Employee Health and Wellness Program coordinator is responsible 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 and Wellness Program:

• act as a liaison between upper management and the Employee Health and Wellness Program employee advisory workgroup
• interpret health-related data on your Employee Health and Wellness Program
• establishe and manage work plans and budgets for implementation of selected Employee Health and Wellness Program Strategies
• facilitate Health Promotion Committee meetings
• guide your company in setting measurable goals for the Employee Health and Wellness Program
• recommend effective Employee Health and Wellness Program Strategies, 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 Employee Health and Wellness Program Strategies and goals.

Where can we find a qualified Employee Health and Wellness Program coordinator?

Explore the following when looking for a Employee Health and Wellness Program coordinator:

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

An outside Employee Health and Wellness Program consultant can advise an internal Employee Health and Wellness Program coordinator and your Health Promotion Committee on setting priorities and selecting Strategies. Or, you can contract with a Employee Health and Wellness Program consultant to be your coordinator. If you go with 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.