Corporate Wellness ConsultantsCorporate Wellness Consultants and Corporate Wellness Programs

A representative Health and Wellness Committee is a cornerstone of a successful Corporate Wellness Program, regardless of the size of the employer.

Membership of your Health and Wellness Committee

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

Here are some additional considerations:

 • Health and Wellness Committee members can be selected by leadership or can be selected from among volunteers.
 • Determine in advance how long Health and Wellness 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 Corporate Wellness Program.
 • It’s not necessary, or even desirable, to have your healthiest workers on the Health and Wellness Committee. Ideal Health and Wellness Committee members are those who best can represent their peers, motivate others and support the implementation of the Corporate Wellness Program.
 • Consider providing an incentive or recognition to Health and Wellness Committee members. It legitimizes their positions and encourages participation. Some employers that have implemented stipends have generated enough worker interest that the selection of Health and Wellness Committee membership becomes a competitive process. The Health and Wellness Committee responsibilities become a formal part of the member’s job accountabilities.

Role of your Health and Wellness Committee

In some employers the Health and Wellness Committee is responsible for the implementation of the Corporate Wellness Program. In other employers, the Health and Wellness Committee plays an advisory role. In either case, the group members can be asked to:

 • Attend regular meetings of the Health and Wellness Committee.
 • Help establish a vision and name for the employer’s Corporate Wellness Program.
 • Represent their peers by sharing ideas, needs, concerns and feedback from their work areas and colleagues about proposed Corporate Wellness Program Procedures, policies, and programs.
 • Offer feedback on the possible barriers to proposed Corporate Wellness Program Procedures and offer suggestions for addressing those barriers (e.g., how does a proposed policy fit with the schedules of workers?).
 • Suggest effective Corporate Wellness Program communication Procedures 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 and Wellness Committee to their work areas and colleagues.

Functioning of your Health and Wellness Committee

Meet. Schedule regular Health and Wellness Committee meetings on paid work time. Your Health and Wellness Committee may want to meet regulary at first, then slightly less often as your health improvement strategy is more established. If your Health and Wellness 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 and Wellness Committee members so they are up to date and engaged. An email list is often the easiest way to do this. Encourage communication to flow both ways: from Corporate Wellness Program coordinator to members and from members to coordinator.

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

Beginning a Corporate Wellness Program need not be expensive, but will require the commitment of some financial resources. If possible, include the Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness Program?

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

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

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

Sustaining Corporate Wellness Program Financing

A dedicated Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness Program is frequent communication to upper management, including:

• How many workers have you reached through the Corporate Wellness Program? Has morale increased? Have health risks decreased, e.g., fewer workers smoking, more workers active?
• How well are you managing the Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness Program success stories from workers. Don’t underestimate the power of a good story to put a human face on your success.

Supplemental sources of Corporate Wellness Program Financing

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

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Locating an individual to lead your employer in starting a Corporate Wellness Program

Without a qualified Corporate Wellness Program coordinator to lead and manage your employer’s creation of a culture of health, efforts can be scattered and momentum can stall. While it’s vital 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 gain the time of a qualified coordinator.

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

· knowledge of community health, population health and worksite Corporate Wellness Programs

· competent working with and understanding aggregate data, preferably Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness Program Procedures.

What will a Corporate Wellness Program coordinator do?

The Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness Program:

· act as a liaison between upper management and the Corporate Wellness Program employee advisory workgroup

· interpret health-related data on your Corporate Wellness Program

· establishe and manage work plans and budgets for implementation of selected Corporate Wellness Program Procedures

· facilitate Health and Wellness Committee meetings

· lead your employer in determining measurable objectives for the Corporate Wellness Program

· recommend effective Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness Program Procedures and objectives.

Where can we find a qualified Corporate Wellness Program coordinator?

Explore the following when looking for a Corporate 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 Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness Program Procedures? If possible, budget enough to cover not only salary but also continued learning, journal subscriptions and membership fees for this Corporate Wellness Program position.

· New staff – Can you hire an individual to be your employer’s Corporate Wellness Program coordinator? Would it need to be a full-time position, or would part-time be sufficient?

· Corporate Wellness Program Consultation – Various employers (e.g., health plans, benefit consultants and public health departments) provide Corporate Wellness Program consultation on building a culture of health within a workplace.

An outside Corporate Wellness Program consultant can advise an internal Corporate Wellness Program coordinator and your Health and Wellness Committee on determining priorities and deciding on Procedures. Or, you can contract with a Corporate Wellness Program consultant to be your coordinator. If you choose 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 Corporate Wellness Program promotes health and is vital to securing needed Corporate Wellness Program resources (staff, time, and money) and implementing recommended changes.

 

1. Identify a Corporate Wellness Program champion

 

            In a small employer, there may be a single leader who is the clear choice to champion the Corporate Wellness Program. In a larger employer, look for an executive with the authority to sway others in the uppermost levels of the organization regarding the Corporate Wellness Program. The Corporate Wellness Program champion need not be the fittest member of upper management. Rather, look for a Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness Program champion at each site.

 

2. Find existing Corporate Wellness Program allies

 

            There may already be a number of individuals within your employer who recognize the value of a Corporate Wellness 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 Corporate Wellness Program ally. Gain their stated support for the Corporate Wellness Program. Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness Program

 

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

 

4. When developing a Corporate 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 Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness Program support:

 

• What are the current pressures and priorities facing executives? How could a Corporate Wellness Program and a healthier workforce support those priorities?
• How do your leaders prefer to receive data: written documents? verbal presentations?
• What kinds of Corporate Wellness Program information are likely to sway decisions? Do they want data and Corporate 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 Corporate 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 improve the odds that the Corporate Wellness Program will become a reality.

 

5. Maintain Corporate Wellness Program support once you have it

 

            Once you have appropriate Corporate Wellness Program support, ensure that you maintain it by regularly updating your leaders on the health of the employees and progress toward starting a culture that promotes health. Ask upper management how often they want to receive Corporate 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. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota internal research, submitted for publication.

            3 Anderson, 2000, American Journal of Health Promotion, 15:1.

 

The workplace setting is a powerful, but often overlooked, element in managing worker health.  Here we will identify some of the best-practices in starting a Corporate Wellness Program that supports your organization’s employee health strategy and allows workers to take charge of their own health.  For example, a Corporate Wellness Program that includes a tobacco-free workplace policy improves the likelihood that workers will try to quit tobacco use and will quit smoking successfully. Similarly, a Corporate Wellness Program that includes discounting healthy foods in your cafeteria and vending machines helps raise workers’ consumption of healthy foods which supports your investment in disease management programs for workers with diabetes, heart disease or hypertension. The following will guide you through the ten key steps in starting a Corporate Wellness Program and workplace setting that promotes worker health.

 

In an era of rising health care costs and fierce competition, businesses have a vested interest in the health of their workers.  Research has found that, on average, workers with healthy behaviors (such as not smoking or being active for 30 minutes a day) incur lower health care expenses, are absent from work less often, and are more productive when at work (higher presenteeism) than workers with unhealthy behaviors.

 

 

Corporate Wellness Program: Gaining Upper Management Support

 

Corporate Wellness Program support from the uppermost level of upper management is vital to your success in starting a culture of health within your workplace. Look for Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness 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 Corporate Wellness Program resources (staff, time, and money) to maintain and improve the workplace policies, physical setting, and social norms.

 

 

Gain Corporate Wellness Program Staff and Financing

 

Starting and maintaining a Corporate 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 Corporate Wellness Program.  There are a number of ways to find an individual with the needed skills to guide and support your employer’s Corporate Wellness Program.

           

Beginning facilities and Corporate Wellness Program policies, such as those allowing workers to be physically active during the workday, does not need to be expensive, but it does require adequate and sustained financing.  If possible, include the creation of a workplace setting that supports the Corporate Wellness Program as a permanent part of the operating budget; that helps to ensure it’s an ongoing priority for your employer.

 

 

Worker Involvement in the Corporate Wellness Program

 

Setting up a representative group of workers to advise your employer’s Corporate Wellness Program ensures that improvements in workplace facilities, policies and practices address the true needs and barriers of all groups of workers.   In addition, these workers can support as the front-line Corporate Wellness Program supporters of policies and practices with their peers.

 

 

Create a Corporate Wellness Program “Brand” and Vision

 

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

 

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

 

 

Determine Your Present Corporate Wellness Program Situation

 

Exactly how your employer establishes a Corporate Wellness Program that promotes 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 workers, you can estimate the prevalence of different health risks and behaviors within your employee population using state or national data.  Note: Information on workers’ health interests alone is not sufficient; but can be a useful supplement to health risk data and might help you set priorities.

 

 

Determine Corporate Wellness Program Goals and Priorities

 

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

 

 

Choose Corporate Wellness Program Procedures

 

Focus your employer’s Corporate Wellness Program resources (time, energy and money) on tactics that are most likely to produce results:  a rise in healthy eating, a rise 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 Corporate Wellness Program approaches most likely to result in significant, lasting, and widespread improvements in health behaviors. Those Corporate Wellness Program tactics are included in the physical activity, tobacco, and healthy eating sections of this website.

 

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

 

 

Implement Corporate Wellness Program Procedures

 

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

 

 

Communicate and Educate About the Corporate Wellness Program

 

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

 

 

Monitor and Report Your Corporate Wellness Program Results

 

At the same time that you plan your Corporate 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 implement a Corporate Wellness Program strategy rather than as an afterthought.   Keep in mind that you’re likely to see improvements in worker morale and/or behaviors before you see decreases in rates of absenteeism or health care claims.

 

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