Employee Wellness

A Wellness Program without goals and 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 might end up disastrously.  Yet, with a little thoughtful planning, you increase your chances for a successful experience.  Clear goals and goals are needed to plan your wellness program for ensure success!

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

Wellness Program Mission Statement

The first consideration is a mission statement for your Wellness Program. the mission statement is the overall expression of what the Wellness Committee wants to accomplish by beginning a wellness program.  

It is important to consider how your Wellness Program fits in with the corporation mission statement, contributes to the overall mission and supports the corporation bottom line.  This will integrate your efforts throughout the corporation operations.  

Here are some examples of Wellness Program mission statements –  

At XYZ Business, maintaining an environment that supports employee health and safety is our underlying value.  It is the mission of the Wellness Program to assist in developing wellness services that fosters and upholds that value.

It is the mission of the XYZ Wellness Committee to foster healthier lifestyle choices to reduce health risk factors, improve overall well-being, and maintain a productive, active work force.

Wellness Program Goals

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

The goal(s) of XYZ Wellness Program in year XXXX is to –   (one or more of the following examples)

• Reduce absenteeism by one day per worker

• Lower musculoskeletal injuries by 10%

• Decrease unnecessary emergency room visits

• Decrease or contain health care costs

• Improve dietary habits of employees

• Reduce health risk factors  

Wellness Program Objectives

Specific Wellness Program goals help meet your long-term goals and vision.  Both short term and long term goals ought to be developed as the stepping stones to accomplish the goals and mission.  

In addition to goals for the expected participant outcomes, process goals should also be created for the program process itself.  For example, process goals may include how many employees you want to participate in the programs, how many sessions on a topic will be offered, the kind of wellness sessions that will be implemented, etc.

Objectives need to be easily measurable within a set time frame.  Try using the SMART formula to develop both your long and short-term goals and goals –

• Specific (one behavior or outcome)

• Measurable (one result that could be observed or analyzed),

• 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.  For example, an objective for a weight loss program that has an overall goal of improving healthful consuming and promoting a healthful weight is that –  

Participants (who) will lose an average of .5 – 1 lbs per week (specific what that is measurable) after the 12 week lunchtime program (time specific what, when and where) for a minimum of 6 lbs weight loss per participant (attainable and realistic).

Or –  

Participants (who) will attend 11 of the 12 sessions (specific what that is measurable) and name at least one healthier eating change after the program (specific what, when, where)

An example of an objective for coaching staff members with elevated cholesterol may  be –  

To reduce the sum cholesterol (specific what) of high risk workers with cholesterol over 240 mg/dl (specific who) to 200 mg/dl (measurable how much) through one-on-one counseling sessions offered at the worksite (where) by X date (ex, after 6 months) (attainable, realistic and time specific when) to lower the risk factor for heart disease (why).  

And one last example of a process objective for a smoking cessation program with an overall goal to assist participants in committing to quit for life –  

By the end of the 4-week tobacco use cessation program, 10% of the participants will have quit tobacco use.  Each participant will be contacted at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months from the program’s end to determine quit status (process objective) and 10% of those who quit will still be smoke free after one year.

You have now completed Steps 1 through 4, including establishing your Wellness Committee.  It is now time to plan your wellness activities!