The committee is made up of a team of employees who formally meet and plan activities to promote good health in the workplace. Committee members educate on the value of worksite wellness, promote participation in individual and group activities, communicate health information and serve as wellness champions. Use this guide to get your wellness committee started.
7 Steps for Establishing an Effective Wellness Committee
1. Identify potential committee members: Committee members can be identified by invitation, nomination from their manager, or soliciting volunteers. Include employees across all departments and both management and front line staff. The final committee should have between 4 and 10 members.
2. Establish the committee direction: Choose a name for your committee. Outline the committee mission statement by highlighting the value your wellness program brings to the workplace and detail the work the committee will accomplish. Elect a chairperson that will prepare the agendas and assist with coordination of program activities.
3. Get employee opinions: A key document in the creation of an effective wellness program is the employee interest survey. It will guide your committee’s goals and contribute to the program’s success. Determine what questions to ask on your survey and how it will be distributed, collected and analyzed.
4. Develop an action plan: Using the employee interest survey data, create a plan. Identify short- and long-term goals, the strategy and steps to accomplish each goal, and the committee members responsible for each step.
5. Assess progress: Now that your wellness program is in place, it is important for the committee to assess its progress. Keep lines of communication open and keep the committee’s focus on the program goals.
6. Update and evaluate: Program evaluation helps the committee stay focused on the established goals. It helps identify areas where the design and/or delivery of the program may require improvement, provides data on program successes and ways to improve in the future. An employee satisfaction survey is important for gathering feedback.
7. Evaluate and adjust: Complete a year-end evaluation summary. Review the action plan results and outcomes and the results of the employee satisfaction survey. Use these results to impact recommendations for next year’s worksite wellness program. If there is a lot of interest in committee participation have employees sign up for one year and then rotate members.
