Employee Wellness Newsletter : Worksite Health Promotion Program: Building Program Support

As with any program, the two most important components for the effectiveness of your wellness program are upper management support & employee involvement.  Senior Leadership sets the vision and arranges the resources from which action plans flow.  Genuine support from senior personnel also lends credibility to the wellness program.  It is key that upper management be visible supporters and role models for your Company Wellness Program.

workers need to be involved on several echelons so that they feel ownership of the wellness program.  Staff Members are the program stakeholders!  All workers must have an opportunity to support input and feedback through needs & interest surveys and program assessment tools.  The information gathered must be used to plan programs that target those needs and interests to ensure participation, buy-in, and reinforcement.

There are several methods to identify employee needs and interests such as:

• Directing Employee Focus Groups
• Discovering Wellness Interests During Department gatherings
• Distributing and Summarizing a Needs & Interest Survey
• (Including|Allowing for|Making sure to include} a Chance to Give Suggestions on Each Evaluation Tool  

Any one or combination of several techniques will ensure that the wellness program meets what employees want.

Step 3 supports additional information on determining wellness program needs.  But first, implementing a Workplace Wellness Program Committee can help you involve senior staff & workers, determine need, and plan your wellness program.