Wellness Program Incentives

Creating an active Company Health Promotion Program Committee provides opportunities for both senior staff and employee involvement in the program.  The Wellness Committee ought to be a team of staff members and managers who formally meet to plan activities to promote healthier employee lifestyles.

Typical Functions of a Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee:

• Reviewing needs & interests
• Coming up with program ideas
• Starting activities
• Establishing communication plans
• Promoting programs to co-workers
• Serving as champions of the Worksite Wellness Programs
• Assisting with assessment  

Your Employee Health Promotion Program Committee should be representative of all levels of the organization.  Consider all facets of the workforce – multiple sites, shift staff members, diversity (race, gender, ethnicity), and departments.   It’s also important to consider who will chair or co-chair the Employee Health Promotion Program Committee and whether or not there are the finances to support a Employee Health Promotion Program manager or occupational health consultant, even on a part-time or contractual basis.  Click here for more information on the benefits of a health consultant.  

Depending on your corporation size and resources, if you already have a corporation Safety Committee you might want to consider making it the Safety & Corporate Wellness Program Committee.  You have the potential to request volunteers or invite workers to take part.  

The number of Employee Health Promotion Program Committee members depends on the size of your company; however, you need a sufficient number of members to get the work done and yet not too many to keep it manageable, usually a minimum of 4 members and maximum of 12 to 15 members.  It’s important to include skeptics of wellness as well and not just those employees already practicing healthy lifestyles.  

Depending on your worksite, consider representatives from the following areas:

• Employee representatives from a cross section of different departments,
• Senior Leadership
• Health and safety consultant(s),
• Human Resources (HR) professional(s),
• Employee benefits representative or someone from finance,
• Your EAP provider (if applicable), Click here for more information on EAPs
• Occupational health employee (if applicable).

Establish an effective Corporate Wellness Program Committee!  The Corporate Wellness Program Committee should meet regularly with a planned agenda and action items.  Successful Wellness Committees have a shared mission, vision and objectives and goals.  Participants must believe that their participation is worthwhile and appreciated, that their work is valuable, benefits the organization and co-employees, and they are recognized for their contributions. Refer to the NC Workplace Programs section for examples of what other businesses have implemented.