Wellness Committees

Many companies establish an “employee wellness committee” to provide guidance on all phases of a worksite health promotion (WHP) program and provide ongoing support for WHP program managers. If your organization is small, consider linking with other small businesses, government agencies, or local nonprofit organizations to form a health promotion council.

Wellness committees generally include representatives from multiple organizational levels, functional areas, and other groups so that diverse viewpoints can be included in program planning. Consider recruiting people in your organization that have responsibility for some aspect of employee health or well-being (e.g., human resources, employee benefits, occupational health and safety, the employee cafeteria, employee unions), as well as people responsible for environmental and policy changes (e.g., facilities and operations, legal department). Wellness committees also enable you to gain direct employee input on your program, so consider assuring at-large employee representation, including those with disabilities, on your wellness committee.

The responsibilities of your employee health promotion committee might include the following:

• Evaluating the current programs, services and policies that are available at your workplace
• Assessing employee needs and preferences
• Developing a health promotion operating plan, including a vision statement, goals, and objectives
•  Assisting in implementing, monitoring, and evaluating WHP activities