Wellness Plans : Wellness Programs – Building Program Support.

As with any health promotion program, the two vital elements for the success of your health promotion program are executive management support and worker involvement. Executive management sets the vision and provides the resources from which action plans flow.  

Genuine support from executive management also lends credibility to the health promotion program. It’s key that executive management be visible supporters and role models for your Wellness Program.

Employees need to be involved on several levels so that they feel ownership of the wellness program. Employees are the wellness program stakeholders!  

All workers should have an opportunity to provide input and feedback through needs and interest surveys and health promotion program examination tools.  The information gathered must be used to plan health promotion programs that target those needs and interests to ensure participation, buy-in, and support.

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

• Conducting Staff Member Focus Groups

• Discussing Health Promotion Interests During Department Meetings

• Distributing and Summarizing a Needs and Interest Survey

• Including an Opportunity to Provide Suggestions on Each Investigation Tool  

Any one or combination of several techniques will ensure that the wellness program meets what employees want.  Click here for a sample Needs and Interest Survey.

Step 3 provides additional information on determining wellness program needs.  But first, establishing a Wellness Committee can help you involve upper-level management and staff members, determine need, and plan your wellness program.