Starting a Health and Wellness Committee

A representative Health and Wellness Committee is a cornerstone of a successful Employee Wellness Program, regardless of the size of the business.

Membership of your Health and Wellness Committee

Aim for a committee of a manageable size (no more than 15 members, depending on your business’s size). Your Health and Wellness Committee should represent all employee groups (e.g., full-time and part-time staff members, managers and front-line staff members, salary and hourly employees, union representation, Human Resources, marketing or communications, legal, and occupational health/safety).

Here are some additional considerations:

• Health and Wellness Committee members can be selected by leadership or can be selected from among volunteers.
• Determine in advance how long Health and Wellness Committee members will serve and how new members will be selected. Balance the need for continuity with the need to bring fresh ideas and energy to your business’s Employee Wellness Program.
• It’s not important, or even desirable, to have your healthiest staff members on the Health and Wellness Committee. Ideal Health and Wellness Committee members are those who best can represent their peers, motivate others and support the implementation of the Employee Wellness Program.
• Consider providing an incentive or recognition to Health and Wellness Committee members. It legitimizes their positions and encourages participation. Some businesss that have started stipends have generated enough staff member interest that the selection of Health and Wellness Committee membership becomes a competitive process. The Health and Wellness Committee responsibilities become a formal part of the member’s job accountabilities.

Role of your Health and Wellness Committee

In some businesss the Health and Wellness Committee is accountable for the implementation of the Employee Wellness Program. In other businesss, the Health and Wellness Committee plays an advisory role. In either case, the group members can be asked to:

• Attend regular meetings of the Health and Wellness Committee.
• Help develop a vision and name for the business’s Employee Wellness Program.
• Represent their peers by sharing ideas, needs, concerns and feedback from their work areas and colleagues about proposed Employer Wellness Program Procedures, policies, and programs.
• Provide feedback on the possible obstacles to proposed Employer Wellness Program Procedures and offer suggestions for addressing those obstacles (e.g., how does a proposed policy fit with the schedules of staff members?).
• Suggest effective Employer Wellness Program communication Procedures and solutions to challenges. For example, what is the best way to communicate with staff members who work the third shift? How will staff members react to a proposed message from leadership?
• Be a voice of support for a culture of wellness, carrying the message from the Health and Wellness Committee to their work areas and colleagues.

Functioning of your Health and Wellness Committee

Meet. Schedule regular Health and Wellness Committee meetings on paid work time. Your Health and Wellness Committee may want to meet regulary at first, then slightly less frequently as your health improvement strategy is more established. If your Health and Wellness Committee is new, it might be useful to ask members to provide information about themselves and their interests.

Communicate. Set up regular channels of communication with Health and Wellness Committee members so they are up to date and engaged. An email list is frequently the easiest way to do this. Encourage communication to flow both ways: from Employer Wellness Program coordinator to members and from members to coordinator.

Check-in. At least once a year, assess how effectively the Health and Wellness Committee is functioning. Is the Health and Wellness Committee serving its original purpose? Ask committee members for their feedback. Do they feel like their work is making a difference? Do they feel like their input is valued and taken into account when planning and implementing initiatives? Do they understand their expected Employer Wellness Program roles and responsibilities? Are there members who want to rotate off of the committee? How will new members be selected?