e-Wellness Coach

A Worksite Wellness Program without goals is somewhat akin to taking a family trip without any planning; you won’t know where you’re going, how to get there, what you want to do once you have arrived, or even whether or not you have arrived!  The trip may end up ok, or it may end up disastrously.  Yet, with a bit of thoughtful planning, you broaden your chances for a efficacious experience.  Clear goals are needed to plan your wellness program in order to ensure success!

Wellness program objectives and goals are different from one employer to another depending on the population, needs, interests and resources.  Nevertheless, well thought out objectives based on your company’s needs assessment will form the foundation of a efficacious wellness program!

Company Wellness Program Mission Statement

The first consideration is a mission statement for your Employee Health Promotion Program. The mission statement is the central expression of what the Employee Health Promotion Program Committee wants to accomplish by launching a wellness program.  It is important to consider how your Employee Health Promotion Program fits in with the corporation mission statement, contributes to the central mission and supports the corporation bottom line.  This will integrate your efforts throughout the corporation operations.  

Here are some examples of Worksite Wellness Program mission statements:

“At XYZ Company, maintaining an environment that supports employee health and safety is our underlying value.  It is the mission of the Employee Health Promotion Program to assist  in planning Employee Health Promotion Program services that fosters and upholds that value.”

“It is the mission of the XYZ Corporate Wellness Program Committee to cultivate healthier lifestyle choices to reduce health risk factors, better central wellness, and maintain a beneficial, active work force.”

Company Health Promotion Program Goals

The objectives further define your mission and are based on your needs assessment.  Depending on the needs assessment, upper management expectations and employee interests, examples of objectives can include:

The goal(s) of XYZ Company Health Promotion Program in year XXXX is to:  (one or more of the following examples)

• Reduce absenteeism by one day per employee
• Lower musculoskeletal injuries by ten percent
• Decrease unnecessary emergency room visits
• Decrease or contain healthcare expenditures
• Improve dietary habits of workers
• Cut down on health risk factors  

Corporate Wellness Program Objectives

Specific Worksite Wellness Program objectives help meet your long-term objectives.  Both short term and long term objectives must be developed as the stepping stones to accomplish the objectives.  In addition to objectives for the expected participant outcomes, process objectives must also be developed for the program process itself.  By way of example, process objectives may include how many employees you want to take part in the programs, how many sessions on a topic will be available, the type of wellness sessions that will be implemented, etc.

Objectives must be easily measurable within a set time frame.  Try using the SMART formula to create both your long and short-term objectives and goals:

• Specific (one behavior or outcome)
• Measurable (one result that can be observed or evaluated),
• Attainable (but also challenging),
• Realistic (do you have the resources to achieve?), and
• Time specific (within 3 months – up to 5 years)  

This is the who, what, when, where, why, and by how much method.  By way of example, an objective for a weight loss program that has an central intention of improving healthy eating and promoting a healthy weight is that:

Members (who) will lose an average of .5 – 1 lbs per week (specific what that is measurable) at the end of the 12 week lunchtime program (time specific what, when and where) for a minimum of 6 lbs weight loss per participant (attainable and realistic).

Or:

Participants (who) will catch 11 of the 12 sessions (specific what that is measurable) and name at least one healthier eating change at the end of the program (specific what, when, where)

An example of the mission for coaching employees with elevated cholesterol might be:

To lower the total cholesterol (specific what) of elevated risk employees with cholesterol over 240 mg/dl (specific who) to 200 mg/dl (measurable how much) through one-on-one counseling sessions available at the workplace (where) by X date (ex, after 6 months) (attainable, realistic & time specific when) to lower the risk factor for heart disease (why).  

And one last example of a process intention for a tobacco cessation program with an overall objective to support  participants in committing to quit for life:

By the end of the 4-week tobacco cessation program, 10% of the participants will have quit smoking.  Each attendant will be contacted at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months from the program’s end to determine quit status (process mission) and 10% of those who quit will still be tobacco-free after one year.

You have now completed Steps 1 through 4, including establishing your Employee Health Promotion Program Committee.  It is now time to plan your wellness activities!