Establishing and Maintaining aWorksite Wellness Team

Jessie L. Sandoval

Wellness Consultant

WELCOA’s 7 Benchmarks of Success

Wellness Council of America (WELCOA) • Capture senior level support• Create a cohesive wellness team• Collect data• Craft and operating plan• Choose appropriate interventions• Create a supportive environment• Carefully evaluate outcomes

Reference: Wellness Councils of American (WELCOA), Absolute Advantage 2006 Volume 6, Number 1@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

“A comprehensive approach to worksite health results is a planned and

organized set of programs, policies, benefits, and environmental supports

designed to meet the health and safety needs of all employees. A

comprehensive approach looks to put interventions in place that address

multiple risk factors and health conditions concurrently and recognizes

that the interventions and strategies chosen influence multiple levels of

the organization including the individual employee and the organization

as a whole.”

Reference: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov

Creating a wellness team is just ONE piece of the puzzle. It is often integrated into the

overall design and implementation of a worksite wellness program.

One piece of the puzzle…

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Establishing a wellness team

• Does leadership support exist?(middle management = key players)

• Who will manage/lead the team?

• Are there employees interested in the opportunity?

• Is there a structure in place to support the team?

• What is the mission/purpose of the team?

• How will multiple sites or locations be managed? @jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Wellness Champions

– Most successful worksite wellness programs are supported by a group of enthusiastic employees that form at the grassroots level.

– Often called "Wellness Champions" - they are the drivers for building a culture of wellness and encouraging participation in a company’s wellness program.

– They help direct the organization in selecting wellness programs and offerings, measuring the success of the programs and creating environments where wellness flourishes.

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Quick Poll

Do you currently have a wellness team established?

Quick Poll

Are you interested in starting a wellness program?

“A wellness team is comprised of wellness champions, employees committed to promoting health and wellness in the workplace.”

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Wellness Champion traits

• Have a passion for wellness

• Are committed to personal health

• Exhibit good organizational skills

• Dedicated to building and maintaining relationships

• Support the overall company mission

• Maintain a holistic outlook

• Know how to have fun! @jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Holly Firestine, Manager for Wellness and Worklife at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta shares this perspective regarding effective Wellness Champions.

“A business approach to wellness, where there is a true strategic approach to

programming and measurement that aligns with corporate strategy, is critical to the

success of anyone seeking to lead Wellness in the workplace. The Wellness Leader

must have the ability to sustain the culture through stakeholder engagement

throughout all leadership and staff levels in order to establish credibility and

authenticity with all employees.”@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Quick Poll

How many Wellness Champions are on your wellness team?

Why are Wellness Champions important?

• Provide a trusted resource for employees

• Help improve teamwork and employee moral

• Increase awareness of wellness opportunities 

• Help employees see worksite wellness as a company priority.

• Share a broad range of talents and views

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Wellness team defined

A wellness team is a group of employees who formally meet and plan activities to promote good health for themselves and for their fellow workers. This team…

• Represents employees from all organizational levels.

• Communicates to employees information about known health risks and the value of a worksite wellness committee and wellness initiatives.

• Creates and maintains open lines of communication between wellness committees and employees.

• Promotes participation in both individual and group activities.

• Advocates for worksite policies and environments that support improved health.

• Coordinates the monitoring and evaluation of the wellness activities/programs offered to employees.

• Serves as the leader/champion for wellness activities at their worksite.

Reference: http://edb.sonoma-county.org/

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Example – Invitation Letter to Employee

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Where/how to recruit Wellness Champions?

• Ask mid-level managers for recommendations

• Post information about being a Wellness Champion

• Review any past interest survey information

• Look at other internal committee/teams for collaboration (motivation/moral committee ex.)

Maintaining a wellness team

1. Write worksite wellness into job descriptions

2. Promote the team throughout the organization

3. Develop a team with good leadership

4. Add diversity to the team

5. Meet regularly face to face 1-2x/month

6. Assign someone to take and distribute meeting notes

7. Provide continual communication

8. Make continuing education options available and accessible

Reference: adapted from WELCOA “Tips for Maintaining a Worksite Wellness Team”

Additional Tips…

• Develop online "kit" to house made ready made resources for wellness champions

• Establish an annual awards program to recognize the wellness champions' contributions and involve the leadership team in the celebration

• Include input/feedback from wellness champions into wellness program 

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

“Wellness Champions play a vital role in the success of wellness programs and when you educate, empower and reward them, you'll find they can be valuable resource.”

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Case study – current NRP client

1. Choose someone to head the program (aka Wellness Coordinator)

and then form a well-rounded team. In other words, get employees from

different areas of the company so that all employees are represented.

2. Have employees complete a survey to see what they would like to

get from a wellness program. You can think you KNOW what

employees want, but you may be surprised!  And you want to make the

program what the employees actually want or you won’t get

participation. @jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Case study continued

3. Don’t try to do too much right away. Baby steps!

4. Get upper-management/CEO support.

5. Develop a plan. It’s easy to get “off track” if the committee

doesn’t have a plan. (We had a plan for the first 6 months of our

program and then we planned all of 2015 in January so that we

had a clear vision of what we would do this year) @jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Case study continued

Additional recommendations:

• Include updates, news and general health and wellness announcements in a company newsletter (paper version added to paystubs or sent out via email).

• Put up wellness bulletin boards and rotate articles/information so it is always timely and fresh.

Michelle L. Tureskis, Human Resources Benefits CoordinatorValley Memorial Homes 

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Sample First Meeting Agenda

Recommendations:

Keep the first meeting short and sweet

Make time for introductions

Provide clarity around roles/expectations

Each person leaves with an actionable item

Ask for feedback

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Sample Policy & Environment Survey

This is a tool/resource for the wellness team. Include it in the first meeting or have the team members fill out before hand.

Have a plan in place for how to use the information to support future initiatives or programs.

Be clear with what areas of feedback can and cannot be acted upon based on organizational policies and procedures.

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

FREE resources you can use

• Creating cohesive wellness teams special report from WELCOA

• Sample wellness team work plan (long form)

• Sample wellness team work plan (short form)

• Sample wellness job descriptions

• Sample wellness team workbook

• WELCOA Well Workplace University

• National Healthy Worksite Program (NHWP), Created in Oct. 2011 by the CDC - http://www.cdc.gov/nationalhealthyworksite/

• American Heart Association, Workplace Wellness Resources – www.heart.org

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Minnesota Workplace resources/organizations

• Minnesota Department of Health

• Statewide Health Improvement program (SHIP) grant information/stories

• Contact your local SHIP programhttp://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/oshii/ship/communities

• Statewide Health Improvement Programhttp://www.health.state.mn.us/ship

• Center for Prevention, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesotahttp://preventionminnesota.com/

• Alliance for a Healthier Minnesota http://healthiermn.com/ 

• The Presidents’ Network http://presidents-network.com/@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Questions & Answers

Worksite Wellness – Service available to all North Risk Partners clients

Employees are a company’s most important asset. Let us help protect yours with complimentary worksite wellness services!

Monthly WorkLife Wellness Newsletter Assistance with leveraging carrier options Employee interest surveys Training Special events (e.g. an NRP-sponsored health fair) Ongoing support from NRP’s certified worksite wellness consultant

Monthly WorkLife Wellness Newsletter- Designed to be easily shared by email or printed pdf, this employee-facing newsletter includes best practices for wellness at work and in life. Leveraging carrier options- Our worksite wellness expert will help you identify and leverage valuable wellness resources already built into your insurance plan.Employee interest surveys- We provide surveys to help you define the needs and interests of your employees, which in turn help you develop a more effective worksite wellness plan for your organization’s unique cultureTraining- Attend expert-led trainings online or in person on a variety of different worksite wellness topics.

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Ongoing support

As is true with all of our services, the value of our worksite wellness services is rooted in our capacity to provide you with customized ongoing support from an industry expert. North Risk Partners’ worksite wellness consultant, Jessie Sandoval, is available to talk you through all phases of the worksite wellness planning and implementation process.  About Jessie Certified Worksite Wellness Specialist (CWWS) and Program Manager (CWWPM) through the National

Wellness Institute Certified Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition Registered yoga instructor with over 12 years of teaching experience (corporate, gym, studio and

specialty classes)

Contact InformationJessie L. Sandovaljessie@jswellnessllc.org320.291.6285

@jswellnessllc @NorthRisk

Presentation Materials

• Sample Policy and Environment Survey: http://info.northriskpartners.com/hubfs/Sample_Policy_and_Environment_Survey..pdf

• Sample Meeting Agenda: http://info.northriskpartners.com/hubfs/Sample_meeting_agenda.pdf

• Sample let of invitation to serve on a Wellness Team: http://info.northriskpartners.com/hubfs/Sample_letter_of_invitation_to_serve_on_Wellness_Team.pdf