Worksite Wellness Programs

Finding an individual to lead your organization in beginning a Worksite Wellness Program

Without a qualified Worksite Wellness Program coordinator to lead and manage your organization’s creation of a culture of health, efforts can be scattered and momentum can stall. While it’s vital that the creation of a culture of health be someone’s priority, not all organizations need a full-time coordinator. There are a number of ways to secure the time of a qualified coordinator.

Be careful not to confuse Worksite Wellness Program skills with fitness skills. You are not looking for a personal trainer or a nutritionist to run your Worksite Wellness Program. The following are good indications that an individual may be qualified to be a Worksite Wellness Program coordinator:

• knowledge of community health, population health and worksite Worksite Wellness Programs
• experience working with and understanding aggregate data, preferably Worksite Wellness Program data
• experience managing projects, including developing timelines and facilitating meetings
• experience in strategic planning, including defining goals and related objectives
• ability to understand, and use the findings of, journal articles on effective Worksite Wellness Program Procedures.

What will a Worksite Wellness Program coordinator do?

The Worksite Wellness Program coordinator is responsible for guiding a process that creates workplace facilities, policies and practices that promote health. The individual may do some of all of the following for your Worksite Wellness Program:

• act as a liaison between leadership and the Worksite Wellness Program employee advisory workgroup
• interpret health-related data on your Worksite Wellness Program
• create and manage work plans and budgets for implementation of selected Worksite Wellness Program Procedures
• facilitate Health and Wellness Committee meetings
• lead your organization in setting measurable goals for the Worksite Wellness Program
• recommend effective Worksite Wellness Program Procedures, using the evidence in the health behavior literature and national and/or recommended best practices
• document and report short-term and long-term progress on Worksite Wellness Program Procedures and goals.

Where can we find a qualified Worksite Wellness Program coordinator?

Explore the following when looking for a Worksite Wellness Program coordinator:

• Existing staff: Are there individuals on staff who have the background, or are interested in gaining the skills, to serve as a Worksite Wellness Program coordinator? Is it possible to dedicate a portion of someone’s time (e.g., .5 FTE) to the position of coordinating your organization’s Worksite Wellness Program Procedures? If possible, budget enough to cover not only salary but also continued learning, journal subscriptions and membership fees for this Worksite Wellness Program position.
• New staff – Can you hire an individual to be your organization’s Worksite Wellness Program coordinator? Would it need to be a full-time position, or would part-time be sufficient?
• Worksite Wellness Program Consultation – Various organizations (e.g., health plans, benefit consultants and public health departments) provide Worksite Wellness Program consultation on building a culture of health within a workplace.

An outside Worksite Wellness Program consultant can advise an internal Worksite Wellness Program coordinator and your Health and Wellness Committee on setting priorities and selecting Procedures. Or, you can contract with a Worksite Wellness Program consultant to be your coordinator. If you select the latter approach, you’ll want to contract with the individual for sufficient hours to carry out all of the responsibilities associated with coordinating an effective strategy.