Worksite Wellness Coordinator Skills - A Series - Building A Sound Program Infrastructure
Your worksite wellness program needs an infrastructure to support it.
Read on to learn what the different infrastructure needs might be.
The program model you choose to use will also drive both your needed infrastructure and your infrastructure's costs.
Essentially, a worksite wellness program could have any or all of the following infrastructure components: • Champions • A committee or team • A coordinator • Administrative support These are the common infrastructure components generally seen today.
Champions Traditionally, champions occur at two levels within an organization.
It is critically important that there be a program champion within the senior leadership team.
Historically, champions have been line level employees who volunteer to also encourage and promote health and wellness at their respective worksites.
Champions have also been called ambassadors, sparkplugs, wellness associates, peer mentors and similarly related terms.
The role of the wellness champion is generally to: • Provide program information to peer employees • Monitor employee reactions to and comments about the wellness program • Serve as a go-to resource for co-workers • Serve as a wellness program leader Depending upon their interest and level of training, champions can also organize and deliver on-site wellness events and coordinate other health/wellness related interventions.
Committee or Team The creation of a wellness committee or team is important for a couple of reasons.
The first is program continuity.
Having a committee or team in place will ensure that the program will survive the loss of any one program leader.
An active, highly functional team or committee will also result in many hands being involved in the work of the program.
This will prevent overwhelming one or more staff or committee member.
Before creating a new wellness committee or team, look around the organization to see if an existing committee or team would be willing to expand its role to include employee health and wellness.
The size of the committee or team should reflect the size of the organization.
The composition of the committee or team should be reflective of all shifts and organizational units.
Make sure the wellness committee or team's roles and responsibilities are clearly spelled out.
Wellness Coordinator The program's coordinator is generally responsible for the implementation of the program and its day-to-day operation.
The coordinator can be either a full-time, part-time, contracted person, or a person provided to the organization by a contracted program vendor.
Administrative Support It is critical for the wellness program to have an administrative infrastructure to complement the program's infrastructure.
Administrative infrastructure generally consists of: • Program name, logo, tag line and art style consistently portrayed so they become the program's brand • Program plan and workplan • Program marketing and communication plan • Program evaluation plan Successful and sustainable worksite wellness programs have adequate program and administrative infrastructures in place.
Read on to learn what the different infrastructure needs might be.
The program model you choose to use will also drive both your needed infrastructure and your infrastructure's costs.
Essentially, a worksite wellness program could have any or all of the following infrastructure components: • Champions • A committee or team • A coordinator • Administrative support These are the common infrastructure components generally seen today.
Champions Traditionally, champions occur at two levels within an organization.
It is critically important that there be a program champion within the senior leadership team.
Historically, champions have been line level employees who volunteer to also encourage and promote health and wellness at their respective worksites.
Champions have also been called ambassadors, sparkplugs, wellness associates, peer mentors and similarly related terms.
The role of the wellness champion is generally to: • Provide program information to peer employees • Monitor employee reactions to and comments about the wellness program • Serve as a go-to resource for co-workers • Serve as a wellness program leader Depending upon their interest and level of training, champions can also organize and deliver on-site wellness events and coordinate other health/wellness related interventions.
Committee or Team The creation of a wellness committee or team is important for a couple of reasons.
The first is program continuity.
Having a committee or team in place will ensure that the program will survive the loss of any one program leader.
An active, highly functional team or committee will also result in many hands being involved in the work of the program.
This will prevent overwhelming one or more staff or committee member.
Before creating a new wellness committee or team, look around the organization to see if an existing committee or team would be willing to expand its role to include employee health and wellness.
The size of the committee or team should reflect the size of the organization.
The composition of the committee or team should be reflective of all shifts and organizational units.
Make sure the wellness committee or team's roles and responsibilities are clearly spelled out.
Wellness Coordinator The program's coordinator is generally responsible for the implementation of the program and its day-to-day operation.
The coordinator can be either a full-time, part-time, contracted person, or a person provided to the organization by a contracted program vendor.
Administrative Support It is critical for the wellness program to have an administrative infrastructure to complement the program's infrastructure.
Administrative infrastructure generally consists of: • Program name, logo, tag line and art style consistently portrayed so they become the program's brand • Program plan and workplan • Program marketing and communication plan • Program evaluation plan Successful and sustainable worksite wellness programs have adequate program and administrative infrastructures in place.
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