How to create objectives for your employee wellness program

It is important not to overlook the importance of having objective when it comes to your employee wellness program. The best employee wellness programs focus on specific objectives that best meet the needs of the employees involved. The program should be designed to focus on certain objectives so that it can be the most effective. In addition, the evaluation that will be done after a specific period of time will focus on the effects that the various programs and activities had on the workforce. These activities and events will have been designed from the objectives that were created, for the employee wellness program. When the objectives are specifically tied to the employee wellness program, it is much easier to produce the desired results.

There are several different objectives that could be used in the employee wellness program. Some of these objectives could include:

• An overall improvement of employees' health habits


• A reduction in the costs of health care


• A increase in the amount of physical activity that each employee gets


• A reduction in the costs associated with workers' compensation


• A reduction in employee turnover and absenteeism


• An increase in overall employee productivity

When assessing the accomplishments of the employee wellness program, the Health Promotions Team should use multiple measures. The Health Risk Assessment could be used to gather data that can be used as a baseline. This will give considerable insight as to the employee's personal health habits and characteristics, prior to starting the employee wellness program. Then after the appropriate amount of time has passed, a follow-up health assessment should be administered. This will help to determine if real improvements in employee's health have occurred. The Health Promotion Team can then make a comparison of the baseline data and the information that was collected at the follow up. The data should give some insight as to whether or not; the employee wellness program has made significant and lasting changes, for the employees.

It is hoped that the data will should that there have been marked and significant improvements in certain health risks that were identified by the objectives, of the employee wellness program. It is important to keep in mind however, that the data should be carefully clarified. For example:When reviewing the data on employee absenteeism, the Health Promotions Team will need to clearly identify what types of absenteeism are because of health and lifestyle factors and what could be attributed to other reasons such as: vacations, leaves of absence, jury duty etc.) After sifting through the data they can then evaluate what effect the employee wellness program had and perhaps measure the impact. In addition, other factors should be considered when reviewing absenteeism data. Factors such as employee morale, job satisfaction, illnesses at work and in the community, age and health of the employees children, can all affect the rate of absenteeism as well. Once the data has been quantified then the evaluation can be done to see if the objective was met.

It is crucial that whatever objectives are used in the employee wellness program that they meet the needs and interest of the employees of the company. Too often in their eagerness to get a employee wellness program up and running, companies will simply choose objectives that other businesses are using or what seems popular. The problem with this is that these objectives may not even come close to fitting what your employees need. This means that the entire employee wellness program will be skewed. While the program can possibly meet some of the needs of the employee population, most likely the majority will be left out or uninterested, because the program is not focused on the right objectives.