Drug Education and Intervention in the Workplace

A Company Wellness Program without goals and objectives 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 modest amount of thoughtful planning, you broaden your chances for a efficacious experience.  Clear goals and objectives are needed to plan your wellness program in order to ensure success!

Wellness program objectives and goals are different from one company to another depending on the population, needs, interests and resources.  Nonetheless, 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 significant 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 Corporate Health Promotion Program mission statements:

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

“It is the mission of the XYZ Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee to advance healthier lifestyle choices to cut health risk factors, better overall well-being, and maintain a advantageous, active work force.”

Employee Wellness Program Goals

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

The objective(s) of XYZ Workplace Wellness Program in year XXXX is to:  (one or more of the following examples)

• Reduce absenteeism by one day per employee
• Cut down on musculoskeletal injuries by 10%
• Cut down on unnecessary emergency room visits
• Cut down on or contain medical care expenditures
• Improve dietary habits of employees
• Decrease health risk factors  

Worksite Wellness Program Objectives

Specific Company Wellness Program objectives help meet your long-term goals and objectives.  Both short term and long term objectives must be developed as the stepping stones to accomplish the goals and objectives.  In addition to objectives for the expected attendant outcomes, process objectives must also be developed for the program process itself.  By way of example, process objectives may include the number of workers you want to participate in the programs, the number of sessions on a topic will be provided, 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 goals and objectives:

• Specific (one behavior or outcome)
• Measurable (one result that can be monitored 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.  For example, an objective for a weight loss program that has an overall objective 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 colleague (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 an objective for coaching employees with elevated cholesterol might be:

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

And one last example of a process mission for a smoking cessation program with an overall objective to assist  participants in committing to quit for life:

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

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