Some businesses don’t have the resources to devote entire positions to a corporate wellness program, so they aim to practice some parts of wellness in the workplace. Enter the Workplace Wellness Committee. Wellness committees are awesome extracurriculars for employees passionate about health and personal wellness, while taking some of the strain off of the HR department. Essentially, the role of a wellness committee is to promote an office wellness culture. They’re also great because they foster a better sense of community within the workplace. In just a few easy steps, your company can have it’s own wellness committee. Here’s how:
What does your wellness committee do?
Determine how much responsibility your wellness committee should have by evaluating how much time employees of the company can reasonably commit. A wellness committee with more time on their hands can coordinate wellness events on their own such as registering for a 5K, or organizing a healthy potluck. If your committee won’t be able to devote a lot of time to the cause, there’s still a lot they can do. This can include reminding staff of fitness events at team meetings or creating promotional material for the wellness program.
How will they do it?
Determine when and where the committee will meet. We suggest at least once a month from 45 minutes to an hour. Also, make sure to establish a clear budget for contributors so the committee will be able to create realistic ideas for the company.
Who’s on board?
Try to recruit members from all walks of life and levels of employment. This can range from upper management to staff, and health enthusiasts to wellness skeptics. A diverse committee will provide the most accurate depiction of your office’s culture and develop the most well rounded programs. Try to recruit by offering committee members benefits like sponsored lunch at every meeting, or sponsored work events for committee members only.
And go!
Have you first meeting! Have a member set the meetings, establish a leader (or not), and get to promoting wellness! Your first meeting should identify specific goals for your company’s wellness program, and get everyone familiar with the boundaries of the committee up front. It’s all up to you from there. Check out some of our previous posts for some ideas for your wellness program.
Good luck!
