A Company Wellness Program without goals is somewhat akin to taking a family trip without any planning; you wont know where youre 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 increase your chances for a successful experience. Clear goals are required to plan your wellness program in order to ensure success!
Wellness program goals/objectives are different from one business to another depending on the population, needs, interests and resources. Nonetheless, well thought out objectives based on your companys needs assessment will form the foundation of a efficacious wellness program!
Worksite Health Promotion Program Mission Statement
The first consideration is a mission statement for your Company Wellness Program. The mission statement is the overriding expression of what the Company Wellness Program Committee wants to accomplish by implementing a wellness program. It is important to consider how your Company Wellness Program fits in with the business mission statement, contributes to the overriding mission and supports the business bottom line. This will integrate your efforts throughout the business operations.
Below are some examples of Employee Health Promotion Program mission statements:
At XYZ Company, maintaining an environment that supports employee health and safety is our underlying value. It is the mission of the Workplace Health Promotion Program to assist in starting Workplace Health Promotion Program services that fosters and upholds that value.
It is the mission of the XYZ Company Wellness Program Committee to foster healthier lifestyle choices to lower health risk factors, improve overall wellness, and maintain a productive, active work force.
Workplace Health Promotion Program Goals
The goals/objectives further define your mission and are based on your needs assessment. Depending on the needs assessment, upper management expectations and employee interests, examples of goals/objectives can include:
The goal(s) of XYZ Worksite Health Promotion Program in year XXXX is to: (one or more of the following examples)
#149 Reduce absenteeism by one day per employee
#149 Decrease musculoskeletal injuries by ten%
#149 Lower unnecessary emergency room visits
#149 Decrease or contain health care expenditures
#149 Improve dietary habits of employees
#149 Lower health risk factors
Corporate Health Promotion Program Objectives
Specific Workplace Wellness Program objectives help meet your long-term goals and objectives. Both short term and long term objectives should be developed as the stepping stones to accomplish the goals and objectives. In addition to objectives for the expected colleague outcomes, process objectives should also be developed for the program process itself. By way of example, process objectives may include the number of staff members 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 set up both your long and short-term goals/objectives:
#149 Specific (one behavior or outcome)
#149 Measurable (one result that can be observed or evaluated),
#149 Attainable (but also challenging),
#149 Realistic (do you have the resources to achieve?), and
#149 Time specific (within 3 months - up to 5 years)
This is the who, what, when, where, why, and by how much method. For example, the mission for a weight loss program that has an overriding goal 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 participant (attainable and realistic).
Or:
Members (who) will attend 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 staff members with elevated cholesterol might be:
To cut the total cholesterol (specific what) of high risk employees with cholesterol over 240 mg/dl (specific who) to 200 mg/dl (measurable how much) through one-on-one counseling sessions offered at the workplace (where) by X date (ex, after 6 months) (attainable, realistic time specific when) to cut the risk factor for heart disease (why).
And one last example of a process mission for a tobacco cessation program with an overall intention to support participants in committing to quit for life:
By the end of the 4-week smoking cessation program, ten% of the participants will have quit smoking. Each colleague will be contacted at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months from the programs end to determine quit status (process objective) and ten% of those who quit will still be smoke-free after one year.
You have now completed Steps 1 through 4, including adopting your Employee Wellness Program Committee. It is now time to plan your wellness activities.

Similar posts: health promotion model