Wellness Committee, You're Fired(ish)

Okay, you’re not fired. But we need to talk. 

Ask most wellness gurus to list the pillars of a successful wellness program and you will likely hear, “You need a wellness committee.” Ask the same wellness gurus how most wellness programs need to evolve. You’ll likely hear this, “Companies really need to expand their programs from a focus on physical health to comprehensive wellbeing and positive organizational health.”

 Enter the possible disconnect.

Companies are racing to find the holy grail of corporate wellbeing and great culture. One of the pillars to their success, however, is a “wellness team” that believes their job is only to find ways to get people healthier. If your wellness program is evolving into comprehensive wellbeing and organizational health, it’s a good idea to update the wellness team’s job profile. Here are few ways to do it:

 One: Change the name of your team.

A love-struck romantic once asked, “What‘s in a name?” Everything! Names denote the purpose for which teams exist. If you’re team is going to focus broadly on things like wellbeing, company culture, and attracting talent then you need to update their name. “Wellness Committee” necessarily limits the scope of the team’s responsibility and directs their focus to a narrow set of objectives. Consider rebranding this team to something like “Health and Culture Committee,” “Performance and Productivity Committee,” or “How Not to Suck as a Company Committee.” 

Two: Define your company’s goals.

Mission statements are a bit overrated. Clearly defining what your company hopes to accomplish through your wellbeing program is essential. Without a clearly defined destination your team (and program) will roam the wilderness for years and never actually make it to a destination. 

Define your company’s goals in a brief statement that articulates the broad objectives of your program. Then, align your committee’s “job description” with your goal statement. For example: 

Program Goal: We will be a company that supports employee flourishing in career, physical and emotional health, and financial security. 

Committee Goal: The Health & Culture team exists to create a company that supports employee flourishing in career, physical and emotional health, and financial security. 

Okay, yet-to-be-named committee, you’re well on your way to keeping your job.

Three: Establish a baseline.

Choose a clear set of metrics that reflect your company’s progress toward your program goal(s). Allow those metrics to direct your team’s strategy development by always asking “Will this move us closer to our goal of improving __ metric?” 

If, for example, your program/team exists to “support employee flourishing in career” choose 3-5 metrics that reflect your progress toward that goal (e.g. employee satisfaction, number of employees with a clear path forward, voluntary turnover rates, etc.). Many teams have great ideas, but they’re not focused on a destination. As a result, the company invests a lot of activity and resources that do not move it toward any real goals. Always allow clearly stated goals and metrics to focus your strategy.  

Four: Craft 3-4 “by” statements.

Now that your goals and metrics are clear, clarify the goals with 3-4 “by” statements for each purpose. The “by” statements give clarity and explanation to your goals. For example: 

We will create a company that supports employee flourishing in career: 

• …by developing organizational policies, practices and expectations that allow employees to have work/life balance

• …by providing support and resources that are relevant to the actual needs of our employees

• …by removing barriers to employees thriving in their careers

The “by” statements are not tactical actions, but they should clarify what and how you will accomplish goals. 

Five: Develop a tactical plan.

Here, your team will “build on your by.” Using your “by” statements, develop a strategy to accomplish your specific goals. How do we do it? For each of your goals and “by” statements: Observe, Listen and Modify. Keep reading for an example. 

Goal: We will become a company that supports employee flourishing in career

 By Statement: by developing organizational policies, practices and expectations that allow employees to have work/life balance 

Observe

Observe your values. Most companies have two sets of values – stated values and actual values. Stated values are the marketing approved blurbs one finds on the “about” section of a company website. Here, you’ll find the usual suspects: inclusion and diversity, excellence, ownership…yawn. 

Actual values are the actual priorities that shape how a company operates. Actual values are the spoken and unspoken priorities that govern the company at every level. Do your actual company values align with your program goals? If not, address the value problem before your address the goal definition. 

Observe your norms. Norms are the day-to-day practices observed within your company. Think of norms as your collective work habits. Do people email late at night or on the weekends? Do you get emails from your boss when she is on vacation? Changing norms to support your cultural goals can go a long way. A former client observed that employees tended to rush from one meeting to the next. This norm created a frantic work environment. Brilliantly, they made an easy policy change. Internal meetings should end 10 minutes prior to the end of the hour. The simple change created a 10 minute buffer between meetings for people to catch their breath before the next meeting. 

Observe your clues. Company culture consists of endless spoken and unspoken clues – unofficial rules for how your company operates, what’s expected of employees, how one advances in the company, etc. Here are three types of clues to watch: 

Modeling – how do leaders at every level in your organization conduct themselves? If your manager frequently emails on the weekends what has he modeled? All of us are supposed to remain connected to work email on the weekends. Does this promote or hinder the type of culture you hope to build?

 Rewards – what is rewarded and (perhaps more importantly) what is not rewarded? Many companies celebrate and reward anything that contributes to revenue (increased sales, sales people, another acquisition, etc.). Do you also reward non-revenue achievements? At your quarterly or annual all-associates meeting do you celebrate business success AND employee success? Do you celebrate how many people were promoted within the organization? Do you recognize individual contributions? 

What you reward reflects what you value.

Rituals – Companies, like countries, have rituals and those rituals either support or hinder your cultural and organizational goals. For example, when you have team meetings what is your default food order? If you have a client meeting what is the default snack order? Who is recognized as the heroes in your organization? Rituals are another reflection of your values. Do they align with who you want to become? 

Listen

This is simple. Tell your employees that you are seeking to become a company that supports employee flourishing in career. Explain that one of the ways you hope to do this is by developing organizational policies, practices and expectations that allow employees to have work/life balance. 

Then, ask for their feedback. What existing policies hinder work/life balance? What new policies may support work/life balance? What resources would help employees have a clear path forward in their career? 

Side note: if you ask employees for feedback you must act! This is non-negotiable. I’ve met with many companies that have solicited employee feedback and failed to act on their feedback. Each of those companies is still dealing with fallout from their inaction. 

Modify

Once you have observed and listened it’s time to act. Bring the Health & Culture team together to develop a strategy. Define your goals and metrics. Clarify your goals using “by” statements. Then, develop a tactical plan through Observing, Listening and Modifying. Be sure the strategy leads your company toward your goals and metrics. 

Congratulations, Wellness Team. You’re no longer fired. You’ve been promoted.