Employer Wellness

Design objectives and goals

Goals are general ground rules that explain what you want to achieve. Objectives define strategies or steps to take to attain the identified intention.

A wellness program should have a “destination”. Use the outcome of your surveys and your wellness committee’s mission statement as guides. Consider these ideas:

• Focus on making health information and learning resources readily available to staff members
• Focus on group activities so employees can work together to support and encourage healthier lifestyles
• Design a wellness program that is visible to both workers and to your customers
• Focus on written policies and instructions
• Set objectives for your wellness program.

Review Guidelines for Writing Goals.

Goals Should Be

Specific – A objective is specific when it supports a description of what will be accomplished. It will state exactly what the employer intends to accomplish. It must be written so that it can be easily and clearly communicated. A specific objective will make it easier for those writing objectives and action plans to address the following questions:

• Who is to be involved?
• What is to be accomplished?
• Where is it to be done?
• When is it to be done?

Measurable – A objective is measurable if it is quantifiable. To determine if your objective is measurable, ask questions such as: How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

Attainable – You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable.

Realistic – Realistic, means “do-able.” The objective needs to be realistic for your organization and where the organization is at the moment. A objective to take out all the high fat items in the vending machines may not be realistic for your organization right now; a better objective would be to substitute some of the chips, candy bars and pies for pretzels, yogurt and dried fruit.

Timely – Finally, a goal must have a timeframe: for next week, in three months, by age 35. It must have a starting and ending point. It must also have some intermediate points at which progress can be assessed. Limiting the time in which a goal must be accomplished helps to focus effort toward its execution. If you don’t set a time, the responsibility is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there’s no urgency to start taking action now.