Many years ago, I had the good fortune to work in a boutique strategy-consulting firm. The billable consultants who generated the revenue for the company came from the best business schools in the world. Many of them had previously worked at top business strategy consulting firms. They were interesting and smart people. Many of my colleagues were delightfully creative, had wonderful ideas, and could pontificate for hours on almost any topic. But when it came to doing the work to grow the firm, well that was a different story. We often joked that we were going to hang a sign at the employee entrance: thinkers turn left, doers turn right. 

To accomplish anything in business, you need a committed group of people who can roll up their sleeves and make things happen. The doers. For any worksite health promotion program to be successful, you need this group of doers. We call this group the Wellness Committee.

The role of the Wellness Committee is to plan, implement and evaluate the wellness program. Their role includes communicating with employees, participating in the program, and motivating others to participate. The wellness program is not something one person owns or creates - it takes a cross-functional team to produce a successful program. The Wellness Committee is an essential part of the Worksite Wellness Program infrastructure.

The composition of the wellness committee should represent all stakeholder groups in your organization who will ultimately participate in the programs. Think of the stakeholders as your customers for the wellness program and these are the different customer segments you will serve.

With the Wellness Committee in place, the program is more likely to sustain over time, draw high levels of participation and to create the culture of health that helps create a high performing organization.