If you're a human resources professional, the odds are that you've been in charge of developing or growing your company's workplace wellness program. While it may seem like a natural fit to task the HR team to deal with employee health details, we often find that our clients haven't really determined where the responsibility for their wellness program lies. The approaches vary among different companies and industries, with some focusing on personal responsibility or others opting to hire a third-party vendor. 
Here are a few of the options you have in determining who should manage your company's wellness program:
Human Resources -- We find that the responsibility of worksite wellness most frequently falls on the HR division. For companies that consider employee wellness as a benefit, it's easiest to facilitate and promote it with the assistance of individuals that understand the company's medical plan. In an ideal situation, HR would have a dedicated individual who has a passion for health, a history with wellness and a background in health promotions. The title of this position on the benefits team ranges; we've worked with wellness coordinators, wellness specialists, wellness directors, health promotions coordinators, health program specialists and more.
Wellness Committee -- In smaller organizations, a committee is a good way to encourage employee participation and spread the responsibility of a wellness program across the board. These are most often made up of volunteers or "wellness champions" who are dedicated to propelling the program forward within the organization. The direction of the committee can still come from the HR team, but the committee often takes the tasks of organizing, promoting, managing budgets and communicating their efforts to the rest of the office.
Third-Party Vendor -- If you've chosen to hire a vendor to manage your wellness program and your population size warrants it, it's possible that you can have a dedicated individual to work on-site. This person usually has a very strong background in managing health promotions and a wealth of knowledge about what the wellness provider can do for the client. They are able to communicate to the HR and leadership team on a regular basis.
Individual -- We've heard from a few HR professionals that feel they shouldn't necessarily be "responsible" or accountable for worksite wellness; instead, they would like to support the efforts of individual employees and provide the tools necessary for participation. While this is a possible route to go in program management, we find that engagement and results are improved by having buy-in from both leadership and HR within the company.
Who's responsible for YOUR wellness program? Comment below and let us know!
