About The Well Workplace Awards Initiative
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To advance an aggressive national worksite wellness agenda, Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA) has developed the Well Workplace Awards initiative. The Well Workplace Awards initiative provides the blueprint, guidance and recognition to advance health promotion in the workplace. Since its inception in1991, approximately 700 corporations, healthcare systems, public agencies, and educational institutions— employing over one million people—have met the rigorous Well Workplace Awards criteria and been recognized as some of America’s Healthiest Companies. |
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What is a Well Workplace?
The Well Workplace Awards initiative is designed to help organizations improve the health of their employees, and in so doing, reduce unnecessary health care expenditures. In short, Well Workplaces are meant to be better places to work. Because healthy living is incorporated into the very fabric of an organization’s culture, and because employees are empowered to take control of their own personal health, Well Workplaces have happier, healthier, and more productive employees.
A Well Workplace is an organization fully embracing its responsibility for maximizing the health and well-being of its employees. Employee wellness has become a key business strategy. In a Well Workplace, the vision of protecting and enhancing the health and well-being of each and every employee becomes part of the very fabric of the organization—not something extraneous and peripheral to the core business functions.
What Criteria are Evaluated in the Well Workplace Awards Initiative?
According to recent benchmarking studies, there are a number of common elements inherent in successful health promotion initiatives. At the Wellness Councils of America, we have distilled these elements into the “Seven C’s.” Considered to be the “science” behind building healthy working environments, WELCOA’s “Seven C’s” of workplace wellness have been used as the benchmarks behind quality wellness programs in hundreds of companies across the United States.
These seven benchmarks drive the Well Workplace Awards initiative. Indeed, these seven benchmarks—when incorporated together—drive bottom line results when it comes to workplace wellness programs. Specifically these seven benchmarks include:
à Capturing CEO Support
à Creating Cohesive Wellness Teams
à Collecting Data to Drive Health Efforts
à Crafting an Operating Plan
à Choosing Appropriate Interventions
à Creating a Supportive Environment
à Consistently Evaluating Outcomes
The Well Workplace Awards initiative recognizes companies that have embraced and implemented these seven benchmarks into their organizations strategic direction.
What Levels of The Well Workplace Award Can Be Achieved?
Four designations of the Well Workplace Award are possible to achieve—Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. (If your organization has 50 or fewer employees, you will want to complete The Well Workplace Awards Application for Small Businesses.)
Application criteria for each of these designations are based upon progressive development and implementation of an organization’s wellness initiative within the context of the seven critical benchmarks, shown to produce results in organizations of all sizes and industry types.
| à | Bronze recognizes organizations meeting the minimum criteria by demonstrating a solid foundation for success. |
| à | Silver recognizes organizations expanding programming and starting to align their efforts with the organization’s priorities. |
| à | Gold recognizes organizations developing comprehensive programs producing results. These programs are a strategic and integral part of the business. |
| à | Platinum represents the pinnacle of results-oriented worksite wellness programming. The Platinum Award is granted to organizations forging new ground by linking health promotion objectives to business outcomes. |
The Road to Becoming A Well Workplace Award Winner
| 1} | Become a Member The first step on the road to capturing a Well Workplace Award is to become a Corporate Member of the Wellness Council. Through Corporate Membership, you will receive member benefits which relate to the Well Workplace process. |
| 2} | Complete the Well Workplace Checklist As a Wellness Council member, you have access to a powerful online assessment tool—The Well Workplace Checklist. Simply complete the Checklist and you will receive an initial assessment of how your organization is doing with respect to its workplace wellness program. This assessment also forms the baseline in your quest to become a Well Workplace Award winner. |
| 3} | Attend Well Workplace University If you’re looking to learn more about WELCOA’s seven benchmark process, we encourage you to attend Well Workplace University. This engaging training experience will give you greater insights into how you can operationalize the seven benchmarks within your company. |
| 4} | Request a Well Workplace Awards Application To formally apply for a Well Workplace Award, you simply need to contact the Wellness Council and request a Well Workplace application packet. WELCOA reserves the right to withhold providing an application to a requesting organization at their discretion. |
| 5} | NEW! Attend Application Workshop 30 – 45 minute WEBINAR that reviews the documentation required for application submission. |
| 6} | Complete and Submit the Well Workplace Awards Application The final step is to submit a completed Well Workplace application. A national panel of reviewers will examine your application and notify you of the status. |
The Well Workplace Process
Click here to transfer to our national website for more information on the Seven Benchmarks of Success, the Well Workplace Process, and the Well Workplace Checklist - an online assessment to help you gauge the effectiveness of your company's overall wellness efforts. Questions from Wisconsin employers should be directed to Theresa Islo at the Wellness Council of Wisconsin: (414) 291-9355 or tislo@wellnesscouncilwi.org.
Wisconsin Well Workplaces
The following Wisconsin companies achieved Well Workplace designation in the years indicated. Designation listed is the highest level achieved and is valid for three years.
| Highsmith Inc. | Platinum (2000, 2005) | Fort Atkinson |
| Lab Safety Supply, Inc. | Platinum (2002, 2005) | Janesville |
| Assurant Health | Gold (2006) | Milwaukee |
| Aurora Sinai Medical Center | Gold (2006) | Milwaukee |
| Children's Hospital and Health System, Inc. | Gold (2007) | Milwaukee |
| City of Hartford | Gold (2007) | Hartford |
| Enzymatic Therapy, Inc. | Gold (2007) | Green Bay |
| Medical Associates | Gold (2007) | Menomonee Falls |
| Mercy Health System | Gold (2007) | Janesville |
| St. Joseph's Hospital | Gold (2007) | Marshfield |
| Schoeneck Containers, Inc. | Gold (2007) | New Berlin |
| Standard Process, Inc. | Gold (2007) | Palmyra |
| Unity Health Insurance | Silver (2008) |
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| Affinity Health System | Bronze (2006) | Menasha |
| Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – All Saints | Bronze (2006) | Racine |
| Mortenson, Matzelle & Meldrum | Bronze (2006) | Madison |
| Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) | Small Business Award | Milwaukee |
Contact the Wellness Council for more information on how to make your workplace a Well Workplace!