Health professionals become wellness professionals when they are trained in the full range of wellness activities. Wellness professionals are generalists who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and schooling. They may be nurses, dietitians, health educators, counselors, exercise physiologists, or have other backgrounds. But in addition to their primary training, they know something about all wellness topics, including smoking, stress, exercise, and nutrition. They also know how to engage and support people in making and sustaining health improvements and have good people skills.

Generally, wellness professionals at worksites fall into three broad categories: wellness screeners, wellness counselors, and wellness instructors.

• Wellness screeners introduce employees to the program, take health measurements, collect health-related information, provide initial counseling, and help employees define for themselves what they need and want in a wellness program.



• Wellness counselors work with employees after the screening to help them create and carry out a plan to reduce their risks and improve their health.



• Wellness instructors teach classes and minigroups on different health topics.

A wellness program in a small business can be staffed by a single staff person who fills all three roles. Larger worksites will use different people to fill these roles.

When choosing staff or choosing among vendors, ask the following questions:

• Do prospective staff members have a range of health backgrounds that will provide appropriate expertise in the topics to be addressed?



• Have prospective staff members functioned well as wellness screeners, wellness counselors, and/or wellness instructors?



• Will this staff include people from the racial and ethnic backgrounds found in your employee population?



• Is each staff member comfortable with the range of backgrounds found in your employee population, and able to communicate effectively with the various social and educational levels of your employees?



• Do staff members have a warm, yet professional, counseling style when interacting with employees?