Health And Wellness In The WorkplaceHealth And Wellness In The Workplace

Want some wellness program ideas and wellness policy ideas to get you started? Or maybe you want to jump start or better upon your current wellness program? The list below provides ‘best practices’ that are able to help meet any wellness program budget! The Employee Health Promotion Program ideas are divided into topic areas.

General Wellness Progam Ideas

• Conduct an Employee Needs & Interest Survey
• Develop a Employee Wellness Program Committee
• Select medical plans that cover costs for weight management and tobacco cessation
• Remove co-pay or reimburse for preventive medical care visits
• Display handouts on a variety of wellness issues for workers to take
• Establish a wellness resource center or library with videos, books, magazines, DVD’s on a variety of issues of interest to staff members
• Identify employees who are mentors or champions for healthy activities and ask them to present or to list as a contact for other employees
• Establish and encourage periodic or regular educational sessions.
• Establish monthly educational sessions on the national health observance topic
• Post a Wellness Bulletin Board & update it monthly
• Display messages from national health observances during the month
• Publish healthy tips in newsletters, paycheck stuffers, bulletin boards, etc.
• Offer a benefits fair
• Offer company fitness and healthy eating challenges
• Organize company health & wellness fairs or other onsite activities

Nutrition Programs

• Offer free, healthy snacks for employees (fruit, nuts, popcorn)
• Offer healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at corporation programs
• Give information to workers about the nutritional content of food served in the cafeteria
• Develop a fresh fruit “snack basket” in the breakroom or cafeteria
• Stock vending machines with healthier options
• Partially fund healthy foods in the cafeteria or vending machines (10¡ apples may be more appealing than $1.00 candy bars)
• Begin a weekly or monthly healthy lunch club
• Give handouts available on a variety of healthy eating topics
• Include diet articles in employer newsletters
• Provide a healthy meal tasting contest Free
• Provide educational sessions during lunch-time on a variety of diet subject matters of interest
• Sponsor an employee healthy food cookbook. Either sell the cookbook and use profits for programs, or purchase a cookbook for all staff members

Weight Loss Programs / Weight Management Programs

• Consider offering flexible work schedules so that workers have the potential to take part in weight-loss programs
• Partially fund registration expenditures for weight-management programs
• Offer a support group to help workers who are trying to lose weight
• Locate registered dieticians near your worksite as a resource for workers who want information on healthy eating, meal planning or weight management
• Provide individual counseling for staff members trying to lose weight
• Provide workplace fitness and weight-management programs through your local hospital, Weight Watchers, TOPS or local, registered dietician
• Provide an educational session on diet myths and healthy eating

Physical Activity Programs

• Offer flexible work schedules to encourage exercise
• Create a fitness space with aerobic equipment, and weights
• Create accessible walking paths, trails, and/or bike routes
• Encourage staff members to walk more by parking farther away from the entrance
• Develop a gym with aerobic equipment, weights, aerobic classes, fitness professionals
• Hold walking meetings
• Make the stairwells more appealing (carpet, fresh paint, artwork, posters)
• Provide reduced gym membership fees to all employees
• Offer facilities for workers to secure bikes
• Schedule 5 – 10 minute stretch breaks during the day
• Partially fund gym membership for employees who participate a minimal number of days per week (ex., 3 days per week)
• Support lunchtime walking/running clubs or organization sports team
• Urge stairwell use and rewards and incentives
• Install a basketball hoop outside
• Promote & support community walks or fitness activities
• Promote walking during breaks and other off-time periods
• Provide periodic fitness incentive programs to encourage physical activity
• Have educational sessions on fitness activities

Smoking Cessation Programs / Tobacco Cessation Programs

• Design a smoke-free grounds
• Create a smoke-free workplace
• Promote the use of 1-800-QUIT-NOW, North Carolina’s no cost Tobacco Use Quitline. Or check www.QuitlineNC.com
• Reimburse employees for tobacco replacement products
• Subsidize the expense of smoking cessation courses
• Provide brochures and information on health effects from tobacco use and smoking cessation
• Provide awareness sessions to arouse staff members to try to quit tobacco use
• Schedule worksite smoking cessation seminars

Employee Health Screening

• Discount healthcare insurance premiums or lower co-payments for staff members who participate in screenings and who participate in managing their risk factors
• Install Blood Pressure (BP) monitoring equipment
• Offer flu shots for employees and family members
• Provide Health Risk Assessments to all employees, including counseling and follow-up
• Provide periodic Blood Pressure screenings and follow-up
• Provide periodic screenings for cholesterol, blood glucose, body composition, etc.

Stress Management Programs / Work Life Balance Programs

• Offer flexible schedules for family/work life balance
• Offer and reward an EAP
• Give information on substance abuse prevention
• Give handouts and information on stress management and mental health
• Provide brochures and information on work life balance, such as monetary planning, childcare, parenting, elder care, etc.
• Provide supervisor and manager training on communication, relationship building, company stressors, etc.
• Review organization policies and work schedules to identify organization stressors
• Assess the EAP to be sure it is meeting the needs of the employees and corporation
• Have educational sessions on stress management and work life balance
• Have workshops on relaxation, stress management, and work life balance issues

Health screenings are valuable programs to identify chronic conditions in their early stages. Once identified, wellness behavior modification programs can help prevent a disease from progressing. Working with local hospitals and other companies, you can get information on providing assessment and behavior modification programs that could better your employees’ health and save your employer money in absenteeism, treatment for disease complications, and reduced productiveness. Below are some ideas to assist you in getting started.

Based upon your Employee Needs & Interest Survey and the demographics of your workplace, consider offering periodic screenings to find specific health risks such as:

• Blood Pressure Checks to identify employees with pre-hypertension or hypertension (elevated blood pressure),
• Cholesterol Screenings for total, HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol) and/or Triglycerides
• Blood Sugar Screenings fasting or non-fasting to screen for possible diabetes,
• Body composition, such as body mass index (BMI) or body fat measures
• Bone density for potential risk of osteoporosis,
• Cancer screenings such as, skin examinations, mammograms, or PSA screenings,
• Vision checks for glaucoma, or visual acuity
• Other wellness screenings depending on your worker population and needs

Your local hospital, company physician practice, or health department may support assistance. However, if you have workers you may want to concentrate on programs that will keep them healthy rather than screening for early identification of chronic conditions. The focus of your wellness program might be healthy lifestyle practices to reduce risk and prevent disease.

In addition to the health screenings, consider offering a Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment to all employees. The Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment will help to identify factors that may lead to additional risks, such as smoking history, stress levels, image of health, family history, job satisfaction, support systems, and mental health. Often the evaluation results are included on the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, which provides a more all-inclusive snap shot of health risks. The summary results support the significant information to plan appropriate interventions.

Corporate Health Promotion Program Interventions

The key to the success of screenings and Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals is the interventions or follow-up programs. The information from the screenings increases awareness and often motivates workers to consider making healthier changes. It’s the follow up interventions that support the important backing and assistance needed for workers to actually make and maintain those changes. The interventions can include individual follow-up and ongoing counseling, individual or group health coaching on the risk factors, behavior change programs, and/or employer backing. Examples include:

• Strategies to lower Blood Pressure (BP)
• Managing diabetes
• Taking care of your heart
• Healthier eating
• Weight loss ideas
• Improving physical activity
• Tobacco Cessation

Of course, this is for individual information only. Any follow-up interventions planned by the company would be based on interest expressed by the employee.

Based on the results and your Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee goals and objectives you are able to plan the best strategies for your employer and workers. Consider the area resources available to offer services, such as health associations, hospitals, health care providers, and/or public health agencies.

Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s), are an assessment tool or questionnaire scientifically designed to identify health risks and outline information to help  American citizens in making healthy changes that effect their health and prevent chronic disease.

Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments have four standard elements in workplace settings:
• A Questionnaire
• A Computerized Program to Evaluate Health Risk Factors
• Confidential Individual Reports
• Group Summary Report

Staff Members complete a lifestyle questionnaire that includes for example nourishment practices, height and weight, exercise habits, family history, stress perceptions, smoking history, and work satisfaction. Another valuable feature to consider is readiness to change questions to determine participation interest. Including health screenings such as blood lipids and Blood Pressure results increases the benefits of an Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment by offering a more accurate health assessment and therefore improving lifestyle choice decisions and program options. Still, it is valuable to determine if the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment can be used without including this information.

The health risk questionnaire information is entered into a computer program and an individual confidential report is generated that summarizes health risks as well as information on how to cut risk factors. Individual reports are fully confidential. Depending on the reason for implementing the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, it’s valuable to consider the type of report the business will receive as well. A group report summarizing major risk factors and recommendations for programs to start in order to cut employee and business risks supports valuable information for your wellness program.

The Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals have the potential to be used to:
• Raise awareness to individual employee’s health status
• Encourage workers to make healthier lifestyle changes
• Coach elevated-risk workers
• Create Worksite Health Promotion Programs based on the identified needs
• Assess program success by comparing Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals completed at set intervals such as yearly.

There are many advantages to considering a part-time or full-time occupational and environmental health nurse (OHN). Occupational health nursing is the specialty practice that provides for and delivers health and safety programs and services to staff members, and worker populations. The practice focuses on promotion and restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury, treatment of work and non-work related injuries and illnesses, and protection from work related  and environmental risks.

Onsite Heath Professional roles can include: Case management, Counseling, Worksite Health Promotion Program, Legal and regulatory compliance, Clinical services, and Hazard detection and controls. The American Association of Occupational and Environmental Health Nurses is the national association, www.AAOHN.org. The State Chapter also has a website with information including local chapter information to help you locate a contact near you, www.NCAOHN.org.

Health educators can design, conduct and evaluate activities that help improve the health of all your employees. They are subject matter experts who may be a valuable asset regardless your program needs and goals/objectives. They can help form a Workplace Wellness Program Committee and enable many of its programs and services, for example or depending on the structure and time commitments of your Workplace Wellness Program Committee, they can also plan the entire program as well. Integrating the activities of the Committee and/or Workplace Wellness Program consultant services within your operations, including within your safety and occupational health program will support additional benefits!

We are organizing Employee Wellness Programs to help you feel better and maintain your health. In order to plan programs that best meet your needs and interests we would like your ideas! Please take a few minutes to answer some questions about your interests. Your answers will be combined with those of others’ and reviewed to help plan programs for you. Do not sign your name.

Please complete the survey today and return it to__________. We appreciate your valuable input! Your help is valuable for creating successful programs. Return the completed form by _____________.

Rate your interest on a scale of 1 – 3 with one (1) being of little or no interest; two (2) being of some interest and three (3) indicating that you are very interested. Indicate your response by circling or ‘Xing’ the number.

I am interested in:

Participating in wellness programs before work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs after work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs during my lunch break 1 2 3
Adopting healthy eating options to lose weight 1 2 3
Sports nutrition 1 2 3
Healthier cooking 1 2 3
Helping my children eat healthier 1 2 3
Quick, healthy meals for full lifestyles 1 2 3
Healthy snack options 1 2 3
Learning how to quit smoking 1 2 3
Attending classes to help me quit smoking cigarettes 1 2 3
Stress Mangement skills 1 2 3
Balancing work, family, and personal life 1 2 3
Time management skills 1 2 3
Participating in a beginning exercise program 1 2 3
Beginning time to exercise for busy people 1 2 3
Getting health information that I can read or watch at home 1 2 3
Learning about cancer prevention 1 2 3
Heart health options 1 2 3
CPR and First Aid 1 2 3
Team sports activities at work 1 2 3
Learning how to stretch 1 2 3
Learning how to boost intake of fruits and vegetables 1 2 3
Parenting Topics (age of children: ) 1 2 3
Onsite exercise classes: walking Yoga aerobic other: 1 2 3
Health assessment such as Blood Pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose 1 2 3

Program evaluation may be The previous step, but it must be planned at the beginning of your efforts!  Evaluation helps you identify what parts of the program are working well and what parts could use improvement.  Then, based on the evaluation data, adjustments are able to be made to fine-tune your wellness program.   Adjusting the program based on evaluation data is vital to its continued performance.  

Evaluating your program need not be terribly complex.  However, it is important to plan how you will oversee your wellness efforts and determine effectiveness during the planning phase or Step 5.  Also keep in mind to evaluate the program based on the goals/objectives you already identified during your drafting process.  

In order to evaluate your program you need to have a system to document specifics as you progress.  This can be as simple as maintaining file folders on programs that are offered, or a computer document with a table or spreadsheet summarizing information collecting.  Consider:

• Program topic and numbers of workers who participated
• The numbers of pamphlets taken by workers or distributed and on what subject matters
• The number of participants in a behavior change program and how many met their objectives and goals as well as how many attended all of the sessions
• Numbers of employees who continued the healthy behavior change following the program?
• Overall employee satisfaction with the program or each topic.  

Depending on your objectives and goals, gather desired data and compare it to previous data collected during the initial assessment to determine if the objectives and goals were met.  Such data might include

• Absentee rates
• Injury rates
• Health risk factors Insurance expenditures  

Summarize and Report Worksite Health Promotion Program Results

Once you have collected all of the evaluation information it needs to be reviewed with the Worksite Health Promotion Program Committee and summarized.  You will probably have positive results and some areas where a change is necessitated or additional focus necessitated for continuous improvement.  This not-so positive information can be used to make any necessitated adjustments as well as to plan for next year and is significant to include in your report.  

It is important to communicate the wellness program outcome to both senior staff and workers.  Consider how senior staff usually receives reports on operations and productivity concerns and include the annual wellness program report in the same format.  At some companies the reports are made during senior staff gatherings using presentation styles such as power point slides.  At other companies, graphs and bar charts are the norm or a list of the objectives and the summary outcomes published.  

No matter the format, it’s valuable to convey the outcomes and successes achieved, including any anecdotal stories, as well as areas for improvement.  Be sure to link the outcomes to the organization mission and bottom line whenever possible.

Employees desire to receive the same information!  You might use the same communication channels used when informing staff members of the wellness program:

• Company newsletters,
• Bulletin boards,
• E-mails  

Also consider celebrating successes and recognizing achievements by:

• Posting pictures from activities
• Highlighting success stories
• Posting pictures of successes
• Hosting a celebration
• Recognizing champions  

Armed with data, Company Wellness Program topic preferences and goals and objectives – and a Company Wellness Program Committee eager to get things done – it is now time to decide how best to take action.  This website provides tools to help you!  You can read about the various types of wellness programs available by other corporations to get an idea of what might work for your organization.  There are Statewide Resources listed along with national non-profit groups offering resources, and specific examples of resources available on various wellness topics.  In addition, keep looking under Steps to an Effective Program for ideas to get you started!

If your planning phase was well executed, you must simply have to follow through with the plans you have already made.  

Important Employee Health Promotion Program considerations include:

1. Formally Introduce the Worksite Wellness Program and consider policy statements that state the importance of the wellness program.  Examples include a general policy regarding the responsibility to employee health and safety as well as specific policies such as No Smoking, Healthy Eating and Physical Activity.
2. Communicate Your Program: The best planned program with great wellness programs won’t be advantageous if your workers don’t know about it or do not be aware of the options or how to participate.  Communicate your wellness program using a variety of methods to be sure the message and “how-to’s” are heard!

   Workplace Wellness Program Communication Strategies might include:

   • Newsletter articles
   • Postings on the company’s intranet or internet
   • A designated Champion of the program
   • Formal or informal meeting to announce program, “the kick-off”
   • Flyers / pamphlets / brochures / table tents,
   • Bulletin boards / kiosk where all material is promoted or found,
   • Email / phone messages,
   • Mailings or distributions  

3. Use Worksite Wellness Program Incentives:  You’ll be amazed to learn what most of us will do for a free T-shirt.  Incentives can both support and motivate participation among workers.  Consider both formal or corporation rewards and incentives and informal or program rewards/prizes from local resources to reinforce participation in Worksite Wellness Programs. Either way, it’s valuable to provide rewards and incentives that are enticing and meaningful to your workers.

   Formal Company Wellness Program Incentives:

   • Savings on employee healthcare insurance premiums or co-pays, or contributions to 401K programs, employee stock options, or other mechanisms.  
   
   Click here for more information on health plan incentive ideas
   
   • fitness center/Fitness Center discounts or enrollment fee coverage
   • Public transportation vouchers
   • Flexible work time options
   • “Wellness Days” off work  

   Rewards or Informal Worksite Health Promotion Program Incentives:

   • Cash – a very effective incentive!
   • Prize incentives/rewards such as gift certificates to heart-healthy restaurants; media player to use while working out, emergency kits, or any other prizes that would motivate your employees.
   • T-Shirts, water bottles, or other inexpensive rewards

4. Review community resources available to support some of the wellness services.  The local health department or your employer medical care provider may be able to support  you with this information.  There are also vendors throughout the State providing excellent wellness services for businesses.  They are available to assist you when strategizing and find the best options available.

5. Start your program as planned documenting information and outcomes as you go such as numbers of participants, dates of activities, and any other special details you are tracking.

The Employee Health Promotion Program Committee must set out a plan for the entire year that outlines accomplishing goals/objectives, as well as provides details for marketing and evaluating the program. The plan is the detailed map of what types of programs will be available, when and where they will be scheduled, how they will be marketed and evaluated, and what the budget is.  It is valuable to plan your wellness activities based on your goals/objectives, as well as the budget since different strategies will provide different outcomes.  For example, if your intention is to increase awareness on a topic, then distributing pamphlets or scheduling a one-time education session may be appropriate.  However, if your intention is to change behavior, then different strategies may be necessary, such as ongoing weekly meetings and support groups.  Click here to link to Program Design Options for additional ideas.

Employee Wellness Program Marketing

Now is the time to plan your marketing strategies!  How can you market the wellness program and ongoing activities?  No matter how you decide to, market often, keep it fresh, and remind employees again and again!  Consider having an overall kickoff exercise to inform everyone of the wellness program.  Upper Management should provide the introduction or invitation so that all employees are alert to their support and leadership in the program.

Possible marketing methods:

• Distributing email messages, including reminders
• Develop bulletins,
• Putting up bulletin board postings,
• Writing articles,
• Sending letters or
• Sending special invitations.  

Other Company Health Promotion Program Considerations:

• Is the Corporate Health Promotion Program promoted to all staff members or to a specific target audience?
• Do you have a Corporate Health Promotion Program champion (someone who is connected with different groups in the organization, and well respected) who can help in your promotion efforts?
• If your marketing efforts do not seem to be working, do you have a way to revisit and adjust your plan?
• How will you determine success and evaluate your program?  And how will you collect the information required to evaluate your program?  

Topics most frequently included in Workplace Health Promotion Programs:

• Nutrition
• Physical Activity/Exercise
• Tobacco Use Cessation
• Bone Health
• Heart Health
• Healthy Back
• Stress Reduction
• Chronic Disease Awareness & Prevention
• Self-care; Wise Health Care Consumer
• Screening Services (BMI, Blood Pressure, bone density, cholesterol, glucose, posture, vision, and other…)
• Ergonomic Assessments
• Health Fairs
• Kids/family Events
• Others issues that staff members have interest in  

The issues and type of Worksite Wellness Program planned hinge upon the needs and interest, overall intention and resources available.  Program Design Options   include awareness programs such as brochures and/or education sessions, behavior modification programs such as tobacco cessation and weight loss classes, and environmental or organization reinforcement such as no smoking policies or healthy selections in snack machines.  

The programs planned also hinge upon the demographics of your workforce.  If you have a young, healthy workforce, you may want to focus the wellness attention on keeping employees healthy and not need to screen for disease.  Instead you might want to focus on healthy lifestyle behavior such as exercise and great diet to prevent the on-set of disease.  Click here for more information on strategies for keeping employees well, identifying disease early, or returning employees to work who already have a chronic conditions.

It is also valuable to consider, and plan how you will evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.  The system needs to be shown for tracking certain data and recording activities depending on the program goals/objectives.  Step 7 discusses program evaluation in more detail.   And Step 6 will launch your program!

A Worksite Health Promotion Program without goals and objectives is somewhat akin to taking a family trip without any planning; you won’t know where you’re going, how to get there, what you want to do once you have arrived, or even whether or not you have arrived!  The trip may end up ok, or it may end up disastrously.  Yet, with a bit of thoughtful planning, you increase your chances for a successful experience.  Clear goals and objectives are needed to plan your wellness program in order to ensure success!

Wellness program goals are different from one company to another depending on the population, needs, interests and resources.  However, well thought out objectives based on your company’s needs assessment will form the foundation of a successful wellness program!

Workplace Wellness Program Mission Statement

The first consideration is a mission statement for your Workplace Health Promotion Program. The mission statement is the central expression of what the Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee wants to accomplish by launching a wellness program.  It is significant to consider how your Workplace Health Promotion Program fits in with the company mission statement, contributes to the central mission and supports the company bottom line.  This will integrate your efforts throughout the company operations.  

Here are some examples of Employee Wellness Program mission statements:

“At XYZ Organization, maintaining an environment that supports employee health and safety is our underlying value.  It is the mission of the Employee Wellness Program to assist  in developing Employee Wellness Program services that fosters and upholds that value.”

“It is the mission of the XYZ Employee Health Promotion Program Committee to advance healthier lifestyle choices to lower health risk factors, improve central wellness, and maintain a constructive, active work force.”

Employee Health Promotion Program Goals

The goals and objectives further define your mission and are based on your needs assessment.  Depending on the needs assessment, senior staff expectations and employee interests, examples of goals and objectives can include:

The objective(s) of XYZ Company Health Promotion Program in year XXXX is to:  (one or more of the following examples)

• Reduce absenteeism by one day per employee
• Decrease musculoskeletal injuries by ten percent
• Lower unnecessary emergency room visits
• Lower or contain health care expenditures
• Improve dietary habits of workers
• Cut down on health risk factors  

Worksite Wellness Program Objectives

Specific Company Wellness Program objectives help meet your long-term goals and objectives.  Both short term and long term objectives must be developed as the stepping stones to accomplish the goals and objectives.  In addition to objectives for the expected colleague outcomes, process objectives must also be developed for the program process itself.  For example, process objectives may include the number of employees you want to participate in the programs, the number of sessions on a topic will be offered, the type of wellness sessions that will be implemented, etc.

Objectives need to be easily measurable within a set time frame.  Try using the SMART formula to establish both your long and short-term goals and objectives:

• Specific (one behavior or outcome)
• Measurable (one result that can be inspected or evaluated),
• Attainable (but also challenging),
• Realistic (do you have the resources to achieve?), and
• Time specific (within 3 months – up to 5 years)  

This is the who, what, when, where, why, and by how much method.  For example, an intention for a weight loss program that has an overriding goal of improving healthy eating and promoting a healthy weight is that:

Participants (who) will lose an average of .5 – 1 lbs per week (specific what that is measurable) at the end of the 12 week lunchtime program (time specific what, when and where) for a minimum of 6 lbs weight loss per colleague (attainable and realistic).

Or:

Members (who) will attend 11 of the 12 sessions (specific what that is measurable) and name at least one healthier eating change at the end of the program (specific what, when, where)

An example of an objective for coaching workers with high blood lipids might be:

To lower the total cholesterol (specific what) of high risk workers with cholesterol over 240 mg/dl (specific who) to 200 mg/dl (measurable how much) through one-on-one counseling sessions available at the workplace (where) by X date (ex, after 6 months) (attainable, realistic & time specific when) to lower the risk factor for heart disease (why).  

And one last example of a process objective for a smoking cessation program with an overall intention to help  participants in committing to quit for life:

By the end of the 4-week smoking cessation program, 10% of the participants will have quit smoking.  Each participant will be contacted at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months from the program’s end to determine quit status (process goal) and 10% of those who quit will still be smoke-free after one year.

You have now completed Steps 1 through 4, including adopting your Worksite Wellness Program Committee.  It is now time to plan your wellness activities!

Prior to you begin planning your Workplace Wellness Program you need to know where you are now and then decide where you want to go.  Attaining a thorough needs assessment is vital to the performance of your wellness program for two reasons:  First it ensures that your Workplace Wellness Program activities will be targeted to meet your company’s specific needs so that outcomes have the potential to be achieved.  Secondly the needs assessment provides the information you will need to evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.

It is often tempting to rush the assessment – especially when time is short or those with experience already have an idea of needs.  Do not give in to this temptation!  It is vital to be aware of what your organization needs are, what senior staff expects, and what employees want as well as expect, before you create a Employee Wellness Program.  

Consider and gather data on:

• Employee Demographic Information
• Employee Health Risk Factors
• Medical Claims
• Injury Rates & Causes
• Workers’ Compensation Claims
• Short and Long Term Disability Claims
• Absenteeism
• Company Culture Audits
• Employee perceived needs and health risks
• Senior Leadership’s expectations or desired outcomes

There are many ways to evaluate this information.  Although some of data gathering process may be time consuming, remember that it is nonetheless critical to plan programs that target specific problems.  This information will be critical to set goals and objectives and for evaluating program performance.  How else can you know if outcomes have been achieved?

Options to help gather the information:

• Confidential Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) with a Business Group Summary Report
• Wellness Screenings such as blood lipids, Blood Pressure (BP) and blood glucose click here for additional information on health screenings.
• Employee Needs and Interest Surveys
• Suggestion boxes placed around the organization
• Focus Groups or hosting a luncheon meeting as a focus group
• Sending out a confidential email questionnaire
• Review records and databases including OSHA logs, first aid reports, insurance costs  

Once your needs assessment is complete, the Company Health Promotion Program Committee can review the outcome and start creating and prioritizing program options.  Starting ought to be based on objectives and goals and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!