Posts from — March 2009

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

General Wellness Progam Ideas

• Conduct an Employee Needs & Interest Survey
• Design a Workplace Wellness Program Committee
• Select health insurance plans that cover expenditures for weight management and tobacco cessation
• Waive co-pay or reimburse for preventive medical care visits
• Put up pamphlets on a variety of wellness subject matters for employees to take
• Design a wellness resource center or library with videos, books, magazines, DVD’s on a variety of issues of interest to employees
• Identify workers who are mentors or champions for healthy activities and ask them to present or to list as a contact for other workers
• Plan 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
• Post messages from national health observances during the month
• Post healthy tips in newsletters, paycheck stuffers, bulletin boards, etc.
• Develop a benefits fair
• Sponsor organization fitness and healthy eating challenges
• Develop employer wellness fairs or other on-Site events

Nutrition Programs

• Provide free, healthy snacks for employees (fruit, nuts, popcorn)
• Offer healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at employer events
• Offer information to employees about the nutritional content of food served in the cafeteria
• Design a fresh fruit “snack basket” in the breakroom or cafeteria
• Stock snack 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
• Have handouts available on a variety of healthy eating topics
• Include diet articles in business newsletters
• Schedule a healthy meal tasting contest Free
• Have educational sessions at lunchtime-time on a variety of diet issues 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

• Provide flexible work schedules so that workers can take part in weight-loss programs
• Partially fund registration costs for weight-management programs
• Form a support group to help employees who are trying to lose weight
• Arrange for registered dieticians near your workplace as a resource for staff members who want information on healthy eating, meal planning or weight management
• Offer individual counseling for workers trying to lose weight
• Provide onsite 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

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

Smoking Cessation Programs / Tobacco Cessation Programs

• Organize a smoke-free grounds
• Organize a tobacco-free workplace
• Promote the use of 1-800-QUIT-NOW, North Carolina’s no cost Tobacco Use Quitline. Or check www.QuitlineNC.com
• Reimburse for tobacco replacement products
• Partially fund the cost of smoking cessation classes
• Offer handouts and information on health effects from tobacco use and smoking cessation
• Schedule awareness sessions to encourage employees to try to quit tobacco use
• Schedule workplace tobacco cessation workshops

Employee Health Screening

• Discount healthcare insurance premiums or reduce 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 staff members and family members
• Provide Health Risk Assessments to all employees, including counseling and follow-up
• Offer periodic Blood Pressure screenings and follow-up
• Offer periodic screenings for cholesterol, blood sugar, body composition, etc.

Stress Management Programs / Work Life Balance Programs

• Allow flexible schedules for family/work life balance
• Offer and reward an Employee Assistance Program
• Provide information on substance abuse prevention
• Give pamphlets and information on stress management and mental health
• Provide brochures and information on work life balance, such as financial planning, childcare, parenting, elder care, etc.
• Give supervisor and manager training on communication, relationship building, corporation stressors, etc.
• Review company policies and work schedules to identify company stressors
• Evaluate the EAP to make sure it is meeting the needs of the workers and corporation
• Have educational sessions on stress management and work life balance
• Have seminars on relaxation, stress management, and work life balance topics

Health screenings are significant programs to identify chronic conditions in their early stages. Once identified, wellness intervention programs can help prevent a disease from progressing. Working with local hospitals and other corporations, you can get information on providing evaluation and intervention programs that could improve 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 on 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 staff members 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 health screenings depending on your worker population and needs

Your local hospital, corporation physician practice, or health department may offer 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 wellness screenings, consider offering a Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment to all staff members. The Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment will help to identify factors that may lead to additional risks, such as smoking history, stress levels, perception 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 supports a more inclusive snap shot of health risks. The summary results support the significant information to plan appropriate interventions.

Worksite Wellness Program Interventions

The key to the performance of screenings and Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s) is the interventions or follow-up programs. The data collected during the screenings increases awareness and often motivates workers to consider making healthier changes. It’s the follow up interventions that provide the essential support and assistance needed for workers to actually make and maintain those changes. The interventions are able to include individual follow-up and ongoing counseling, individual or group health coaching on the risk factors, behavior change programs, and/or employer support. Examples include:

• Strategies to decrease Blood Pressure (BP)
• Managing diabetes
• Taking care of your heart
• Healthier eating
• Weight loss plans
• Growing physical exercise
• Tobacco Cessation

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

Based on the results and your Employee Health Promotion Program Committee objectives you are able to plan the best strategies for your employer and staff members. Consider the area resources available to support services, such as health associations, hospitals, medical providers, and/or public health agencies.

Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals, are an assessment tool or questionnaire scientifically designed to identify health risks and outline information to support  Americans in making healthy changes that effect their health and prevent chronic conditions.

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

Staff Members complete a lifestyle questionnaire that includes for example nutrition practices, height and weight, exercise habits, family history, stress perceptions, smoking history, and work satisfaction. Another important feature to consider is readiness to change questions to determine participation interest. Including health screenings such as blood lipids and Blood Pressure (BP) 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. Nonetheless, it is important 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 implement in order to cut employee and business risks supports valuable information for your wellness program.

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

There are many advantages to thinking of a part-time or full-time occupational and environmental health nurse (OHN). Occupational health nursing is the specialty practice that supports 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 are able to include: Case management, Counseling, Company 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 find a contact near you, www.NCAOHN.org.

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

We are planning Company Wellness Programs to help you feel better and stay healthy. In order to plan programs that best meet your needs and interests we would like your recommendations! 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 significant input! Your help is significant for creating efficacious 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 busy 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 upper management skills 1 2 3
Participating in a beginning exercise program 1 2 3
Planning 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 increase 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, blood lipids, blood sugar 1 2 3

Program evaluation may be The last step, but it must be planned at the onset of your efforts!  Assessment helps you identify what parts of the program are working well and what parts need 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 success.  

Reviewing your program does not have to be be complicated.  However, it is important to plan how you will oversee your wellness efforts and determine success during the planning phase or Step 5.  Also be sure to to evaluate the program based on the objectives and goals you already established during your planning 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 available, 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 issues
• The number of participants in a behavior modification program and how many met their goals as well as how many attended all of the sessions
• Numbers of workers who continued the healthy behavior change following the program?
• Overall employee satisfaction with the program or each topic.  

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

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

Summarize and Report Corporate 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 required or additional focus required for continuous improvement.  This not-so positive information can be used to make any required adjustments as well as to plan for next year and is valuable to include in your report.  

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

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 corporation mission and bottom line whenever possible.

Workers wish to receive the same information!  Consider using the same communication channels used when informing workers of the wellness program:

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

Also consider celebrating successes and recognizing achievements by:

• Posting pictures from activities
• Highlighting effectiveness stories
• Posting pictures of successes
• Scheduling a celebration
• Recognizing champions  

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

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

Important Workplace Health Promotion Program considerations include:

1. Formally Introduce the Employee Wellness Program and consider policy statements that state the significance 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 will not be advantageous if your employees are unaware of it or do not be aware of the options or how to take part.  Communicate your wellness program using a variety of methods to ensure the message and “how-to’s” are heard!

   Employee Health Promotion Program Communication Strategies could 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 Employee Health Promotion Program Incentives:  You’ll be amazed to learn what most of us will do for a free T-shirt.  Incentives are able to both support and encourage participation among staff members.  Consider both formal or company rewards and incentives and informal or program rewards/prizes from local resources to reinforce participation in Employee Health Promotion Programs. Either way, it’s important to provide rewards and incentives that are attractive and meaningful to your staff members.

   Formal Corporate Wellness Program Incentives:

   • Savings on employee medical 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
   
   • health club/Fitness Center discounts or enrollment fee coverage
   • Public transportation vouchers
   • Flexible work time options
   • “Wellness Days” off work  

   Prizes or Informal Worksite Wellness Program Incentives:

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

4. Evaluate community resources available to support some of the wellness services.  The local health department or your company health care provider may be able to help  you with this information.  There are also vendors throughout the State providing excellent wellness services for employers.  They are available to help you strategize and find the best options available.

5. Launch 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 Workplace Health Promotion Program Committee should set out a plan for the entire year that outlines accomplishing goals and objectives, as well as supports 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 significant to plan your wellness activities based on your goals and objectives, as well as the budget since different strategies will yield different outcomes.  By way of example, if your objective is to increase awareness on a topic, then distributing handouts or scheduling a one-time class may be appropriate.  Nonetheless, if your goal is to change behavior, then different strategies may be necessary, such as ongoing weekly sessions and support groups.  Click here to link to Program Design Options for additional ideas.

Workplace Health Promotion Program Marketing

Now is the time to coordinate your marketing strategies!  How can you market the wellness program and ongoing activities?  No matter how you decide to, market frequently, keep it fresh, and remind staff members over and over!  Consider having an overall kickoff exercise to let everyone know about the wellness program.  Senior Management must support the introduction or invitation so that all staff members are knowledgeable about their support and leadership in the program.

Possible marketing methods:

• Sending email messages, including reminders
• Create flyers,
• Hanging bulletin board postings,
• Composing articles,
• Mailing letters or
• Sending special invitations.  

Other Corporate 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 Worksite Wellness Program champion (someone who is associated with different groups in the organization, and well respected) who can help in your promotion efforts?
• If your marketing efforts don’t seem to be working, do you have a way to revisit and adjust your plan?
• How will you determine performance and evaluate your program?  And how will you gather the information needed to evaluate your program?  

Topics most often included in Workplace Health Promotion Programs:

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

The subject matters and type of Employee Health Promotion Program planned depend on the needs and interest, central objective and resources available.  Program Design Options   include awareness programs such as pamphlets and/or education sessions, behavior change 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 depend on the demographics of your workforce.  If you have a young, healthy workforce, you may want to focus the wellness attention on keeping workers healthy and not need to screen for disease.  Instead you might want to focus on healthy lifestyle behavior such as exercise and good nourishment to prevent the on-set of disease.  Click here for more information on strategies for keeping workers well, identifying disease early, or returning workers to work who already have a chronic conditions.

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

A Company Wellness Program without goals/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 modest amount of thoughtful planning, you increase your chances for a efficacious experience.  Clear goals/objectives are needed to plan your wellness program in order to ensure success!

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

Workplace Health Promotion Program Mission Statement

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

Below are some examples of Company Wellness Program mission statements:

“At XYZ Corporation, maintaining an environment that supports employee health and safety is our underlying value.  It is the mission of the Corporate Health Promotion Program to help  in beginning Corporate Health Promotion 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, better overall wellbeing, and maintain a beneficial, active work force.”

Employee Wellness Program Goals

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

The intention(s) of XYZ Worksite Wellness Program in year XXXX is to:  (one or more of the following examples)

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

Workplace Wellness Program Objectives

Specific Workplace Health Promotion 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 attendant outcomes, process objectives must also be developed for the program process itself.  By way of example, process objectives may include how many employees you want to participate in the programs, how many sessions on a topic will be available, the type of wellness sessions that will be implemented, etc.

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

• Specific (one behavior or outcome)
• Measurable (one result that can be observed 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.  By way of example, a goal for a weight loss program that has an central goal of improving healthy eating and promoting a healthy weight is that:

Members (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 a goal for coaching staff members with elevated blood lipids might be:

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

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

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

You have now completed Steps 1 through 4, including establishing your Employee Health Promotion Program Committee.  It is now time to plan your wellness activities!

Prior to you start planning your Worksite Health Promotion 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 success of your wellness program for two reasons:  First it ensures that your Worksite Health Promotion Program activities will be targeted to meet your company’s specific needs so that outcomes are able to be achieved.  Secondly the needs assessment supplies the information you will need to evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.

It is frequently tempting to rush the assessment – especially when time is limited or those with experience already have an idea of needs.  Do not give in to this temptation!  It is vital that you be aware of what your company needs are, what senior staff expects, and what staff members want as well as expect, before you create a Worksite Health Promotion Program.  

Consider and accumulate data on:

• Employee Demographic Information
• Employee Health Risk Factors
• Health Claims
• Injury Rates & Causes
• Workers’ Compensation Claims
• Short and Long Term Disability Claims
• Rates of Absenteeism
• Organization Culture Audits
• Employee perceived needs and health risks
• Senior Management’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 essential to plan programs that target specific issues.  This information will be vital 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 Employer Group Summary Report
• Wellness Screenings such as blood lipids, Blood Pressure and blood sugar 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 Corporate Wellness Program Committee can review the results and start organizing and prioritizing program options.  Developing should be based upon objectives and goals and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!