Posts from — October 2010

What Do You Want to Achieve?

Think about why you’re evaluating  and what your examination is going to measure.

If you’re trying to determine whether an initiative has been successful, see if you followed your mission statement and met your goals and goals.

If you don’t have a mission statement or objectives or objectives, decide with upper-level management and your worker committee how your organization will measure success.

For  instance, you can measure success by changes in -

o  Physical measures (e.g., strength, flexibility, waist circumference of employees).

o  Psychological measures (e.g., worker morale, satisfaction levels, stress levels).

o  Productivity measures (e.g., decrease in absenteeism rates, increased worker productivity).

Thinking About Employees

If you are considering making improvements to the program, think about whether the program is still relevant and appropriate for personnel. Find out if there are any barriers to participation in the wellness program or to participation in exercise during the workday.

As personnel are the ones participating in the health promotion program, it is vital that you give them a chance to provide feedback on the exercise initiative.

Choosing an Examination Method

Decide on your evaluation method. Both measurable results (e.g., absenteeism rates or questionnaire responses) and descriptive results (e.g., one-on-one interviews or focus groups) could be used to evaluate.

The method you choose will depend on the time and funding available and what you want to measure.

Deciding Just how to Do the Analysis

Plan when and where you’ll do your evaluation (and who will be evaluated). for more information, read the “Types of Investigations” section on this website.

You might want to pilot test your investigation (e.g., with members of the staff member committee) before sending it out to workers.  The staff member committee might also want to evaluate the program’s planning process.

Doing the Analysis

o  Compare your results to baseline information (i.e., investigation results from before the launch of your initiative). When you do not have this information, save your investigation results to compare with later results.

You can also look at other information you could have, such as employee satisfaction survey results.

o  Analyse and share meaningful and easy-to-understand results with senior management and staff.

o  Analysis results can be used to enhance the current exercise program and/or to develop new wellness programs in future.

Before launching your Worksite Physical Activity Program, summarize the information you’ve collected and plan your next steps.

At this point, you have

o  gained support from executive management for the Worksite Physical Activity Program

o  formed an staff member committee

o  evaluated what’s possible in your worksite

o  found out what staff members want and need in a Workplace Physical Activity Program.

Based on this information, you are now ready to create your action plan to elevate physical activity at your worksite.

With the worker committee, take the following steps.

o  Combine the results of the worker survey with the workplace environmental assessment, and report to senior level management and workforce.

o  Prioritize the possibilities at each of the “levels” (individual, social, organizational, community, policy) in the worksite listed in “Keys to Success”. for example, suppose a big group of employees show an interest in biking to work.

Since these individuals  may want to shower and change after their commute each day, you could give showers and changing facilities priority in your workplace. Bike racks could also be important for making employees’ bikes secure during the workday.

o  Consult the list of practical suggestions found this website.

o  Develop a mission statement (one which aligns with your organization’s overall mission statement) to define your purpose and help guide your process. Establishing objectives and objectives will help you achieveyour mission statement.

o  Put together a plan or blueprint addressing what you have learned. Make wellness program and activity recommendations with timelines, identify resources and assign responsibilities. Revisit the list of tasks outlined in “Step 2 –  Forming an Staff Member Committee.” Seek senior level management approval to move ahead.

o  Once your program is in place, it is crucial to promote it to staff members. Organizing a launch is a good way to do this. A formal launch also demonstrates senior management commitment. When staff members do not know about the program, they cannot take advantage of it!

o  Decide what you need to track to show that you’ve reached your objectives. Measure these factors before you start. This way, when you evaluate later, you’ll know when there has been a change.

To succeed in encouraging physical activity during the workday, you have to figure out what employees need and want. They are the people  whose behaviour you’re trying to influence, so it’s critical to understand their needs and gain their support.

The Employee Interest Survey

Ask workers questions that allow you to assess such key characteristics as age, gender, social relationships, family responsibilities and current exercise participation.

It is imperative that you know this information so that your physical activity program meets employees’ needs. Staff Members are not going to participate in something they are not interested in.

Ask staff what they want, and then implement changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. for  instance, staff may not want to do activities that make them sweat, because they do not want to shower at work.

Ask staff members what the corporation could do to make it easier for them to be more physically active during the workday. If there’s a common trend throughout your corporation, a single change could affect a lot of people .

For  instance, suppose a big group shows interest in biking to work. They may want to shower and change after their commute. You may give priority to installing worksite showers and changing facilities. Secure bicycle storage may  be important as well.

When you are launching a health promotion program that requires going outside, begin in the spring. By the time winter comes around, participation is already a habit.

Involving workforce is key to increasing exercise participation rates. Individuals  are more willing to participate in and support exercise programs when they are involved in decision making.

The following tips will help you produce your own employee interest survey -

o  Keep it short (no longer than 10 minutes to complete).

o  Let workforce know why you’re doing the survey.

o  Rather than using all open-ended questions, which could be long and difficult to analyze, ask individuals  to choose from a drop-down list of possible responses.

o  Ask for comments and suggestions in one open-ended question at the end.

o  Make it confidential and anonymous. Don’t request information that may identify a person.

o  If you are including a list of potential wellness programs or environmental changes, be certain your worksite has the facilities and resources to offer them.

Worksite Physical Activity Programs –  Forming an Staff Member Committee

Despite the fact that support from the top is vital to a successful initiative, support from other employees is also important.

As soon as you obtain the go-ahead from management, identify others who are interested in the project and form a committee to help determine the next steps.

Depending on the size of your workplace and the amount of staff time management is willing to contribute, this committee may  be advisory or may plan and carry out the health promotion program.

The committee could include staff members from HR, occupational health and safety and finance. It is also a good idea to involve staff from other areas who’ve an interest in promoting exercise.

Terms of reference will define the boundaries of the project. for example, it’s important for the committee to have clearly defined and understood tasks. Possible tasks include the following -

o  Reviewing your workplace environment

o  Implementing an employee interest survey.

o  Developing a mission statement and goals and goals.

o  Writing a exercise or wellness policy declaring the organization’s commitment to exercise.

o  Brainstorming health promotion program ideas.

o  Promoting, communicating and advertising and marketing the initiative.

o  Coordinating specific activities.

o  Determining how the wellness program will be investigated.

o  Continually evaluating what’s or isn’t working and adjusting the plan.

Before you make plans to encourage exercise during the workday, it’s crucial to determine what is “doable” in your workplace.

You do not want to elevate staff member expectations by offering something that is impossible because of funding or space limits.

For  instance, it’s not realistic to suggest putting in a fitness facility when there’s no room for it. be open, nevertheless, to creative ways around limitations.

Worksite Physical Activity Programs – Finding out What’s Possible in Your Worksite

Talk to recreation departments or fitness facilities for maps of the local walking trails or underground pedways. Great walking trails could  be right around the block from your workplace.

Following are some questions to help you assess your workplace -

o  What facilities or opportunities does your work space offer that make it easier to be physically active during the workday? for example, do you have stairs, bike racks, showers, space for a exercise facility, factory walking lanes?

o  What nearby facilities or opportunities could employees use to be more physically active during the workday? Are you close to sidewalks, walking trails, community centers, bicycle lanes for active commuting and/or exercise facilities?

o  What resources are available?

o  can the initiative access funds, personnel, space, equipment, facilities?

o  What’s the structure of your organization? for example, consider staff size, working hours, number of sites, unusual shifts, length of lunch breaks and ability to use flex time.

Gaining executive management support is crucial to the success of a exercise initiative.

Whether or not the changes you’d like to make involve the work environment, overall policies or specific programs, successfully starting your ideas depends on senior management support.

Support from upper management is critical for three reasons -

o  You’ll need their agreement to involve personnel in a worksite program.

o  When executive management compensates attention to and supports an initiative, employees also see the initiative as worthwhile.

o  Management has the power to give work time and money to support the wellness program.

It’s important to keep executive management involved throughout a physical activity program, but at three points you will need support for -

o  An overall concept, including a go-ahead to assess what staff want to do within the limitations of your workplace environment.

o  A detailed plan (based on the assessment above) coupled with resources to carry out the plan.

o  Reviewing the program to improve it along the way or to advocate for continuing or expanding the program.

Approaching Management

Before approaching upper-level management to gain initial support for promoting exercise during the workday, do your homework.

o  Put together a business case clearly outlining how the business will benefit by promoting physical activity during the workday.

o  List the individual, social and corporate benefits of exercise and the benefits of being active during the workday.

o  Provide some general ideas about what the health promotion program might include.

Expect questions such as the following from upper-level management -

o  Just how this help our business?

o  Precisely how can we motivate personnel to participate?

o  How much will it cost to run this health promotion program or make this change?

o  How are we going to know a year from now when this was a good use of time and resources?

Ask managers about the range of activities they would support. Oftentimes managers have ideas of their own they would like to see acted on to improve the worksite.

Remember to include middle managers when gaining support for your wellness program. They may be very helpful when you need volunteers to lead teams in corporate exercise challenges.

In today’s corporation environment, the health of employees is usually related to the health of the corporation. Enhanced job satisfaction, improved morale, lowered disease and injuries, and increased productivity are just some benefits of having healthy employees.

Promoting health in your workplace doesn’t have to be complicated, costly or time-consuming. Any corporation, big or small, can promote healthy eating and active living in the workplace. Here are some suggestions -

Healthful Eating

o  For breakfast meetings, in lieu of serving donuts, large muffins, cookies, tea and coffee with cream and sugar, offer healthier alternatives such as bagels, small muffins, fresh fruit, water, 100 percent fruit juice and milk with coffee and tea.

o  For lunch meetings, avoid serving chips, fried foods, rich pastas, and salads loaded with dressing. Instead, offer sandwiches, bagels, whole grain low fat crackers and cheese, 100  percent fruit juice, water, salads with dressing on the side, vegetable and fruit trays.

o  Reimburse personnel for items purchased to improve their health (e.g. healthful eating cookbooks, consultation with a Registered Dietitian).

o  Arrange for the cafeteria or food vendors to offer healthy food options.

o  Arrange to have healthful choices like bottled water, 100% fruit juice, fruit bars, and raisins available in vending machines.

o  Give a means for people  to share healthy recipes with each other (for example, posting recipes on the Intranet, on posters or by e-mail).

Active Living

o  Plan events and group activities to encourage employees to become active, like walking programs, contests and challenge events, stretch breaks, team sports or participation in local or provincial events.

o  Make available on-site health experts (e.g. fitness trainers, fitness instructors) or incorporate this service in employee assistance programs to help personnel work towards exercise goals.

o  Provide a supportive environment in the workplace that makes healthy options easy – bike racks, shower facilities, clean, safe and accessible stairwells, walking or running routes close to the workplace, and health club facilities.

o  Allow for flex time so that staff have more opportunities to participate in fitness programs as part of their working day.

o  Reimburse employees for full or partial club membership fees, fitness class registrations, and fitness equipment purchases.

o  Provide corporate fitness club memberships to reduce costs of individual memberships.

Keeping It Fresh!

Find a champion to -

o  Organize lunch “n learn sessions to provide information and motivation for healthy consuming and active living.

o  Invite demonstrators to provide cooking lessons or tips for making healthful foods.

o  Post a rotating list in a common room of local restaurants that offer healthy food options on their menus.

o  Distribute information to educate staff on portion sizes.

o  Include physical activity and nutrition information in newsletters, pay check inserts, bulletin boards or e-mails.

o  Plan activities that promote healthy consuming and physical activity. for  instance, start a year-round lunch-time walking club, and special activities

Can a small corporation support company health promotion? Absolutely! In fact, in some ways it is easier to develop a healthy worksite in a small corporation than in a big corporation.

Limited resources, especially in small corporations, can prevent an company from establishing up a health promotion program. Reasons can include -

o  lack of budget resources;

o  lack of staff;

o  lack of senior-level support;

o  little knowledge of the wellness concept and;

o  concern about making wellness available to all workforce.

As reported by the Wellness Councils of America, some small organization owners might have the wrong idea of what’s involved in having a health promotion program.

Some employers aren’t sure a wellness program would really work and others feel that trying to change personal lifestyle behaviours is intruding and “none of their business”.

Perhaps they do not understand that it does not need to be expensive and that they do not need special staff. They might not realize that some staff would like to see some healthy changes and would help make things happen in their worksite.

It can be Done

A lot of small corporations have found ways to have a wellness program that works for them. They keep the cost and effort to a minimum and still have results that are positive for everyone.

In 2006, Graham Lowe wrote a report on the best places to work in Calgary. He said that healthy workplaces often have a “positive workplace culture”.  In a workplace with a positive culture, individuals  feel appreciated, valued, and trusted.

Dr. Lowe says it is easier for a small worksite to have a positive worksite culture than for a large worksite. Many personnel prefer to work for a small company, he says, because it provides more opportunities to work closely with others and create a sense of community.

In his report, Dr. Lowe says the most successful organizations with fewer than 100 personnel have -

o  great employee benefits;

o  policies that promote a balance between work and personal life;

o  flexible schedules;

o  competitive salaries;

o  excellent leadership with an emphasis on teamwork;

o  environmentally responsible corporation policies;

o  procedures for seeking staff member input; and

o  A focus on placing employees’ personal well-being ahead of the personal gain of company leaders.

All or most of these elements are also components of a good wellness program.

Tips and Ideas

There are lots of ways to include wellness in a small company. You do not necessarily need a wellness specialist or a fancy health and fitness center.

What you do need is support from executive management and a committee of a few committed individuals . Here are some ideas that your worksite can consider.

Communications and Promotion

o  Send out a regular “wellness” newsletter in hard copy or online. Or send out a simple message such as the weekly Healthful U Hot Tip.

o  Use promotions that are already designed such as Healthy Worksite Week.

Active Living and Healthful Eating

o  Make sure to encourage staff to sign up for the Stairway to Health stair climbing competition.

o  Get pedometers for employees and track their steps.

o  Rent a nearby school or community fitness club and offer exercise classes.

o  Hire a local fitness instructor to give courses or lead stretch breaks. Costs can be shared with workers.

o  Install secure bicycle parking.

o  Serve healthy alternatives at business meetings and lunches.

Policy and Organizational Programs

o  Hire an ergonomics specialist to assess workstations.

o  Create policies to support work-life balance (for example, mandatory vacations, flextime, limits to work and e-mail on personal time).

o  Provide a wellness subsidy for a selection of health and leadership activities and courses.

o  Give financial incentives to be healthful.

o  Offer wellness incentives as rewards and recognition for a job well done.

o  Conduct an organizational health audit (NQI Healthful Workplace Week).

o  Become a partner with the community (for example, daycare, fitness clubs, festivals, parks, restaurants).

o  Spread the workload. Be certain to set up a wellness committee.

Small companies may not have a lot of time, money, or HR available for a health promotion program. But they often have a immense advantage over big companiesâ.”a positive worksite culture.

That is a great foundation for a health promotion program. When staff members are satisfied, enjoy their work environment, they are more productive, and tend to be healthier.  With a little creativity and passion, small companies can develop successful health promotion programs.

Get support from management, form a committee of two or more and discover the possibilities!

Corporate wellness is evolving.

Early efforts to create healthy worksites focused on safety at the worksite and injury prevention for employees.

More recently, health promotion programs are designed to assist workers to choose healthier behaviours like being more physically active or quitting use of tobacco.

Campaigns to raise awareness, educational sessions to raise knowledge, opportunities to learn new skills, and changes to policies to make it easier for workers to make healthful choices are often included.

This approach is taken because the workplace is a good way to reach people , since most adult American Citizens spend a big part of their day at work.

While safety and lifestyle programs are two aspects that contribute to the health of workers, employee wellness is more effective when a third factor is brought into the equationâ.”the environment at work.

How the worksite affects health.

Increasingly, it’s recognized that the worksite itself has a powerful affect on people ’s health. When people  are satisfied with their job, they’re more productive and tend to be healthier. When workers feel that the environment at work is negative, they feel stressed.

Stress has a big impact on staff member mental and physical health, and in turn, on productivity.

Consultant Graham Lowe has identified five components of workplace culture that directly affect employees’ health and the health of the organization overallâ.”credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.

The underlying idea is that organizations must genuinely care about the wellness of their workers.

Companies today who want to attract and keep good personnel have leaders who understand the connection between worker satisfaction and worker health and believe that employee health promotion is a corporation strategy.

Their senior management practices include making reasonable demands on time and energy, involving staff in decision making, rewarding work well done, openly communicating, and providing support to balance work and home life.

Businesss know that staff members are looking for jobs that pay well, have good benefits, are interesting, and include great health and safety programs. So in today’s competitive hiring market, it is become more important than ever for companies to enhance job satisfaction and ensure that staff members enjoy being on the job.

Employee wellness benefits both companys and staff.

Just how does company health promotion benefit the corporation?

A wellness program can help a corporation to -

o  Attract and keep employees;

o  reduce the costs of disability, drugs, and absenteeism;

o  reduce the effects of a stressful worksite;

o  reduce healthcare costs or keep them contained; and

o  improve morale by creating a happy, supportive environment.

Exactly how does employee wellness benefit employees?

Staff Members of businesses that have a wellness program are likely to have -

o  increased awareness and knowledge of ways to improve their health;

o  A better (less stressful) worksite;

o  increased protection from injury;

o  improved health and wellness;

o  higher morale and greater job satisfaction;

o  increased productivity and effectiveness at work;

o  lowered personal healthcare costs; and

o  A more relaxed/flexible approach to health issues.

Both corporations and workers have a responsibility for building a healthy workplace. Employees are expected to arrive at work in good health, and the corporation is expected to provide an environment that authorizes workers to maintain good health, enjoy their work, and contribute to the corporation’s success.

Corporate wellness is more than a “lunch and learn” program. It’s about developing a “individuals  first” approach to doing company.

It is about taking care of staff, establishing a positive work environment, and paying attention to the factors that keep staff healthy and happy at work.

A good health promotion program has an impact on employees’ mental, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual wellness.

Ideally, you’ll develop an overall plan for a health promotion program before beginning to plan specific health promotion programs. for example, you can begin by getting the following elements in place -

o  support from senior level management

o  A wellness committee or team

o  information about the wellness needs and interests of employees

o  A budget

o  wellness program objectives

o  An investigation plan

Even when you have few financial and/or human resources (HR), you can still take a “micro” approach. for example, you may focus on only one specific issue or problem. Creativity, enthusiasm and planning can help you overcome limitations.

This article will give you some ideas for setting up health promotion programs. Even the smallest steps can have an impact.

Regardless of whether you pick to begin with a single wellness program or develop something larger, planning is essential. First think about the big picture and then look after the details.

Ask yourself these questions -

o  Identify an action. What health-related wellness program will fit the bill and best suit the staff and organization?

o  Promote. Precisely how can you most effectively get the word out to employees? What are the opportunities for promotion? Consider everything, because staff members have access to and pay attention to different types of messages.

In a average worksite, workforce get information from e-mail, newsletters, bulletins, pamphlets, meeting announcements and fellow workforce.

o  Deliver. Who is the best person or group to put the wellness program into action? Ask other companies about approaches they have used. Decide on your budget before making a decision.

o  Evaluate. What should you evaluate to determine success? Do you need hard data and/or testimonials from individual participants?

We recommend the following when planning your wellness program -

o  creating and communicating clear health promotion program objectives

o  Targeting your audience

o  determining on the kind of wellness program or campaign

The Elements of Wellness Programming

Programs to promote wellness in the workplace do not need to be restricted to a single area. You could think employee wellness only involves promoting positive personal health, e.g., blood pressure (BP) clinics, flyers on heart illness, “lunch and learn” workshops on eating habits and short-term exercise programs.

These activities are important, but company health promotion should also be part of a organization’s organization strategy and go beyond traditional health promotion programming.

Taking a expanded approach, the National Quality Institute recently identified three key elements of a healthful workplace -

o  physical environment

o  social environment and personal resources

o  health practices

Specific Program Ideas

Physical Environment

Look after workers’ health and safety and establish regulations to support their health and safety. Consider providing the following -

o  Safe bike storage and shower and/or change facilities for cyclists and other commuters.

o  Fridges for staff members to keep snacks and meals fresh and/or healthful snacks in vending machines and cafeterias.

o  Ergonomic assessments.

o  Subsidies to help workforce join local recreation centers.

o  Classrooms/conference rooms available for booking activities like yoga, pilates, tai chi, meditation and aerobics.

o  Safe and pleasant stairwells that invite workforce to use them.

o  Reviewing the potential for violence at work with plans to deal with such risks.

o  Good lighting and sound and air quality.

Social Environment

Human relationships and communication, in addition to ways of doing corporation, can affect an staff member’s mental and physical health. Businesses ought to consider the following -

o  respectful worksite policies that provide safe worksites

o  policies on flex time

o  policies on working from home

o  worker satisfaction surveys

o  leadership coaching

o  resiliency training

o  worker assistance programs

To foster a positive social culture or climate, consider employees’ needs, which include -

o  being respected

o  A sense of belonging, purpose and mission

o  freedom of expression

o  protection from harassment and discrimination

What you’ve “always done” may not address current worker needs. Ensuring that people  enjoy being at work is not an easy task, but making the right changes can have a gigantic impact.

Health Practices

Make available health promotion programs and set policies that help personnel remain healthy or improve their health while at work. Consider offering the following -

o  ”Lunch and learn sessions” on healthy habits such as sleeping better, consuming on the run, healthy snacks, using a pedometer, pole walking, work-life balance, time management, stress management, resiliency, parenting and reading nutrition labels.

o  Stop tobacco use clinics or subsidies to help employees quit.

o  Health risk assessments, including fitness assessments.

o  Programs to address the issues raised in the health risk appraisals.

o  Healthful snacks served at meetings and conferences.

Personal Employee Health Promotion Tips

When there’s no health promotion program at your workplace, do not let that stop you from keeping healthy. Perhaps your example will spark a movement toward a healthier workplace.

Here are several ideas to think about -

o  be active at work. There are many ways to bring activity into your workday. Walk to work, even if it’s just one way. Hold walking meetings. Bike to work. Use the stairs. Walk to a workmate’s office instead of sending an e-mail.

o  Eat well at work. Pack a healthful snack and meal. Place a bottle of water at your desk or workstation. Eat breakfast and eat regularly during the day. Take turns bringing a basket of fruit for coworkers’ snacks. Order healthful snacks for meetings.

o  Maintain work-life balance. Make certain to work efficiently so you are able to leave on time. Conduct short, effective meetings. Leave your work at work and don’t take it home.

Minimize social chit-chat. Make sure to set up your office to enhance your work. Prevent clutter. Plan and prioritize to ensure that the most vital things get done first.

There’s no limit to the number or variety of wellness programs. A key to success is planning well and ensuring that you can evaluate the results so that you can sustain momentum.

Speak to other wellness practitioners to find out what works well for them. Listen to your peers to determine their needs and interests.  And don’t forget to promote, promote, promote.

Many organizations recognize the need for a extensive strategy to help their staff be the best they can be.

They also know that successful and sustainable wellness programs are much more than several “lunch and learn” programs.

Your health promotion program ought to include a wide range of key elements, including -

o  A clear agenda or statement of objectives.

o  A plan characterized by passion.

o  An effective leader who’s creative and organized.

o  A focus on short-term outcomes combined with an overall vision.

o  A measurable strategy (what’s important gets measured!).

o  A policy of celebrating and communicating success.

Planning Your Health Promotion Program

Plan carefully to ensure that your wellness program is seen as part of a wide commitment to maintaining the health and safety of all personnel. Yes, creating a good plan takes a lot of effort and time (and sometimes resources).

But planning is essential and well worth the investment required.  As the saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.”

You could begin by conducting a recent survey of worker needs and interests. If you take this route, pay attention to the results and plan consequently. If you don’t, the staff will not support the wellness program.

Gathering information about what you’re already offering is also a good idea. for example, you might be surprised by your business or corporation’s current wellness and health policies.

Another important step is to establish an agenda and/or measurable goals to help you determine priorities, timelines and the resources required to launch the wellness program. be bold and creative in your planning, but also realistic.

Leadership

The leader of your health promotion program ought to be able to wear many hats.  The leader’s duties include -

o  Developing a vision of the health promotion program after receiving input from all interested personnel.

o  Communicating ideas and a rationale throughout the business (to senior managers and fellow employees alike).

o  Keeping others enthusiastic about and committed to a wellness program.

o  Serving as a role model and wellness coach.

o  Developing and maintaining leadership skills such as giving effective presentations and being well-organized.

Good leaders avoid becoming overwhelmed by overly ambitious and complex plans. You could want to stick to short-term objectives at the starting so that you get immediate and visible results.

These first steps are the basis for a successful health promotion program.

Good leaders involve as many people  as possible in the wellness program. for example, you will want to form a committee made up of a diverse group of workers to provide advice during the planning phase. This approach will -

o  Make certain to help you to obtain valuable information from all parts of the organization.

o  Develop ambassadors who will help you implement the wellness program.

Keeping Score and Celebrating

Always rememberhow you will monitor progress and evaluate the success of your wellness program. Evaluation permits you to -

o  Identify areas of excellence.

o  Identify factors that affect participation in your wellness programs.

o  Gain management’s support for your efforts (and maintain that support).

o  Better understand issues that need attention.

o  Learn from mistakes and change the health promotion program to keep it on the right track.

When you evaluate your health promotion program, you can measure such things as -

o  Employee absences.

o  Worker turnover rates.

o  The price of your worker assistance program.

o  The cost of benefits, including short-term and long-term disability payments.

o  The fee of your drug plan.

o  Accident rates and safety records.

o  Employees’ participation in health promotion programs (and whether they’re staying in the health promotion programs).

o  Changes in employees’ health habits.

o  Level of employees’ awareness of healthy lifestyle issues.

o  Results of your environmental wellness audit.

o  Other noticeable changes in areas such as morale and job satisfaction.

A good communications plan provides ongoing information to staff members (including senior managers) and fosters excitement about the health promotion program.

Positive reinforcement is part of an effective communications plan. for  instance, you might recognize individuals that have helped set up the health promotion program or offer tangible rewards for achieving goals.

Everybody needs to know whether staff are getting involved, enjoying the activities and getting some benefit from them. Showing that a health promotion program has financial benefits is often an important factor in maintaining strong support from the top.

When you pay attention to the key elements of your health promotion program and communicate openly and continuously while planning and delivering it, you’ll lay a solid foundation and leave a legacy that lasts.