Wellness Coach : Corporate Health Promotion Program: Gather Data to Determine Needs and Expectations
Before you begin drafting your Worksite Wellness Program you need to have a benchmark. Completing a thorough needs assessment is vital to the performance of your wellness program for two reasons: First it ensures that your Worksite 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 supports the information you will need to evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.
It is frequently tempting to hurry through 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 understand what your employer needs are, what senior staff expects, and what workers want as well as expect, before you begin a Corporate Health Promotion Program.
Consider and accumulate data on:
• Employee Demographic Information
• Employee Health Risk Factors
• Medical Claims
• Injury Rates & Causes
• Workers’ Compensation Claims
• Short and Long Term Disability Claims
• Absenteeism
• Organization Culture Audits
• Employee perceived needs and health risks
• Upper Management’s expectations or desired outcomes
There are many ways to assess 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 vital to set goals/objectives and for evaluating program success. 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
• Health Screenings such as cholesterol, Blood Pressure (BP) 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 expenditures
Once your needs assessment is complete, the Worksite Wellness Program Committee can review the outcome and begin drafting and prioritizing program options. Developing should be based upon goals and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!
