Employee Wellness : Gather Data to Ascertain Needs and Expectations
Before you begin laying out your Employee Wellness you need to have a benchmark. Attaining a thorough needs assessment is vital to the performance of your wellness program for two reasons: First it ensures that your Employee Wellness 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 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 know what your business needs are, what management expects, and what employees want as well as expect, before you begin a Employee Wellness .
Consider and collect data on:
• Employee Demographic Information
• Employee Health Risk Factors
• Health Claims
• Injury Rates & Causes
• Workers’ Compensation Claims
• Short and Long Term Disability Claims
• Absenteeism
• Company Culture Audits
• Employee perceived needs and health risks
• Upper 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 important to plan programs that target specific concerns. This information will be vital to set objectives and goals and for evaluating program performance. How else can you know if outcomes have been achieved?
Options to help gather the information:
• Confidential Health Risk Appraisals with a Company Group Summary Report click here for more information on Health Risk Appraisals or Assessments
• Wellness Screenings such as blood lipids, Blood Pressure (BP) and blood glucose click here for additional information on wellness 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 Employee Wellness Committee can review the results and begin laying out and prioritizing program options. Planning should be based on objectives and goals and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!
