Health Wellness ProgramHealth and Wellness Programs and Wellness Program Consulting

Prior to you begin drafting your Corporate Wellness Program you need to have a benchmark.  Completing a thorough needs assessment is vital to the effectiveness of your wellness program for two reasons:  First it ensures that your Corporate Wellness Program activities will be targeted to meet your company’s specific needs so that outcomes can 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 that you be aware of what your organization needs are, what upper management expects, and what workers want as well as expect, before you begin a Employee Health Promotion Program.  

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 assess this information.  Although some of data gathering process may be time consuming, remember that it is nonetheless important to plan programs that target specific problems.  This information will be vital to set goals/objectives and for evaluating program effectiveness.  How else can you know if outcomes have been achieved?

Options to help gather the information:

• Confidential Health Risk Appraisals (HRAs) with a Organization Group Summary Report
• Wellness Screenings such as cholesterol, Blood Pressure 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 Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee can review the results and begin planning and prioritizing program options.  Planning should be based upon objectives and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!