Posts from — May 2009

Points to Consider

Hiring Certified Professionals

Enlist professionally certified instructors to lead fitness classes (whether on or offsite) or to run worksite lunch and learn meetings.  It’s also a good idea to ask the instructor for references.

When you hire instructors, make sure that your insurance protects both the instructor and your organization.

Risk Management

Whether we like it or not, liability is an issue these days.

Risk management plans need not be complex or pricey. By way of example, part of the plan might require that employees complete fitness appraisals and sign statements accepting the possible risks involved in physical exercise. It pays to be prepared. Safety and emergency policies and procedures lower the risk of loss both to individuals and to your business.

Ask workers to fill out a waiver when participating in both workplace and offsite activities. For liability reasons, workers must be aware of the risks involved in participating in the exercise and know that they are waiving their right to sue.

The employee ought to not be asked to sign the waiver just before the exercise. The waiver may be invalid if employees say that they didn’t fully understand the risks.

Other Safety Tips

Here’s a list of some other safety tips to keep in mind when planning physical exercise.

Look at the environment where staff members are active:

• Sidewalks must be clear of ice and snow, away from falling debris or snow, and have clearly marked curbs and safe crosswalks.
• Stairwells must be well-lit and in good condition and have handrails and safety features, so that employees are not locked out of floors.
• Fitness facilities ought to have proper flooring, good ventilation, and access to water and an emergency telephone.

Provide medical screening for employees participating in activities:

• PAR-Q
• PAR-MEDX for Pregnancy

Below are some other valuable safety factors:

• First-aid kit and automated external defibrillator on site.
• Emergency Action Plan (EAP) in place and practised.
• Commercial grade fitness equipment (not donated, “hand me down” equipment).
• Documented equipment inspection and maintenance schedule.
• Orientation of equipment and programs done by certified professional with a physical exercise background.

To make a difference in the lives of your fellow employees, you first need to understand that getting active is not only a matter of choice. Some things are within our individual control, but others are shaped by the individuals and circumstances in which we live and work.

It’s Easier to Be Active When…

• We know what to do and have the confidence, skills and opportunity to do it.
• It’s fun. “Working out” at the gym does not appeal to everyone. Activities need to reflect what individuals enjoy.
• Our friends, family or co-employees are active with us (or at least support us).
• We feel safe, thanks to well-lit streets or stairwells.
• Sidewalks, walking/biking trails, parks and gyms are nearby.
• We have money to pay for equipment, instruction or memberships.
• We can walk, bike or take public transit to work.
• Active choices such as taking the stairs, having stretch breaks at meetings and going outside at lunchtime are “normal” in the worksite.
• Managers support and recognize employee efforts. Better yet, they take part.
• We can juggle our work hours to fit in physical activity.

Consider how you might set up some of these conditions in your worksite. By taking these steps, you’ll make it more likely that staff members both want and are able to be active during day.

Workplace physical activity initiatives that focus only on individuals have limited success. Research shows that reaching people in multiple ways gives the strong chance of long-term success.

A plan directed at multiple levels is also called an “ecological approach.”

The type of evaluation you choose is dependent upon when you do it and the kind of information you gather.

This section describes when to use three types: formative, process and summative evaluations.

During the Design Stage

Use formative evaluations in the planning stages to ensure that your program is based on solid information. These evaluations also help you to cultivate effective and appropriate materials and procedures.

Examples of formative evaluations include:

• records of upper management commitments to the program
• employee interest surveys
• workplace environmental assessments
• pre-testing of program materials

During Your Initiative

A process assessment is used when the plan is underway. These evaluations help you:

• track what is going well and what isn’t (and how to revise your program)
• learn if you are reaching the employees you want to reach
• describe the initiative to others
• monitor who is participating in the program

During or After Your Initiative

Summative evaluations happen when the program is already in place or completed. Use this type of evaluation to measure what employees like about the program and what could be improved.

All three types of evaluations are useful. The assessment you choose is dependent upon the time and financial resources you have available.

What Do You Want to Achieve?

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

If you’re trying to discover whether program has been efficacious, see if you stuck to your mission statement and met your objectives and goals.

If you don’t have a mission statement or goals/objectives, agree with management and your employee Workplace Wellness Program Committee how your organization will track success.

For example, you can measure success by changes in:

• Physical measures (e.g., strength, flexibility, waist circumference of staff members).
• Psychological measures (e.g., employee morale, satisfaction levels, stress levels).
• Productivity measures (e.g., decrease in absenteeism rates, increased employee work rate).

Thinking About employees

If you’re thinking of making improvements to the plan, think about whether the plan is still relevant and appropriate for workers. See if there are any obstacles to participation in the program or to participation in physical exercise during work.

As workers are the ones participating in the program, it’s significant to give them a chance to offer feedback on the physical exercise initiative.

Choosing an Evaluation Method

Decide on your assessment method. Both measurable results (e.g., absenteeism rates or questionnaire responses) and descriptive results (e.g., one-on-one interviews or focus groups) can be used to evaluate. The method you choose will depend on the time and funding available and what you want to measure.

Deciding How to Do the Evaluation

Plan when and where you will do your evaluation (and who will be evaluated). For more information, read the “Types of Evaluations” section on this website.
You might want to pilot test your evaluation (e.g., with members of the Company Health Promotion Program Committee) before sending it out to employees. The employee Company Health Promotion Program Committee might also wish to evaluate the initiative’s planning process.

Doing the Assessment

• Compare your outcome to baseline information (i.e., evaluation results from before the launch of your program). If you don’t have this information, save your evaluation outcome to compare with later results. You can also look at other information you may have, such as employee satisfaction survey results.
• Analyze and disseminate meaningful and simple-to-know results with management and employees.
• Evaluation results can be used to improve the current physical exercise program and/or to advance new initiatives in future.

Before initiating your Workplace Physical Activity Program, summarize the information you’ve gathered and plan your next steps.

At this point, you have

• gained support from management for the Workplace Physical Activity Program
• formed an Company Wellness Program Committee
• assessed what is possible in your workplace
• found out what staff members want and need in a Workplace Physical Activity Program.

Based on this information, you’re now ready to advance your action plan to stimulate physical activity at your workplace.

With the Worksite Wellness Program Committee, take the following steps.

• Combine the outcome of the employee survey with the workplace environmental assessment, and report to senior staff and workers.
• Prioritize the possibilities at each of the “levels” (individual, social, company, community, policy) in the workplace listed in “Keys to Success”. For example, suppose a big group of workers show an interest in biking to work. Since these individuals may want to shower and change after their commute each day, you might give showers and changing facilities priority in your workplace. Bike racks might also be significant for making employees’ bikes secure during the workday.
• Consult the list of practical suggestions found this website.
• Create a mission statement (one which aligns with your organization’s central mission statement) to define your purpose and help guide your process. Setting goals/objectives will help you achieve your mission statement.
• Put together a plan or blueprint discussing what you have learned. Make program and activity recommendations with timelines, identify resources and assign responsibilities. Revisit the list of tasks outlined in “Step 2: Forming an Employee Committee.” Seek senior staff approval to move ahead.
• Once your program is in place, it’s valuable to promote it to workers. Organizing a launch is a good way to do this. A formal kick-off additionally demonstrates upper management commitment. If workers aren’t aware of the program, they can’t take advantage of it!
• Decide what you need to track to show that you have accomplished your goals. Measure these factors before you begin. This way, when you evaluate later, you will know if there has been a change.

To succeed in encouraging physical exercise during the workday, you must find out what employees need and want. They are the people whose behavior you are trying to influence, so it’s important to understand their needs and gain their reinforcement.

The Employee Interest Survey

Ask staff members questions that let you assess such key characteristics as age, gender, social relationships, family responsibilities and current physical exercise participation.

It’s significant to know this information so that your physical exercise program meets employees’ needs. Workers will not take part in something they’re not interested in.

Ask employees what they want, and then start changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. By way of example, employees may not wish to do activities that make them sweat, because they do not want to shower at work.

Ask employees what the company could do to make it easier for them to be more physically active during work. If there’s a common behavior throughout your organization, a single change could affect a lot of individuals.

By way of example, suppose a sizable group shows interest in biking to work. They may want to shower and change after their commute. You might give priority to installing workplace showers and changing facilities. Secure bike storage might be important as well.

If you’re launching a program that requires going outside, start in the spring. By the time winter comes around, participation is already a habit.

Involving employees is key to building physical exercise participation rates. People are more willing to take part in and support physical exercise initiatives when they are involved in decision making.

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

• Keep it short (no longer than ten minutes to complete).
• See that staff members know why you are doing the survey.
• Rather than using all open-ended questions, which can be long and difficult to analyze, ask them to choose from a drop-down list of possible responses.
• Ask for comments and recommendations in one open-ended question at the end.
• Make it confidential and anonymous. Do not request information that may identify a person.
• If you’re including a list of possible programs or environmental changes, be sure your workplace has the facilities and resources to offer them.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Forming an Employee Committee

Although support from the top is vital to a thriving plan, support from other workers is also important.

Once you get the go-ahead from upper management, identify others who are interested in the project and form a Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee to help determine the next steps. Depending on the size of your workplace and the amount of employee time management is willing to contribute, this Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee may be advisory or may plan and carry out the plan.

The Company Wellness Program Committee could include staff members from human resources, occupational health and safety and finance. It’s also a great idea to involve employee from other areas who have an interest in promoting physical exercise. Terms of reference will define the boundaries of the project. For example, it’s important for the Company Wellness Program Committee to have clearly defined and understood tasks. Possible tasks include the following:

• Assessing your workplace environment
• Carrying out an employee interest survey.
• Developing a mission statement and goals and objectives.
• Writing a physical exercise or wellness policy declaring the organization’s commitment to physical exercise.
• Brainstorming program ideas.
• Promoting, communicating and marketing the plan.
• Coordinating specific activities.
• Deciding how the plan will be evaluated.
• Continually assessing what is or isn’t working and adjusting the plan.

Prior to making plans to promote physical activity during the workday, it’s valuable to learn what is “doable” in your workplace.

You don’t want to raise employee expectations by offering something that’s not feasible due to funding or space limits. For example, it’s not realistic to suggest putting in a fitness center if there’s no room for it. Be open, however, to creative ways around limitations.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Discovering What’s Feasible in Your Workplace

Check with recreation departments or fitness facilities for diagrams of the local walking trails or underground pedways. Great walking trails may be right around the block from your workplace.

Below are some inquiries to help you assess your workplace:

• What facilities or opportunities does your work space offer that make it easier to be physically active during work? For example, do you have stairs, bike racks, showers, space for a fitness facility, factory walking lanes?
• What nearby facilities or opportunities could staff members use to be more physically active during work? Are you close to sidewalks, walking trails, neighborhood centres, bike lanes for active commuting and/or exercise facilities?
• What resources are available?
• Can the initiative access funds, personnel, space, equipment, facilities?
• What is the structure of your corporation? For example, consider employee size, working hours, number of sites, unusual shifts, length of lunch breaks and ability to use flex time.

Gaining senior staff support is critical to the success of a physical exercise program.

Whether the changes you’d like to see involve the work environment, overriding policies or specific programs, successfully implementing your ideas depends on senior staff support.

Support from management is critical for 3 reasons:

• You need their support to involve staff members in a workplace program.
• When senior staff pays attention to and supports initiative, staff members also see the initiative as worthwhile.
• Senior Management has the authority to give work time and money to support the plan.

It’s important to keep senior staff involved throughout a physical exercise initiative, but at three points you’ll need backing for:

• An central concept, including a go-ahead to evaluate what workers want to do within the limitations of your workplace environment.
• A detailed plan (based on the assessment above) coupled with resources to carry out the plan.
• Analyzing the program to improve it along the way or to advocate for continuing or expanding the program.

Approaching Senior Management

Prior to addressing upper management to gain initial support for promoting physical exercise during work, do your homework.

• Prepare a corporation case clearly outlining how the corporation will benefit by promoting physical exercise during the workday.
• List the individual, social and corporate benefits of physical activity and the benefits of being active during the workday.
• Present some cursory ideas about what the program might include. See the Success Stories and Ideas sections on this website to highlight what other workplaces have done.

Expect questions such as the following from upper management:

• How will this help our business?
• How can we arouse workers to participate?
• How much will it cost to operate this program or bring about this change?
• How are we going to know a year from now if this was a good use of time and resources?

Ask managers about the sorts of activities they would support. Often managers have ideas of their own they would like to see acted on to better the workplace.

Remember to include middle managers when gaining backing for your plan. They can be very helpful when you need volunteers to lead teams in corporate physical exercise challenges.

In today’s organization environment, the health of staff members is often related to the health of the organization. Increased job satisfaction, improved morale, reduced illness and injuries, and increased work rate are just some of the advantages of having healthy staff members. Promoting health in your workplace need not be complicated, expensive or time-consuming. Any organization, big or little, can encourage healthy eating and active living in the workplace. Here are some recommendations:

Healthier Eating

• For breakfast gatherings, instead of serving donuts, sizable muffins, cookies, tea and coffee with cream and sugar, offer healthier alternatives such as bagels, small muffins, fresh fruit, water, 100% fruit juice and milk with coffee and tea.
• 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.
• Reimburse employees employees for items purchased to better their health (e.g. healthy eating cookbooks, consultation with a Registered Dietitian).
• Arrange for the cafeteria or food vendors to offer healthy food choices.
• Arrange to have healthy choices like bottled water, 100% fruit juice, fruit bars, and raisins available in vending machines.
• Offer 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

• Create events and group activities to advocate workers to become active, such as walking programs, contests and challenge programs, stretch breaks, team sports or participation in local or provincial programs.
• Provide on-Site health professionals (e.g. personal trainers, fitness instructors) or incorporate this service in Employee Assistance Program(EAP)s to help staff members work towards physical exercise objectives.
• Give a supportive environment in the workplace that makes healthy choices easy: bike racks, shower facilities, clean, safe and accessible stairwells, walking or running routes in the vicinity of the workplace, and gym facilities.
• Provide|Offer|Give} flex time so that workers have more opportunities to participate in exercise program as part of their working day.
• Reimburse health club membership fees, fitness class registrations, and fitness equipment purchases.
• Provide corporate gym memberships to cut expenditures of individual memberships.

Keeping It Fresh!

Find a champion to:

• Establish lunch ‘n learn sessions to support information and motivation for healthy eating and active living.
• Invite demonstrators to provide cooking lessons or tips for making healthy foods.
• Post a list of local restaurants that offer healthy meal choices on their menus.
• Distribute information to educate staff members on portion sizes.
• Include physical exercise and nutrition information in newsletters, pay check inserts, bulletin boards or e-mails.
• Plan activities that reward healthy eating and physical activity. For example, begin a year-round lunch-time walking club, and special activities

Can a small corporation support workplace wellness? Most certainly! In fact, in some ways it is easier to establish a healthy workplace in a small corporation than in a large corporation.

Limited resources, especially in small companies, can keep a company from setting up a Employee Wellness Program. Reasons can include:

• lack of financial resources;
• lack of employee;
• lack of senior-level reinforcement;
• little knowledge of the wellness concept and;
• issue about making wellness available to all staff members.

According to the Wellness Councils of America, some small employer owners may have an incorrect idea of what is involved in maintaining a Worksite Health Promotion Program. Some employers aren’t certain that a program would truly 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 need not be costly and that they do not need special employee. They may not realize that some employee would like to see some healthy changes and would help make things happen in their workplace.

It Can Be Accomplished

Many small businesses have found ways to have a Worksite 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 frequently 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 workplace to have a beneficial workplace culture than for a big workplace. Many staff members prefer to work for a small business, he says, because it supplies more opportunities to work closely with others and foster a sense of community.

In his report, Dr. Lowe says the most successful corporations with fewer than 100 workers have:

• excellent employee benefits;
• policies that encourage a balance between work and personal life;
• flexible schedules;
• competitive salaries;
• excellent leadership with an emphasis on teamwork;
• environmentally responsible corporation policies;
• procedures for seeking employee input; and
• a focus on placing employees’ personal wellness ahead of the personal gain of Senior Management.

All or most of these elements are also elements of a strong Employee Health Promotion Program.

Tips and Ideas

There are many ways to include health and wellbeing in a small employer. You do not necessarily need a wellness consultant or a fancy health club. What you do need is support from management and a Employee Health Promotion Program Committee of a few committed people. Below are some ideas that your workplace can consider.

Communications and Promotion

• Send out a regular “wellness” newsletter on paper or online. Or send out a simple message such as the weekly Healthy U Hot Tip.
• Use promotions that are already designed, such as Healthy Workplace Week.

Active Living and Healthier Eating

• Encourage employee to sign up for the Stairway to Health stair climbing contest.
• Provide pedometers for staff members and track their steps.
• Rent a nearby school or area fitness center and offer physical activity classes.
• Hire a local fitness instructor to give classes or lead stretch breaks. Expenses can be shared with workers.
• Install safe bicycle parking.
• Serve healthy alternatives at corporation meetings and lunches.

Policy and Business Programs

• Enlist an ergonomics expert to assess workstations.
• Create policies to support work-life balance (for example, mandatory vacations, flextime, limits to work and e-mail on personal time).
• Offer a wellness subsidy for a variety of health and leadership activities and courses.
• Offer financial rewards and incentives to be healthy.
• Provide wellness incentives/rewards as rewards and recognition for a job well done.
• Conduct an organization health audit.
• Become a partner with the community (for example, daycare, gyms, festivals, parks, restaurants).
• Distribute the workload. Set up a Employee Wellness Program Committee.

Small businesses may not have much time, money, or human resources(HR) available for a Company Wellness Program. But they frequently have a large advantage over sizable companies-a beneficial workplace culture. That is a great foundation for a Company Wellness Program. When workers are satisfied, enjoy their work environment, they are more advantageous, and tend to be healthier.  With a bit of creativity and passion, small businesses can develop thriving Company Wellness Programs. Obtain reinforcement from upper management, form a Company Wellness Program Committee of two or more and discover the possibilities!