Employee Wellness Plans : Workplace Wellness Program: Gather Data to Determine Needs and Expectations  

Before you begin laying out your Company Wellness Program you need to have a benchmark.  Attaining a thorough needs assessment is vital to the effectiveness of your wellness program for two reasons:  First it ensures that your Company Wellness Program activities will be targeted to meet your company’s specific needs so that outcomes are able 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 limited or those with experience already have an idea of needs.  Do not give in to this temptation!  It is critical that you be aware of what your corporation needs are, what upper management expects, and what workers want as well as expect, before you establish a Workplace Wellness Program.  

Consider and collect data on:

• Employee Demographic Information
• Employee Health Risk Factors
• Medical Claims
• Injury Rates & Causes
• Workers’ Compensation Claims
• Short and Long Term Disability Claims
• Absenteeism
• Company Culture Audits
• Employee perceived needs and health risks
• Senior 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 essential to plan programs that target specific problems.  This information will be essential to set goals and 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 Assessments (HRAs) with a Employer Group Summary Report
• Wellness Screenings such as blood lipids, Blood Pressure 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 Corporate Wellness Program Committee can review the results and start creating and prioritizing program options.  Creating ought to be based upon goals and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!