Winston Salem WellnessWinston Salem Wellness – Winston Salem Health Promotion

Before you start drafting your Company Health Promotion Program you need to know where you are now and then decide where you want to go.  Completing a thorough needs assessment is vital to the performance of your wellness program for two reasons:  First it ensures that your Company Health Promotion 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 supplies the information you will need to evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.

It is often tempting to rush 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 know what your business needs are, what upper management expects, and what employees want as well as expect, before you create a Workplace Health Promotion Program.  

Consider and gather data on:

• Employee Demographic Information
• Employee Health Risk Factors
• Medical Claims
• Injury Rates & Causes
• Workers’ Compensation Claims
• Short and Long Term Disability Claims
• Absenteeism
• Corporation Culture Audits
• Employee perceived needs and health risks
• Senior Leadership’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 critical to plan programs that target specific problems.  This information will be critical to set objectives and goals 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 Company 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 expenditures  

Once your needs assessment is complete, the Employee Wellness Program Committee can review the outcome and begin organizing and prioritizing program options.  Beginning ought to be based on goals and objectives and identified outcomes, Step 4 of the seven step process!