Evaluations may conclude that some interventions did not work well. You could find that a popular Wellness Program costs too much and did not really affect employees’ health.

While these may not be the outcomes you hoped for, without this information you may continue ineffective interventions. Having this information will help you create better solutions.

When your results are excellent, it’s magnificent! You can spread the word to personnel and senior level management that your wellness program is achieving its objectives.

Three major areas of an investigation

o  Health Promotion Program structure – the basic framework of the program

o  Wellness Program process – How well the program is run

o  Wellness Program outcomes – Whether the health promotion program met the set objectives

Common questions used to evaluate a Wellness Program

Structure Questions

o  What’s included in the Health Promotion Program? What’s the intervention?

o  Where does the Wellness Program take place?

o  How is the Health Promotion Program delivered? What content is included?

o  Who manages the Health Promotion Program?

Process Questions

o  How many people  participate?

o  Do participants complete the Health Promotion Program?

o  Are participants satisfied?

o  Which aspects of the Health Promotion Program are best attended?

Outcome Questions

o  Does the Health Promotion Program improve knowledge about health issues?

o  Does the Wellness Program change behavior?

o  Does the Health Promotion Program save the business money?

o  What’s the ROI?

Download a sample wellness program (http – //www.ibx.com/pdfs/custom/wellness_partners/services/turnkey_programs/walking/participant_eval.pdf) investigation from IBC’s Walking Towards Health Promotion program.

o  Identify through an employee survey what incentives they value.

o  Identify what incentives the corporation can provide in addition to what the budget will allow.

o  Ensure that every participant who achieves a goal receives some recognition.

o  Prevent offering incentives for the “best” or the “most.”

o  Avoid using food as a reward.

o  Use incentives to promote your wellness program, through logos and branding.

Incentives could be used to elevate participation rates, help person complete a Wellness Program, or help person change or adhere to healthful behaviors.

Providing incentives and rewards will send an important message to the workers that your organization is committed to assisting them with improving their health. It also plays a significant role in motivating person to participate.

Tips on how to choose appropriate incentives -

o  Identify through an worker survey what incentives they value.

o  Identify what incentives the business can provide as well as what the budget will allow.

o  Ensure that every participant who achieves a goal receives some recognition.

o  Avoid offering incentives for the “best” or the “most.”

o  Prevent using food as a reward.

o  Use incentives to promote your Wellness Program, through logos and branding.

It will be important to review and revise existing policies governing such areas as smoking sections and the staff cafeteria.

Tips on designing a Wellness Program -

o  Develop activities based on your plan goals addressing the specific needs of your personnel. Focus on those topics that are of greatest interest to your personnel and the greatest needs of your organization, in that order. Prevent topics with narrow appeal.

o  Keep it simple. Design the Wellness Program so it’s easy for the participants to understand and track.

o  Integrate a combination of activities to include awareness, educational, and behavior elements.

o  Pick activities in which every employee can participate.

Suggestions for your Wellness Program -

o  Challenges. Activities that focus on practicing a desired behavior that continues for 4-8 weeks and focuses on specific topics (such as physical activity, nutrition, or stress management).

o  Learning experiences. This includes seminars, videos, and classes.

o  Behavior changes (like tobacco use cessation). You may or may not offer interventions at the workplace. However, you should encourage person to make lifestyle changes that they want to make even without an external incentive.

o  Education on disease management. for example, support and education groups for diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.

o  Learing new skills. for  instance, CPR and first aid.

o  Preventive screenings like blood pressure, cholesterol, and vision.

Objectives are general guidelines that explain what you want to achieve. Objectives define strategies or steps to take to attain the identified goal.

A wellness program should have a “destination”. Use the results of your surveys and your wellness committee’s mission statement as guides. Consider these ideas -

o  Focus on making medical information and learning resources readily available to staff

o  Focus on group activities so employees can work together to support and encourage healthier life choices

o  Develop a wellness program that is visible to both workforce and to your patrons

o  Focus on written policies and guidelines

o  Make sure to set objectives for your wellness program.

Review Guidelines for Writing Objectives.

Health Promotion Program Goals Should be

Specific – A goal is specific when it provides a description of what’ll be accomplished. It will state exactly what the corporation intends to accomplish.

It ought to be written so that it may be easily and clearly communicated. A specific goal will make it easier for those writing objectives and action plans to address the following questions -

o  Who is to be involved?

o  What is to be accomplished?

o  Where’s it to be done?

o  When’s it to be done?

Measurable – A goal is measurable when it’s quantifiable.  To determine when your goal is measurable, ask questions such as – Just how much? Just how many? Just how will I know when it’s accomplished?

Attainable – You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that permits you to carry out those steps. Goals that might have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable.

Realistic – Realistic, means “do-able.” the goal needs to be realistic for your company and where the company is at the moment.

A goal to take out all the high fat items in the vending machine might not be realistic for your corporation right now; a better goal would be to substitute some chips, candy bars and pies for pretzels, yogurt and dried fruit.

Timely – Lastly, a goal must’ve a timeframe –  for next week, in three months, by age 35. It must’ve a starting and ending point. It should also have some intermediate points at which progress could be evaluated.

Limiting the time in which a goal should be accomplished helps to focus effort toward its achievement. When you don’t set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there’s no urgency to start taking action now.

The committee establishes continuity, motivation, and wide ownership of the health promotion program in addition to provides an excellent automobile for communication.

So who must be on the committee? Consider appointing the following people /departments to your committee -

o  upper-level management within your company

o  Union representatives

o  Human resources (HR)  department

o  Employee assistance program

o  Information technology

o  Communications

o  Health and safety department

o  Workers interested in wellness

Building a successful health promotion program requires staff time as well as money. Some larger businesses may spend 20 hours per week for three to six months preparing all the steps prior to launching a health promotion program.

Anywhere from 4 to 10 people  meeting monthly is equivalent to a wellness committee. A mission statement for the committee should be created by the second meeting. This way, everyone knows what the committee is working toward.

Once a wellness program has been established, the committee’s size and meeting schedule may change. Still, no fewer than 4 members ought to meet at least quarterly so the group

Upper-level management executives are responsible for making sure that the corporation meets its goals. They can provide additional assistance by helping you to link your Wellness Program goals to corporation outcomes, thereby positioning Wellness Program as a fundamental part of the corporation.

It’s important to create support and excitement for the health promotion program from all levels of the corporation including upper management, mid-level management, and grass-root staff.

The challenge for any Health Promotion Program coordinator is convincing senior level management about the potential value of Health Promotion Program to the organization and conceptualizing how wellness programs can impact the organization in a meaningful manner.

The American Journal of Health Promotion is a great resource to assist you with obtaining convincing information on the benefits of a Health Promotion Program.

Health Promotion Program support from senior management can come in many different ways -

o  Involvement in the planning process

o  Distribution of funding for the wellness program

o  Support for time given to the health promotion program

o  Participation in wellness events

o  Leadership by management, such as the distribution of a letter of support for the health promotion program.

o  Download a sample letter requesting upper management support. (http – //www.ibx.com/pdfs/custom/worksite_wellness/corporation_tools/sr_mgt_support.doc)

o  Flexibility of employee schedules to accommodate wellness activities

By researching your organization’s history with similar wellness programs and eliciting feedback from peers, you can find the best solution for your organization.

Health Promotion Program –  Research Questions

o  Find out when Wellness Program has been done in the past. When so, what worked and what did not?

o  Was it widely accepted?

o  Was health promotion programming successful? Why or why not?

o  What does your company hope to gain from implementing a Wellness Program?

Answers to these questions will help you begin the process of creating a culture of wellness within your organization. It’s imperative that you assess the environment before beginning a wellness program.

o  Approximately 95 percent of the $1.4 trillion that we spend as a nation on health goes to direct medical services, while about 5 percent is allocated to preventing illness and promoting health.

o  Potentially, 50 percent to 70 percent of all diseases are avoidable as they are associated with modifiable health risks.

o  In an effort to optimize employee health, reduce preventable healthcare utilization and enhance work performance, and in turn lower healthcare costs and improve employee satisfaction and retention, many companies are developing, or are interested in developing, Wellness Programs for personnel.

The advantages of corporate health promotion are well documented. Greater than 120 research repeatedly show themes such as improvements in health outcomes coupled with high ROI. Some major findings include the following -

o  Savings of $3.48 in decreased health care costs per dollar invested.

o  Savings of $5.82 in lower absenteeism costs per dollar invested.

o  ROIs of at least $3 to $8 per dollar invested within five years of wellness program implementation.

o  Lifestyle behavior change programs –  $3 to $6 Return On Investment (ROI) within 2 to 5 years.

o  Self care, decision support wellness programs –  $2 to $3 Return On Investment (ROI) within a year.

o  Illness management programs –  $7 to $10 Return On Investment (ROI) within a year.

By offering health promotion programs, companys are not only providing an additional service for staff members, but they’re also gaining financially. Moreover, the impact of a health promotion program goes beyond reduced health care cost and ROI.

A wellness program can affect productivity, absenteeism, morale, recruitment success, turnover, and medical care costs.

* Source –  Rees, C., and Finch, R. (2004). Health Improvement –  A extensive guide to designing, implementing and reviewing health promotion programs. National Corporation Group on Health, 1 (1), 1-7.

Optimal health is defined as a balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual health. Lifestyle change could be facilitated through a combination of efforts to enhance awareness, change behavior, and create environments that support good health practices.

Of the three, supportive environments will probably have the greatest impact in producing lasting change.”

Wellness Program –  Action Steps

The process of building a Wellness Program involves -

o  Identifying the current health status of your employees

o  Decidingthe appropriate wellness programs and interventions to offer

o  Marketing and implementing the health promotion programs

o  Building in motivational incentives

o  Assessing the impact

o  Revising wellness programs based on analysis outcomes

It could even include developing policies and procedures that support worker participation in wellness activities at your worksite (like flextime).

Steps to Starting a Wellness Program

o  Conduct an organizational assessment

o  Get executive management support

o  Launch a wellness committee

o  Get worker input

o  Create objectives and objectives

o  Create and implement health promotion program activities

o  Choose incentives

o  Measure outcomes

Among the ways the government plans to increase the nation’s health is through robust Wellness Programs.

According to the USA Department of Health and Human Services, these wellness programs may help workforce live healthier life choices by creating supportive work environments and offering awareness, education and behavior change programs.

In truth, one of the goals of Healthy Individuals  2010, a set of health goals for the nation to achieve by the year 2010, is to increase the proportion of staff members that take part in a comprehensive Wellness Program at their worksite to 75%.

Emotional health is a state of wellness that comes from understanding and acknowledging our emotions and finding appropriate ways to express them.

As staff, we often bring emotional problems from our childhood or current family life into the workplace because we haven’t dealt with them effectively outside of work.

This can seriously damage worksite relationships and lead to poor performance and negative feelings all around.

Many tools and techniques exist for helping us improve our emotional health. Some of the most common are given below, with real-life case histories illustrating their use.

When an unpleasant mood or feeling persists over a length of time, do not hesitate to seek out a licensed professional. Health promotion programs typically have professional support already in place as part of their services.

1. Wellness Coaching -

One of the hallmarks of emotional health is the willingness to ask for help when we need it.

Confidential specialist help, the coaching and counseling provided by staff member assistance or health promotion programs, can provide an external source of strength and insight for “working out” emotionally-based problems in lieu of “working them in” to your job.

2. Self-help Groups -

Self-help groups are designed to aid individuals  in emotional situations in which they feel alone.  The purpose of these groups is twofold –  to allow individuals  to safely feel and express their emotions, and to help break their isolation at work and/or in society at large and reintegrate them into society with the support of a coworker group.

The classic self-help group is Alcoholics Anonymous, but thanks to technology, it’s possible to connect with others that have common health challenges, no matter how unique the situation.

People  are taking benefit of tele-conference groups and social websites, such as sparkpeople .com and revolutionhealth.com. Wellness programs often have such groups available through internet based or telephone support. Progressive corporate wellness provider

Exan Wellness, for instance, offers teleconference cell groups and moderated wellness forums for interacting with others in a supportive, confidential and unknown environment.

Individuals  with shared challenges get together and discuss the emotional challenges they’re facing at work or in other areas of their lives and work through change together.

3. Journaling –  Journaling is often recommended by counsellors as a way to help identify and process emotions. Individuals  record their emotions in writing as they experience them, in no matter what form they wish.

By assisting the writer gain greater emotional clarity, journaling can help in making more emotionally informed decisions. In much the same way, letter writing enables individuals  to identify and process the emotions they feel in relation to others.

The letter does not have to be sent or its contents shared –  it simply provides a place for the expression of feelings.

An 18-year-old “army brat,” Brent has always done well at school, academically and athletically. But in his last year of high school, something seems to have happened to him. He has lost all interest in school, becoming moody and withdrawn.

Brent describes to his guidance counselor all the times he’d to move when he was growing up. Each move wrenched him from his friends and forced him to play the role of the “new kid on the block.”

The counselor suggests that Brent write letters to the friends he’s missed over the years telling them how he felt. Finally, he’s a chance to say a proper goodbye.

4. Assess Your Emotional Health – Organizations that seek to improve employees’ interpersonal skills, or emotional intelligence in the workplace are more successful, as reported by ground-breaking journalist Daniel Goleman.

And emotional intelligence is the buzzword in worksites these days. Some wellness programs have information about emotional intelligence, or emotional health assessments. Seek out more information about emotional intelligence for better corporate wellness.

5. Friendships/Support Systems –  Friendships allow people  to feel supported in their emotional journeys.  At the same time, they give people  an opportunity to develop their empathetic skills.

These skills are also important for worksite health. When we are empathic with fellow personnel, we help them resolve negative or unhealthful emotions. New friendships are made through hobbies, classes, clubs, or even through internet based groups.

A lot of individuals  are locating emotional satisfaction by connecting or re-connecting with friends through Facebook and other social websites.

Sometimes worksite stress that is not dealt with in a healthful manner may be brought home. A 36-year-old mother of three, Sarah, wants to be a good wife, a good mother, and a success at her job.

One day, drained after a long day at work, she shouted at her rambunctious children and threatened to hit her youngest son. Her behavior horrified her.  To make matters worse, she believes she’s a failure at her job in addition to at motherhood. She watches with jealousy as younger coworkers advance much more quickly up the corporate ladder despite having less experience than she has.

On the advice of a counselor, she decides to take time out for herself and take a course for amateur painters. It doesn’t take long before she strikes up a friendship with a single mom in the class.

She once led a life very similar to Sarah’s before managing to achieve a better balance between work and family. Her new friend becomes a much-needed sounding board for Sarah and offers her perspectives on her life that she hadn’t considered before.