Employee Health Promotion

Before you start creating your Employee Health Promotion you need to know where
you are now and then decide where you want to go. Attaining a thorough needs
assessment is vital to the effectiveness of your wellness program for two reasons:
First it ensures that your Employee Health Promotion activities will be targeted
to meet your company’s specific needs so that outcomes can 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 essential that you be aware of what your organization needs
are, what senior staff expects, and what employees want as well as expect, before
you begin a Employee Health Promotion .

Consider and gather data on:

• Employee Demographic Information
• Employee Health Risk Factors
• Health Claims
• Injury Rates & Causes
• Workers’ Compensation Claims
• Short and Long Term Disability Claims
• Absenteeism
• Employer 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/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 with a Employer Group Summary Report
  click here for more information on Health Risk Appraisals or Assessments
• Wellness Screenings such as cholesterol, Blood Pressure (BP) 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 Employee Health Promotion Committee
can review the outcome and start creating and prioritizing program options.
Creating must be based upon goals/objectives and identified outcomes, Step 4
of the seven step process!