Posts from — December 2008

What is Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative data?

Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative data is information that is collected about your Workplace Wellness Program. All Workplace Wellness Programs should include data as an integral part of the Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative plan.

Why should you care about Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative data?

Information tells the Wellness story. Information is the tangible evidence of a Wellness Program’s impact.

Building data into Workplace Wellness Programs

Why bother with Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative Data?

You need Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative data to:
• Evaluate whether or not your Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative is working.
• Answer the ‘so what?’ about the need for a Workplace Wellness Program.
• Provide information to Upper Management about the impact of the Workplace Wellness Program.
• Write a budget justification so you can secure Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative resources.
• Use Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative resources efficiently and market your Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative more effectively.

Where to begin collecting Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative data:
• MAKE A PLAN to collect the data: decide what, when, and how information will be collected.
• Find out what information is ALREADY BEING COLLECTED.
o For example: use dairy sales information in the dining facility to measure the impact of a milk marketing/dairy month campaign.
• Begin collecting JUST A FEW small pieces of information. Be innovative!
o For example: BMI, APFT scores (before & after), tobacco quit rates

IT’S NEVER TO LATE TO START collecting Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative data.

Innovative Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative data strategies
• Use local college/graduate students to help collect, input, and analyze Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative information.
• If your organization has an internship program, get to know the Internship Director. Take advantage of intern resources – including having the Director and/or interns implement the data collection plan for your Workplace Wellness Program.
• Use information to let upper management know about the Workplace Wellness Programs affect on the workers.

Present this information at their monthly/quarterly meetings.
• Use innovative follow-up strategies to get information. Telephone calls can be effective, but also consider email, mailed surveys with return postage provided, and going to the units in person to collect the information.
• Make data collection ‘fun’ for Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative participants.
o For example: use a team approach – the team with the ‘best’ overall results gets some sort of award or recognition.
• ALWAYS relate the impact of your Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative to readiness.

Collaboration and Effective Workplace Wellness Programs

Why should you collaborate?

Active, ongoing partnerships and cooperative efforts multiply Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative resources in order to better serve Employees and their families.

How can you build collaboration into a Workplace Wellness Program?

Get Ready…
• Brainstorm a list of every potential Wellness partner you can think of. Be innovative!
• Be a politician: introduce yourself to everyone BEFORE you need their help.
• Develop a plan to get Upper Management support from as high up the chain as possible. Make sure to include specific ways that your Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative will impact force readiness.
• Determine how YOU can help your organizations (not just what they can do for you).

Be Steady…
• Solicit input from everyone that your Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative will affect. Make a special effort to talk to the employees closest to Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative implementation (those with “boots on the ground”).
• The most frequently asked questions should be: “What would you suggest?” and “How do you think this would work best?”
• Find someone who has done the same type of Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative before and ask their advice. (Hint: the Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative has a list of many Wellness POCs.)
• Plan NOW to show Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative effectiveness. Establish who may ALREADY BE COLLECTING information that will show the Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative is working.

Get Set…
• Step back and look at your Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative from a potential partner’s point of view.
• Brainstorm questions your collaborators might have, and have the answers ready.
• Be ready to frame your “selling points” in terms that are important to each specific partner.
• Put the Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative benefits in language your collaborators will understand.
• Emphasize to potential partners how this Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative will provide benefit to them.

And Go…
• Build as many partnerships as you can BEFORE you implement a Workplace Wellness Program.
• Make your partnerships a two-way street: always let your collaborators know what you can do for them – then follow-up and do what you say you would do.
• Maintain Upper Management support by providing a regular flow of information. Invite Upper Management participation in the Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative and special events whenever possible. (Hint: they make great judges if you have a contest.)
• Provide regular feedback to your collaborators.
• Don’t hog the spotlight: let your collaborators share in the visibility of the Workplace Wellness Program.