• How to Implement Worksite Wellness

• Conduct an Organizational Assessment
• Obtain Management Support
• Establish a Wellness Committee
• Obtain Employee Input
• Obtain External Support
• Develop Goals & Objectives
• Design Program Activities
• Select Incentives
• Evaluate Outcomes

• Implementation Tools

• Employer Toolkits

• Videos

• AmeriHealth Healthy Lifestyles^SM Promotion Guide

Step 4: Obtain Employee Input

Steps to getting started

Ask employees what they’re interested in, and what needs they have. People are more willing to participate and support wellness efforts if they are involved in the decision-making process. Review the sample employee survey provided below for ideas on how to involve your employees.

• Employee Interest Survey
• Employee Interest Survey – Can be edited

Successful wellness programs are designed to meet the needs and interests of the employees. The information you need to get from a survey depends on the scope of your program. According to the University of Michigan Worker Health Program, keep the following hints in mind when developing a survey:

• Ask mostly closed form questions, especially if you will be sending the survey to a large number of employees. Closed form questions provide specific choices and are easy to tabulate.
• Invite comments, suggestions and recommendations, or ask open-ended questions at the end of the survey. Open-ended items are more difficult to summarize.
• Include a brief explanatory cover letter with the survey with the signature of the company president. Make sure to include a statement about confidentiality and anonymity.
• Ask a group of representative employees to review the survey before it is distributed. Their review will help determine if the questions are understandable and inoffensive.
• Include demographic information at the beginning, or end of the survey (gender, age, shift, site, department, etc.).
• Conduct a random drawing for a valued incentive item for all those who returned the survey to increase the response rate.

When considering who should get the survey, a simple rule is if you have fewer than 500 employees, everyone should receive one. The public relations benefit of everyone receiving a survey can be significant. For organizations with over 500 employees, a sample of the work population from each department will suffice. A sample saves on costs and time.

Getting support from management is crucial to the success of the program. The higher the response, the more valid and reliable the results. A minimum response of 40 percent to 50 percent is good.

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