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Strategies to Evaluate the Outcome of a Corporate Health Program

By 06/08/2010November 21st, 2018No Comments

The evaluation process is often the most neglected part of a corporate health program, leading organisations to miss out on key opportunities to improve and update their programs and continuously maximise ROI.

Proper evaluation of data such as participation rates, satisfaction, and biometric improvements provides a significant insight into how well the program has been working and allows companies to advance their programs by modifying initiatives to meet specific needs. A good start to evaluating outcomes is to analyse the data from the areas outlined below.

Evaluating Corporate Health Program Participation and Satisfaction

Evaluating participation and participant satisfaction is crucial for analysing the success of current initiatives and how well they are reaching employees.

Data needs to be collected on an ongoing basis and usually involves simple methods of collection such as pre-event registration sheets and post-event surveys. Remember that the negative feedback is just as useful as the positive and can be helpful for improving initiatives and generating new ideas.

Evaluating Changes in Health Behaviours and Biometrics

Changes in employee health are more difficult to evaluate as health behaviours develop at different rates and many of the changes occur outside of the working day.

Biometric measures (blood pressure, BMI, etc.) are a fantastic way of measuring health improvements but to be properly analysed need to be seen in the context of health behaviours, so a combination of data is ideal.

Because measurable health changes take time, it’s best if employee health data collection is carried out annually to fairly compare the results. Personal health assessments or a health expo that includes stalls with biometric screenings such as cholesterol and blood pressure can be scheduled every 12 months.

This biometric data can then be combined with the data from an annual electronic Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) that confidentially surveys employees on areas such as lifestyle (smoking, diet, physical activity etc.), health indicators, and work productivity and satisfaction.

The HRA provides an aggregate report that can then be evaluated alongside the other data collected to design relevant, results-oriented initiatives and identify the current most successful ones.

In time, properly evaluating outcomes will not only to serve to improve programs but also demonstrate positive outcomes to justify continued expenditure.

Some patience is required initially before we can truly see meaningful change in the health culture of an organisation, but by listening and responding to employee feedback, and by matching arising needs with carefully targeted initiatives, greater health, productivity and job satisfaction can be achieved.

For more information on Corporate Health Programs, contact Healthworks on 1300 90 10 90 (International: IDD 61-2-9954-1888)  or contact us.

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