The most important thing an employer can do when launching a workplace health and safety effort is to start with a good assessment. Without identifying the actual needs of the organization and its employees, managers can wind up adrift in a murky sea of wellness programs and vendors. They can become overwhelmed by endless potential offerings, generic off-the-shelf solutions that may or may not be a good fit, or questionable products and services based on pseudoscience.
Employers usually have a lot of data that can help with this assessment, including from health claims, health risk assessments, existing programs and benefits, organizational performance indicators, and employee surveys and suggestions. It’s critical to involve employees in the process of identifying needs, developing programs, and evaluating results. This helps to get buy-in from workers and gives them a voice in shaping wellness efforts that fit their needs and preferences and are more likely to be successful.
If an organization doesn’t have the internal resources to conduct a good assessment, they can tap the expertise of an independent organizational or occupational health psychologist, who isn’t entering the engagement with a goal of selling their own products. Employers can also learn from the experience of other organizations such as the Health Enhancement Research Organization, the International Association for Worksite Health Promotion, and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.