Wellness Program Examination.

Examinations determine the outcome of a Wellness Program. They help you figure out if your goals were met. It is a good idea to add an evaluation component to your Wellness Program.

Examinations may conclude that some interventions did not work well. You could find that a well-liked Wellness Program costs too much and did not really affect employees’ health.

While these may not be the outcomes you hoped for, without this information you might continue ineffective interventions. Having this information will help you create better solutions.

When your results are excellent, it’s magnificent! You can spread the word to staff members and management that your program is achieving its goals.

Three major areas of an examination

• Wellness Program structure – the basic framework of the program

• Wellness Program process – How well the program is run

• Wellness Program outcomes – Whether the program met the set objectives

Common questions used to evaluate a Wellness Program

Structure Questions

• What’s included in the Wellness Program? What’s the intervention?

• Where does the Wellness Program take place?

• How is the Wellness Program delivered? What content is included?

• Who manages the Wellness Program?

Process Questions

• How many individuals  participate?

• Do participants complete the Wellness Program?

• Are participants satisfied?

• Which aspects of the Wellness Program are best attended?

Outcome Questions

• Does the Wellness Program improve knowledge about health issues?

• Does the Wellness Program change behavior?

• Does the Wellness Program save the company money?

• What is the return on investment (ROI)?

Download a sample program (http – //www.ibx.com/pdfs/custom/wellness_partners/services/turnkey_programs/walking/participant_eval.pdf) evaluation from IBC’s Walking Towards Wellness program.

• Identify through an staff member survey what incentives they value.

• Identify what incentives the organization can provide as well as what the budget will allow.

• Ensure that every participant who achieves a goal receives some recognition.

• Prevent offering incentives for the “best” or the “most.”

• Prevent using food as a reward.

• Use incentives to promote your wellness program, through logos and branding.