Workplace Health and Wellness Plan Data

What is Workplace Health and Wellness Plan data?

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

Why should you care about Workplace Health and Wellness Plan data?

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

Building data into Workplace Wellness Initiatives

Why bother with Workplace Health and Wellness Plan Data?

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

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

IT’S NEVER TO LATE TO START collecting Workplace Health and Wellness Plan data.

Innovative Workplace Health and Wellness Plan data strategies
• Use local college/graduate students to help collect, input, and analyze Workplace Health and Wellness Plan data.
• If your corporation has an internship program, get to know the Internship Director. Make use of intern resources – including having the Director and/or interns begin the data collection plan for your Workplace Wellness Program.
• Use data to let upper management know about the Workplace Wellness Initiatives affect on the workers.

Present this information at their monthly/quarterly meetings.
• Use innovative follow-up strategies to get data. Phone 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 Workplace Health and Wellness Plan members.
o By way of 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 Workplace Health and Wellness Plan to readiness.