Employer Wellness

Effective wellness programs are designed to meet the needs and interests of the workers. Ask workers what they are interested in, and what needs they have. People are more willing to take part and support wellness efforts if they are involved in the decision-making process.

When creating a survey, keep the following hints in mind:

• Ask mostly closed form questions, especially if you will be sending the survey to a sizable number of staff members. Closed form questions offer specific choices and are easy to tabulate.
• Invite comments, opinions 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 organization president. Make sure to include a statement about confidentiality and anonymity.
• Ask a group of representative workers to review the survey before it is distributed. Find out if the questions will be understood by workers and won’t be objected to.
• 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. This could stimulate the response rate.

One rule to consider concerning surveys is if you have fewer than 500 staff members, everyone must receive one. The benefit of everyone receiving a survey can be significant. If you have over 500 staff members, a sample of the work population from each department will suffice. The higher the response, the more valid and reliable the results. A minimum response of 40% to 50% is considered significant.