To Achieve Our Goals We Must Measure Our Progress
Reviewing your wellness program frequently allows you to:
- Give your program a focus
- Strengthen your wellness goals: what you are working towards
- Keep program administrators accountable
- Aid in strategic planning, program organization and moving off-track from program goals
- Build credibility with your leadership team
At the end of each quarter, it is important to take the time to slow down and look at what matters most to your organization, to help determine where you are headed.
Here are 5 key metrics you can focus on
1) Wellness program participation rates
Now is a great time to check-in on participants that may not have activated their account or have dropped off.
You can remind participants of the program incentive and program details. It is beneficial to do this several times over the course of program duration. Individuals may forget from open enrollment and entice participants with the program reward.
You can also take this review to look at spousal engagement as well, if they are part of the program. Remember to communicate directly to spouses, if possible. Send annual newsletters, invite them to join challenges and programs. Individuals see more success in their individual health and wellbeing if the entire family or household is involved.
2) Individual program participation
What is working? What programs really resonated with your population last quarter? Are there any you need to re-visit or re-think as you head into the new quarter?
- Review participation in each program, challenge or learning session
- If you use a wellness portal, run reports to review engagement levels
- If possible, work with your EAP or behavioral health provider to review participation rates.
3) Survey Data
It’s important to ask your employees quarterly what is working for them in the program? What do they need? What is providing value?
- Keep the survey anonymous, brief and easy to use. Let participants know that their responses are anonymous, how many questions they will be asked to answer, and approximately how long it will take to complete.
- Thank participants for their time. You may garner more responses by offering a raffle or give-a-way to those that participate.
- Share the outcome of the survey with participants, as well as what you are going to do with the information obtained. For example, changing the time of learning/education sessions or offering more physical activity challenges. Take action on what you learned from the survey.
4) Review your upcoming deadlines, messaging, & communication strategy
- Create fresh graphics and fonts where needed for your upcoming communications.
- Consider including wellness in unexpected places that will grab attention (like in annual company meetings, announcements from leadership, as a header for company intranet or bulletin boards
- It is also a good time to review upcoming program deadlines and key dates. Some individuals like to plan long-term and know what to expect for the program the remainder of the year. Announce key dates to your program for summer and fall.
5) Keep on eye on aggregate data and utilize your vendors for cohort reports
If your organization conducts an annual HRA or biometric health screen, you are familiar with receiving an aggregate report. Aggregate reports are typically sent when there are 40 to 60 (or more) participants and provide a snapshot in time of that specific population. They are useful, yet can be even more useful in a cohort report.
Cohort reports analyze the same participants over time, typically year to year. If you’re looking for feedback on the efficacy of your program, cohort reports are the way to go.
Your wellness vendor can run these reports for your organization, so that data is HIPPA compliant. Cohort reports give a true picture on the health of your organization.
Types of cohort analysis:
- BMI
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol (Total Cholesterol, LDL, HDL, Triglycerides)
- Glucose/A1C
- Participation in Activity Challenges
- Overall program participation
- Health Pulse survey
- Participation
- Activity rates
Keeping these metrics and reviews in mind each quarter will ensure your program stays fresh and engaging.
What key metrics are you going to use to analyze your wellness program?
