What Matters Most?
Meaningful Measures to Guide Your Evolved Wellness Strategy
Your organization’s wellness value story should be derived from data that matters to your organization and to your people. There is not just one way to collect data, so it’s important to consider what is most meaningful to your organization. Your data can and should inform you of the larger state of wellness, which includes physical health but also encompasses much more. Collecting data to build and enhance your wellness strategy will also serve a purpose in:
- gaining a better understanding of your employee population,
- uncovering what matters to the people in your organization,
- assessing the current state of your organization,
- and informing your wellness vision and goals.
There are many formats for collecting data, so a few questions to consider before you determine what methods to use for your data collection:
- What matters most for wellness at your organization? This question should be asked of the leaders, collaborators, and other key stakeholders that are integral in creating and sustaining your wellness strategy.
- What matters most to your employees? What are their needs and interests? Where do they currently feel supported, or feel a lack of support?
- What is the current state of your organization’s strategic goals for wellness?
- Can you assess all areas of your employees’ wellness needs?
- How does your work environment and policies detract from or enhance the wellness of your people?
- Which touch points in your employees’ experience are supporting wellness; where are there gaps?
- Are there cultural factors that influence or impact the wellness of your people?
- What methods does your organization use currently to ask for your employees’ input? Are there points of integration with those methods that you could include wellness-related questions?
- What types of data do you use now to assess the wellness of your organization and your people? In using this data, what gaps do you have in learning what matters most to your organization?
Once you’ve contemplated these questions for your organization, consider these ideas to use as your methods of data collection:
Ask your people…
Find out what matters to them using methods like survey, focus groups (try these focus group resources from SHRM and Quantum Workplace), the annual employee review process, new employee/entrance interviews, and exit interviews. Assess what matters to them by including questions about their perceptions of the work environment, culture, and climate; their connection to the organization’s core values; their perception of support for emotional wellbeing and psychological safety; and their satisfaction in how they feel supported through the current benefits and resources available.
Assess your organization…
Complete a policy review to identify policies that are impacting the wellness of your people positively or negatively. Review and evaluate the existing initiatives that are designed to support the health and wellbeing of your organization – identify the successes and the gaps. Complete a focused culture audit; try reviewing your organization’s status for each of the 24 elements that influence employee health and wellbeing. Consider completing a focused assessment of your organization’s built environment and how it supports or detracts from employee wellness. Another useful tool for assessing your organization’s current strategy and state of support for wellness is the WELCOA Checklist.
Ensure your screening opportunities go beyond physical health…
Biometric screening and health risk assessment data can absolutely be a contributing source of data for your wellness strategy, but consider utilizing screening opportunities that encompass all dimensions of wellness.
As you re-visit your data collection methods and intentions, remember that the information you collect has deep value for enhancing the wellness of your people. What story will you tell with your data?
“Data are just summaries of thousands of stories – tell a few of those stories to help make the data meaningful.”
-Chip & Dan Heath, authors of Switch and Made to Stick
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