Evaluation Tools for Workplace Wellness Activities

Transcription

1 Evaluation Tools for Workplace Wellness Activities Monitoring and evaluating your workplace wellness activities is an important step in your wellness programming. Information you learn from employees, both positive and negative, will help you plan future events. It is important to make sure that your evaluation helps you determine whether or not the wellness activity achieved its goals and objectives. There are different levels of evaluation and each provides different types of information. These include questions that focus on: Whether the interventions met the needs of employees (also known as formative evaluation). For example: Are the appropriate incentives used and do they motivate staff to participate? What worked and didn t work in your workplace (also known as process evaluation) For example: Ask employees how satisfied they are with a particular initiative. Whether the program met its objectives and made a difference (also known as outcome evaluation. For example, shorter term outcomes such as changes in knowledge or behaviour and longer term outcomes such changes in absenteeism rates or prescription medications. The following pages contain sample questions that can be used as part of evaluating your wellness programming. These questions can asked verbally, with paper surveys or feedback forms, or electronically. There are numerous online survey options and many of them are free (such as surveymonkey.com). employee survey questions. These questions are intended to gather feedback from all employees about the consistency and effectiveness of wellness programming and messaging. These questions will gather similar information to the Checklist for Planning Integrated Workplace Health Messaging but from an employee perspective. Employee surveys may also include other questions about individual or workplace needs and wellness programming. questions to evaluate a health fair. These questions are intended to gather feedback from employees about the effectiveness of the event and suggestions for the next one. questions to evaluate a lunch and learn, presentation or workshop. These questions are intended to gather feedback from employees who attended the presentation about the effectiveness of the event and suggestions for the next one. DOCS# Project Health: Evaluation Tools for Wellness Activities (June 2014) 1

2 Employee Survey Questions A survey of all employees can be useful for: Evaluating events and activities such as fundraising activities, celebrations, employee engagement events (e.g., employee recognition, tournaments, etc.) and other workplace activities. Gathering feedback on individual or workplace needs and assessing the overall consistency or effectiveness of wellness programs and messages. The sample questions below can be used on a paper form, in an electronic survey or as part of a discussion with employees. They can be tailored for specific events or activities and some questions can be asked as open ended questions or with potential responses available in a checklist format. What wellness programs or events did you take part in over the last [specify timeframe]? What did you like most about the wellness programs/events at [Company Name]? What did you like least about the wellness programs/events at [Company Name]? Why did you participate in the wellness programs/events above? Potential checklist responses: I wanted help to become healthier, I wanted to learn about the topic, Attendance was mandatory, etc. If you did not participate in wellness activities, what was the reason for not participating? Potential checklist responses: Not enough time, Not interested in the program/activity, The health topic was not a concern for me, etc. What would encourage you to participate in future wellness programs or events? What was the most important thing that you learned through the wellness programs at [Company Name]? What change(s) have you made or are you planning to make as a result of participating in the wellness programs at [Company Name]? Overall I was satisfied with the wellness programs at [Company Name]. Potential checklist responses: strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree. What wellness programs or events would you like to see at [Company Name]? Did aspects of wellness programs/events support good health? (e.g., food and drinks, prizes, location, etc.) Potential checklist responses: strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree (with room for comments related to potential improvements). You may also create additional questions using the Checklist for Planning Integrated Workplace Health Messaging. DOCS# Project Health: Evaluation Tools for Wellness Activities (June 2014) 2

3 Health Fair Evaluation Questions Conducting an evaluation of a health fair is valuable to find out what worked and what could be improved for next time. Health fair evaluations could be in the form of a feedback form as employees leave the fair or a paper or electronic survey sent to employees after the event. Consider incorporating questions such as: What did you like most about the health fair? What did you like least about the health fair? Why did you come to the health fair today? Potential checklist responses: I wanted help to become healthier, I wanted to learn about the topic, Attendance was mandatory, etc. What was the most important thing that you learned today? What change(s) are you planning to make as a result of attending the health fair today? Overall I was satisfied with the health fair. Potential checklist responses: strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree What topic(s) would you like to see at the next health fair? Did all aspects of health fair support good health? (food and drinks, prizes, location, etc.) Potential checklist responses: strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree (with room for comments related to potential improvements). Do you have any suggested improvements for the next health fair? For information about planning a health fair, refer to Project Health s toolkit on Planning a Health Fair available at (Click on Toolkits at the top of the home page). DOCS# Project Health: Evaluation Tools for Wellness Activities (June 2014) 3

4 Feedback Form Evaluation Questions for a Lunch and Learn/Presentation/Workshop A feedback form can be a valuable way of gathering immediate feedback from employees that attended an event. It can gather information about the effectiveness of the event and suggestions for the next one. Below are sample questions that could be included on a feedback form for a lunch and learn, presentation or workshop. Choose and adapt questions as appropriate for your event. Be clear about why you are asking for the information and how you will use it. Only ask for information that you are prepared to act on. Employees are more likely to fill out shorter, easier to answer forms (e.g., multiple choice questions). Demographic Information Make sure you are clear about why you need information that is about the participants themselves. Only ask questions where you need the information and intend to use it to target programming. Male Age: Female Younger than 25 years 25 to 34 years 35 to 54 years 55 to 64 years 65 years or older Level of Readiness for Change Understanding how ready employees are for making a behaviour change can be useful to assess audience needs and who to target future activities to. Individual employees can be at different stages of readiness: 1. Pre-contemplation: They are not thinking about changing behavior in the near future. 2. Contemplation: They are beginning to think seriously about changing behavior (in the next 6 months). 3. Preparation: They are planning on making a behaviour change within the next month. 4. Action: They are taking real steps to actively change their behavior. This is the stage where a slip is most likely to occur. 5. Maintenance: They have changed their behavior for more than six months and are continuing with it. This question can also be asked verbally at the beginning of the presentation to help tailor the information for the audience. DOCS# Project Health: Evaluation Tools for Wellness Activities (June 2014) 4

5 Where are you at with quitting smoking? [or other topic/action]: I am not thinking about quitting I am thinking about quitting at some point in the future I plan on quitting in the next month I have quit in the last six months I have quit more than six months ago. How long ago? Other (Please specify): i.e., I am a non-smoker who is here to help someone quit smoking Initial Reaction Gathering overall reactions from participants can be a useful gauge of the general relevance and effectiveness of the session. I found the presentation/health fair/etc. useful. I found the activities useful. I found the handouts useful. Awareness Asking about whether participants received enough information or learned specific information can be valuable to assess if your messages are getting across to people. I received enough information today on: a) [primary area covered] b) [another area covered] c) [another area covered] I learned something new that may help me [OR I know more about ] I know where I can get help or resources if I want or need it. What would you have liked to hear more about in this presentation? DOCS# Project Health: Evaluation Tools for Wellness Activities (June 2014) 5

6 Knowledge Change Asking about participants knowledge before and after the event can be a simple way to find out what participants learned. On a scale of 1 to 10, please rate your knowledge of [topic] before and after the presentation. My level of knowledge of [topic] BEFORE the presentation was: My level of knowledge of [topic] AFTER the presentation was: Very Basic Very High Action Asking about what participants intended to do as a result of the event gives one indication of the (at least intended) future outcomes of the event. I feel more confident about (or I plan to make changes ). I feel more confident about being able to. I intend to use the information received at this presentation to. How do you intend to use the information you received today? (please explain) OR What actions, if any, are you going to take as a result of this session? Overall Reflection Allowing space to provide overall reflections and comments can allow for employees to provide additional detail or ideas. I would recommend this education session to other workplaces [ or my co-workers]. How could we improve this session? Other comments: DOCS# Project Health: Evaluation Tools for Wellness Activities (June 2014) 6