Posted: 06.19.2012
How Effective is Your Wellness Education?

4 Key Questions to Ask

When it comes to wellness education, it can be a struggle to get employees to attend, much less applying what they’ve learned or understanding the benefits to the class. If you think your wellness education is lacking, here are 4 key questions to ask yourself:

1. Are the topics relevant?  You may have great topics like Cholesterol Management, Reducing Back Pain, Ergonomics or Lighting in the Workplace, but if your employees don’t see the relevance of these classes to their jobs much less the personal benefits they can gain, then you’ll have a struggle encouraging attendance. Clearly communicate how the topics you offer are relevant and emphasize the personal benefits your employees will receive from them.

2. How is the class presented?  Keeping the topic lively by interacting with students is a strong and productive method to use during a class. Repetition of important information is also valuable to the student and is, therefore, a must for the teacher.

3. How often are the classes presented?  It is important to monitor the employee’s feedback to see how often they look forward to a class. Monthly classes may be too frequent whereas quarterly classes may be the best schedule to pursue.

4. What incentives does the employee have to attend the class? If an assembly line operation or other timeframe hinders an employer’s ability to attract employees to a class, consider providing lunch/dinner food during the class. Employees are able to learn and at the same time enjoy a lunch provided by the employer. This accomplishes the goal of increasing attendance and reinforces to the employee that the employer will spend money for them to increase their knowledge about health issues.  If the employer has a point system whereby employees can earn points to attend classes and in the future use their points for “rewards”, this may again increase attendance and reinforce to the employee that the employer will spend money for them to increase their knowledge about health issues.

For your wellness program to be effective, these questions should be evaluated by your Human Resources staff and Company management on an ongoing basis.

Whatever approach an employer takes to provide wellness education to employees, a listening ear and management support will make the difference in a program that succeeds and one that does not.

Mary S. Gogel RN, MSN, MBA
Brown & Brown of Louisville

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