The Small Business Health Model - A Guide to Developing and Implementing the Workplace Health System in Small Business

Section 3 (Continued)

Step 4 The Workplace Health Profile

Results of the Needs Assessment produce a Workplace Health Profile that contains information on the needs, preferences and attitudes of employees.

The Profile is the primary resource for the Coordinating Agency and the Small Business Health Committee to develop its program.

Program design should be driven first by employee needs, and a distant second by all other considerations. Employee needs also dictate priorities for the Coordinating Agency and the Small Business Health Committee.

Profile results are presented in easy-to-understand graphs and tables. General discussions of program implications are presented also.

A section of the Workplace Health Profile contains special reports on groups that have identified health issues which may need improvement stress, health and safety, physical activity, smoking, weight, alcohol and medication use.

Each special report has three parts:

• A brief introduction describing the issues and the overall employee response
• Comparative information about the issues
• Program implications

The Workplace Health Profile will be an important tool in preparing the Small Business Health Plan (Step 5 of the Seven Steps).

Tips for Success

The Coordinating Agency and the Small Business Health Committee can refer to the Workforce Overview it developed earlier to check whether the information from the Workplace Health Profile is representative of all employees, or employee groups. The check will also indicate if any groups were not well-represented.

If a group is under-represented, the Coordinating Agency and the Small Business Health Committee should investigate. One method of investigation is the Feedback Session. It can:

Validate results, or obtain more information about health issues, employee suggestions, and barriers to specific ways of improving health.

Involve employees more in the overall process, and elicit imaginative ideas about the kinds of programs to implement.

Let employees know first-hand that their response to the questionnaire is having an immediate effect.

An overview of the Feedback Session is described in Appendix 6. For more detail refer to the Workplace Health Profile, Appendix B: Conducting Feedback Sessions.

To identify programs and place them in order of priority, the Coordinating Committee and the Small Business Health Committee will need to review the employee needs and preferences expressed in the Workplace Health Profile.

To analyze employee needs, the following sections and special reports of the Profile will need review:

• Sources of stress at work
• Sources of stress at home
• Health and safety concerns
• Someone to count on
• Weight
• Physical activity
• Sleep
• Smoking
• Medication use
• Drinking
• Non-medical drug use

Particularly useful information on what employees want will come from the sections Striving for Health, How the Employer Can Help and Coping With Stress.

Communicating the Results

Employees will be anxious to learn the results of the questionnaire. Once the results have been analyzed by the Coordinating Agency and the Small Business Health Committee, communicate them to employees.

Follow-up can be face-to-face if numbers and locations permit, but a simple, written summary should also be provided.

Special feedback groups should be arranged after the questionnaire results have been reported. They ensure a better grasp of employee program needs and preferences. They should include owners, managers and employees. Information gained from such groups will help form program recommendations in the:

Small Business Health Plan (Step 5 of the Seven Steps) and

Action Plan (Step 6)