The Steps involved in the First Steps section will provide a thorough template for you to follow to successfully plan and implement your workplace health programmes. Our researchers also identified themes within the international literature that are useful for workplace health programme implementers. These themes represent certain enablers of success or quality criteria that moderate the success of workplace health initiatives.
While all enterprises have different needs and situations, there are some key underlying principles of a healthy workplace initiative that will raise its likelihood of success
WHO
This section aims to share these key enablers of success so that they can underpin the development of your own Healthy Workplace initiatives. Six key themes were identified by our researchers:
Organisational Leadership
In order to increase programme effectiveness, it is important to engage senior leaders at the earliest stage and to promote active leadership in the programmes.
It is then important to gain and mobilise commitment, and to demonstrate senior management commitment through a signed policy and ideally also through active and visible participation. The importance of obtaining permission, resources and supports from relevant leaders such as owners, managers, union leaders, and informal leaders is stressed. This can be the most difficult task, however, is probably the most important to ensure success and sustainability. See Step 1 of the First Steps section for more details and tips and our Case Studies section for practical examples of how other companies have approached this.
Management, Integration, and Co-ordination
Programme effectiveness is increased when the programme is not standalone but instead is part of the organisational culture (e.g., regularly monitored at board level, part of the company’s overall mission statement, and supported by the physical environment) and seen as a management responsibility (e.g., incorporated into job descriptions and performance evaluations).
It is noted that programmes are likely to be more successful when the organisation focuses on the human and not just the financial side of performance, where performance management systems include behaviour standards as well as output targets, and the organisation considers the various components of a healthy workplace when a problem arises.
Making inter-disciplinary connections and synchronising staff with different objectives (e.g., Health and Safety personnel, wellness professionals, Human Resource professionals and the management team) is stressed and it is suggested that programmes are more likely to be more effective when wellness is professionally coordinated and when the use of cross functional and multi-disciplinary teams is encouraged.
This may be difficult to achieve at the starting point but remember that creating a Healthy Workplace is an on-going, dynamic work in progress. Successful initiatives feed into a healthier culture and healthy projects will start to align better when the value is recognised company wide. A ubiquitous value of “health in all policies” will emerge.
What is important at the start is to get in the habit of making these connections and know that with time and sustenance this integration will become easier and almost automatic. See Step 3 of the First Steps section for more details and tips and our Case Studies section for practical examples of how other companies have approached this.
Employee Participation
The benefits of involving employees in a meaningful way in every step of the process cannot be overemphasised. This entails involvement at each stage, from programme planning (e.g., needs assessments and design) to implementation, communication activities and evaluation. See Step 3 of the First Steps section for more details and tips and our Case Studies section for practical examples of how other companies have approached this.
Analysis of Needs and Motivations
It is important to base programme activities on an accurate analysis of employee needs and motivations. Programmes are likely to be more effective when grounded in a comprehensive understanding of health and an accurate analysis of the current situation and of desired outcomes.
The benefit of learning from others (e.g., from other organisations with programmes, or from experts in the subject area) is also stressed. See Step 2 of the First Steps section for more details and tips and our Case Studies section for practical examples of how other companies have approached this.
Information and Communication
Information and communication channels are essential. Programmes have a higher chance of success if information is made available to all staff, and if staff are continually informed of the progress and outcomes of programmes; a continuous support or communication channel (e.g., a health advisor, wellness champion) can help to achieve this. See Step 4 of the First Steps section for more details and tips and our Case Studies section for practical examples of how other companies have approached this.
Sustainability
It is important to always plan initiatives with a long-term outlook. Three aspects are key to supporting sustainability:
- Integration of wellbeing/health promotion into an organisation’s culture and policies
- Evaluating and quantifying (on the basis of specific indicators) the benefits of wellness programmes
- Continuous improvement of programmes
See Step 5 of the First Steps section for more details and tips and our Case Studies section for practical examples of how other companies have approached this.