Corporate Wellness Incentive Plans : Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Employee Interest Survey
To succeed in encouraging physical exercise during the workday, you must discover what workers need and want. They are the people whose behavior you are trying to effect, so it’s critical to be aware of their needs and gain their backing.
The Employee Interest Survey
Ask staff members questions that allow you to evaluate such key characteristics as age, sex, social relationships, family responsibilities and current physical activity participation.
It’s significant to know this information so that your physical exercise initiative meets employees’ needs. Employees aren’t going to participate in something they’re not interested in.
Ask staff members what they want, and then start changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. For example, staff members may not want to do activities that make them sweat, because they do not want to shower at work.
Ask employees what the company could do to make it easier for them to be more physically active during the workday. If there’s a common trend throughout your organization, a single change could affect a lot of people.
By way of example, suppose a big group shows interest in biking to work. They may want to shower and change after their commute. You might give priority to installing workplace showers and changing facilities. Secure bike storage might be significant as well.
If you’re launching a program that requires going outside, start in the spring. By the time winter comes around, participation is already a habit.
Involving employees is key to increasing physical exercise participation rates. People are more willing to take part in and support physical exercise pushes when they are involved in decision making.
The following tips will help you produce your own employee interest survey:
• Keep it short (no longer than 10 minutes to complete).
• See that employees know why you are doing the survey.
• Rather than using all open-ended questions, which can be long and difficult to analyze, ask people to choose from a drop-down list of possible responses.
• Ask for comments and recommendations in one open-ended question at the end.
• Make it confidential and anonymous. Do not request information that may identify a person.
• If you’re including a list of possible programs or environmental changes, see that your workplace has the facilities and resources to offer them.