Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Public Health and Social Services Departmentwww.co.thurston.wa.us/health

Assessment Team Meeting

EMPLOYER HERE

Action Planning for a Healthy Workforce

DATE HERE

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Introductions

Employer XXX Assessment Team– Site Coordinator– Assessment Team Members– XXXXXXX– XXXXXXX– XXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

About Steps

Chronic Disease Prevention– Physical Activity, Nutrition, Tobacco Use– Asthma, Diabetes, Obesity

Approach– Outcome-based – Evidence-based – Community-Informed Design

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

About WorkWell Action Planning

What:– Help interested employers identify where to

focus efforts Why:

– To promote changes that make healthy choices easier for employees

How:– Organization-wide, self-assessment – Leadership engaged action planning

Where:– Government workplaces (public sector)

based in Thurston County

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

• 1st Meeting – Orient and Organize for Data Collection (Topic Groups)– Discuss Homework/Outside of Meeting Tasks– Select Leads and Topic Group Members

• 2nd Meeting – 3-5 weeks from today– Present Preliminary Scores– Consensus on Final Scores

• Assessment Report– Prepared by XXXXXXX

Assessment Timeline

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

OrientationMaterials

– Assessment Tool – Comment Sheet– Handout “Select a Topic Lead and Score

Development Group”– List of worksites– List of team members

Four Topics– Workforce Health Promotion– Physical Activity at Work– Healthy Eating during Work Hours– Air Quality at Work

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Orientation continued…

Focus: People shape and are shaped

by their work environment

1. Expression of leadership support and commitment to employee health

2. Presence of environmental assets and supports throughout the workplace

3. Expansion of written polices and/or formal practices within the organization

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Organizational support and leadership engagement is necessary – Culture, climate and values of an

organization shape priorities– Priorities drive the commitment of resources – Resources shape the level and type of

change that will occur in the future– Pages 2-3

Example: value statement

The Assessment Tool

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Environmental Assets and Supports – Design of the work environment– Tangible, visible things that influence

employee decision making– Things that make healthier choices, easier

or harder– Pages 4 and 6

Example: bicycle rack

The Tool continued…

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Policy and Practices– Formal, written and unwritten ways that an

organization does business– Express an organization’s expectations, permissions,

priorities and values – Written somewhere/somehow (policy)– Unwritten, but consistently demonstrated or

universally understood (practice)– Pages 5, 7 and 8

Example: scent free policy, menu substitution

The Tool continued…

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Structure– 4 Topic Groups– 4 Leads, 1 for Each Topic– Assessment Team members volunteer to be on 1 (or

more) topic groups

Homework– Between now and Meeting 2– Determine a ‘preliminary’ score for each action

statement individually– Each topic group needs to gather information

(See Handout)

Organizing for Data Collection

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Communication

• Topic Group Members

• Topic Group Lead

• Site Coordinator

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Scoring

Assumptions– Action statements represent things that are

either present or absent, in place or not– Not every employer could do or would

desire to do everything covered by the assessment

– However, everything covered is valuable and influences employee health and fitness

– Not applicable (NA) is not an option– All buildings that house employees should

be considered– No surveying of co-workers is needed

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Scoring continued…

Developing a preliminary score– Based on what the action statement

actually says– Seek out expertise and documentation– Thoroughness is very important– No one ‘correct’ way to gather the

information– Topic group consensus is desired

Any questions or problems, contact your site coordinator

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Example Score

Environment Asset/Support– Bicycle racks– Present at 0, 1 in 3, 2 in 3 or all buildings

1 in 3 buildings = score of ‘Under Development’

Policy– Scent/fragrance free environment– Supervisor x has discussed this with staff

Score of ‘Not in Place’

– Written and formally adopted for all buildings and not for vehicles, but is not enforced

Score of ‘Partially in Place’

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Scoring continued…

Be Prepared for… Questions– Why are you asking me for this

information?

– Does your supervisor know you are doing this?

– Who do I talk to about this?

– When do I get to see the results?

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Meeting 2 - Reporting Out

Basics– Presenter – Give score and briefly explain why– Full team discussion – Finalize the score

Valuable Context– Description of why– Comment sheets

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Employers are more likely to engage in change if the proposed will…

– Impact a large number of employees

– Yield long term benefits for employees and the organization

– Be sustainable across time

Connection

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Keep a “big picture” perspective

and

Don’t be shy about asking questions related to the tool, scoring, or the

process!

Recommendations

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Time to Organize

1st: Identify the Topic Group Leads

2nd: Volunteer for Topic(s)• Workforce Health Promotion• Physical Activity at Work• Healthy Eating during Work Hours• Air Quality at Work

3rd: Share contact information

Thurston County Public Health & Social Services Department

Site Lead

Name Here

Questions?