Every employer wants engaged employees. Engaged employees contribute positively to their organization’s performance. Unengaged and disengaged employees are a drain on organizational performance. While the percentage of engaged employees varies with each survey, I have yet to see a survey that shows the level of engaged employees at or above the 50% level. Maybe engaged employees don’t like to fill out surveys…
If you are an employer, what are the consequences to you if 50% or fewer of your employees contribute less than they potentially could to your organization’s success?
While there is agreement as to how important the lack of engagement is, there is little agreement as to how to best address a low level of employee engagement today. Engagement, like much of human behaviour, is driven by interaction between multiple factors. Commonly proposed strategies to address low engagement generally fall into one of three different approaches: an individual approach, an organizational approach, or some combination of the two.
Since employee health is an important contributor to employee engagement, I would like to introduce you to a new organizational assessment tool available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The tool is called the CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard.
The Worksite Health ScoreCard was developed for the CDC by Emory University and is designed to help employers assess the extent to which they have implemented evidence-based strategies or interventions to prevent or help employees address health-related conditions and issues.
The categories covered by the ScoreCard include:
- Organizational Supports
- Tobacco Control
- Nutrition
- Physical Activity
- Weight Management
- Stress Management
- Depression
- High Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Signs and Symptoms of Heart Attack and Stroke
- Emergency Response to Heart Attack and Stroke
In a number of ways, I think the ScoreCard too heavily focuses on interventions for medium- and large-sized employers. If you are a small employer, I would encourage you to still consider using the tool, but don’t get too hung up on the ScoreCard’s scoring system. As a small employer, I would encourage you to use the ScoreCard as an idea generator or as a tool to help you think about or explore what you, as an employer, might be interested in and capable of doing to enhance the health of your employees.
References:
CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard. Available electronically at: http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/pubs/docs/HSC_Manual.pdf
William McPeck, MSW, CWWPC, WLCP
Bill McPeck is a Workplace Wellness Centre of Excellence, Inc. Associate. Bill is a Certified Wellness Culture Coach, Worksite Wellness Program Consultant and Work-Life Professional. He is available to help you with all your employee wellness, safety, work-life and well-being needs. Contact Bill with your questions, comments, or concerns at 207-355-1203 or williammcpeck@gmail.com
