Project Overview > Principles of Good Practice

Principles of Good Practice for Workplace Health Promotion Interventions

The principles of good practice outlined here include key aspects to keep in mind when planning, implementing and evaluating workplace interventions. Some of these were identified in the literature, while others were generated by the project Advisory Committee.
It is recommended that the following principles be considered when planning, implementing and/or evaluating workplace interventions.

Planning (top of page)

• Secure senior management commitment within the workplace as early as possible.
• The intervention planning and implementation process should be driven by a workplace committee. This committee should have representation from all employee groups (e.g., in a complex organization like a hospital, there should be nursing/physician/housekeeping/union/administration/volunteers/food services/other representation). The committee should represent employees from different departments to ensure broad input from employees across the organization.
• Ensure the intervention builds on the needs and opportunities identified during the Situational Assessment.
• Determine the best intervention to implement in your workplace by working through the considerations provided in the "How to Select and Adapt an Intervention" section. Also consider the evidence to support the effectiveness of the intervention you are considering.
• Consider cost and the time involved in implementing the intervention.
• Once the intervention has been identified, decide on the best way to implement the intervention within the workplace. Consider the Critical Success Factors outlined in the THCU's Case for Comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion: Making Cents of a Good Idea. Specifically:
  • Optimize the use of on-site personnel, physical resources, and organizational capabilities.
  • Recognize that a person’s health is determined by an interdependent set of factors.
  • Tailor the intervention to the special features of the workplace environment.
    
    
• Identify ways to involve key groups or individuals in the planning and delivery of the intervention – identify partners who may be interested in helping to implement the intervention.
• Ensure effective communication to employees and the employer about the intervention process and purpose.
• Develop process and outcome objectives for the intervention as well as a clear intervention implementation process.
• Assess your available resources and find additional resources needed for implementation.
• Determine how you will know if you have succeeded in meeting your objectives.

Implementing (top of page)

• Generate excitement about the intervention and employee involvement in the activities.
• Provide opportunities to all employees to participate.
• Encourage senior management to actively participate.
• Promote the intervention widely using many different channels (e.g., electronic mechanisms, posters, pay-stuffers, etc.).

Evaluating (top of page)

• The intervention should be evaluated in a systematic way to measure each of the outcome and process objectives. Use THCU’s Evaluating Comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion Info Pack to help design the evaluation.
• The workplace committee should have a consistent process that monitors and analyzes data and informs future interventions.
• Communicate the results of your evaluation. It is important to let people know about both the successes and what would be done differently next time. Inform stakeholders of the outcomes and recommendations.