Strategic planning sessions we’ve done with members this past year reveal a strong interest in applying science to practice, an intention to solidify the business case for investing in health and well-being, and a readiness to give back to the profession. Following on several planning exercises conducted at Think Tank events where members offered input on HERO’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, we found that members consider our work in collaborative research, thought leadership, and demonstrating the value proposition for our field to be strong. In contrast, while connecting employers and workplaces to help address community health needs is held as a value by HERO members, our capacity to be involved with communities and have an impact on community health are deemed to be relatively weak. Based on this member input, the HERO Board of Directors crafted a new Vision Statement that testifies to the growing ambition of our field:
Our Vision
All workplaces will positively influence the health and well-being of employees, families, and communities.
To realize such a grand vision, we have continued planning activities with members at HERO events and with the HERO Board; and have developed a first draft of a five-year strategic plan that is ready for member comments. The “HERO 2016-2021 Strategic Plan” proposes goals intended to influence nationwide trends in the use of evidence-informed best practices in health promotion. The HERO Health and Well-being Best Practices Scorecard in Collaboration with Mercer© (HERO Scorecard) has been considered by staff and Board members alike as a key vehicle for advancing best practice concepts, identifying where more education and advocacy is needed, and measuring progress over time. Our research and education objectives will be re-oriented and organized in support of the achievement of these goals.
HERO’s Goals are Yours
As a member-driven organization, when we draft HERO goals and open them for comment, we are really asking you, our members, what we can realistically accomplish through the formidable power of your expertise and your contributions of volunteer time and talent to HERO and our field. Our proposed goals include influencing an increase in the use of individual-level assessments of corporate health and well-being program satisfaction, perceived organizational support, health equity, and well-being. In addition to influencing corporate health and well-being initiatives, our goals include advancing the business case for employers connecting with the health needs of their communities. We are asking for your input on whether or not the following major goals are the right ones for advancing our shared vision:
- Increase collaborations and partnerships between and beyond HERO member organizations by recruiting new, non-HERO member organizations to contribute to Think Tanks, Forum, and webinars.
- Improve evidence-informed best practices in the workplace that advance health and well-being worldwide by increasing the use of the HERO Scorecard, affecting an improvement in scores nationwide, and increasing our marketing and public relations efforts.
Strengthen evaluation and research in individual level satisfaction with wellness programs and strengthen individual level data collection tools in the revision of the HERO-PHA Program Measurement and Evaluation Guide. - Increase American workplaces’ interest in, capacity for, and involvement with community health improvement by increasing the number of sessions dedicated to case studies of employer-community collaborations and the business case for involvement with community health at HERO educational venues, through HERO research projects, and via dissemination of HERO research findings.
- Strategic plans need to be responsive to changes in the organization, the business climate, and the needs and interests of members we serve. Accordingly, the goals and objectives named in this long-range plan will be subject to regular reviews and specific metrics that will be monitored via HERO’s internal performance scorecard. A more detailed document that includes all of the analysis and related reports that went into these plans is available in our HERO Resource Center.
Comments, Ideas, and Edits Wanted
As a non-profit organization with a mission to advance health and well-being through all workplaces, we are glad to host member and public comments on our strategic plan here on our website. Simply comment on this blog post with your ideas. If you would favor offering comments privately, that’s also welcomed and you can email me at paul.terry@hero-health.org.
I look forward to your input. Achieving the goals proposed here can only happen with the continued generous and enthusiastic contributions of our HERO members and partners.
Paul