Justifying an Evaluation of Fitness and Wellness Program

The success of the program will be analyzed after six months. Chief determinants of an effective program include employees’ skills and competencies, disbursement of the required capital, and the willingness of clients to join the cause. In the end, the success of the program will guarantee more funds and betterment of the lives of the Pasadena Community. Techniques used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program include key performance indicators and short-term and long-term evaluation approaches.

Key Performance Indicators

According to the Association of Fitness Studios, the leading performance indicators include percentage average class attendance, revenue per client, and percentage client retention rate (Kingston University 2017). The percentage average class attendance assesses the number of individuals who access social amenities daily. Trainers analyze the number of individuals attending aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. The percentage revenue per client measures the amount of money collected per customer and can further be divided into type of package and subscriptions offered. For the percentage client retention rate, trainers evaluate the number of clients at the beginning of the program and the sum at completion. The quantity needs to be the same or slightly lower to deem the program successful.

Additionally, there are other performance indicators. The percentage lead conversion rate measures the transformation of leads to actual sales. It evaluates whether the sales process of the public amenity is effective. The revenue per square foot is used to estimate the extent of exploitation of the gym to its full potential. Another essential indicator is the percentage customer satisfaction. This will be used by trainers to measure the extent of client approval within the fitness and wellness program. The percentage churn rate mirrors the number of clients who quit the program. In as much as it is inevitable, a high churn rate indicates employee incompetence. Lastly, there is the average length of membership. It specifies the usual amount of time the program will retain its members. It is a measure of client satisfaction per membership. It is directly proportional to the happiness of the members.

Short-term Evaluation Techniques

Short-term evaluation methods are used temporarily. They evaluate the various techniques inputted by multiple stakeholders in the training program. Notably, they appraise the effectiveness and efficiency of the program’s strategies. For instance, assessment of individuals who came for the mammograms may be crucial in knowing the number of individuals, who in spite of their illnesses, still joined the program. Thus, the risk of fatigue from breast cancer is alleviated by physical activity. The costs of running the cause are also considered, thus helping in understanding the need for disbursement of more funds. Lastly, it gauges the benefits gained by the community members (Albrecht 2017). Undeniably, the benefits of exercising will be experienced after a short period.

One temporary strategy is evaluation of accountability. As such, managers will ensure that all the trainers meet their contractual agreements. The directors will also make sure that all the disbursed money is utilized appropriately. Employees who do not meet the required standards maybe laid off. Furthermore, they ensure that community expectations are met. For instance, if they expected that the rate of adolescent obesity would reduce, their anticipations will be met (Albrecht 2017).

Another short-term technique includes using a baseline. Here, comparisons before and after the conception of the program are made (Albrecht 2017). The previous state is used as a baseline, and, thus progress can be made. For instance, officials of the program can assess the number of individuals who used to attend local gyms before the fitness and wellness program came to the area. An increase from the first number reflects the success of the cause.

Evaluating ongoing impacts of activities mirrors the success of the program. A change in the health-related behaviour of community individuals may be observed. For instance, there may be an increase in the number of people who jog in the morning. Furthermore, an improvement in the number of mentors who inspire others to start engaging in physical activity may underpin the program’s success (Albrecht 2017).

Additionally, clients may be assisted in setting short and realistic goals. They are inspired to use the SMARTER method of goal setting (Albrecht 2017). As such, the goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timed, evaluated, and recorded. For instance, a client may require help in doing sit-ups in one month. The trainer may develop a schedule that is convenient and likely to yield results. During the training period, constant follow-up may be needed to guarantee completion of the work-out regimen. Moreover, trainers may incorporate training methods that ensure easy monitoring, such as continuous training, interval training, fartlek training, and circuit training.

Long-term evaluation Methods

Long-term evaluation processes encompass six steps: engaging stakeholders, describing the program, focusing on the evaluation, gathering reliable evidence, justifying the conclusions made, and sharing the lessons learnt (Albrecht 2017). Stakeholders or leading players comprises managers, government officials, community members, health officials, local schools, the environment and transport sector, the media and communication sector, and the recreational industry. Throughout the process, a number of questions will be asked of the various players:

• How important is the fitness and wellness program? A community member may say that the program will improve their stamina and mental health. On the other hand, a health official may say that the number of admission for chronic illnesses will reduce.
• What is your interest in this program? A government official’s interest maybe to reduce the obesity rates in the area while a worker from the media sector may say that they want to print flyers and pamphlets.
• What would you like this program to achieve? Various stakeholders want different accomplishments. For instance, an adolescent may state that they want the program to improve their bone health.
• What are the crucial evaluation questions?
• How can you utilize the results of the evaluation question?
• What resources can you contribute to our program? A hospital may contribute machines for mammograms and personnel to carry out rectal imaging.

Indeed, constant positive responses may be indicative of success of the program.

Describing or planning the program should be directed by input from the stakeholders. Describing the program involves identifying a problem and solving it as well as determining the resources needed, and the effects. For instance, the problem is that most people are not meeting the recommended exercise levels as described in my Healthy People 2020. Thus, this program seeks to identify the obstacles to working-out, and solve them using resources such as gym equipment. Consequently, the rates of lifestyle diseases of the Pasadena community will reduce. The logic model is needed at this stage of the evaluation process to guarantee the success of the program. It is a construct that can help to clarify program policy, set priorities for resource allocation, organize evidence about the cause, and make the major players accountable for the results of the program.

The first two steps mentioned above are needed for the next stage, where participants focus on the evaluation. This step involves considering the purposes of the evaluation questions to gain insight, better the program, and assess the effects of the cause. The various stakeholders are asked about the primary purpose of their evaluation. They are also asked about the uses of their answers from the evaluation questions. The relevance of the evaluation response on the program is then assessed.

After gathering responses to the evaluation question and using the logic model, proof needs to be assembled. It should be credible, reliable, detailed, and able to assess the success of the program. Sources of information for the evidence include community members, observation, and documents. The data needs to be collected from multiple sources such as trainers, health officials, and government leaders. Documents that can be used include incentive proposals, quarterly reports and medical records. Observations include directly overseeing physical activity behaviour and the conditions of the public facilities. Qualitative and quantitative considerations should be made for the data sources. Qualitative considerations include using a random sample, using diverse sources, and clearly stating the criteria used to select the sources. On the other hand, quantitative considerations include collecting data from an adequate number of people, estimating beforehand the amount of information that will be collected, and mitigating the burden the interviews may have on the interviewees. Moreover, this stage involves using key performance indicators to assess the efficiency of the fitness and wellness program.

The fifth stage of justifying the conclusions involves comparing the performance indicators and the stakeholders’ expectation. It encompasses analyzing and interpreting the data collected. Analysis of the data requires a computer with a good database program. After entering the data, data entry errors are checked then tabulation is done. Stratification of the information subsequently follows before comparisons are made. The data is then presented in a clear and comprehensible format. Interpretation of the results is a perfect indicator of the success of the fitness and wellness program. As such, the following questions are asked:

• Do the results meet the stakeholders’ expectations? If not, why are there discrepancies?
• If the results do not meet the expectations, are there alternative explanations?
• Was there a similar program in the past? If yes, how do the results compare with those of the previous ones?
• Were there biases during data collection?
• For how long will the results be relevant?

Comparison between the results and expected standards requires good judgement. This not only requires setting performance indicators but also using the logic model. It further needs prioritization of evaluation questions and making conclusions regarding the stakeholders’ involvement.

The last step is sharing the lessons learnt and making commendations for the future. It comprises of making practical products of the evaluation process (such as reports and recommendations), communicating with the major players and other audiences, and continuous follow-up. Recommendations for continuing and funding the activity program require antecedent judgments being made. Also, they should be reliable, relevant, and pragmatic. Potential audiences for the recommendations include high school students, local-based organizations, legislators, and parents. Before communicating ideas to different individuals, proper formats and channels should be determined. An appropriate display should have a summary of the evaluation plan, pros and cons of the procedures, clear graphs and charts, and a summary of the stakeholders’ roles. Platforms used to reach out to the target audiences include letters, websites, workshops, telephones, and newsletters. During the entire process of evaluation, constant follow-up is needed to needed to continuously remind the major players of the proposed evaluation results, prevent lessons from being forgotten, and ensuring that the results are not taken out of context.

Conclusion

The fitness and wellness program will undeniably help the Pasadena Urban Community. Healthy People 2020 will be the core of the cause. The program will focus on four public health concerns: diabetes, heart disease and stroke, cancer, and physical activity. Individuals will be encouraged to exercise and thus reduce the risk of developing the aforementioned illnesses. The Transtheoretical Model will be key in executing this plan. Obstacles to physical activity will also be assessed and alleviated. Key performance indicators and short-term and long-term evaluation processes will be used to evaluate the success of the program. Proper budgetary allocations will guarantee the success of the program and improvement in the quality of life of the Pasadena Community.