Well-being maturity self-assessment

Why this guide

Most organizations don't know where they stand. They offer things, sometimes many things, without ever having measured whether it holds together. And when budget time comes, nobody can say what worked.

This self-assessment gives you a factual starting point in five minutes. It measures two things separately: what you offer, and how you steer it. The gap between the two is usually the most useful finding, because an organization can offer a great deal while piloting nothing.

It is built on the CAN/BNQ 9700-800 Healthy Enterprise standard, the national standard of Canada. So it isn't our opinion of what a good program looks like, it's the structure of an official framework, turned into questions you can answer honestly.

What this assessment measures

It measures two things separately, and never adds them into a single score. The first is your approach: leadership commitment, a designated lead, a health and well-being committee, needs data collection, an action plan, and evaluation. The second is your offering: what you concretely provide across the four spheres of the standard.

Keeping them apart matters, because an organization can offer a great deal while piloting nothing. That gap is usually the most useful finding, and a single score would hide it.

The four spheres of the standard

The CAN/BNQ 9700-800 standard organizes workplace health around four spheres of activity. Healthy habits covers physical activity, nutrition, sleep and tobacco. Work-life balance covers schedule and location flexibility, and support for family responsibilities. Work environment covers both the physical setup and the social climate. Management practices covers workload, autonomy, mental health support and manager training.

The assessment gives you a score for each, so you know which one to prioritize rather than spreading yourself thin.

Why the approach weighs more than the offering

Five activities without a plan are worth less than a plan with two activities. That isn't an opinion: the standard structures the approach as the backbone, and the offering as what runs through it.

An organization that offers a gym membership, a yoga class and a fruit basket, with no measurement or plan, cannot say whether any of it works, cannot defend the budget next year, and generally sees participation erode without understanding why.

What you get, and what stays private

Your result appears on screen immediately: your profile, your two scores, and a breakdown by sphere. No email is required to see it, and the assessment can be completed anonymously.

If you request the detailed report, it adds prioritized recommendations adapted to your profile and to your weakest sphere, ordered by effort and impact. Your answers may also be used, anonymously and in aggregate form, in published statistics about the Quebec market. You can decline that use.

What to do with your result

Pick one thing. The most common mistake after an assessment is to build a twelve-point plan that nobody executes. If your approach score is low, start there: a survey and an annual review change more than any new activity. If your approach is solid and your offering is thin, the gap is faster to close than you think.

The method

The assessment is based on the CAN/BNQ 9700-800 "Healthy Enterprise" standard, a National Standard of Canada. It looks at two axes: your approach (6 criteria) and your offering (4 spheres). Every question uses the same four-level scale, from "nothing" to "measured", to avoid flattering yes-or-no answers.

Axis 1: your approach

Leadership commitment

Does well-being appear in your official commitments?

The four levels:

1. No mention anywhere
2. An intention expressed verbally
3. A written, communicated policy
4. Well-being objectives in manager evaluations

Designated lead

Does someone officially own the well-being file?

The four levels:

1. Nobody in particular
2. Someone handles it on top of their job
3. A person with a formal mandate
4. A formal mandate with allocated time

Health and well-being committee

Do you have a committee, and how does it work?

The four levels:

1. No committee
2. An informal group of volunteers
3. A formal committee with a written mandate
4. A committee representing all job categories, meeting at least 4 times a year

Data collection

Do you measure your employees' actual needs?

The four levels:

1. Never
2. Once, a long time ago
3. An occasional staff survey
4. A survey every 2 to 3 years, plus administrative data (absenteeism, insurance)

Action plan

Do your initiatives come from a plan?

The four levels:

1. We act case by case, as opportunities come
2. We have a list of ideas to work through
3. A written plan with priorities
4. A plan with measurable participation targets, reviewed yearly

Evaluation

Do you measure what your initiatives actually deliver?

The four levels:

1. Never
2. We rely on general impressions
3. An annual review presented to leadership
4. An annual review whose results are shared with all staff

Axis 2: your offering

Healthy habits

Physical activity: what do you concretely offer?

1. Nothing in particular
2. Occasional information or discounts
3. Regularly organized activities or challenges
4. An ongoing program, with participation tracking

Nutrition, sleep, tobacco: what do you do?

1. Nothing in particular
2. Occasional information
3. Concrete measures (healthy options, talks, smoking cessation support)
4. A set of measures tracked over time

Work-life balance

Flexibility in schedule and work location?

1. No flexibility
2. Case-by-case arrangements
3. A clear flexibility policy
4. A policy applied consistently and reviewed against stated needs

Support for family and personal responsibilities?

1. The legal minimum
2. Some informal tolerance
3. Explicit measures (leave, time banks, return-to-work support)
4. Explicit measures, widely known and used without hesitation

Work environment

Physical setup: ergonomics, break areas, stairs?

1. Nothing designed with this in mind
2. A few adjustments on request
3. Planned improvements (adjustable workstations, break areas)
4. Planned improvements, evaluated with staff

Social environment: recognition and sense of belonging?

1. Nothing structured
2. Occasional acts of recognition
3. Regular recognition practices and team-building activities
4. Regular practices, and we measure sense of belonging

Management practices

Workload and autonomy: how are they managed?

1. Not formally addressed
2. We react when a problem is raised
3. Workload is discussed regularly with teams
4. Workload is tracked with indicators and adjusted accordingly

Mental health: support offered and manager training?

1. Nothing in particular
2. An employee assistance program, nothing more
3. A well-known EAP, and managers have been briefed
4. A well-known EAP, trained managers, and a psychosocial risk prevention plan

The four result profiles

You're investing without knowing if it works

Your offering is real, but nothing tells you what it delivers. This is the most common situation, and the hardest to defend at the next budget cycle. A survey and an annual review would change everything, without adding anything to your offering.

You're ready, the content is missing

Your structure is in place: engaged leadership, a committee, a plan. That's the hard part and you've done it. What's missing are concrete initiatives to run through it, and that's the fastest gap to close.

You're starting from zero, and that's good news

Nothing is structured, so nothing needs undoing. Organizations that start clean often move faster than those piling up initiatives with no thread. Start by measuring, not by offering.

You're in a position to aim for certification

Structured approach and substantial offering: you already meet a good share of the Healthy Enterprise standard's requirements. The question is no longer what to do, but how to get it recognized.

Your result also places your organization on one of three stages:

• Initial stage
• Structured stage
• Advanced stage