C04: Enhanced Occupant Survey – Above Green

(3 points)

INTENT

Evaluate comfort, satisfaction, behavior change, self-reported health and other robust factors related to the well-being of occupants in buildings.

SUMMARY

This WELL feature requires projects to collect and respond to an exhaustive spread of information from building users on their health and well-being and on topics related to WELL, both before and during occupancy.

ISSUE

Given the diversity in programs, policies and design of built environments, it is difficult to prescribe a comprehensive set of features that are effective across all settings. For example, decision-makers and building users often experience the organization and work environment differently. Surveys that ask a representative sample of occupants about their level of satisfaction with indoor environmental quality, access to nature, workplace wellness policies and other building features linked to well-being provide valuable insight into whether or not the building and policies are successful for the people that live and work in them.

SOLUTIONS

Psychometrically validated surveys are an effective way to understand and evaluate building users’ experience, perception and satisfaction. Psychometrically validated surveys and questions, especially for measuring health, well-being and productivity, ensure that sensitive questions are framed appropriately and that they measure what they are intended to measure. Tracking how people in buildings experience a space and their level of satisfaction with health and well-being initiatives provides invaluable information on what is working well and on areas for improvement. Occupancy surveys allow projects to measure the extent to which a building is effectively promoting and protecting the health and comfort needs of its users. Interviews and focus groups have also been found to provide key insights into people’s experiences of a space that are not always captured in surveys while strengthening the evidence by using a mixed-methods approach. A mixed-methods approach to data gathering is particularly important when evaluating complex environments, such as a workplace, with many variables that may influence each other. Providing people with the opportunity to provide feedback, when combined with an action plan to address dissatisfaction, can improve morale and employee retention. Stakeholders can use survey and/or interview results to identify priority areas for change and plan interventions to make spaces safer, healthier and more productive.

IMPACT

Providing individuals the ability to offer feedback helps identify problems and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving building user health and well-being, while presenting an opportunity to create a healthier environment for all. Including additional survey questions that cover more topic areas and/or utilizing interviews and focus groups can provide a more comprehensive picture of how the building and policies are impacting building user health, well-being and productivity. Including a pre- and post-occupancy survey, when possible, can be effective for understanding exactly which intervention has an impact on building users’ experiences, satisfaction, and health and well-being. This information is invaluable: even a small increase in productivity and engagement could have huge impacts on a business’s bottom line.

REQUIREMENTS

Part 1

Select Enhanced Survey (1 point)

Verified by On-going Data Report, Survey Materials

For Office Spaces

Survey content:

For projects with ten or more eligible employees, the following requirements are met:

Use one of the pre-approved surveys in Part 1: Select Project Survey in Feature C03: Occupant Survey.

Work with a pre-approved survey provider or another qualified third party to address at least one of the following topics through at least 3 additional questions.

Category	Topic
Healthy Behaviors	Mode of transportation to and from work and distance or time traveled.
	Hydration.
	Sleep satisfaction, quality and/or quantity.
	Physical activity.
	Alcohol consumption.
	Healthy eating.
	Ability to take restorative breaks.
	Smoking habits.
Enhanced Health and Well-being	Sick building syndrome.
	Mental health.
	Social, cultural or economic well-being.
	Musculoskeletal issues (e.g. back, neck pain).
Performance and resilience	Assessment of individual work style, patterns, processes, space utilization, and ability to focus or collaborate.
	Workplace performance.
	Engagement.
	Workload, stress, burnout and/or employee resilience.
	Creative thinking.
Policies and Culture	Safety and security, including for diverse population groups (e.g., cultural, ethnic, gender, ability, age.).
	Workplace wellness programs and perceived effectiveness.
	Leadership investment in employee health and perceived effectiveness.
	Social equity programs and perceived effectiveness.
Other	Comparison to previous space.
	Values related to, level of access to, and experience of nature.
	Feedback on specific design interventions.
	Additional sociodemographic information (e.g. education, ethnicity, income).

Survey administration:

The following requirements are met:

In addition to survey reporting requirements for Part 1: Select Enhanced Survey, aggregate results from the survey are reported annually through WELL Online and made available to employees upon request.
If a project chooses additional survey topics that are one and the same as the topics covered by the selected pre-approved survey, those topics are expanded upon to ensure the overall survey is enhanced beyond the requirements of Part 1: Select Project Survey in Feature C03: Occupant Survey.

Note: For non-office spaces, project may submit an equivalent survey for the building population. Submission should include, at minimum:

a. Description of the population and how it differs from office workers.

b. Submission of alternate questions appropriate for your building type where the above questions are not appropriate.

Additional questions may be issued as enhancements to the C03 survey or as a separate survey. Modules may be selected from a survey provider approved by IWBI and listed on IWBI’s website (https://v2.wellcertified.com/resources/preapproved-programs) or from another qualified third party.

Part 2

Administer Pre-Occupancy Survey and Report Results (1 point)

Verified by On-going Data Report, Survey Materials

For All Spaces

For all spaces with ten or more eligible employees, projects administer a pre-occupancy survey that meets the following requirements:

The survey is the same pre-approved survey used by the project for compliance with Part 1: Select Project Survey in Feature C03: Occupancy Survey or with Part 1: Select Enhanced Survey in Feature C04: Enhanced Occupant Survey.
All eligible employees are invited to participate in the survey.
Survey protects all participant-identifying data through appropriate measures such as anonymous reporting; any communication of results should be on an aggregated basis such that no participant can be identified.
Regular reminders are dispatched to all eligible employees to complete the survey.
Analysis of responses is conducted by a qualified third party.
Aggregate results from the survey are reported through WELL Online and made available to employees upon request at a minimum.
Results are compared against results of the post-occupancy survey, and the results of comparison are included in an annual report submitted through WELL Online and made available to employees upon request at a minimum.

Part 3

Monitor and Analyze Survey Responses (1 point)

Verified by Professional Narrative

For All Spaces

Choose between the following:

Option 1.

For all spaces with ten or more eligible employees, projects create a plan that addresses the following:

Target satisfaction thresholds for survey responses.
Strategies for improving unmet satisfaction thresholds.

Option 2.

For spaces with ten or more eligible employees, projects work with a qualified third party survey provider to pursue additional analysis of survey results from Part 1: Select Project Survey in Feature C03: Occupant Survey:

Targeted thematic secondary analysis (e.g., crosstabs, emergent themes, etc.).

Part 4

Facilitate Interviews, Focus Groups and/or Observation (1 point)

Verified by On-going Data Report, Professional Narrative

For All Spaces

Annually conduct stakeholder interviews, focus groups and/or observation to discuss building features and wellness initiatives and their impacts on occupant health and well-being, in keeping with the following requirements:

Interviews, focus groups and/or observation are conducted by qualified personnel or a qualified third party.
Interviews, focus groups and/or observation protect participant identities around sensitive information.
Results from the interviews, focus groups and/or observation are compared to the data from the survey used from C03: Occupant Survey or C04: Enhanced Occupant Survey.
Analysis is conducted by qualified personnel or a qualified third party with aggregate results submitted annually through WELL Online and made available to participants upon request.