Table 1.

Sample interview questions by Lean Enterprise Transformation (LET) constructs regarding Employee Whole Health (EWH) implementation

	LET Construct	Definition	Sample Questions
1	Impetus for EWH implementation	Motivation behind EWH implementation	• Can you tell me about the history of how and when EWH initially got started at your site? • Are there other Whole Health programs for Veterans occurring at your site, and what are they?
2	Leadership commitment to EWH	Senior leaders and middle management engage in EWH, and participate in EWH activities	• What was the involvement of medical center leadership for EWH? • What was the attitude of service chiefs/service line managers and front-line supervisors regarding EWH? • To your knowledge, do leaders in this medical center participate in EWH themselves?
3	EWH implementation initiatives	Systematic organizational efforts to plan, schedule and conduct EWH activities	• What, specifically, is happening regarding EWH at your site? (Activities may include employee orientation training, other trainings, yoga classes, meditation, nutrition, coaching, Whole Health committee, etc.)
4	Alignment of EWH across the organization	Leaders across levels and departments encourage involvement in EWH, and provide resources (e.g., protected time, equipment) for EWH implementation	• Did the implementation team or executive leadership have a strategy for implementing EWH? • What did leaders do to support the implementation of EWH? • Do employees believe that they can take time to participate in EWH during working hours guilt-free, or with their supervisors’ approval?
5	Integration of EWH across internal boundaries	Staff work together effectively and willingly across department and service lines	• Did your organization try to implement EWH across the whole medical center at once or start in a particular area of the medical center? Are there areas/departments or services where this has really taken off? • Are there other services within the medical center that the EWH initiative collaborates with or is dependent upon?
6	Communication around EWH	Communication tools and actions to raise awareness around EWH within, across and outside the organization	• How is EWH information communicated? • Is there regular communication to employees about Employee Whole Health? • Does your site have a formal communication plan?
7	EWH knowledge and skills	Organization help staff build EWH knowledge and skills; staff use these to improve health/life balance and overall well-being	• Have you heard from participants that EWH has made a personal difference? • To your knowledge, has any of them shared their experiences with other co-workers?
8	Informed decision-making	Meaningful data regarding key EWH activities is collected and tracked to inform EWH implementation progress	• Do you track or monitor data on EWH activities?
9	Employee/staff engagement	Employees’ feedback is received and used as part of EWH implementation	• How receptive do front-line employees seem to be about EWH implementation?
10	Organization culture	What people – not only managers but also staff–value and expect as being appropriate EWH behavior	• Do you think the culture of this medical center values participation in EWH activities? • Does perception of EWH vary by different parts of the medical center?
11	Staffing	Staffing levels and skills are adequate for EWH implementation	• What resources does your medical center provide for Employee Whole Health implementation? • Who else is on your EWH implementation team? (their roles and how you interact with them)
12	Using EWH experts	EWH experts are solicited and transfer key knowledge to sites’ EWH implementation team	• What was the involvement of the national program office? • Is your site working in partnership or collaboration with your VISN for EWH operations?

Note: LET = Lean Enterprise Transformation; EWH = Employee Whole Health; VISN = Veterans Integrated Service Network