The Origins
The Well-Being Inventory started with a suggestion from a field officer. They shared with Army leadership that they wanted a confidential way of gauging how they are doing both personally and professionally. Administration reached out to us and asked us to develop a system that would give officers a grasp of their well-being while also helping the Army address systemic concerns officers face. At The Lanier Practice, we have worked with officers for more than 20 years, helping them rise to the challenges they face in officership. For years we had been brainstorming ways that we could provide preventative care for officers. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and in this officer’s idea, we saw a fantastic opportunity to help officers across the spectrum thrive.
The Development Process
Development of the Well-Being Inventory started with officers in the field. Given that we were developing something to help field officers, we didn’t want to assume we knew the challenges they were facing. We met with a diverse group of officers from across the country - different ages, races, backgrounds, appointments, languages, to determine the best course of action. You can read more about how we factored in culture here. We used that information gathered from field officers in conjunction with a vast body of psychological literature to identify what factors should be incorporated into a Well-Being Inventory. We were focused on keeping the assessment short, while simultaneously providing maximum value to officers and the Army as a whole.
The Inventory
The Well-Being Inventory is confidential and completed online in less than 30 minutes. It covers more than 35 different facets of well-being. After completing the Inventory, you will receive a confidential report detailing your results and providing recommendations on how you can improve your well-being. You have the option of scheduling an hour long follow up interview with one of our Well-Being Consultants to talk through your results and receive further resources such as referrals for additional assistance.
How Confidential is Confidential?
The results of your Well-Being Inventory are completely confidential. The Inventory is completed on our HIPAA compliant servers. The only people with access to your report are you and our Well-Being Consultants. The Salvation Army does not receive a copy of your personal report. They are not even informed who has completed the Inventory. Administration emphasized to us that they want the Well-Being Inventory to be between The Lanier Practice and the officer completing the Inventory.
What is Shared with the Army?
Beyond helping individual officers, we want to provide the Army with valuable information on ways they can improve the well-being of officers. To achieve this purpose, we will be performing statistical analyses on data from the Well-Being Inventory to give the Army a quantitative guide for ways they can help officers. No individual level data will be provided whatsoever. They will receive aggregate data from all of the officers who complete the Inventory with an interpretation of the statistical trends we identify.
How Will the Army Use This Data?
Army leadership is committed to taking action on what we learn from the Well-Being Inventory. When enough officers have completed the Inventory for us to do statistical analyses, we will be consulting with leadership to help determine the best course of action to benefit all officers. Leadership has committed to notifying all officers of what actions will be taken from the results of the Well-Being Inventory.
Your Feedback Matters!
Army leadership is committed to making the lives of officers better. They recognize that officership is demanding and is only becoming more difficult. They want to help ease the burden and are committed to taking action. The Well-Being Inventory is just one of the tools they will be using to determine the best course of action. We want your voice to be heard, and the best way to do that is to complete the Inventory and encourage your friends to do the same. This is not another opinion survey. We are committed to providing the most value to you individually and the Army as a whole. If you do not feel we are meeting that standard, please reach out to us at Info@thelanierpractice.com.
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