The Healthiest Company Index: a campaign to promote worksite wellness in South Africa.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a 2010 initiative to encourage companies in South Africa to adopt workplace health promotion programs.

METHODS: Data documenting organizational efforts to improve workers' health were collected from 71 participating employers and 11,472 workers completing health assessments. Organizational and employee health were scored on the basis of responses to the surveys that asked about facilities and programs offered, leadership support for health promotion, and employees' health status.

RESULTS: In its first year, the initiative recruited 101 organizations and 71 qualified for the award. Results aggregated across these companies focus on elements constituting organizational and individual health, with specific measures that companies can review to determine whether they and their employees are "healthy."

CONCLUSIONS: The Healthiest Company Index provided useful baseline data to support employers' efforts to develop and implement effective and impactful health promotion programs.