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Rollout in your company: from kick-off to personal results

Reviewed by Dr. Daniel Wallerstorfer, molecular biologist and founder of Novogenia · Updated: 15 October 2026 · Reading time: 10 min

A relay race with clear handovers

Who in the company actually holds the saliva sample? The right answer: nobody – except the person it came from and the lab. This one question decides whether a health program with genetic analyses builds trust or suspicion.

Think of the program as a relay race. Each stage has a runner, and every handover is clearly defined. The company fires the starting gun and pays for the track. But the baton – sample, consent and result – is carried only by the employees themselves and the lab. HR stands by the track and cheers. It never runs with the baton.

This article walks through the process stage by stage: who does what, what reaches the company and where Switzerland works differently. You will find the legal basics in Law: what employers may and may not do and in the longevity guide under Corporate health programs with genetic analyses.

Who does what: the roles at a glance

Before you start, it pays to look at how the tasks are split. The table shows who acts at each stage – and what the company gets to see.

Then there is billing: the company receives the invoice – no results.

Before the start: six decisions for the steering group

A program succeeds at the desk, long before the first invitation goes out. The steering group should include management and HR and, where they exist, the works council and the data protection officer. If you have a company physician, bring them to the table too. Settle six questions together:

• Which analyses? Lifestyle analyses on nutrition and weight, sports and performance, stress and skin fit a voluntary program. Medical analyses run only through a separate medical route, kept apart from occupational health check-ups (more in The role of the occupational physician). What suits which team is covered in Which offers suit employees.
• Which countries? If your employees work in several countries, each country needs its own legal review. Reports are available in up to 18 languages. Switzerland has its own process (see below).
• Who has which data role? Lab, partner and company set out in a contract who processes which data – before the first registration comes in. The goal: the company processes no genetic data at all. More in Data protection and confidentiality of results.
• How is billing handled? The company gets the invoice, not the results. Design billing so that it also learns as little as possible about who took part – for example, without lists of names in HR. Budget questions are answered in Funding: tax, health insurers, budgets.
• Who can take part? Plan for adult employees. Under Novogenia’s terms (Section 4(1)), anyone who sends in a sample confirms they are of legal age; minors receive only non-medical analyses, and only with the written consent of their legal guardians. Clarify in advance how this applies to apprentices under 18.
• How big is the start? The whole workforce or a pilot first? To begin with, a pilot is almost always the smarter choice (see below).

The roadmap in seven stages

1. Kick-off: The steering group agrees on the goal, time frame and ground rules – in writing and accessible to everyone. The three most important: participation is voluntary, results stay with the person, and nobody asks.
2. Information session: A talk, for example on nutrition and genes, opens the topic. An expert explains what a lifestyle analysis shows, what it does not and who sees which data. Questions can also be asked anonymously. How to invite people without pressure is covered in Internal communication: participation without pressure.
3. Voluntary registration: Anyone who wants to take part registers directly with the lab or partner and gives consent there – not in the HR office and not via a list kept by their manager. Anyone who does not take part owes nobody an explanation.
4. Saliva sample: The kit goes to the employees. In Germany and Austria, they take the sample at home and send it to the lab themselves. There is no collection box at reception.
5. Lab analysis: The analysis takes 4 days. Add shipping and the time until everyone has taken their sample. So do not schedule the follow-up offers too tightly after the information session.
6. Personal report: The report goes digitally, via a secure portal, to the person tested. It shows innate predispositions and gives recommendations that are logical conclusions – it is not a diagnosis. The company receives neither individual results nor aggregated genetic reports.
7. Follow-up: Now knowledge turns into everyday life. Workshops on exercise, sleep and nutrition are open to everyone – including those who did not take an analysis. Add voluntary one-on-one counseling by external experts and, for anyone who wishes, personalized supplements bought privately.

Genes are not a verdict. People who know how their body handles nutrition, exercise and stress can act more precisely – and that is exactly what the follow-up is for.

What reaches the company – and what never does

A simple test for every stage: does anything genetic end up with the employer here? If so, the process is built the wrong way.

The last row deserves a second look. A formula based on someone’s genes reveals something about those genes. That is why formula, report and delivery go directly to the person – not to the company in a batch.

How to make the benefits visible anyway, through participation, satisfaction and anonymous feedback, is covered in Measuring benefits and impact. One rule of thumb always applies: do not evaluate figures for groups so small that individuals can be identified.

Switzerland: two stages work differently

In Switzerland, the roadmap changes at two points, because the Federal Act on Human Genetic Testing (GUMG) already regulates the lifestyle analysis itself.

• Stage 3 – registration through a professional: analyses of physiological traits, for example on eating habits and physical activity, may only be prescribed by an authorized health professional (Art. 34(1) GUMG). Who qualifies is set out in Art. 40 GUMV: among others physicians, pharmacists, druggists with a college of higher education degree (HF) and, for physiological traits, also nutritionists with a university of applied sciences degree (FH).
• Stage 4 – an appointment instead of a home kit: the sample must be collected in the presence of the prescribing person (Art. 34(3) GUMG). Self-tests are allowed only for the other, not particularly sensitive tests (Art. 13 GUMG). So instead of a kit for home use, you plan sample appointments with the professional. From there, the sample goes to the lab – never through the company.
• Written information: it names, among other things, the lab performing the test, companies and labs abroad involved, and contact details for an expert who can answer questions and for the person responsible for data processing (Art. 32 GUMG).
• Lab abroad: seen from Switzerland, Novogenia’s lab in Austria is abroad. This requires, among other things, the person’s written consent (Art. 36 in conjunction with Art. 29 GUMG).

Two more points: information on food intolerances or an increased risk of sports injuries, for example, counts as medical in Switzerland (Art. 37(2) GUMV) – leave it out of a lifestyle program. And Swiss employers, too, may not require non-medical genetic tests or make use of such data (Art. 37 GUMG).

Start small: the pilot

You do not have to start with the whole workforce. A manageable pilot, such as one department or one site, shows whether invitation, registration and follow-up work. Measure it by participation and feedback, not by health promises.

One point is often overlooked: the pilot group must not be too small. In a team of just a few people, it is easy to guess who took part – and anonymous feedback is then no longer anonymous. Choose the group so that feedback cannot be traced back to any single person.

After the pilot, the steering group answers three questions: Did employees understand what the analysis shows and what it does not? Did anyone feel pressured? Were the follow-up offers used? Only then do you roll out further.

Rollout checklist

• The steering group is in place: management, HR and, where they exist, the works council, data protection officer and company physician.
• The ground rules are in writing: voluntary, no results to the company, no questions asked.
• Lifestyle and medical analyses are kept apart; medical ones run only through the medical route.
• Data roles are settled in a contract before the first registration comes in.
• Registration and consent go directly to the lab or partner.
• Saliva samples go directly to the lab; in Switzerland, they are taken in the presence of the prescribing professional.
• Formula, report and delivery of personalized supplements go directly to the person.
• Billing reveals as little as possible about who took part.
• Workshops are open to everyone, with or without an analysis.
• The program is evaluated through participation and anonymous feedback – never through genetic results.

How to announce the program internally is covered in Internal communication: participation without pressure. If you are a workplace-health provider, insurer or consultant, continue with For workplace-health providers, insurers and consultants.

Frequently asked questions

Related: Internal communication: participation without pressure · Data protection and confidentiality of results · Corporate health programs with genetic analyses

Note: This guide is general information for businesses and professionals and does not replace medical or legal advice. The genetic traits determined in a genetic analysis are well documented (each gene included is backed by at least three independent studies); recommendations derived from them are logical conclusions, not scientifically proven. Regulations can change; errors and changes excepted.