Employer Wellness

1. Undertake a utilization assessment – While businesses can’t obtain health information on individual staff members, insurance providers will supply businesses with reports that detail patterns and rates of employee use for things such as physician visits, hospital stays and drug use. This information is essential for a organization to set a benchmark of its current health risk status. Data from human resources(HR) can be integrated with benefits information to support a complete picture of employees’ health-related costs. Then, businesses can determine the specific level of behavior modification necessary to result in cost savings. The utilization assessment helps a organization identify the areas in which it ought to focus its Company Wellness Program to reap the greatest benefits.

2. Build a employer case – Once a utilization assessment is in place, businesses are able to quantify the Health Care cost savings that will result from specific levels of lifestyle transformation and risk reduction. This can be done by setting goals/objectives in terms of reductions in identifi able insurance utilization, attendance or disability variables, or by aiming for reductions in health risks and projecting the associated cost savings. Effective estimates factor in the expense of the Corporate Health Promotion Programs as well as the necessary internal marketing efforts that will surround the program. Says Betty-Jo Saenz, American Health Care Strategy lead for Motorola, “When we started our programs, our focus was on the 20 percent of staff members that made up 80 percent of the costs. We’ve discussed that, and now we’re paying attention to those who are active and Finding Wealth Through Wellness 8 keeping them healthy. Wherever you are on the continuum, there are opportunities.”

3. Design a cross-functional wellness team – Businesses need to identify potential team members who can be champions of wellness within the organization. It is significant that the team is representative of the demographic and functional diversity of workers so that it can credibly address any specific needs groups may have. This team will serve as the voice and face for the Company Health Promotion Program within the organization. Best practice companies integrate members from human resources, communications, organization development and upper management. Using the utilization analysis as a model, the wellness team must evaluate what programs would be most effective within each particular corporate culture, aligning health-risk priorities with initiatives that workers will be receptive to.

4. Build buy-in from senior staff – The most effective Employee Wellness Programs have support from the highest levels of a employer. Support from management, both in words and in action, sends the message that Employee Wellness Programs are a priority for a employer. The utilization analysis can be a powerful tool to build the employer case for Employee Wellness Programs and convince executives that initiatives are worthy of investment and attention. Meaningful wellness-related messages are integrated into employer communications and aligned with corporate objectives.

5. Design a all-inclusive Employee Program Engagement plan – The most brilliantly conceived Corporate Health Promotion Program is meaningless if no employees take part. Effective wellness talks emphasize both health and monetary benefits at the personal and business level. According to a 2004 survey by Towers Perrin, only 28 percent of employees say their business communicates about Medical Care topics other than cost. In addition, wellness-related information ought to be a part of existing business talks efforts and not coupled solely with benefits talks. This helps elevate the importance of Corporate Health Promotion Programs and align initiatives with business objectives.

Moreover, communications around Employee Health Promotion Programs can share personal success stories and support corporation progress updates. Successful employers not only use existing discussion channels to generate discussion around activities, but also consider more interactive tools like message boards, forums, blogs and wikis. This helps personalize initiatives and permits for the sharing of best practices within the corporation.

A lot organizations engage health care professionals to advise in the construction, communication and backing of the program. The use of outside authorities such as these will broaden the credibility of the Employee Wellness Programs as well as combat skepticism from workers who may view the business’s motives as merely selfserving.

Another strategy available to corporations is to brand their Worksite Wellness Program. This move can expand the visibility and acceptance of the offering. Branded wellness programs are most common when corporations are also promoting an external campaign around Worksite Wellness Programs. An example of this is PepsiCo, which launched its HealthRoads Worksite Wellness Program internally along with a consumer campaign, Smart Spot, that puts special labels on healthier food and drink options.

These efforts are more effective when they are not owned solely by the internal communications department, but rather when managers serve as leaders of, as well as take part in, Corporate Health Promotion Programs within corporations. This creates more immediate accountability and motivation.

6. Measure constantly and consistently – At every step of implementation, a Corporate Wellness Program must be able to verify its value to a business. Corporate Wellness Programs ought to be designed to allow corporations to set benchmarks and evaluate behavior change. Assessment ought to consider not only quantitative health measures, but also qualitative measures of stress and employee engagement. Less than 10% of corporations do extensive management of healthcare expense, employee health risk status or employee satisfaction with benefit offerings, and less than half of corporations do any assessment in these areas at all.16

Assessment is only useful if a company explicitly interprets what data would constitute success. Potential measures of success include:

• Participation rates
• Improved employee program engagement
• Decrease of risk status
• Reduction of direct health costs
• Lowered absenteeism
• Fewer disability claims

Motorola’s Saenz advises administrators of Workplace Wellness Programs to track as many measures as possible from the start, even if management only needs one, because it is very difficult to retrieve data later. She notes that even if leadership begins by looking at participation rates, they will eventually want to know about reductions in claims and costs.

Frequent measurement is the only way to build support among management and staff members. Nearly half of employers feel a lack of useful data is a top barrier to their ability to manage employee health, and at least 20 percent of employers do not know how effective existing Employee Wellness Programs are regarding various outcomes. Corporations ought to conduct utilization analyses each year and reevaluate Employee Wellness Program priorities based upon changes. In Addition, progress ought to be shared with the wider business community to build support for initiatives. Managers and executives throughout a company are likely to support a program that can prove increased work rate among staff members. Effective Employee Wellness Programs are designed to be fl exible so they can respond to changes in both company objectives and goals and larger health variations.