Health And Wellness In The WorkplaceHealth And Wellness In The Workplace

Many employers, as part of their efforts to contain rising medical care expenditures, are launching workplace programs variously described as Company Wellness Programs, lifestyle programs, health and work rate management, population health management and, simply, wellness programs.

The purpose of this article is to consider whether such programs improve health. If so, do they in turn decrease utilization of medical care services and decrease medical care expenditures?

The popular media have done much to promote the concept of business wellness. Last year, In Business: Madison magazine printed a story accompanied by a table reporting an impressive range of returns on investment (ROI):

Return on Investment (Per dollar ROI for lifestyle programs)
• Coors $6.15
• Kennecott $5.78
• Equitable Life $5.52
• Citibank $4.56
• General Mills $3.90
• Travelers $3.40
• Motorola $3.15
• PepsiCo $3.00
• Unum Life $1.81
Source: 2004 T.E. Brennan Company, as published

Would these ROIs stand up to thorough empirical analysis of the data? What factors create such disparate returns among these programs? And does the published literature, subject to peer review of scientific methods, support the ROIs reported here?

Health and Productivity Leadership

Illness and injury associated with an unhealthy lifestyle or modifiable risk factors is published to account for at least 25% of employee health care expenditures. The most significant of these risk factors are stress, tobacco use, overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol use, and poor nutritional habits. Over the past two decades, a variety of groups at the local, state, and national levels have promoted the concept that health risk reduction and care management programs are able to better employee health, and that worksite health education, health risk management, and benefit counseling ought to complement standard healthcare insurance benefits.

The intensity of Corporate Health Promotion Programs range from bulletin board, pamphlet or newsletter information to onsite fitness facilities, health risk reduction classes, and personal lifestyle change coaching.3 Corporate Health Promotion Programs today frequently include a health risk assessment (HRA) to evaluate each employee’s modifiable risk factors of disease. Program coordinators then target interventions to those that are at increased risk through personal discussions and individual follow-up.

Complete Employee Wellness Programs may include classes on health risk reduction and job safety, fitness and exercise activities, health club memberships, and reductions in co-payments or premiums for staff members who adhere to recommended healthcare assessment ground rules.

Along with this, some employers are restructuring health benefits and encouraging employees’ cost-sensitivity when accessing medical.5 These changes are intended to lower employees’ need for and utilization of medical, provideing reduced group medical expenditures. Demonstrated reductions in medical expenditures ought to then provide employers with a powerful bargaining chip in negotiating decreased health insurance premiums during future terms.

Evidence basis: A range of return on investment estimates

The empirical research has produced results as varied as the popular media on return on investment. Nonetheless, evidence continues to grow that well-designed and well-resourced Workplace Wellness Program and disease prevention programs support multi-faceted payback on investment. Peer-reviewed evaluations and meta analyses show that return on investment is achieved through improved worker health, reduced benefit expense, and enhanced productiveness.

• Goetzel and colleagues, in their meta-analysis of two dozen articles summarizing economic evaluations of health and productiveness management programs, observed an average return of $3.14 per $1 invested in traditional Workplace Health Promotion Programs. The ROI estimates for the individual programs ranged from $1.49 to $13.7,8
• Aldana reviewed 72 articles and concluded that Corporate Health Promotion Programs achieve an average ROI of $3.48 when thinking of medical costs alone, $5.82 per $1 when examining absenteeism, and $4.30 when both outcomes are considered.
• Ozminkowski and collagues conducted a 38 month case study of 23,000 participants in Citibank, N.A.’s health management program and stated that within a 2 year period, Citibank realized a return on investment between $4.56 and $4.73.10  Follow-up studies found improvements in the risk profiles of participants, with the high-risk group improving more than the “usual care” group11 as a result of more intensive programming.
• Chapman’s 2004 meta-evaluation of 42 research studies, ranking central validity of the research studies, reports cost-benefit ratios from $2.05-$4.64.

In addition to immediately quantifiable expenditure reductions, researchers have stated a variety of spin-off benefits: greater productiveness, intellectual capacity, and reductions in disability12 and absenteeism.9,13,14,15 Such programs may also have positive effects on employee perceptions of the company14 and worker morale, even among nonparticipants. 13 These outcomes go beyond savings in direct medical expenditures to support non-health related ROI.

Tailoring program to maximize ROI Employee Health Promotion Programs aim to cut the health risks of employees at high risk while maintaining the health status of those at low risk. A variety of disease management interventions are available to fit the specific risk profiles of various worksites. Insurers and businesses now seek to calibrate their interventions in order to achieve optimal risk reduction and costeffectiveness.

In 2001, University of Michigan researchers stated on stable trends in medical expenditures for over 2 million current and former workers in an 18 year data set. The mean cost increase per risk factor gained ($350) was found to be more than double the mean cost decrease per eliminated risk factor ($150). In other words, increases in expenditures when groups of workers moved from low risk to high risk were much greater than the decreases in expenditures when groups moved from high risk to low risk. Their conclusion: Programs designed to keep healthy people healthy will likely provide the greatest return on investment.

On the other hand, Pelletier’s meta-analysis16 and other program evaluations18 suggest that individualized risks reduction for high-risk staff members within the context of inclusive programming is the essential element in achieving beneficial clinical and cost outcomes in workplace interventions.

Dose-Response?

Several factors might affect the influence of various programs and the ultimate ROI, including cultural and environmental factors, workforce demographics, level of participation and longevity of the program.

Most cost-benefit studies have been conducted in big corporations with more than fifty employees. But researchers have shown that similar results have the potential to be obtained by small corporations with as few as five employees actively involved in a well-managed program.

Various research studies also suggest that even relatively modest levels of participation have the potential to achieve substantial program influence. Contrary to reports by the popular media that such programs require more than 70% participation, published reports of at least one case showed beneficial return on investment with 51% participation.

Length of intervention appears to be a more salient variable: an impact on healthcare expenditures generally requires three-to five years of programming.

Future developments

Despite the abundance of beneficial program evaluations, several caveats remain. Negative results are less likely to be reported or published, thus biasing the return on investment upward.

Uncertainty persists regarding the specific influence of the various program components. But as these programs take hold, further research and assessment will enable fine-tuning of program investments.

Meanwhile, the preponderance of data and the strength of the published research stand in favor of a positive ROI for Company Wellness Programs. Indeed, the company case for such programs is now well enough defined that some insurance brokers offer discounted rates to companies that institute or subscribe to wellness programs.

Future questions will focus on how best to combine inclusive and focused interventions, the intensity of elements, and how to calibrate the dose-response model to achieve a target return on investment. Here, employers, staff members, and researchers will need to collaborate to define mutual objectives and goals in terms of both clinical and cost outcomes.

As employers today continue to compete in the worldwide economy, expense containment strategies will be increasingly significant. Controlling the rising expense of employee sickness is becoming a priority for corporate leaders. The emerging corporate culture in this country is one which has an employee population centered in health, safety and wellness.

Developing a corporate strategy for Corporate Wellness Programs and disability management makes good employer sense. The following eight-step process ensures a strategic, integrated, needs-driven and results-oriented approach.

The following process works best in businesses with strong leadership and a long-term responsibility to employee health.

1. Identify Your Worksite Wellness Program Champion

This person should be a leader in your organization and a strong advocate of health. Most frequently this is an individual who actively pursues his or her own personal quest for good health.

The program champion must have the resources and authority to propel the program forward. The program champion’s key role is to ensure the strategic plan for health is aligned with the organization’s objectives, strategic focus and organization values. By way of example if the organization promotes that “our strength is our people” the wellness program must demonstrate how pushes will nurture and protect that valuable resource.

2. Form Your Worksite Wellness Program Strategy Team

The Company Health Promotion Program Strategy Team ought to include decision makers and stakeholders from sections of the corporation that can impact health and the company’s bottom line. These areas may include; finance, human resources, training and development, health services, compensation and benefits, employee assistance services (EAP), marketing, facilities, health and safety, rehabilitation, cafeteria or food services and the union. A group of six to eight representatives is recommended.

The role of the Strategy Team is to advance and enable the strategic plan, look for opportunities to reward health, be sure the program is integrated into key areas of the organization, streamline efforts, maximize business resources and program evaluation.

3. Complete an Employer Health Audit

The purpose of an Employer Health Audit is to evaluate your existing programs and services, physical environment and policies & procedures that support health. It is also significant to look at your organization culture or “how things are done” around the organization.

Members of the Strategy Team complete the Audit independently and then meet to discuss their assessment. During the assessment process, health issues and opportunities are discussed in preparation for the development of the strategic plan.

4. Analyze Your Organization’s Cost Pressures

Cost pressures are identified by analyzing a number of areas including; benefit costs, Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) claims, drug usage, type of paramedic claims, absenteeism data and EAP utilization. This process helps to target areas that have the potential to be positively impacted by a Worksite Wellness Program and to support a baseline for evaluating change.

5. Conduct a Health Risk Appraisal or Employee Needs & Interest Survey

The next step is to determine your employee’s health risks, interests and readiness to change. A confidential health risk appraisal can accomplish many objectives and goals. It supports a baseline from which to measure personal lifestyle changes, supports employees with relevant health information, motivates employees to take charge of their health and assists in program planning. Most health risk appraisals provide individual reports and a corporate report identifying elevated-risk areas in the employer.

Many organizations prefer to administer customized needs and interest survey to evaluate employee needs. The benefit of this approach is that the corporation is able to gather information on the employees’ perceived wellness needs and program interests. This information can be incorporated into the strategic plan. Administering a survey also has the added benefit of fostering a sense of employee ownership to the program.

6. Develop Your Strategic Plan for Wellness

The strategic plan ought to incorporate information gathered from the Organization Health Audit, your organization’s expenditure pressures, and health risk appraisal data or employee survey results. The strategic plan ought to include your program mission, three or four objectives and several drives under each intention. The strategic plan supplies a framework to encourage, backing and evaluate “best health practices.”

It is also valuable that the plan align itself with the vision, objectives of the organization.

The sample strategic plan that follows was developed for blue jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. (Canada) Inc. Levi Strauss & Co.’s mission statement and aspirations (how employees interact with each other in a employer environment) guided the development of the plan.

Levi Strauss & Co.’s aspirations include the following statement: More than anything, we want satisfaction from accomplishments and friendships, balanced personal and professional lives, and to enjoy our endeavors. The wellness program plan included a number of components to see that it embraced this statement including the following:

1. A vision statement, which tied in with the company’s aspirations.
2. An incentive system to encourage and reward the accomplishment of healthy milestones.
3. A recognition system to applaud effectiveness.
4. Friendly competitions between Levi Strauss & Co. locations to ensure an enjoyable environment.
5. Opportunities to take part in small group educational programs to foster team reinforcement.
6. Initiation of support groups for employees completing wellness programs (i.e. smoking control support group).
7. Programs dealing with work and family balance.

Other information that was analyzed and used to develop the plan included:

1. Organization demographics
2. Focus groups
3. Cultural audit
4. Top drug report
5. EAP utilization
6. Employee benefit services report
7. Health and dental claims
8. Operational performance summaries
9. Health risk appraisals
7. Prepare a Corporation Case to Support Your Plan

Your employer case for wellness supports the necessary details for approval at the upper management level. The employer case includes:

1. The Strategic Plan for Health
2. A proposed program budget
3. Marketing strategies
4. Program leadership options
5. An implementation plan
6. Assessment methodology.

In presenting the strategic plan it is valuable to highlight how the plan aligns itself with the strategic direction of the organization.

The program budget must include educational resources, marketing expenditures, incentives and rewards, leadership expenditures and supplies.

Marketing strategies must address how the program will be promoted and rolled out to various groups within the organization i.e. decentralized locations, high risk employees, older employees.

Program leadership must address how volunteers will be used, internal resources  and whether consultants have been proposed. All play an equally significant role in the implementation of your wellness program.

The program implementation plan ought to incorporate the following types of programs that help establish awareness of beneficial health practices, assist  workers in making lifestyle changes and pushes, which support long-term change.

Awareness programs establish an awareness of the effect of healthy lifestyle practices and arouse workers to take the next step. Examples of awareness programs include posting educational posters, newsletter articles and lunch and learn seminars.

Lifestyle change programs are more all-inclusive and longer in duration. They are designed to help  employees in changing behavior. Examples of lifestyle change programs are diet education programs, stress management programs, back care classes and smoking control programs.

A supportive corporate environment encompasses everything from corporate policies & procedures, the physical environment and creating a corporate culture that supports good health practices. Follow-up sessions and support groups for workers who have completed 6-10 week wellness programs also support a supportive environment for long-term change.

Analyzing the effectiveness of a Worksite Health Promotion Program is ongoing. A formal evaluation must be conducted annually and may include; re-administering steps three to five, program participation statistics and a year end survey to revisit “soft” problems such as morale, program satisfaction and future program direction.

8. Solicit Input and Communicate Your Plan

Employee input is essential to the long-term performance of your program. An Employee Advisory Committee ought to be formed to roll out the plan. Another key responsibility of this group is to solicit feedback from all echelons of the organization to ensure buy-in. Front line Manager’s Information Sessions and focus groups are also valuable. This group needs to buy-in to the notion that they play a key role in supporting positive health practices. Regular gatherings are advised with front line managers to receive ongoing input, address issues and orient new managers.

Conclusions

The World Health Organization’s definition of health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellness and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.” In order for us to set up healthy workplaces, wellness drives must have a program champion, have employee ownership, be upper management supported, results driven and strategically aligned with the overall company objectives of the organization.

Wellness program that embrace these qualities will have a positive influence on an organization’s bottom line. Canadian research points to a myriad of case studies where onsite programs have resulted in lowered absenteeism, lower claims and increased productivity.

Companies who have embraced wellness as part of “how they do business” share one thing in common. They corroborate a commitment to their most important resource – their people. They know the increased pressures associated with downsized companies, a rapidly changing workplace, an aging work force and the challenge of balancing work and family obligations. And they share a common belief that healthy staff members are happier, absent less and more beneficial.

References:
Design of Company Health Promotion Programs by Michael P. O’Donnell. 1995. Published by the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Pro Fit-ability by Veronica Marsden. Group Healthcare Management. May 1997.
Meeting Expectations by Laura Mensch. Employee Health and Productivity. August 1999
7 Steps to Health Promotion by Daphne Woolf and Veronica Marsden. Group Healthcare Management. February 1996.
Published in The Journal of Health Promotion for Northern Ireland, Issue 9, March 2000

Want some wellness program ideas and wellness policy ideas to get you started? Or maybe you want to jump start or better upon your current wellness program? The list below provides ‘best practices’ that are able to help meet any wellness program budget! The Employee Health Promotion Program ideas are divided into topic areas.

General Wellness Progam Ideas

• Conduct an Employee Needs & Interest Survey
• Develop a Employee Wellness Program Committee
• Select medical plans that cover costs for weight management and tobacco cessation
• Remove co-pay or reimburse for preventive medical care visits
• Display handouts on a variety of wellness issues for workers to take
• Establish a wellness resource center or library with videos, books, magazines, DVD’s on a variety of issues of interest to staff members
• Identify employees who are mentors or champions for healthy activities and ask them to present or to list as a contact for other employees
• Establish and encourage periodic or regular educational sessions.
• Establish monthly educational sessions on the national health observance topic
• Post a Wellness Bulletin Board & update it monthly
• Display messages from national health observances during the month
• Publish healthy tips in newsletters, paycheck stuffers, bulletin boards, etc.
• Offer a benefits fair
• Offer company fitness and healthy eating challenges
• Organize company health & wellness fairs or other onsite activities

Nutrition Programs

• Offer free, healthy snacks for employees (fruit, nuts, popcorn)
• Offer healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at corporation programs
• Give information to workers about the nutritional content of food served in the cafeteria
• Develop a fresh fruit “snack basket” in the breakroom or cafeteria
• Stock vending machines with healthier options
• Partially fund healthy foods in the cafeteria or vending machines (10¡ apples may be more appealing than $1.00 candy bars)
• Begin a weekly or monthly healthy lunch club
• Give handouts available on a variety of healthy eating topics
• Include diet articles in employer newsletters
• Provide a healthy meal tasting contest Free
• Provide educational sessions during lunch-time on a variety of diet subject matters of interest
• Sponsor an employee healthy food cookbook. Either sell the cookbook and use profits for programs, or purchase a cookbook for all staff members

Weight Loss Programs / Weight Management Programs

• Consider offering flexible work schedules so that workers have the potential to take part in weight-loss programs
• Partially fund registration expenditures for weight-management programs
• Offer a support group to help workers who are trying to lose weight
• Locate registered dieticians near your worksite as a resource for workers who want information on healthy eating, meal planning or weight management
• Provide individual counseling for staff members trying to lose weight
• Provide workplace fitness and weight-management programs through your local hospital, Weight Watchers, TOPS or local, registered dietician
• Provide an educational session on diet myths and healthy eating

Physical Activity Programs

• Offer flexible work schedules to encourage exercise
• Create a fitness space with aerobic equipment, and weights
• Create accessible walking paths, trails, and/or bike routes
• Encourage staff members to walk more by parking farther away from the entrance
• Develop a gym with aerobic equipment, weights, aerobic classes, fitness professionals
• Hold walking meetings
• Make the stairwells more appealing (carpet, fresh paint, artwork, posters)
• Provide reduced gym membership fees to all employees
• Offer facilities for workers to secure bikes
• Schedule 5 – 10 minute stretch breaks during the day
• Partially fund gym membership for employees who participate a minimal number of days per week (ex., 3 days per week)
• Support lunchtime walking/running clubs or organization sports team
• Urge stairwell use and rewards and incentives
• Install a basketball hoop outside
• Promote & support community walks or fitness activities
• Promote walking during breaks and other off-time periods
• Provide periodic fitness incentive programs to encourage physical activity
• Have educational sessions on fitness activities

Smoking Cessation Programs / Tobacco Cessation Programs

• Design a smoke-free grounds
• Create a smoke-free workplace
• Promote the use of 1-800-QUIT-NOW, North Carolina’s no cost Tobacco Use Quitline. Or check www.QuitlineNC.com
• Reimburse employees for tobacco replacement products
• Subsidize the expense of smoking cessation courses
• Provide brochures and information on health effects from tobacco use and smoking cessation
• Provide awareness sessions to arouse staff members to try to quit tobacco use
• Schedule worksite smoking cessation seminars

Employee Health Screening

• Discount healthcare insurance premiums or lower co-payments for staff members who participate in screenings and who participate in managing their risk factors
• Install Blood Pressure (BP) monitoring equipment
• Offer flu shots for employees and family members
• Provide Health Risk Assessments to all employees, including counseling and follow-up
• Provide periodic Blood Pressure screenings and follow-up
• Provide periodic screenings for cholesterol, blood glucose, body composition, etc.

Stress Management Programs / Work Life Balance Programs

• Offer flexible schedules for family/work life balance
• Offer and reward an EAP
• Give information on substance abuse prevention
• Give handouts and information on stress management and mental health
• Provide brochures and information on work life balance, such as monetary planning, childcare, parenting, elder care, etc.
• Provide supervisor and manager training on communication, relationship building, company stressors, etc.
• Review organization policies and work schedules to identify organization stressors
• Assess the EAP to be sure it is meeting the needs of the employees and corporation
• Have educational sessions on stress management and work life balance
• Have workshops on relaxation, stress management, and work life balance issues

Health screenings are valuable programs to identify chronic conditions in their early stages. Once identified, wellness behavior modification programs can help prevent a disease from progressing. Working with local hospitals and other companies, you can get information on providing assessment and behavior modification programs that could better your employees’ health and save your employer money in absenteeism, treatment for disease complications, and reduced productiveness. Below are some ideas to assist you in getting started.

Based upon your Employee Needs & Interest Survey and the demographics of your workplace, consider offering periodic screenings to find specific health risks such as:

• Blood Pressure Checks to identify employees with pre-hypertension or hypertension (elevated blood pressure),
• Cholesterol Screenings for total, HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol) and/or Triglycerides
• Blood Sugar Screenings fasting or non-fasting to screen for possible diabetes,
• Body composition, such as body mass index (BMI) or body fat measures
• Bone density for potential risk of osteoporosis,
• Cancer screenings such as, skin examinations, mammograms, or PSA screenings,
• Vision checks for glaucoma, or visual acuity
• Other wellness screenings depending on your worker population and needs

Your local hospital, company physician practice, or health department may support assistance. However, if you have workers you may want to concentrate on programs that will keep them healthy rather than screening for early identification of chronic conditions. The focus of your wellness program might be healthy lifestyle practices to reduce risk and prevent disease.

In addition to the health screenings, consider offering a Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment to all employees. The Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment will help to identify factors that may lead to additional risks, such as smoking history, stress levels, image of health, family history, job satisfaction, support systems, and mental health. Often the evaluation results are included on the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, which provides a more all-inclusive snap shot of health risks. The summary results support the significant information to plan appropriate interventions.

Corporate Health Promotion Program Interventions

The key to the success of screenings and Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals is the interventions or follow-up programs. The information from the screenings increases awareness and often motivates workers to consider making healthier changes. It’s the follow up interventions that support the important backing and assistance needed for workers to actually make and maintain those changes. The interventions can include individual follow-up and ongoing counseling, individual or group health coaching on the risk factors, behavior change programs, and/or employer backing. Examples include:

• Strategies to lower Blood Pressure (BP)
• Managing diabetes
• Taking care of your heart
• Healthier eating
• Weight loss ideas
• Improving physical activity
• Tobacco Cessation

Of course, this is for individual information only. Any follow-up interventions planned by the company would be based on interest expressed by the employee.

Based on the results and your Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee goals and objectives you are able to plan the best strategies for your employer and workers. Consider the area resources available to offer services, such as health associations, hospitals, health care providers, and/or public health agencies.

Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s), are an assessment tool or questionnaire scientifically designed to identify health risks and outline information to help  American citizens in making healthy changes that effect their health and prevent chronic disease.

Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments have four standard elements in workplace settings:
• A Questionnaire
• A Computerized Program to Evaluate Health Risk Factors
• Confidential Individual Reports
• Group Summary Report

Staff Members complete a lifestyle questionnaire that includes for example nourishment practices, height and weight, exercise habits, family history, stress perceptions, smoking history, and work satisfaction. Another valuable feature to consider is readiness to change questions to determine participation interest. Including health screenings such as blood lipids and Blood Pressure results increases the benefits of an Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment by offering a more accurate health assessment and therefore improving lifestyle choice decisions and program options. Still, it is valuable to determine if the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment can be used without including this information.

The health risk questionnaire information is entered into a computer program and an individual confidential report is generated that summarizes health risks as well as information on how to cut risk factors. Individual reports are fully confidential. Depending on the reason for implementing the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, it’s valuable to consider the type of report the business will receive as well. A group report summarizing major risk factors and recommendations for programs to start in order to cut employee and business risks supports valuable information for your wellness program.

The Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals have the potential to be used to:
• Raise awareness to individual employee’s health status
• Encourage workers to make healthier lifestyle changes
• Coach elevated-risk workers
• Create Worksite Health Promotion Programs based on the identified needs
• Assess program success by comparing Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals completed at set intervals such as yearly.

There are many advantages to considering a part-time or full-time occupational and environmental health nurse (OHN). Occupational health nursing is the specialty practice that provides for and delivers health and safety programs and services to staff members, and worker populations. The practice focuses on promotion and restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury, treatment of work and non-work related injuries and illnesses, and protection from work related  and environmental risks.

Onsite Heath Professional roles can include: Case management, Counseling, Worksite Health Promotion Program, Legal and regulatory compliance, Clinical services, and Hazard detection and controls. The American Association of Occupational and Environmental Health Nurses is the national association, www.AAOHN.org. The State Chapter also has a website with information including local chapter information to help you locate a contact near you, www.NCAOHN.org.

Health educators can design, conduct and evaluate activities that help improve the health of all your employees. They are subject matter experts who may be a valuable asset regardless your program needs and goals/objectives. They can help form a Workplace Wellness Program Committee and enable many of its programs and services, for example or depending on the structure and time commitments of your Workplace Wellness Program Committee, they can also plan the entire program as well. Integrating the activities of the Committee and/or Workplace Wellness Program consultant services within your operations, including within your safety and occupational health program will support additional benefits!

We are organizing Employee Wellness Programs to help you feel better and maintain your health. In order to plan programs that best meet your needs and interests we would like your ideas! Please take a few minutes to answer some questions about your interests. Your answers will be combined with those of others’ and reviewed to help plan programs for you. Do not sign your name.

Please complete the survey today and return it to__________. We appreciate your valuable input! Your help is valuable for creating successful programs. Return the completed form by _____________.

Rate your interest on a scale of 1 – 3 with one (1) being of little or no interest; two (2) being of some interest and three (3) indicating that you are very interested. Indicate your response by circling or ‘Xing’ the number.

I am interested in:

Participating in wellness programs before work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs after work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs during my lunch break 1 2 3
Adopting healthy eating options to lose weight 1 2 3
Sports nutrition 1 2 3
Healthier cooking 1 2 3
Helping my children eat healthier 1 2 3
Quick, healthy meals for full lifestyles 1 2 3
Healthy snack options 1 2 3
Learning how to quit smoking 1 2 3
Attending classes to help me quit smoking cigarettes 1 2 3
Stress Mangement skills 1 2 3
Balancing work, family, and personal life 1 2 3
Time management skills 1 2 3
Participating in a beginning exercise program 1 2 3
Beginning time to exercise for busy people 1 2 3
Getting health information that I can read or watch at home 1 2 3
Learning about cancer prevention 1 2 3
Heart health options 1 2 3
CPR and First Aid 1 2 3
Team sports activities at work 1 2 3
Learning how to stretch 1 2 3
Learning how to boost intake of fruits and vegetables 1 2 3
Parenting Topics (age of children: ) 1 2 3
Onsite exercise classes: walking Yoga aerobic other: 1 2 3
Health assessment such as Blood Pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose 1 2 3

Program evaluation may be The previous step, but it must be planned at the beginning of your efforts!  Evaluation helps you identify what parts of the program are working well and what parts could use improvement.  Then, based on the evaluation data, adjustments are able to be made to fine-tune your wellness program.   Adjusting the program based on evaluation data is vital to its continued performance.  

Evaluating your program need not be terribly complex.  However, it is important to plan how you will oversee your wellness efforts and determine effectiveness during the planning phase or Step 5.  Also keep in mind to evaluate the program based on the goals/objectives you already identified during your drafting process.  

In order to evaluate your program you need to have a system to document specifics as you progress.  This can be as simple as maintaining file folders on programs that are offered, or a computer document with a table or spreadsheet summarizing information collecting.  Consider:

• Program topic and numbers of workers who participated
• The numbers of pamphlets taken by workers or distributed and on what subject matters
• The number of participants in a behavior change program and how many met their objectives and goals as well as how many attended all of the sessions
• Numbers of employees who continued the healthy behavior change following the program?
• Overall employee satisfaction with the program or each topic.  

Depending on your objectives and goals, gather desired data and compare it to previous data collected during the initial assessment to determine if the objectives and goals were met.  Such data might include

• Absentee rates
• Injury rates
• Health risk factors Insurance expenditures  

Summarize and Report Worksite Health Promotion Program Results

Once you have collected all of the evaluation information it needs to be reviewed with the Worksite Health Promotion Program Committee and summarized.  You will probably have positive results and some areas where a change is necessitated or additional focus necessitated for continuous improvement.  This not-so positive information can be used to make any necessitated adjustments as well as to plan for next year and is significant to include in your report.  

It is important to communicate the wellness program outcome to both senior staff and workers.  Consider how senior staff usually receives reports on operations and productivity concerns and include the annual wellness program report in the same format.  At some companies the reports are made during senior staff gatherings using presentation styles such as power point slides.  At other companies, graphs and bar charts are the norm or a list of the objectives and the summary outcomes published.  

No matter the format, it’s valuable to convey the outcomes and successes achieved, including any anecdotal stories, as well as areas for improvement.  Be sure to link the outcomes to the organization mission and bottom line whenever possible.

Employees desire to receive the same information!  You might use the same communication channels used when informing staff members of the wellness program:

• Company newsletters,
• Bulletin boards,
• E-mails  

Also consider celebrating successes and recognizing achievements by:

• Posting pictures from activities
• Highlighting success stories
• Posting pictures of successes
• Hosting a celebration
• Recognizing champions  

Armed with data, Company Wellness Program topic preferences and goals and objectives – and a Company Wellness Program Committee eager to get things done – it is now time to decide how best to take action.  This website provides tools to help you!  You can read about the various types of wellness programs available by other corporations to get an idea of what might work for your organization.  There are Statewide Resources listed along with national non-profit groups offering resources, and specific examples of resources available on various wellness topics.  In addition, keep looking under Steps to an Effective Program for ideas to get you started!

If your planning phase was well executed, you must simply have to follow through with the plans you have already made.  

Important Employee Health Promotion Program considerations include:

1. Formally Introduce the Worksite Wellness Program and consider policy statements that state the importance of the wellness program.  Examples include a general policy regarding the responsibility to employee health and safety as well as specific policies such as No Smoking, Healthy Eating and Physical Activity.
2. Communicate Your Program: The best planned program with great wellness programs won’t be advantageous if your workers don’t know about it or do not be aware of the options or how to participate.  Communicate your wellness program using a variety of methods to be sure the message and “how-to’s” are heard!

   Workplace Wellness Program Communication Strategies might include:

   • Newsletter articles
   • Postings on the company’s intranet or internet
   • A designated Champion of the program
   • Formal or informal meeting to announce program, “the kick-off”
   • Flyers / pamphlets / brochures / table tents,
   • Bulletin boards / kiosk where all material is promoted or found,
   • Email / phone messages,
   • Mailings or distributions  

3. Use Worksite Wellness Program Incentives:  You’ll be amazed to learn what most of us will do for a free T-shirt.  Incentives can both support and motivate participation among workers.  Consider both formal or corporation rewards and incentives and informal or program rewards/prizes from local resources to reinforce participation in Worksite Wellness Programs. Either way, it’s valuable to provide rewards and incentives that are enticing and meaningful to your workers.

   Formal Company Wellness Program Incentives:

   • Savings on employee healthcare insurance premiums or co-pays, or contributions to 401K programs, employee stock options, or other mechanisms.  
   
   Click here for more information on health plan incentive ideas
   
   • fitness center/Fitness Center discounts or enrollment fee coverage
   • Public transportation vouchers
   • Flexible work time options
   • “Wellness Days” off work  

   Rewards or Informal Worksite Health Promotion Program Incentives:

   • Cash – a very effective incentive!
   • Prize incentives/rewards such as gift certificates to heart-healthy restaurants; media player to use while working out, emergency kits, or any other prizes that would motivate your employees.
   • T-Shirts, water bottles, or other inexpensive rewards

4. Review community resources available to support some of the wellness services.  The local health department or your employer medical care provider may be able to support  you with this information.  There are also vendors throughout the State providing excellent wellness services for businesses.  They are available to assist you when strategizing and find the best options available.

5. Start your program as planned documenting information and outcomes as you go such as numbers of participants, dates of activities, and any other special details you are tracking.

The Employee Health Promotion Program Committee must set out a plan for the entire year that outlines accomplishing goals/objectives, as well as provides details for marketing and evaluating the program. The plan is the detailed map of what types of programs will be available, when and where they will be scheduled, how they will be marketed and evaluated, and what the budget is.  It is valuable to plan your wellness activities based on your goals/objectives, as well as the budget since different strategies will provide different outcomes.  For example, if your intention is to increase awareness on a topic, then distributing pamphlets or scheduling a one-time education session may be appropriate.  However, if your intention is to change behavior, then different strategies may be necessary, such as ongoing weekly meetings and support groups.  Click here to link to Program Design Options for additional ideas.

Employee Wellness Program Marketing

Now is the time to plan your marketing strategies!  How can you market the wellness program and ongoing activities?  No matter how you decide to, market often, keep it fresh, and remind employees again and again!  Consider having an overall kickoff exercise to inform everyone of the wellness program.  Upper Management should provide the introduction or invitation so that all employees are alert to their support and leadership in the program.

Possible marketing methods:

• Distributing email messages, including reminders
• Develop bulletins,
• Putting up bulletin board postings,
• Writing articles,
• Sending letters or
• Sending special invitations.  

Other Company Health Promotion Program Considerations:

• Is the Corporate Health Promotion Program promoted to all staff members or to a specific target audience?
• Do you have a Corporate Health Promotion Program champion (someone who is connected with different groups in the organization, and well respected) who can help in your promotion efforts?
• If your marketing efforts do not seem to be working, do you have a way to revisit and adjust your plan?
• How will you determine success and evaluate your program?  And how will you collect the information required to evaluate your program?  

Topics most frequently included in Workplace Health Promotion Programs:

• Nutrition
• Physical Activity/Exercise
• Tobacco Use Cessation
• Bone Health
• Heart Health
• Healthy Back
• Stress Reduction
• Chronic Disease Awareness & Prevention
• Self-care; Wise Health Care Consumer
• Screening Services (BMI, Blood Pressure, bone density, cholesterol, glucose, posture, vision, and other…)
• Ergonomic Assessments
• Health Fairs
• Kids/family Events
• Others issues that staff members have interest in  

The issues and type of Worksite Wellness Program planned hinge upon the needs and interest, overall intention and resources available.  Program Design Options   include awareness programs such as brochures and/or education sessions, behavior modification programs such as tobacco cessation and weight loss classes, and environmental or organization reinforcement such as no smoking policies or healthy selections in snack machines.  

The programs planned also hinge upon the demographics of your workforce.  If you have a young, healthy workforce, you may want to focus the wellness attention on keeping employees healthy and not need to screen for disease.  Instead you might want to focus on healthy lifestyle behavior such as exercise and great diet to prevent the on-set of disease.  Click here for more information on strategies for keeping employees well, identifying disease early, or returning employees to work who already have a chronic conditions.

It is also valuable to consider, and plan how you will evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.  The system needs to be shown for tracking certain data and recording activities depending on the program goals/objectives.  Step 7 discusses program evaluation in more detail.   And Step 6 will launch your program!