Health And Wellness In The WorkplaceHealth And Wellness In The Workplace

1. Undertake a utilization assessment – While employers can’t obtain medical information on individual workers, insurance providers will supply employers with reports that detail patterns and rates of employee use for things such as physician visits, hospital stays and prescription 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 supply a complete picture of employees’ health-related costs. Then, employers can determine the specific level of behavior change necessary to result in cost savings. The utilization assessment helps a organization identify the areas in which it must focus its Worksite Health Promotion Program to reap the greatest benefits.

2. Build a company case – Once a utilization assessment is in place, employers are able to quantify the Health Care cost savings that will result from specific levels of lifestyle modification 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 Worksite 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% of staff members that made up 80% 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. Create a cross-functional wellness group – Companies need to identify potential group participants who can be champions of wellness within the corporation. It is valuable that the group is representative of the demographic and functional diversity of staff members so that it can credibly address any specific needs groups may have. This group will serve as the voice and face for the Employee Wellness Program within the corporation. Best practice employers integrate participants from human resources, communications, corporation development and management. Using the utilization analysis as a guide, the wellness group should evaluate what programs would be most effective within each particular corporate culture, aligning health-risk priorities with initiatives that staff members will be receptive to.

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

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

Moreover, communications around Employee Wellness Programs can share personal success stories and supply organization progress updates. Successful organizations 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 organization.

A lot employers engage medical 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 Health Promotion Programs as well as combat skepticism from employees who may view the company’s motives as merely selfserving.

Another strategy available to businesses is to brand their Workplace Wellness Program. This move can increase the visibility and acceptance of the offering. Branded wellness programs are most common when businesses are also promoting an external campaign around Workplace Wellness Programs. An example of this is PepsiCo, which launched its HealthRoads Workplace 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 participate in, Workplace Health Promotion Programs within companies. This produces more immediate accountability and motivation.

6. Measure constantly and consistently – At every step of implementation, a Employee Health Promotion Program must be able to verify its value to a corporation. Employee Health Promotion Programs should be designed to allow businesses to set benchmarks and evaluate behavior modification. Measurement ought to consider not only quantitative health measures, but also qualitative measures of stress and employee engagement. Less than ten percent of businesses do extensive management of health care expense, employee health risk status or employee satisfaction with benefit offerings, and less than half of businesses do any assessment in these areas at all.16

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

• Participation rates
• Improved employee engagement
• Decrease of risk status
• Lowering of direct health costs
• Reduced absenteeism
• Fewer disability claims

Motorola’s Saenz advises administrators of Corporate Wellness Programs to track as many measures as possible from the start, even if management only requires 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 assessment is the only way to build support among management and workers. Nearly half of corporations feel a lack of useful data is a top barrier to their ability to manage employee health, and at least 20 percent of corporations don’t know how effective existing Worksite Health Promotion Programs are regarding various outcomes. Employers should conduct utilization analyses each year and reevaluate Worksite Health Promotion Program priorities based upon changes. In Addition, progress should 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 productiveness among workers. Effective Worksite Health Promotion Programs are designed to be fl exible so they can respond to changes in both company goals and objectives and larger health variations.