Posts from — April 2009

1. Undertake a utilization assessment – While companies can’t get medical information on individual workers, insurance providers will supply companies with reports that detail patterns and rates of employee use for things such as physician visits, hospital stays and prescription use. This information is critical for a employer 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, companies can determine the specific level of behavior modification necessary to result in cost savings. The utilization assessment helps a employer identify the areas in which it should focus its Workplace Wellness Program to reap the greatest benefits.

2. Build a company case – Once a utilization assessment is in place, corporations are able to quantify the Medical Care cost savings that will result from specific levels of lifestyle transformation and risk reduction. This can be done by setting objectives and goals 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, U.S. Medical Care Strategy lead for Motorola, “When we started our programs, our focus was on the 20 percent of workers 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. Create a cross-functional wellness team – Employers 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 staff members so that it can credibly address any specific needs groups may have. This team will serve as the voice and face for the Workplace Wellness Program within the organization. Best practice companies integrate members from human resources, communications, organization development and management. Using the utilization analysis as a model, the wellness team 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 management – The most effective Workplace 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 Workplace Health Promotion Programs are a priority for a corporation. The utilization analysis can be a powerful tool to build the corporation case for Workplace Health Promotion Programs and convince executives that initiatives are worthy of investment and attention. Meaningful wellness-related messages are integrated into corporation communications and aligned with corporate objectives.

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

Additionally, communications around Worksite Health Promotion Programs can share personal success stories and support business progress updates. Successful corporations not only use existing talking 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 business.

Most corporations involve 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 Workplace Wellness Programs as well as combat skepticism from employees who may view the business’s motives as merely selfserving.

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

6. Measure constantly and consistently – At every step of implementation, a Workplace Wellness Program must be able to verify its value to a company. Workplace Wellness Programs should be designed to allow companies 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 10 percent of companies do extensive management of medical care cost, employee health risk status or employee satisfaction with benefit offerings, and less than half of companies do any assessment in these areas at all.16

Measurement is only useful if a corporation explicitly interprets what data would constitute success. Potential measures of success comprise:

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

Motorola’s Saenz advises administrators of Worksite Health Promotion 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 substructure among management and workers. Nearly half of companies feel a lack of useful data is a top barrier to their ability to manage employee health, and at least 20% of companies do not know how effective existing Workplace Health Promotion Programs are regarding various outcomes. Corporations must administer utilization analyses annually and reevaluate Workplace Health Promotion Program priorities based upon changes. Additionally, progress must be shared with the wider business community to build substructure for initiatives. Managers and executives throughout a corporation are likely to substructure a program that can prove increased productivity among workers. Effective Workplace Health Promotion Programs are designed to be fl exible so they can respond to changes in both corporation goals/objectives and larger health variations.

Employee Wellness Programs first became popular during the economic boom of the late 1980s and early 90s. Programs featured on-Site fitness centers and massages, and were used as recruitment tools for young staff members searching for nontraditional work environments. Nonetheless, when the tech bubble burst, so too did the willingness to spend money on perceived perks, and organizations returned to a more old-school benefit structure focused on managed healthcare.

In recent years, as Medical Care costs have spiraled out of control, corporations have explored the potential of Corporate Health Promotion Programs as a cost-saving strategy. Organizations such as Johnson and Johnson, General Motors, Motorola and Union Pacifi c Railroad have all seen a signifi cant return on investments in employee health (See Case Studies, p.20). Corporate Health Promotion Programs can help lower the costs associated with:

Healthcare premiums – The cost a corporation pays for medical insurance: According to a 2005 study by Hewitt, the Healthcare cost per employee in the United States in 2006 will average $8,046, with corporations absorbing nearly two-thirds of that cost.

Pharmaceutical costs – The price of a prescription plan: According to a 2005 study by Mercer, the average annual prescription costs for sizable organizations grew 11.5 percent, making it nearly a decade straight of double-digit increases in cost.

Short-term disability (STD) – The price of offering STD insurance to employees: According to a 2004 study by insurance provider Cigna, the average STD claim results in $13,094 in direct disability payments and healthcare costs. The report also found that 26 percent of claims related to health care events were a result of chronic conditions that could likely be mediated through Company Health Promotion Programs, and that these cases amount for 56 percent of the STD-related healthcare costs.

Rates of Absenteeism – The cost of missed work: Rates of Absenteeism cost companies $660 per employee in 2004, with nearly one-third of companies characterizing the trend as a genuine issue.

Presenteeism – The price associated with staff members who work at decreased productiveness levels: Sixty% of the total cost of employee diseases come from presenteeism, according to a 2004 study by the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies at Cornell University.

The evidence is clear that strategically designed Workplace Health Promotion Programs can decrease both direct and indirect Health Care costs. A 2004 review of Workplace Health Promotion Programs revealed that, in total, an investment of $1 by a corporation in Wellness Programming returned a median cost savings of $2.05 to $4.64.

Employee Engagement is the level at which staff members are aligned with and working toward organization goals. Employee Engagement is effected by a wide range of factors that include internal talks, organization structure, benefits and recognition.

Corporations that have high levels of employee program engagement profit from improved work rate, retention and performance than peers with disengaged employees.  Levels of engagement among employees in the United States have been declining over the past decade as individuals have become disillusioned with the treatment of employees by employers. The inability to engage employees is one of the reasons why, despite steady rises in hours worked, America lags behind several other nations in terms of employee productivity per hours worked.

Workplace Wellness Programs may increase employee program engagement in several ways. First, when communicated properly, they verify to employees that the employer cares about their well-being. This can improve retention and turnover as well as support more of a discretionary effort from employees. During a period of significant downsizing, Motorola found a greater interest in its Workplace Wellness Programs as managers recognized the value of providing for the health and well-being of employees.

In addition, the health improvements will decrease absenteeism and presenteeism (when workers continue to work despite decreased work rate), allowing for more time spent at full work rate. Lastly, healthier workers are more likely to have increased morale, which translates into a more enjoyable and more effective work environment.

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports defines wellness as “a multidimensional state of being describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life and a sense of wellness.” Wellness looks beyond the current model of treating disease and focuses on preventive conduct and healthier lifestyles. Workplace Health Promotion Programs, also usually referred to as Workplace Health Promotion Programs, serve as a complement to existing insurance-based health benefit programs and can take many forms and address a myriad different potential health conditions. They are a powerful strategy to promote positive lifestyle changes that can result in significant cost savings for corporations.

Examples of potential elements of a Employee Health Promotion Program cover:

Health Risk Assessments / Employee Wellness Screenings – Health Risk Assessments (aka Health Risk Appraisals), evaluate the most prevalent lifestyle-related risks of an individual. HRAs frequently comprise of screenings for Blood Pressure, cholesterol, glucose levels and other health indicators. These analyses support important benchmarking measures that ideally will allow staff members to prevent or reduce their risk of illnesses. Finding Wealth Through Wellness, As noted by Kathryn Krivy, director of Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Wellness Institute in Chicago, “Medically based Health Risk Assessments are a necessity because in order to affect modifications in your employer, you need to know what the problems are, and you just don’t know until you get the data.”

Physical Activity and Weight Management – One of the most popular Company Health Promotion Programs is for businesses to support access to a health and wellness center, often on-Site. Other potential measures include offering healthier snack machines and cafeteria options, weight management support groups and fitness challenge programs. Some businesses, like hospital group Baptist Health South Florida, will even pay for workers to attend weight-loss courses such as Weight Watchers.

Awareness and Education Programs – Many  organizations have events discussing the benefits of nutrition, safety or physical fitness, among other subject matters. Other options are to host a health and wellness fair or conduct a disease-awareness campaign.

Behavior Modification – This covers issues like smoking, wearing seat belts, and alcohol use. While many corporations will provide assistance for workers looking to alter behavior, some corporations, like medical benefits administrator Weyco, Inc., mandate changes, such as stopping smoking, as a condition of employment.

Alternative Treatments – Other Company Wellness Programs can cover absorbing some or all of the costs for massages, stress-reduction activities like yoga or even herbal medicines.

A more progressive and systemic solution may include businesses starting Employee Wellness Programs, which allow businesses to be proactive in preventing disease and promoting healthier lifestyles for staff members. When implemented effectively, this approach can drive to reduced direct costs from claims, a reduction in Health Care premiums and increased employee work rate.

Yet while Corporate Wellness Programs potentially offer companies tremendous cost savings, the success is dependent upon the ability to involve staff members in them. In Addition, companies must navigate the legal and cultural challenges posed by Corporate Wellness Programs: Employers really should be careful that initiatives respect protected classes and the privacy of staff members. Additionally, companies must battle resistance from staff members wary of their business regulating off-the-clock actions.

Over the next 6-12 posts we’ll layout the case for Company Health Promotion Programs in today’s employment environment, arguing that the cost savings and increased employee engagement outweigh potential restrictions. We will analyze the considerations a employer must make before implementing a Company Health Promotion Program and the communication necessary to create successful engagement from employees. Finally, we will discuss several successful Company Health Promotion Programs and supply a list of resources that businesses can use for guidance.

During the past several years healthcare insurance premiums have risen at a steady pace. This is taking a toll on the bottom-line of organizations, cutting into profits, limiting growth and forcing a reevaluation of a once sacred employee benefit system. According to a projection by McKinsey & Co., at the present rate, by 2008 health benefits will eclipse profits at the average Fortune 500 business.

Companies, through private medical insurance corporations, are the leading provider of medical services in the U.S.. In 2004, 59.8% of American citizens were covered by a employer-based medical insurance program, accounting for 88% of all private medical insurance. Yet the growing costs of Health Care, ever-increasing drug prices and a steady rise in chronic illnesses have brought the corporate society to a breaking point.

For many companies the growing burden has become too difficult to bear. Over the past five years health care insurance premiums have increased an average of 11.6% each year, more than four times the average rate of inflation and employee earnings over that time.3 Not surprisingly, this growth in costs has caused the number of companies offering Health Care services during that time to drop from 69% to 60%.4 In addition, in 2005,  health care insurance premiums jumped 9.2%, more than three times the rate of inflation – and that was the lowest increase in the past five years.

In this environment corporations need to discover innovative ways to mitigate the rising costs of Healthcare coverage. Seemingly, the easiest strategies to accomplish this goal would be to lower benefits coverage or pass on agrowing burden to staff members and retirees. More than 80% of corporations have chosen one or both of these options in the past few years and almost half of all large corporations are likely to increase the amount staff members pay in 2007.5

Nonetheless, these approaches do nothing to address the fundamental causes of rising costs, one of which is a population that requires increased medical care. To make a long-term and substantial influence on costs and central health, corporations need to look beyond a antiquated reactive-based approach.

Structuring corporation fitness and Company Health Promotion Programs is not about establishing a grand scheme that is so complicated it is underutilized.

Company Wellness Programs are about creating an environment that encourages fitness and active living. The program must be accessible and make sense to the people it is directed at throughout the day.

The outcomes will be a plan that offers plenty of opportunity for exercise, teaches proper nutrition and stays current on health problems beneficial to the staff members.

The outcomes will be a plan that provides plenty of opportunity for exercise, teaches proper nutrition and stays current on health topics constructive to the workers.

Designing Business Fitness Programs and Workplace Health Promotion Programs – Making a Proposition

Coordinating corporation fitness and Workplace Health Promotion Programs means understanding there are many directions the program can take. For starters, it must be of interest to staff members at all echelons.

The company’s proposal to the employee is this: you take better care of yourselves and we will help you accomplish your intention. To be effective, the Workplace Health Promotion Program must be pervasive.

In other words, it must address the needs of the top executives as well as the warehouse staff members. The variety of jobs within a corporation usually indicate wide differences in stress and strain levels on the body and differences in mental and emotional stress.

The program must also take into account employee habits at work and at home. A organization with a organization fitness and Employee Health Promotion Program in place sends the message to its workers and customers is that the organization takes health seriously.

Designing corporation fitness and Worksite Health Promotion Programs involves determining the types of activities that will be most effective for the circumstance.

Every business will need a different plan. A business fitness plan can cover a lot more than just an exercise program and dietary planning.

It can provide real opportunity to enhance the entire company environment. A Worksite Health Promotion Program can cover the following:
• Health intervention for existing health problems
• Recreational programs that engage staff members and their families
• Ergonomics to reduce work strain and resulting injuries
• Specialized programs that target workers with physical conditions interfering with job execution
• Approaching health and fitness concerns related to an aging work force
• Establishing exercise programs specifically designed to broaden employee work-specific strength

The benefits of carefully planning company fitness and Employee Wellness Programs are obvious. Staff Members get access to the physical activity program either worksite or through company membership at the fitness center.

Structuring employer fitness and Workplace Wellness Programs means including those components important to great health.
• Meal coordinating and wholesome food choices
• Classes instructing on the food pyramid and how the body processes nutrients
• Instruction on working out safely
• Weight loss and weight management

The rewards for the organization are endless.
• Savings on Medical Care costs
• Fewer employee sick days
• Employees with a sense of health fitness
• Reduceincidences of chronic illnesses
• Attracts new workers dedicated to fitness

Coordinating Employer Fitness Programs and Corporate Health Promotion Programs – Closing the Deal

Implementing and structuring employer fitness and Worksite Wellness Programs nets big benefits for employees and the employer.
workers are happier, feel better, are more satisfied with their work, are healthier and have more vitality.
Stress is decreased which positively impacts the attitudes of staff members, decreases injuries and makes staff members more constructive.
Closing the deal on a physical activity program means the corporation and employees sign on the dotted line of health. Don’t let Medical Care care costs continue to rise. Begin now structuring corporation fitness and Employee Wellness Programs.

Workplace Wellness Program proposals must be designed so that they meet employer mission.

Workplace Wellness Programs for employees are the newest attack on employee unhealthy lifestyles that are equating to exorbitant medical care expenses.

Company Health Promotion Program Proposals for implementing a program must take into consideration the type of organization, the budget and the makeup of the employee population.

Employee Wellness Programs for office employee will be different than programs for construction employees

The objective will be same, but the approach to reaching those objective will be different. For a program to be considered successful, results must be measurable.

• employees achieve better central conditioning
• Healthcare claims decline
• Productivity rises
• staff members experience reduced sick days
• Number of injuries declines
• Physical ailments like high Blood Pressure (BP) are lowerd
In general, Company Health Promotion Program proposals must target the fitness problems at the corporation and offer plans for change.

Company Wellness Program Proposals – Going the Distance

There are many different kinds of wellness proposals.

• One-one-one employee evaluations by a  professional health care provider
• Outside specialist assistance for program design and implementation only
• Ongoing program monitoring by a personal trainer
• In-house program design
• fitness center memberships
• Employee Wellness Programs
• Complete Workplace Wellness Programs including nutrition and fitness
• Programs that address a specific problem like injury at the worksite

These are just a few forms Workplace Health Promotion Program proposals can take. A Wellness program can be very basic or elaborate depending on the employer budget. A program can cover up to 4 components.

• Education on health problems
• Assessment programs with follow-up screening
• Employer culture of health change

• Fitness and diet programs – supervised and unsupervised programs can comprise of a myriad of health and fitness information and movements. The rewards for beginning a Corporate Wellness Program are unlimited.

Corporate Health Promotion Program proposals offer a way for management to invest in their staff members with a promise of returns in the form of productivity and cost savings.

Wellness Proposals – Healthy Alternatives

Company Wellness Program proposals provide employees alternatives to specific health problems. Proposals can address particular topics in addition to overriding fitness.

These concerns include quitting smoking, growing flexibility for job performance, preventing back injuries, preventing repetitive motion strain, improving loss of functionality due to age and prenatal programs.

Employee Wellness Program proposals should have intention that cover improving employee morale, growing productivity, reducing absenteeism, growing employee vitality and netting Healthcare savings to the business.

Corporate Health Promotion Program costs can significantly vary and many include cost sharing between the employee and the organization to cover health club fees. The bottom line is that a organization can design a Corporate Health Promotion Program proposal that suits the organization budget, employee lifestyles, and employee and organization mission.

In any of the Worksite Health Promotion Program proposals, healthy alternatives to current business concerns must be spelled out. Employee health is a top priority for any business that cares about its success.

Research online the different Workplace Wellness Program proposals that are available for corporations. Then select the one that works as if your employees’ lives depended on it, because that very well may be the case.

Worksite Wellness Programs has become a vital component of employers. It has become apparent in a service oriented economy that staff members are living more sedentary lives than ever before.

As a result, a myriad of health care ailments plague the labor force costing the employee quality of life, while the company faces more Health Care costs.

It is a circumstance in which no one wins. Waiting until the problem occurs is self-defeating for both the corporation and the employee. Workplace Wellness Programs only makes good sense by addressing the topic before it happens.

Workplace Health Promotion Program – Cease and Desist Order

Workplace Wellness Programs are like cease and desist orders. These particular orders are instructions on why workers ought to cease living unhealthy lives and desist from eating junk food.

Let’s face it – employee frequently eat unhealthy food throughout the day. Office staff members, line staff members, sales associates, and executives – they all fall prey to the temptations of donuts, vending machines food, office party snacks and so on.

The bad habits continue at home. Food that is bad for your health is staples in an abundance of diets. These foods include too much white bread, cakes, alcohol, fast food picked up on the way home and unhealthy snacks like buttered popcorn and sugar rich soda drinks.

Poor diet and little or no exercise outcomes in genuine chronic ailments eventually including heart disease and strokes.

Waiting until the problems occur is expensive. Rising health care costs are taking a somber monetary toll on businesses. Every dime that is invested on illness recovery could have been invested on a corporation preventive health and Worksite Health Promotion Program.

Prevention means establishing conditions such that illness and injury are minimized through diet and exercise and an awareness of what is a good fitness plan.

• staff members are screened for potential for serious chronic diseases such as diabetes
• staff members are taught the value of great diet and how to develop a dietary plan
• Individual job stress levels are judged
• Physical Activity Programs are made easily accessible to encourage participation
• Frequent seminars are helpful on relevant topics of health and Workplace Wellness Programs
• Employer offers incentive programs to maximize participation

A lot employees do not be aware of the long-term consequences of living a life with little or no exercise. Corporate Health Promotion Programs bring the information to the employees so they can make informed decisions.

The decline in sick days, less injuries and lower stress expands production and reduces costs.

Workplace Wellness Program – Resuming New Health

Company Wellness Programs can be elaborate menus of choices or simple plans that show staff members how to improve their quality of life.

The programs can cover all the problems that confront staff members during their work day also. These kinds of topics include preventing injury, fitting exercise into a full schedule, making healthy fast food choices or decreasing work related stress.

No matter what form the company preventive health and physical activity program takes the benefits will be rapidly incurred. It only takes a couple of weeks for workers to begin to feel the outcomes of a more active life.

A fitness program instructs on food and provides the opportunity for exercises that tone, strengthen and enhance flexibility.

Worksite Health Promotion Programs only make sense. It produces a employer culture that speaks volumes about the importance of a active lifestyle.

Once staff members stop their old sedentary habits, they are left with the option of resuming new active attitudes and practices.

Company Wellness Programs are here to stay.

Corporation health and fitness are not just words to be spouted so people think the corporation cares about its workers. Health and fitness are valuable concepts that are just as vital to a corporation as finance and sales.

That’s because the health of its employees is one of the big determinants of the health of the employer. Business employees labor long and hard hours and occasionally the price they pay becomes an unhealthy lifestyle.

A caring company does not want its employees to be troubled with a myriad of somber health concerns. A Workplace Wellness Program is a merger of an employees desire to fit exercise into a full schedule and a company’s desire for a active work force.

It’s a takeover of poor health affecting employer manufacturing.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs – Benefits

Bearer bonds are owned by whoever has them in hand. Their value to the person who carries them is realized by ownership. Health operates under the same concept.

An employee and the company must take ownership of the Corporate Health Promotion Program concept. A company has many options as to how it begins a health and Corporate Health Promotion Programs.

• A consultant corporation writes a corporation specific fitness plan
• A Corporate Health Promotion Program consultant and the corporation jointly create a fitness plan
• An internet based fitness consultant can be utilized
• A personal trainer at a fitness center develops a organization program
• Employer can create its own plan without assistance from outside professionals.

A Company Health Promotion Program may center around a program at a fitness center. It can also be based at the worksite itself, making it easily accessible to employees.

Utilizing a professional provides means the organization gets knowledge based assistance in evaluating staff members. Each employee gets an evaluation of basic health status. Customized fitness plans are instituted and progress is monitored.

A qualified professional can be available at the health center, or visit workplace as schedules. Some companies hire a fitness professional to labor directly with workers on an ongoing basis at the workplace. Other companies pay for the services of a trainer at the nearest health center.

The employer health and Company Wellness Programs vary. A employer may institute a fitness plan that includes employees and their families by paying for family membership at the fitness center.

The rewards of this plan is that the whole family can use the gym, which encourages participation. Many  companies pay for the entire cost of the Workplace Health Promotion Program at a gym.

Some employers pay a portion while the employee must pay the difference. Others only pay part and the employee pays the balance. Some employer fitness plans are multi-layered and offer a wide range of exercise classes and seminars on diet.

There are group exercises and daily tips for bettering health. Some plans are very simple in that most of the internal Corporate Health Promotion Program is mostly information. All exercise is done outside the company at the health club.

It doesn’t matter what form the plan takes. The point is that a Company Wellness Program is significant for the success of the organization and the health of the staff members. Taking care of its most significant assets, the staff members, only makes sense.

Worksite Health Promotion Programs – Like Stock Options?

Companies offer stock options, whereby workers can buy stock in the company. It is another form of ownership. Workers have many options when it comes to fitness.

Their health needs, genetics, work environment and current physical condition all play into the structure of the Worksite Wellness Program. It is up to the company to offer a program that involves all staff members so that maximum rewards are realized on both sides.

In other words, staff members have plenty of options and the employer realizes real dollar savings through a healthier workforce.