Company Health and Wellness : How to Design a Company Health Promotion Program

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.