Employee Wellness Newsletter : How to Organize a Company Health Promotion Program

1. Undertake a utilization assessment – While corporations cannot get medical information on individual employees, insurance providers will supply corporations with reports that detail patterns and rates of employee use for things such as physician visits, hospital stays and drug use. This information is critical for a employer to set a benchmark of its current health risk status. Data from human resources can be integrated with benefits information to supply a complete picture of employees’ health-related costs. Then, corporations 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 Worksite Wellness Program to reap the greatest benefits.

2. Build a company case – Once a utilization assessment is in place, employers are able to quantify the Medical Care cost savings that will result from specific levels of lifestyle change and risk reduction. This can be done by setting 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 Workplace Health Promotion Programs as well as the necessary internal marketing efforts that will surround the program. Says Betty-Jo Saenz, American Medical Care Strategy lead for Motorola, “When we started our programs, our focus was on the 20 percent of staff members that made up 80 percent of the costs. We’ve addressed that, and now we’re paying attention to those who are healthy and Finding Wealth Through Wellness 8 keeping them healthy. Wherever you are on the continuum, there are opportunities.”

3. Develop a cross-functional wellness group – Corporations need to identify potential group participants who can be champions of wellness within the company. It is significant that the group is representative of the demographic and functional diversity of employees so that it can credibly address any specific needs groups may have. This group will serve as the voice and face for the Employee Health Promotion Program within the company. Best practice businesses integrate participants from human resources(HR), communications, company development and management. Using the utilization analysis as a guide, the wellness group ought to evaluate what programs would be most effective within each particular corporate culture, aligning health-risk priorities with initiatives that employees will be receptive to.

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

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

Additionally, discussions around Corporate Wellness Programs can share personal success stories and supply corporation progress updates. Successful organizations 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 authorizes for the sharing of best practices within the corporation.

Many businesses involve health care experts to advise in the construction, communication and support of the program. The use of outside authorities such as these will expand the credibility of the Worksite Health Promotion Programs as well as combat skepticism from staff members who may view the employer’s motives as merely selfserving.

Another strategy available to corporations is to brand their Workplace Wellness Program. This move can broaden the visibility and acceptance of the offering. Branded wellness programs are most common when corporations 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 take part in, Employee Health Promotion Programs within corporations. This produces more immediate accountability and motivation.

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

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

• Participation rates
• Better employee program engagement
• Decrease of risk status
• Lowering of direct health costs
• Diminished absenteeism
• Less disability claims

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