Posts from — June 2009

A key to a successful Workplace Wellness Program requires management responsibility and employee involvement.

Workplace Wellness Program Step 2: Create a Workplace Wellness Program Committee

An active Company Health Promotion Program Committee ensures employee involvement, supplies buy-in, management support, and maintains a crew that is ready to take action to launch wellness programs.

Corporate Health Promotion Program Step 3: Gather Data to Determine Key Needs and Expectations

The next vital component is to base the Workplace Wellness Program on the needs and interests of your company and its staff members.

Corporate Health Promotion Program Step 4: Set Goals and Objectives

Goals and objectives constitute the road maps to guide you where your program needs to go.   These make up the foundation for planning and evaluating activities to see to it that your wellness program is going to meet your unique needs.

Employee Wellness Program Step 5: Develop a Detailed Action Plan

There is no such thing as too much planning!  The best of intentions can get lost, overstepped, or forgotten in the absence ofadequate planning, and then it would be all for naught.

Employee Health Promotion Program Step 6: Select and Begin a Plan

Now that you have the needs assessment information, a Company Wellness Program Committee, goals/objectives it’s now time to implement your plan!

Employee Health Promotion Program Step 7: Oversee and Review Your Employee Health Promotion Program

Assessment is a critical step to keep a program on target, as well as to ensure that the program is reaching its goals/objectives or achieving the desired results.

In Summary

These Seven Steps outline considerations for a all-inclusive approach to designing and launching an effective wellness program.  Can you implement components of wellness activities without following these steps?  Certainly, but you may not have the sustainability or ability to bring about desired outcomes.  Following the Seven Steps need not be confusing or burdensome.  A very simple approach can achieve a successful wellness program!

Therefore, to ensure a successful wellness program remember the key components as you plan your program or better your current program:

• Senior Management Support & Employee Involvement
• Active Employee Wellness Program Committee
• Worksite Health Promotion Program is Based on Employee Needs & Interests
• Employee Health Promotion Program Goals and Objectives are Determined
• Detailed Worksite Wellness Program Action Plan Based upon Resources & Budget
• Workplace Wellness Program Implementation & Internal Marketing
• Evaluation of Workplace Health Promotion Program Outcomes

The program design options depend on the objectives and goals and desired outcomes of your program.  If your objective is to help employees make a change behavior, lower risk factors, or save healthcare dollars then your wellness program would be designed to accomplish those outcomes and a budget would be essential to support that design.  

Wellness program design options vary, depending on desired outcomes and budgets.  Each level has advantages and disadvantages.  The intentions or results are quite different, are not interchangeable in terms of obtaining the same results, and therefore ought not be confused.  By way of example, planning activities such as an employee health fair or lunchtime education sessions, or having pamphlets available do not usually result in behavior modification, but may increase awareness on a topic.  If the objective is behavior modification then a different design is required, such as Lifestyle/Behavior Change Programs and Business Support.  The outline below outlines the wellness design levels with a brief explanation.

Awareness Programs:  At this level a corporation makes health information available and accessible to staff members.  This type of program can include pamphlets on a variety of topics, wellness articles in newsletters, bulletin board displays, e-mail health messages, etc.   Also, most health fairs are designed as awareness programs with vendors offering information and offering wellness screenings to staff members.  

Awareness programs are inexpensive and do not require extensive employee or organization time commitments.  Nonetheless, these programs do not usually yield behavior change.  Growing awareness isn’t usually enough to generate lifestyle changes for most American citizens, unless used to encourage staff members to register for a program being available at the organization or community on the topic.  An example of this would be offering information on the dangerous effects of smoking and inviting staff members who use tobacco to register for a smoking cessation class.

Education Programs:  Educational programs often offer more information on a topic and can also provide time for questions & answers, but are similar to awareness programs.  An example is lunch-n-learn sessions on a health related topic.  These cost the corporation a little more than awareness programs; however, they remain inexpensive and do not require a whole lot of time for planning or attending a session.  Again, building awareness and offering information may not yield the desired behavior change unless ongoing reinforcement or incentives/rewards are also planned.

Lifestyle/Behavior Change Programs:  These programs are designed as 4 to 12 weekly sessions or classes to offer health and wellbeing education, address barriers and offer opportunities to practice the desired skills.  Behavior change programs therefore require more company resources, cost more, and also require more employee responsibility, time and effort.  The results are frequently the desired positive lifestyle change, which if sustained may lead to potential cost savings.  

Examples are tobacco cessation classes, weight loss and weight management meetings, or an ongoing exercise program.

Environmental and Business Support:  Environmental support is often considered the highest and most important level to include when starting your wellness program in order to support and maintain healthy lifestyles.  These types of design options include policy changes such as:

• Creating a tobacco-free workplace
• Designating a walking path,
• Creating worksite fitness centers,
• Ensuring healthy vending machines selections,
• Offering healthy food choices in the cafeteria, and/or
• Organizing flex-time policies.  

Other examples include subsidizing healthy snack machines or cafeteria choices; reimbursing gym or weight loss and weight management program memberships; or offering insurance incentives/rewards for healthy lifestyles.

Ideally, the wellness program design would include some of all of these options.  The more comprehensive the approach, the more efficacious the results will be.  For example, a business can have smoking cessation information available; can schedule a one hour awareness session on the harmful effects of smoking and how to quit; can enable an onsite tobacco cessation program, supply self quit smoking kits, or support workers to go to a neighborhood program; and/or on an environmental reinforcement level can establish a tobacco-free workplace and grounds, offer lower health care insurance for non-smokers, or support pharmacological quit smoking aids for free.

Employee Health Promotion Program: Components for Success

There are several critical elements that must be considered to ensure the success of your Employee Wellness Program or Employee Wellness Program.  These include:  

• Upper Management Reinforcement & Employee Involvement
• Active Workplace Wellness Program Committee
• Program is Based on Employee Needs & Interests
• Goals and Objectives are Determined
• Detailed Action Plan Based upon Resources & Budget
• Program Implementation & Internal Marketing
• Assessment of Outcomes and Program

Major benefits of healthy workers include:

• Decreased Medical Care expenditures
• Lowered Injuries
• Diminished Absenteeism
• Boosted Morale and Loyalty
• Higher Productivity
• Reduced Use of Medical Care Benefits
• Lowered Workers’ Comp/Disability
• Positive Image in Community
• Diminished Turnover
• Better recruitment for skilled employee

What is NOT Having a Employee Wellness Program Costing Your Company?  

Consider the health risk factors that are contributing to chronic diseases for adults:

• 59 percent of American adults are overweight or obese
• Greater than 60% of American citizens do not exercise regularly
• More than 75% of American citizens do not get the minimum recommendations for fruits and vegetables
• Cardiovascular disease is the leading common cause of death and the primary cause of death in smokers
• 26 percent of staff members reported they were often or very often burned out or stressed by their job  

Medical Care expenditures are Growing:  Medical Care costs are at a record high of $1.7 trillion with no signs of holding steady, let alone going down.  The average expense of yearly healthcare spending is over $5,000 per person and including dependents almost $10,000.  Recent data shows that healthcare related expenditures now cost North Carolina companies thousands of dollars per employee, each year.

Most Illnesses Can Be Prevented:  Although it sounds unrealistic, experts indicate that preventable illness makes up 60% – 70% of the entire burden of illness in the U.S..   In North Carolina, it is estimated that more than 53% of all deaths are preventable, and that 2/3 of all preventable deaths are due to tobacco use, physical inactivity, and poor diet.

Stress Levels are On the Rise:  As business resources become less and companies adopt less-costly work practices, the effects of absenteeism and lost productivity have a greater impact.  In a current nationwide poll, 78 percent of Americans described their jobs as stressful, and the majority believe that stress levels have become worse over The previous decade.  Furthermore, high levels of business stress have the potential to adversely affect a business by increasing injuries, absenteeism, and health care expenditures while decreasing productivity.  Simple solutions such as stress management education, flexible work schedules, quality social interaction, and increased participation in business decision-making have the potential to improve stress levels in the workplace.

What is the Upfront Cost and Time Investment for a Worksite Health Promotion Program?

The expenditure is dependent upon the type of Worksite Wellness Program implemented.  There are several options to encourage employee health with pros and cons of each.  The program design is dependent upon the goals/objectives of the wellness program, the corporation resources, and the community resources available.  

Improving nutrition, increasing physical exercise levels, managing stress or addressing work life balance concerns, and decreasing/eliminating tobacco use, are primary strategies for preventing many of the most common preventable chronic diseases. The possibilities of how your organization deals with these concerns are endless and can range from increasing employee awareness, which may include purchasing a few pamphlets on a variety of topics, and calculating walking distances around your facility, to adopting organization support such as funding a full-time occupational health consultant or building an workplace fitness center.  

When well-planned and based on your goals and objectives, any of these programs have the potential to help you succeed.  Refer below to Workplace Health Promotion Program Design Options for additional ideas.

A Worksite Wellness Program is an organized program to assist and support workers in adopting healthier lifestyles.  This might possibly include increasing employee awareness on health issues, scheduling behavior change programs, and/or adopting employer policies that support health-related objectives.  Programs and policies that promote increased physical activity, tobacco use prevention and cessation, and healthy food selections are a few examples.  

Dimensions of Wellness

Wellness is much more than fitness alone.  In addition to physical fitness, the ranges of ideal health include:

   • Spiritual Wellness,
   • Emotional Dimension of Wellness,
   • Social Dimension of Wellness,
   • Intellectual Dimension of Wellness

These ranges are often portrayed as a “life wheel” with examples of health dimensions that include fitness, nutrition, purpose in life, monetary health, social connections & support systems, stress management, mind-body health, career planning and ongoing learning.   The key to personal health is keeping the “life wheel” in balance.  A accross the board workplace wellness program addresses most, if not all, of these ranges.

Why Employee Wellness Programs?

workers invest a whole lot of time working, and the bottom line is that our traditional work-week is increasing.  In fact, the typical American now works about 47 hours every week.  In addition, innovations such as modems, laptops, cell phones, voice and email have blurred the line between life and work.  These realities diminish the amount of time that the average person is able to spend on health and wellness pursuits, and yet workers are predicted to be extremely efficient when at work.

A current study by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses found that workplace wellness or Company Wellness Programs are successful in helping workers to make beneficial health changes due to several factors such as convenience, environmental support, and co-worker or social acceptance.  

What’s the Association between Wellness and the Workplace?

Programs and policies that encourage healthy behaviors are able to make a large difference on employee wellness AND impact the business’s bottom line.  Studies have shown that for each dollar invested by employers in Corporate Health Promotion Programs/wellness programs, there were savings between $1.49 to $4.91 with a median savings of $3.14*.  In business vocabulary, that’s more than a 3:1 minimum return on investment – a number that is tough to overlook, and a best practice that must draw serious consideration from employers.  In fact, a Corporate Health Promotion Program literature review posted in Health Promotion Practitioner Journal observed:

   • 19 studies found a 28.3 percent decrease in sick leave
   • 16 studies established a 5.6:1 return on investment
   • 23 showed a 26.1% reduction in health care costs
   • 4 observed a 30% reduction in direct health care and workers’ compensation claims

There is little doubt that a comprehensive wellness program targeted to meet a corporation’s specific needs can save money by reducing absenteeism, reducing healthcare expenditures, reducing employee turnover, and increasing work rate.

• The United States Department of Health & Human Services, 2003

Following cost, poor employee program engagement and inadequate discussions and backing are listed as the greatest challenges for corporations administering any health benefi t program.22

By law, companies are required to explain any benefits or explicit conditions of employment to all staff members – this is called “due process,” and it usually takes the form of a packet of information that new staff members are asked to review and sign during orientation or, in the case of existing staff members, a brief communication during open enrollment periods.

Corporations that only participate in the minimally needed due process communication of a Company Wellness Program, however, do a disservice to the program and the company.

Opinions about Medical Care in employers represent one of the largest divides between management and employees. In discussing the need for savings, most employers (70 percent) believe their corporation effectively communicates about increasing Medical Care costs, while only 34 percent of employees feel increasing Medical Care costs effect their business’ ability to succeed.23 When it comes to conduct, 74 percent of employers believe their employees ought to be held largely accountable for improving, managing and maintaining health, yet only 4 percent of employers think that employees engage in these activities.

Under the proposed rules, the four requirements to be a bona fide Workplace Wellness Program are:

- The total reward that may be given to an individual is limited. The departments invited comments on the appropriate level of the reward, suggesting that a limit of ten percent to 20 percent of the total expense of employee-only coverage may be appropriate.
- The program must be reasonably designed to promote good health or prevent disease for people in the program.
- The reward must be available to all similarly situated people. More specifically, the program must allow any individual for whom it is unreasonably diffi cult due to a medical condition to meet the Corporate Health Promotion Program standard (or for whom it is medically inadvisable to attempt to meet the Corporate Health Promotion Program standard) an opportunity to satisfy a reasonable alternative standard.
- All plan materials describing the terms of the program must disclose the availability of a reasonable alternative standard.
Source: United States Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration

As Northwestern Memorial’s Kathryn Krivy says, “The most fundamental failure in any Employee Wellness Program is not communicating. You need to tell people what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. You have to get employees engaged and educate them of what’s going on.”

A properly createed Worksite Health Promotion Program is designed to save a company more money with improved participation. However, a company must match its focus on program design with an equally strategic investment in efforts to participate workers in the initiatives.

Lay out your case – Despite widespread recognition of increasing Medical Care costs, workers remain skeptical that the concern impacts company operations. In fact, only 53% of workers even believe what their company communicates about the subject.24 Companies need to be more candid and forthcoming about the amount they spend on Medical Care and how that relates to larger budgetary constraints and potential investments.

Says Motorola’s Saenz: “We share with staff members that we have been able to maintain Motorola’s Healthcare spend trend below national average over the past decade due to their participation in our various Workplace Wellness Programs. This transparency is necessary to keep reminding people the reasons for our behaviors.”

An effective strategy is to focus on the cost savings and overall health benefi ts to the employee and not the corporation. By personalizing the information in this way, it produces a win-win scenario instead of presenting the program as a sacrifi ce on the part of the employee. Information ought to be presented through multiple channels, constructed in a way that makes sense to all levels of workers, and provided to workers, dependents and retirees.

Make it your own – Every Company Health Promotion Program will be different, and should reflect the culture of a employer. While program areas will be determined by analyzing employee health risks, the actual offerings should be shaped by the nature of the employer. Younger, more active employee communities may be attracted by different programs than an older or technicaloriented employee. Additionally, a global employer with mobile workers will have different needs than a employer with one central location.

As noted earlier regarding PepsiCo’s HealthRoads, one strategy is for companies to brand their Corporate Wellness Programs. Union Pacifi c Railroad (HealthTracks), General Motors (LifeSteps) and Caterpillar (Healthy Balance) all adopted this approach to help create recognition and a larger meaning around their efforts. Having a branded program helps employees and other stakeholders see the larger goals and objectives of the Corporate Wellness Program, rather than focusing on isolated offerings.

Say it loud, say it proud – As a potential cost-saving plan, Employee Health Promotion Programs must be given the same executive backing and internal commitment as any comparable company effort. Corporations must not approach wellness as simply a preventive, financially-motivated program, but rather as an opportunity for the company to distinguish itself and become more competitive.

Jeffrey Treem, analyst, Edelman Change and Employee Program Engagement Group, says that effective communication about Worksite Wellness Programs should be integrated into existing business communication channels and vehicles. “This includes executive communication to external stakeholders,” he notes, “because this sends a powerful message back to staff members about the importance of the programs. Worksite Wellness Programs should not be treated as merely an additional employee perk, but rather a progressive and strategic effort to reduce costs and create a healthier work environment.” Talk among yourselves – The most powerful champions of any Worksite Wellness Program will be the participants.

Employers must discover ways to facilitate discussions about the program among workers. This could take the form of support groups, interactive media and the sharing of success stories.

However, since Employee Wellness Programs touch on potentially private health problems, it is important communication remains positive and inclusive, while not pressuring employees. Discussion of wellness problems should be voluntary, though businesses may consider providing incentives and rewards for those willing to contribute. Motivation and information from peers is likely to carry more credibility and significance than messages from management.

———-

Even in an at-will employment environment, individuals are still guarded from discrimination (including wrongful termination) by virtue of belonging to a protected class. Prior to beginning a Workplace Wellness Program, employers need to be cognizant of the relevant legal restrictions and the potential impacts these measures can have on benefi ts and employee behavior programs.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – Prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

This means that standards and offerings need to be applied equally (or possibly proportionally) to all protected classes. In other words, if a corporation is offering access to health clubs, it must make sure that men and women have equal access to facilities. Businesses must also consider whether individuals who may live in areas heavily populated by one race, religion or ethnicity also have access to facilities and programs. The easiest way to address this concern is to supply onsite Employee Health Promotion Programs whenever possible. This not only ensures equal access, but according to Northwestern Memorial’s Krivy, also expands participation.

Businesses must also be aware that particular health topics may disproportionately affect protected classes. Health Risk Assessments and any incentives and rewards put in place may have to be customized to account for non-lifestyle related differences.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) – Protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination. Benefits, incentives/rewards and programs need to be applied equally to men and women. A company cannot set a weight goal for men and not for women, even though a company can set health parameters by job function. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) – Protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from discrimination based on age.

Policies not only need to be available to people of all ages, but program objectives, restrictions and incentives need to be designed with age appropriateness. While older employees (or retirees and dependents) may inherently pose a higher health risk, their behaviors must be assessed in terms of demographically appropriate measures.

Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) – Prohibits employment discrimination against qualified people with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments. Similar to other workplace offerings, any Workplace Health Promotion Programs, such as a fitness center or health clinic, would have to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities.

One area of ambiguity is whether corpulent employees qualify as disabled. The concern is complicated because weight is caused by several factors (genetics, environment, behavior), some of which may be out of the employee’s control. Generally, for employees to qualify for disability based on weight, the condition must signifi cantly impair their physical or mental ability to perform their job. This determination would need to be made by a qualifi ed physician. Although this label may affect the types of incentives and program requirements provided, it likely would not affect the overriding implementation of behavioral-focused initiatives.

Civil Rights Act of 1991 – Provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.

This legislation permits individuals to sue employers for improper treatment. Compensation can be in the form of actual damages such as lost or expected wages, compensatory damages for a circumstance that causes public embarrassment, or even punitive damages meant to send a message to a employer for egregious or habitual violations.

While these laws govern all organization activities, there are even more stringent restrictions with regard to Medical Care problems. Most policies, communications and data collection regarding employee health are governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Under HIPAA businesses can’t deny eligibility for benefits or charge a higher premium on the basis of:

• Health status
• Medical condition (including both physical and mental illnesses)
• Claims experience
• Receipt of health care
• Health history
• Genetic information
• Evidence of insurability (includes activities such as riding a motorcycle, skiing, snowmobiling and other similar pursuits)
• Disability

Nonetheless, because wellness programs may not incorporate medical treatment or be insurance related, and may instead be confined to behavioral initiatives, HIPAA’s nondiscrimination provisions do not completely apply. To address this, in 2001 the American Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service and the American Department of Health and Human Services jointly issued a proposed regulation to help clarify the lawful provisions of a “bona fi de Wellness Program” in the context of HIPAA’s existing language (See Box p. 14). Although the regulation is not yet final, companies that comply with the measure will be viewed by the government as making a good-faith effort to avoid discrimination in wellness programs.

Comprehensive Corporate Wellness Programs are still relatively new to corporate America and the legal implications of implementation and enforcement are not completely known. By their very nature, these programs potentially expose companies to discrimination lawsuits, disengaged employees and detrimental public relations. Nonetheless, companies that make a good-faith effort to comply with current Healthcare-related laws, discover ways to engage employees, and communicate strategically, will be able to minimize these risks while finding plenty of room to develop a creative and effective Corporate Wellness Program.

For many corporations, a smoking ban would not even apply to all staff members. That is because currently 30 states and the District of Columbia prevent corporations from banning off-duty smoking.21 In Addition, 13 states prevent corporations from banning alcohol use away from work. Only six states have broad statutes that prevent corporations from prohibiting any lawful behavior. Michigan is the only state that expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of weight, however the cities of San Francisco and Santa Cruz, Calif., also have this provision (San Francisco makes exceptions for police offi cers, fi refi ghters and the San Francisco 49ers football team). When designing Workplace Health Promotion Programs, corporations must keep in mind local statutes as well as established common law.

Savings of Voluntary Workplace Health Promotion Program = (number of participants x savings per participant) – (cost of program)
Savings of Incentive-based Workplace Health Promotion Program = (number of participants x savings per participant) – (expense of program + expense of incentives and rewards)
Savings of Mandatory Workplace Health Promotion Program = (number of participants x savings per participant) – (expense of program + expense of policy-related turnover + expense of limited talent pool)

Constructing Company Health Promotion Program policies in a company that employs unionized staff members can pose unique challenges. Company Health Promotion Programs may be perceived by some unions as a condition of employment and therefore would be subject to collective bargaining between the parties. Still this situation can represent an opportunity for both groups, as a policy agreed upon between union leadership and management is likely to be received more favorably by staff members. The United Auto Workers and General Motors worked together to create and position a joint Company Health Promotion Program which has successfully reached more than 800,000 participants. (See Case Studies, UAWGeneral Motors LifeSteps Company Health Promotion Program, p.21).

Unless specifically stated otherwise, most business-employee relationships in the United States are governed by the principle of at-will employment. Under this system a business, or the employee, can terminate the relationship without any needed showing of cause. This at-will standard gives private employers substantial power in governing the behavior of workers. In this environment, employers can Finding Wealth Through Wellness 10 creatively design Employee Wellness Programs based upon their specifi c corporate culture. Employee Wellness Programs generally take three main forms:

Voluntary Worksite Health Promotion Programs – The most popular form of employee Worksite Health Promotion Program, in most cases they are made available to staff members but participation (or lack thereof) is not linked to any type of consequence. Due to ineffective communication, often staff members are either unaware of these offerings or confuse them with insurance-based health care. Incentive-based – Worksite Health Promotion Programs based on incentives reward staff members for participation in Worksite Health Promotion Program activities. Incentives usually cover reduced Medical Care premiums, fitness center membership or personalized support offerings. In these programs, employees’ behavior can be linked to a particular reward.

Mandatory Company Health Promotion Programs – Some organizations require, or ban, certain health-related conduct. These can take the form of mandatory Health Risk Assessments for staff members and restrictions on smoking or alcohol use. While mandating behavior is an effective method to eliminate high-risk behavior, the cost savings must be measured against the potential message sent to existing and prospective staff members. Given that staff members are already under various levels of scrutiny in the workplace, individuals may resist attempts by organizations to regulate off-duty conduct. In Addition, some staff members may fi nd it diffi cult to comply, forcing organizations into the uncomfortable postion of punishing an otherwise constructive employee.

In the short-term a mandate-based Employee Wellness Program can lead to an increase in turnover, as staff members either choose to leave or are fi red for noncompliance. In the long-term, the policy may prevent the organization from hiring an otherwise qualifi ed applicant, or may serve as a deterrent for individuals thinking of the organization. Limits in recruiting, for instance, led CNN to rescind a 13-year ban on hiring smokers.18

Employers need to make sure that Corporate Wellness Programs are aligned with the values and culture that guide company operations. If a company emphasizes trust and individual responsibility, then a mandate-based program will likely cause more dissension than it would in a company that already heavily regulates company behaviors. Moreover, a work environment with a big disengaged population will likely have poor participation in a voluntarybased program. When calculating cost savings, businesses need to take a wider view and consider the effects on long-term employee program engagement.

In 2005, Michigan-based insurance benefits provider Weyco instituted a smoking ban for all of its nearly 200 staff members. Workers are subject to random testing and if they fail a mandatory breathalyzer test, they will be fi red. It is believed that Weyco is the first business to use testing to enforce a smoking ban – most employers ask staff members to self-report behavior. Four staff members (more than 2% of the total workforce) left Weyco as a result of the policy. A year prior to the ban the business implemented a $50 smoking fee, which would be waived if a employee passed a nicotine test or agreed to take a smokingcessation class. Weyco’s president Howard Weyers reported that 20 staff members quit smoking through this program.20 Workers were told they had one year before the total ban would go into effect. Under the new Workplace Wellness Program, Weyco does offer $35 a month for staff members who want to use a fi tness center and another $65 a month for staff members who meet fitness goals and objectives.

1. Undertake a utilization assessment – While companies can’t obtain health information on individual employees, 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 essential for a business 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, companies can determine the specific level of behavior transformation necessary to result in cost savings. The utilization assessment helps a business identify the areas in which it should focus its Employee Wellness Program to reap the greatest benefits.

2. Build a corporation case – Once a utilization assessment is in place, employers are able to quantify the Healthcare cost savings that will result from specific levels of lifestyle modification 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 cost of the Employee Wellness Programs as well as the necessary internal marketing efforts that will surround the program. Says Betty-Jo Saenz, U.S. Healthcare 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 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. Develop a cross-functional wellness group – Companies need to identify potential group participants who can be champions of wellness within the employer. It is significant 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 Workplace Health Promotion Program within the employer. Best practice companies integrate participants from human resources, communications, employer development and senior staff. Using the utilization analysis as a model, the wellness group ought to 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 Corporate Health Promotion Programs have backing from the highest levels of a business. Backing from management, both in words and in action, sends the message that Corporate Health Promotion Programs are a priority for a business. The utilization analysis can be a powerful tool to build the business case for Corporate Health Promotion Programs and convince executives that initiatives are worthy of investment and attention. Meaningful wellness-related messages are integrated into business discussions and aligned with corporate objectives.

5. Establish a complete Employee Program Engagement plan – The most brilliantly conceived Employee Health Promotion Program is meaningless if no employees 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 percent of employees say their business communicates about Healthcare 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 priority of Employee Health Promotion Programs and align initiatives with business objectives.

Moreover, communications around Workplace Health Promotion Programs can share personal success stories and provide corporation progress updates. Successful employers not only use existing communications 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 engage healthcare professionals 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 Workplace Wellness Programs as well as combat skepticism from workers who may view the business’s motives as merely selfserving.

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

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

Assessment is only useful if a corporation explicitly defines what data would constitute success. Potential measures of success include:

• Participation rates
• Greater employee program engagement
• Decrease of risk status
• Decrease of direct health costs
• Reduced absenteeism
• Reduced disability claims

Motorola’s Saenz advises administrators of Employee Health Promotion 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 measurement is the only way to build backing 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% of corporations do not know how effective existing Employee Health Promotion Programs are regarding various outcomes. Employers should administer utilization analyses annually and reevaluate Employee Health Promotion Program priorities based upon changes. In Addition, progress should be shared with the wider business community to build backing for initiatives. Managers and executives throughout a business are likely to backing a program that can prove increased productiveness among workers. Effective Employee Health Promotion Programs are designed to be fl exible so they can respond to changes in both business objectives and goals and larger health variations.

Corporate 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 workers searching for nontraditional work environments. Nonetheless, when the tech bubble burst, so too did the willingness to spend money on perceived perks, and companies returned to a more old-school benefit structure focused on managed medical care.

In recent years, as Health Care costs have spiraled out of control, businesses have explored the potential of Corporate Wellness Programs as a cost-saving strategy. Companies 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 Wellness Programs can help reduce the costs associated with:

Healthcare premiums – The expense a company pays for health care insurance: According to a 2005 study by Hewitt, the Healthcare expense per employee in the U.S. in 2006 will average $8,046, with corporations absorbing nearly two-thirds of that expense.

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%, making it nearly a decade straight of double-digit increases in cost.

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

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

Presenteeism – The price associated with workers 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 Corporate Wellness Programs can reduce both direct and indirect Healthcare costs. A 2004 review of Corporate Wellness Programs revealed that, in total, an investment of $1 by a business in Wellness Programming returned a median cost savings of $2.05 to $4.64.