Employee Wellness Plans : How to Develop a Employee Health Promotion Program

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

2. Build a corporation case – Once a utilization assessment is in place, organizations are able to quantify the Health Care cost savings that will result from specific levels of lifestyle modification and risk reduction. This can be done by setting goals/objectives in terms of reductions in identifi able insurance utilization, attendance or disability variables, or by aiming for reductions in health risks and projecting the associated cost savings. Effective estimates factor in the cost of the Workplace Health Promotion Programs as well as the necessary internal marketing efforts that will surround the program. Says Betty-Jo Saenz, United States Health Care Strategy lead for Motorola, “When we started our programs, our focus was on the 20% of staff members that made up 80% of the costs. We’ve addressed that, and now we’re paying attention to those who are active and Finding Wealth Through Wellness 8 keeping them healthy. Wherever you are on the continuum, there are opportunities.”

3. Create a cross-functional wellness group – Businesses need to identify potential group members who can be champions of wellness within the business. It is valuable that the group is representative of the demographic and functional diversity of staff members so that it can credibly address any specific needs groups may have. This group will serve as the voice and face for the Company Wellness Program within the business. Best practice companies integrate members from human resources, communications, business development and senior staff. Using the utilization analysis as a template, the wellness group should evaluate what programs would be most effective within each particular corporate culture, aligning health-risk priorities with initiatives that staff members will be receptive to.

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

5. Organize a comprehensive Employee Engagement plan – The most brilliantly conceived Employee Wellness Program is meaningless if no workers participate. 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% of workers say their employer communicates about Health Care issues other than cost. In addition, wellness-related information should be a part of existing employer discussions efforts and not coupled solely with benefits discussions. This helps elevate the significance of Employee Wellness Programs and align initiatives with employer objectives.

Additionally, discussions around Company Wellness Programs can share personal success stories and provide company progress updates. Successful companies not only use existing discussion channels to generate discussion around activities, but also consider more interactive tools like message boards, forums, blogs and wikis. This helps personalize initiatives and allows for the sharing of best practices within the company.

Most organizations involve health care professionals to advise in the construction, communication and backing 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 staff members who may view the company’s motives as merely selfserving.

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

6. Measure constantly and consistently – At every step of implementation, a Worksite Wellness Program must be able to demonstrate its value to a employer. Worksite Wellness Programs must be designed to allow employers to set benchmarks and evaluate behavior change. Assessment ought to consider not only quantitative health measures, but also qualitative measures of stress and employee program engagement. Less than 10% of employers do extensive management of medical care cost, employee health risk status or employee satisfaction with benefit offerings, and less than half of employers do any assessment in these areas at all.16

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

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

Motorola’s Saenz advises administrators of Workplace 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 businesses feel a lack of useful data is a top barrier to their ability to manage employee health, and at least 20% of businesses don’t know how effective existing Company Wellness Programs are regarding various outcomes. Businesses ought to administer utilization analyses annually and reevaluate Company Wellness Program priorities based upon changes. In Addition, progress ought to be shared with the wider business community to build substructure for initiatives. Managers and executives throughout a organization are likely to substructure a program that can prove increased work rate among workers. Effective Company Wellness Programs are designed to be fl exible so they can respond to changes in both organization goals and larger health variations.