Health Wellness ProgramHealth and Wellness Programs and Wellness Program Consulting

1. Undertake a utilization assessment – While corporations can’t get medical information on individual staff members, 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 use. This information is essential for a corporation to set a benchmark of its current health risk status. Data from human resources(HR) can be integrated with benefits information to support a complete picture of employees’ health-related costs. Then, corporations can determine the specific level of behavior transformation necessary to result in cost savings. The utilization assessment helps a corporation identify the areas in which it ought to focus its Workplace Wellness Program to reap the greatest benefits.

2. Build a business 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 transformation 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 Worksite Health Promotion Programs as well as the necessary internal marketing efforts that will surround the program. Says Betty-Jo Saenz, American 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 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 group – Corporations 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 workers so that it can credibly address any specific needs groups may have. This group will serve as the voice and face for the Company 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 guide, the wellness group should evaluate what programs would be most effective within each particular corporate culture, aligning health-risk priorities with initiatives that workers will be receptive to.

4. Build buy-in from management – The most effective Company 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 Company Health Promotion Programs are a priority for a company. The utilization analysis can be a powerful tool to build the company case for Company 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 complete Employee Program Engagement plan – The most brilliantly conceived Employee Health Promotion Program is meaningless if no workers participate. Effective wellness communications 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 Medical Care problems other than cost. In addition, wellness-related information should be a part of existing employer communications efforts and not coupled solely with benefits communications. This helps elevate the significance of Employee Health Promotion Programs and align initiatives with employer objectives.

Moreover, discussions around Worksite Wellness Programs can share personal success stories and support company progress updates. Successful organizations 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 permits for the sharing of best practices within the company.

Many businesses engage medical experts to advise in the construction, communication and support of the program. The use of outside authorities such as these will increase the credibility of the Company Wellness Programs as well as combat skepticism from employees who may view the organization’s motives as merely selfserving.

Another strategy available to corporations 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 corporations 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, Workplace Health Promotion Programs within corporations. This establishes more immediate accountability and motivation.

6. Measure constantly and consistently – At every step of implementation, a Employee Health Promotion Program must be able to verify its value to a business. Employee Health Promotion Programs ought to be designed to allow businesses to set benchmarks and evaluate behavior change. Assessment ought to consider not only quantitative health measures, but also qualitative measures of stress and employee engagement. Less than ten percent of businesses do extensive management of healthcare cost, employee health risk status or employee satisfaction with benefit offerings, and less than half of businesses do any measurement 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
• Decrease of risk status
• Lowering of direct health costs
• Diminished absenteeism
• Reduced disability claims

Motorola’s Saenz advises administrators of Worksite Wellness 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 staff members. 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. Businesses must administer 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 work rate among staff members. Effective Worksite Health Promotion Programs are designed to be fl exible so they can respond to changes in both corporation objectives and goals and larger health variations.