With health care costs on the rise, many companies are looking for affordable, scalable and innovative options for engaging their employees and keeping them healthy, happy and productive. Indeed, problems such as diabetes, carpal tunnel syndrome and high blood pressure due to physical inactivity—not to mention systemic problems such as absenteeism, workers’ compensation costs, voluntary attrition and low morale—are growing at an alarming rate which is putting undue pressure on today’s corporate health benefits budgets.
The numbers speak for themselves. Here in the U.S. a mere one in five adults meets the Centers for Disease Control guidelines for physical activity, and recent estimates by the World Health Organization indicate that the number of clinically obese adults has more than doubled since 1980, now extending to a third of the population. What’s more, the Brookings Institute estimates that close to 21 percent of all current medical spending in our country is related to obesity.
The average annual loss in productivity per worker due to sick days is $28,800 according to the Gallup Management Journal. Obese Americans spend approximately 36 percent more on health care costs and 77 percent more on medications than their healthy counterparts, according to the Brookings Institute.
A recent study conducted by the Harvard Wellness Program titled “Workplace Wellness Programs Can Generate Savings” found that medical costs fall by an estimated $3.27 for every dollar spent on workplace wellness programs and that absenteeism costs similarly fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent.
With all of these statistics in mind, a large number of corporations are now implementing robust workplace wellness initiatives. To be truly effective, such initiatives need a thoughtful and strategic framework tailored to employees’ specific needs and buttressed by proper execution and a plan for evaluation.
Building a healthy program: Put employees first
It is crucial that new employee wellness initiatives unite with a company’s culture, personnel and long-term goals. Productive programs consider employees’ needs first and offer creative solutions to help them meet those health goals. Remember also to take into account the bigger picture from the perspective of the employee—many plans offer fitness and wellness options for the entire family, including activities for children.
Indeed, the most successful corporate wellness programs offer something for everyone—from the business traveler looking to find a gym in a far-flung location, to the telecommuter looking for a nearby kick-boxing class, to the committed dieter looking for a nutritionist in his or her area, to the regular employee looking to increase his or her fitness level.
Making workplace wellness work
More important than just implementing such an initiative, however, is to properly see it through. Many companies can be quick to dive into the workplace wellness pool with large, sweeping programs that are doomed to failure due to a lack of planning, engaging communications, employee engrossment and/or long-term vision. This is where patience, planning and foresight in developing, implementing and managing a workplace wellness program can truly pay dividends.
Another common trend found in many successful workplace wellness programs is strategic partnerships within and outside the company. Outside wellness vendors and consultants allow both small and medium-sized organizations with limited internal bandwidth to leverage new resources and connections without the burden of enhancing their own wellness infrastructure.
Defining and measuring success
It’s also important to have a firm system of metrics in place before undertaking a wellness program. Without a way to properly gauge a program’s successes and failures, companies are relegated to a trial and error mindset that breeds inefficiencies and wastes time.
When setting up a corporate wellness program, some common metrics that can and should be utilized include: participation, depth of engagement and sustainability (which measures the number of employees who continue to engage in certain risk-reducing behaviors, even in the absence of guidance from a program).
Another trickier metric to analyze is overall employee satisfaction with a wellness initiative. It’s important to remember that you’re dealing with employees who have their own wants, needs and concerns throughout every step of the process. If, as a company, you rush into a program before properly laying the groundwork with employees and sufficiently engaging management, you run the risk of having your employees go elsewhere for their health and wellness needs—or worse, neglecting those needs entirely.
Beyond the metrics of a given program, there’s also the challenge of measuring its return on investment (ROI) in terms of reduced health benefits costs, increased productivity and positive shifts in organizational culture. With this, again, patience is a key factor in laying the groundwork for serious, sustained preventative health care for employees and their dependents. Indicators of ROI that can and should be evaluated include health benefits costs, which can be calculated through claims analysis, productivity and voluntary turnover.
And let’s not forget creativity in communications and branding as a crucial part of any workplace wellness initiative. Because employee wellness is such a complex and multifaceted issue, it’s crucial to formulate a program that is both inclusive of, and approachable by, audiences of diverse health and wellness backgrounds. The key to this may be developing a multi-dimensional, multimedia approach. An open wellness plan needs to be branded as such; otherwise employees will feel uncomfortable with total participation.
And how about positive reinforcement? When it comes to health and wellness, employees need to take initiative and responsibility. Realistic, workable incentives from the company will go a long way towards helping make that happen.
