Health Fairs

1. Undertake a utilization assessment – While corporations can’t obtain health 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 prescription use. This information is vital for a business to set a benchmark of its current health risk status. Data from human resources 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 modification necessary to result in cost savings. The utilization assessment helps a business identify the areas in which it should focus its Employee Wellness to reap the greatest benefits.

2. Build a business case – Once a utilization assessment is in place, corporations 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 objectives and goals 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 Employee Wellness  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 percent of employees that made up 80 percent 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 – Companies need to identify potential group members who can be champions of wellness within the business. 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 Wellness  within the business. Best practice corporations integrate members from human resources, communications, business development and management. Using the utilization analysis as a model, the wellness group should 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 management – The most effective Employee Wellness  have substructure from the highest levels of a business. Substructure from management, both in words and in action, sends the message that Employee Wellness  are a priority for a business. The utilization analysis can be a powerful tool to build the business case for Employee Wellness  and convince executives that initiatives are worthy of investment and attention. Meaningful wellness-related messages are integrated into business talks and aligned with corporate objectives.

5. Create a all-inclusive Employee Program Engagement plan – The most brilliantly conceived Employee Wellness  is meaningless if no employees participate. Effective wellness talks 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 Health Care problems other than cost. In addition, wellness-related information should be a part of existing business talks efforts and not coupled solely with benefits talks. This helps elevate the priority of Employee Wellness  and align initiatives with business objectives.

Additionally, talks around Employee Wellness  can share personal success stories and support business progress updates. Successful corporations 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 permits for the sharing of best practices within the business.

Many corporations engage healthcare experts to advise in the construction, communication and substructure of the program. The use of outside authorities such as these will expand the credibility of the Employee Wellness  as well as combat skepticism from employees who may view the business’s motives as merely selfserving.

Another strategy available to corporations is to brand their Employee Wellness . This move can expand the visibility and acceptance of the offering. Branded wellness programs are most common when corporations are also promoting an external campaign around Employee Wellness . An example of this is PepsiCo, which launched its HealthRoads Employee Wellness  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, Employee Wellness  within corporations. This establishes more immediate accountability and motivation.

6. Measure constantly and consistently – At every step of implementation, a Employee Wellness  must be able to corroborate its value to a business. Employee Wellness  should be designed to allow corporations to set benchmarks and evaluate behavior modification. Measurement 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 health care expense, employee health risk status or employee satisfaction with benefit offerings, and less than half of corporations do any assessment in these areas at all.16

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

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

Motorola’s Saenz advises administrators of Employee Wellness  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 assessment is the only way to build substructure among management and employees. 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 percent of corporations do not know how effective existing Employee Wellness  are regarding various outcomes. Companies should administer utilization analyses each year and reevaluate Employee Wellness  priorities based upon changes. In Addition, progress should be shared with the wider business community to build substructure for initiatives. Managers and executives throughout a business are likely to substructure a program that can prove increased work rate among employees. Effective Employee Wellness  are designed to be fl exible so they can respond to changes in both business objectives and goals and larger health variations.