Employee Health Promotion

1. 1. Undertake a utilization assessment – While organizations cannot get medical information on individual employees, insurance providers will supply organizations with reports that detail patterns and rates of employee use for things such as physician visits, hospital stays and drug use. This information is vital for a business to set a benchmark of its current health risk status. Data from human resources(HR) can be integrated with benefits information to provide a complete picture of employees’ health-related costs. Then, organizations 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 ought to focus its Employee Health Promotion to reap the greatest benefits.
2. 2. Build a business case – Once a utilization assessment is in place, organizations are able to quantify the Healthcare 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 expense of the Employee Health Promotion 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% of employees that made up 80% of the costs. We’ve discussed that, and now we’re paying attention to those who are healthy and Finding Wealth Through Wellness 8 keeping them healthy. Wherever you are on the continuum, there are opportunities.
3. 3. Design a cross-functional wellness group – Organizations 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 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 Health Promotion within the business. Best practice organizations integrate members from human resources(HR), communications, business development and upper management. Using the utilization analysis as a template, the wellness group ought to 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. 4. Build buy-in from upper management – The most effective Employee Health Promotion Programs have support from the highest levels of a business. Substructure from management, both in words and in action, sends the message that Employee Health Promotion Programs are a priority for a business. The utilization analysis can be a powerful tool to build the business case for Employee 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. 5. Design a comprehensive Employee Program Engagement plan – The most brilliantly conceived Employee Health Promotion 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% of employees say their business communicates about Healthcare problems other than cost. In addition, wellness-related information ought to be a part of existing business discussions efforts and not coupled solely with benefits discussions. This helps elevate the importance of Employee Health Promotion Programs and align initiatives with business objectives.

Furthermore, discussions around Employee Health Promotion Programs can share personal success stories and provide business progress updates. Successful organizations 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 business. Many organizations engage healthcare professionals to advise in the construction, communication and support of the program. The use of outside authorities such as these will broaden the credibility of the Employee Health Promotion Programs as well as combat skepticism from employees who may view the business’s motives as merely selfserving. Another strategy available to organizations is to brand their Employee Health Promotion . This move can broaden the visibility and acceptance of the offering. Branded wellness programs are most common when organizations are also promoting an external campaign around Employee Health Promotion Programs. An example of this is PepsiCo, which launched its HealthRoads Employee Health Promotion 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 Health Promotion Programs within organizations. This establishes more immediate accountability and motivation.

6. 6. Measure constantly and consistently – At every step of implementation, a Employee Health Promotion must be able to corroborate its value to a business. Employee Health Promotion Programs ought to 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 engagement. Less than 10% of organizations do extensive management of healthcare expense, 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

Measurement is only useful if a business explicitly specifies 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
• Fewer 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 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 assessment is the only way to build support among management and employees. 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% of organizations do not know how effective existing Employee Health Promotion Programs are regarding various outcomes. Organizations ought to lead utilization analyses annually and reevaluate Employee Health Promotion priorities based upon changes. In Addition, progress ought to be shared with the wider business community to build support for initiatives. Managers and executives throughout a business are likely to support a program that can prove increased productivity among employees. Effective Employee Health Promotion Programs are designed to be fl exible so they can respond to changes in both business goals/objectives and larger health variations.