Corporate Wellness Incentive Plans

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

2. Build a organization 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 cost of the Corporate 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. Develop a cross-functional wellness group – Corporations need to identify potential group participants who can be champions of wellness within the business. It is valuable 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 Corporate Health Promotion Program within the business. Best practice companies integrate participants from human resources(HR), communications, business development and upper management. 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 workers will be receptive to.

4. Build buy-in from upper management – The most effective Corporate Wellness Programs have support from the highest levels of a business. Support from management, both in words and in action, sends the message that Corporate Wellness Programs are a priority for a business. The utilization analysis can be a powerful tool to build the business case for Corporate Wellness 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. Create a complete Employee Program Engagement plan – The most brilliantly conceived Company Health Promotion Program is meaningless if no staff members take part. Effective wellness discussions emphasize both health and monetary benefits at the personal and company level. According to a 2004 survey by Towers Perrin, only 28% of staff members say their company communicates about Medical Care topics other than cost. In addition, wellness-related information should be a part of existing company discussions efforts and not coupled solely with benefits discussions. This helps elevate the significance of Company Health Promotion Programs and align initiatives with company objectives.

Moreover, talks around Worksite Wellness Programs can share personal success stories and supply company progress updates. Successful corporations not only use existing talking 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 company.

Most corporations engage healthcare professionals 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 Worksite Health Promotion Programs as well as combat skepticism from workers who may view the corporation’s motives as merely selfserving.

Another strategy available to corporations is to brand their Workplace Wellness 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 Workplace Wellness Programs. An example of this is PepsiCo, which launched its HealthRoads Workplace Wellness 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, Company Health Promotion Programs within organizations. This establishes more immediate accountability and motivation.

6. Measure constantly and consistently – At every step of implementation, a Workplace Health Promotion Program must be able to verify its value to a organization. Workplace Health Promotion Programs ought to be designed to allow corporations to set benchmarks and evaluate behavior modification. Assessment ought to consider not only quantitative health measures, but also qualitative measures of stress and employee program 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 company explicitly interprets what data would constitute success. Potential measures of success include:

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

Motorola’s Saenz advises administrators of Company Wellness Programs 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 support among management and workers. 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% of corporations don’t know how effective existing Corporate Wellness Programs are regarding various outcomes. Employers must administer utilization analyses each year and reevaluate Corporate Wellness Program priorities based upon changes. In Addition, progress must 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 workers. Effective Corporate Wellness Programs are designed to be fl exible so they can respond to changes in both business goals and objectives and larger health variations.