Category — Screening and Measuring Results

Many employers, as part of their efforts to contain rising health care costs, are implementing worksite programs variously described as Corporate Wellness Programs, lifestyle programs, health and productivity management, population health management and, simply, wellness programs.

The purpose of this article is to consider whether such programs improve health. If so, do they in turn cut utilization of healthcare services and cut healthcare expenditures?

The popular media have done much to reward the concept of business wellness. Last year, In Business: Madison magazine printed a story accompanied by a table reporting an impressive range of returns on investment (ROI):

Return on Investment (Per dollar ROI for lifestyle programs)
• Coors $6.15
• Kennecott $5.78
• Equitable Life $5.52
• Citibank $4.56
• General Mills $3.90
• Travelers $3.40
• Motorola $3.15
• PepsiCo $3.00
• Unum Life $1.81
Source: 2004 T.E. Brennan Company, as reported

Would these ROIs stand up to rigorous empirical analysis of the data? What factors produce such disparate returns among these programs? And does the published literature, subject to peer review of scientific methods, support the ROIs announced here?

Health and Productivity Leadership

Illness and injury associated with an unhealthy lifestyle or potentially-modifiable risk factors is reported to account for at least 25 percent of employee health care expenditures. The most significant of these risk factors are stress, tobacco use, overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol use, and poor nutritional habits. Over the past two decades, a variety of groups at the local, state, and national echelons have promoted the concept that health risk reduction and care management programs have the potential to better employee health, and that workplace health education, health risk management, and benefit counseling should complement standard medical insurance benefits.

The intensity of Company Health Promotion Programs range from bulletin board, pamphlet or newsletter information to onsite fitness facilities, health risk reduction classes, and personal lifestyle change coaching.3 Company Health Promotion Programs today frequently include a health risk assessment (HRA) to evaluate each employee’s modifiable risk factors of disease. Program coordinators then target interventions to those that are at increased risk through personal discussions and individual follow-up.

Complete Corporate Wellness Programs may include classes on health risk reduction and job safety, fitness and exercise activities, health club memberships, and reductions in co-payments or premiums for employees who adhere to recommended health care evaluation standard procedures.

Along with this, some employers are restructuring health benefits and encouraging employees’ cost-sensitivity when accessing medical care.5 These changes are intended to reduce employees’ need for and utilization of medical care, provideing reduced group medical care expenditures. Demonstrated reductions in medical care expenditures should then provide employers with a powerful bargaining chip in negotiating decreased medical insurance premiums during future terms.

Evidence basis: A range of return on investment estimates

The empirical research has produced results as varied as the popular media on return on investment. Nonetheless, evidence continues to grow that well-designed and well-resourced Employee Health Promotion Program and disease prevention programs offer multi-faceted payback on expenditure. Peer-reviewed evaluations and meta analyses show that return on investment is achieved through improved worker health, reduced benefit expense, and enhanced productivity.

• Goetzel and colleagues, in their meta-analysis of two dozen articles summarizing economic evaluations of health and productivity management programs, observed an average return of $3.14 per $1 invested in traditional Corporate Wellness Programs. The ROI estimates for the individual programs ranged from $1.49 to $13.7,8
• Aldana reviewed 72 articles and concluded that Workplace Wellness Programs achieve an average ROI of $3.48 when thinking of healthcare expenditures alone, $5.82 per $1 when examining absenteeism, and $4.30 when both outcomes are considered.
• Ozminkowski and collagues conducted a 38 month case study of 23,000 participants in Citibank, N.A.’s health management program and stated that within a 2 year period, Citibank realized a ROI between $4.56 and $4.73.10  Follow-up studies reported improvements in the risk profiles of participants, with the high-risk group improving more than the “usual care” group11 as a result of more intensive programming.
• Chapman’s 2004 meta-evaluation of 42 studies, ranking overall validity of the studies, reports cost-benefit ratios from $2.05-$4.64.

In addition to immediately quantifiable expense reductions, researchers have reported a variety of spin-off benefits: greater productivity, intellectual capacity, and reductions in disability12 and absenteeism.9,13,14,15 Such programs may also have positive effects on employee perceptions of the company14 and worker morale, even among nonparticipants. 13 These outcomes go beyond savings in direct medical care expenditures to support non-health related return on investment.

Tailoring program to maximize ROI Workplace Wellness Programs aim to cut the health risks of workers at elevated risk while maintaining the health status of those at low risk. A variety of disease management interventions are available to fit the specific risk profiles of various worksites. Insurers and businesses now seek to calibrate their interventions in order to achieve ideal risk reduction and costeffectiveness.

In 2001, University of Michigan researchers published on stable trends in health care expenditures for over 2 million current and former employees in an 18 year data set. The mean cost increase per risk factor gained ($350) was found to be more than double the mean cost decrease per eliminated risk factor ($150). In other words, increases in expenditures when groups of employees moved from low risk to high risk were much greater than the decreases in expenditures when groups moved from high risk to low risk. Their conclusion: Programs designed to keep healthy people healthy will likely support the greatest return on investment.

On the other hand, Pelletier’s meta-analysis16 and other program evaluations18 suggest that individualized risks reduction for high-risk employees within the context of inclusive programming is the vital element in achieving positive clinical and expenditure outcomes in worksite interventions.

Dose-Response?

Several factors might affect the influence of various programs and the ultimate ROI, including cultural and environmental factors, workforce demographics, level of participation and longevity of the program.

Most cost-benefit research studies have been conducted in large corporations with more than fifty workers. But researchers have demonstrated that similar results are able to be obtained by small corporations with as few as five workers actively involved in a well-managed program.

Various research studies also suggest that even relatively modest levels of participation can achieve substantial program impact. Contrary to reports by the popular media that such programs require more than 70% participation, published reports of at least one case showed beneficial return on investment with 51% participation.

Length of intervention appears to be a more salient variable: an influence on healthcare expenditures generally requires three-to five years of programming.

Future developments

Despite the abundance of beneficial program evaluations, several caveats remain. Negative results are less likely to be reported or published, thus biasing the return on investment upward.

Uncertainty persists regarding the specific effect of the various program components. But as these programs take hold, further research and evaluation will enable fine-tuning of program investments.

Meanwhile, the preponderance of data and the strength of the published research stand in favor of a beneficial return on investment for Employee Health Promotion Programs. Indeed, the company case for such programs is now well enough defined that some insurance brokers offer discounted rates to businesses that institute or subscribe to wellness programs.

Future questions will focus on how best to combine accross the board and focused interventions, the intensity of components, and how to calibrate the dose-response model to achieve a target return on investment. Here, employers, staff members, and researchers will need to collaborate to define mutual goals/objectives in terms of both clinical and expenditure outcomes.

As corporations today continue to compete in the global economy, cost containment strategies will be increasingly valuable. Controlling the rising cost of employee sickness is becoming a priority for corporate leaders. The emerging corporate culture in America is one which has an employee population centered in health, safety and wellness.

Implementing a corporate strategy for Employee Health Promotion Programs and disability management makes great employer sense. The following eight-step process ensures a strategic, integrated, needs-driven and outcome-oriented approach.

The following process works best in corporations with strong leadership and a long-term responsibility to employee health.

1. Identify Your Worksite Wellness Program Champion

This person should be a leader in your organization and a strong advocate of health. Typically this is an individual who actively pursues his or her own personal quest for optimal health.

The program champion must have the resources and authority to propel the program forward. The program champion’s key role is to be sure the strategic plan for health is in line with with the corporation’s objectives, strategic focus and corporation values. For example if the organization promotes that “our strength is our people” the wellness program must verify how drives will nurture and protect that valuable resource.

2. Form Your Workplace Health Promotion Program Strategy Team

The Employee Health Promotion Program Strategy Team must include decision makers and stakeholders from sections of the employer that have the potential to influence health and the company’s bottom line. These areas may include; finance, human resources, training and development, health services, compensation and benefits, employee assistance services (EAP), marketing, facilities, health and safety, rehabilitation, cafeteria or diet services and the union. A group of six to eight representatives is recommended.

The role of the Strategy Team is to advance and implement the strategic plan, look for opportunities to promote health, be sure the program is integrated into key areas of the organization, streamline efforts, maximize corporation resources and program assessment.

3. Complete an Organization Health Audit

The purpose of an Company Health Audit is to evaluate your existing programs and services, physical environment and policies & procedures that support health. It is also valuable to look at your employer culture or “how things are done” around the employer.

Members of the Strategy Team complete the Audit independently and then meet to discuss their assessment. During the assessment process, health problems and opportunities are discussed in preparation for the development of the strategic plan.

4. Analyze Your Organization’s Cost Pressures

Cost pressures are identified by analyzing a number of areas including; benefit costs, Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) claims, prescription usage, type of paramedic claims, absenteeism data and EAP utilization. This process helps to target areas that can be positively impacted by a Corporate Health Promotion Program and to offer a baseline for evaluating change.

5. Conduct a Health Risk Appraisal or Employee Needs & Interest Survey

The next step is to determine your employee’s health risks, interests and readiness to change. A confidential health risk appraisal can accomplish countless objectives. It provides a baseline from which to measure personal lifestyle changes, provides staff members with relevant health information, motivates staff members to take charge of their health and assists in program planning. Most health risk appraisals offer individual reports and a corporate report identifying elevated-risk areas in the corporation.

Many organizations opt to administer customized needs and interest survey to evaluate employee needs. The benefit of this approach is that the company is able to gather information on the employees’ perceived wellness needs and program interests. This information can be incorporated into the strategic plan. Administering a survey also has the added benefit of fostering a sense of employee ownership to the program.

6. Establish Your Strategic Plan for Wellness

The strategic plan ought to incorporate information gathered from the Corporation Health Audit, your organization’s expenditure pressures, and health risk appraisal data or employee survey results. The strategic plan ought to include your program mission, three or four objectives and several pushes under each goal. The strategic plan supplies a framework to encourage, reinforcement and evaluate “best health practices.”

It is also valuable that the plan align itself with the vision, goals/objectives of the organization.

The sample strategic plan that follows was developed for blue jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. (Canada) Inc. Levi Strauss & Co.’s mission statement and aspirations (how staff members interact with each other in a employer environment) guided the development of the plan.

Levi Strauss & Co.’s aspirations include the following statement: More than anything, we want satisfaction from accomplishments and friendships, balanced personal and professional lives, and to have fun in our endeavors. The wellness program plan included a number of components to see that it embraced this statement including the following:

1. A vision statement, which tied in with the company’s aspirations.
2. An incentive system to encourage and reward the accomplishment of healthy milestones.
3. A recognition system to applaud success.
4. Friendly competitions between Levi Strauss & Co. locations to ensure an enjoyable environment.
5. Opportunities to take part in small group educational programs to foster group support.
6. Initiation of support groups for employees completing wellness programs (i.e. smoking control support group).
7. Programs concerning work and family balance.

Other information that was analyzed and used to cultivate the plan included:

1. Employer demographics
2. Focus groups
3. Cultural audit
4. Top drug report
5. EAP utilization
6. Employee benefit services report
7. Health and dental claims
8. Operational success summaries
9. Health risk appraisals
7. Prepare a Company Case to Support Your Plan

Your employer case for wellness supports the necessary details for approval at the senior staff level. The employer case includes:

1. The Strategic Plan for Health
2. A proposed program budget
3. Marketing strategies
4. Program leadership options
5. An implementation plan
6. Evaluation methodology.

In presenting the strategic plan it is important to highlight how the plan aligns itself with the strategic direction of the organization.

The program budget should include educational resources, marketing expenditures, rewards and incentives, leadership expenditures and supplies.

Marketing strategies must address how the program will be promoted and rolled out to various groups within the organization i.e. decentralized locations, elevated risk workers, older workers.

Program leadership must address how volunteers will be used, internal resources  and whether consultants have been proposed. All play an equally valuable role in the implementation of your wellness program.

The program implementation plan must incorporate the following types of programs that help create awareness of beneficial health practices, assist  staff members in making lifestyle changes and pushes, which support long-term change.

Awareness programs foster an awareness of the effect of healthy lifestyle practices and innervate staff members to take the next step. Examples of awareness programs include posting educational posters, newsletter articles and lunch and learn classes.

Lifestyle change programs are more accross the board and longer in duration. They are designed to support  workers in changing behavior. Examples of lifestyle change programs are nutrition education programs, stress management programs, back care classes and smoking control programs.

A supportive corporate environment encompasses everything from corporate policies & procedures, the physical environment and creating a corporate culture that supports good health practices. Follow-up sessions and support groups for workers who have completed 6-10 week wellness programs also provide a supportive environment for long-term change.

Analyzing the effectiveness of a Corporate Wellness Program is ongoing. A formal evaluation must be conducted each year and may include; re-administering steps three to five, program participation statistics and a year end survey to revisit “soft” problems such as morale, program satisfaction and future program direction.

8. Solicit Input and Communicate Your Plan

Employee input is essential to the long-term success of your program. An Employee Advisory Committee must be formed to roll out the plan. Another key responsibility of this group is to solicit feedback from all levels of the organization to ensure buy-in. Front line Manager’s Information Sessions and focus groups are also valuable. This group needs to buy-in to the notion that they play a key role in supporting positive health practices. Regular gatherings are advised with front line managers to receive ongoing input, address problems and orient new managers.

Conclusions

The World Health Organization’s definition of health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.” In order for us to establish healthy workplaces, wellness pushes must have a program champion, have employee ownership, be management supported, outcome driven and strategically aligned with the central organization objectives of the organization.

Wellness program that embrace these qualities will have a positive influence on an organization’s bottom line. Canadian research points to countless case studies where onsite programs have resulted in diminished absenteeism, lower claims and increased productivity.

Companies who have embraced wellness as part of “how they do business” share one thing in common. They verify a commitment to their most important resource - their people. They understand the increased pressures associated with downsized businesses, a rapidly changing workplace, an aging work force and the challenge of balancing work and family obligations. And they share a common belief that healthy staff members are happier, absent less and more constructive.

References:
Design of Company Wellness Programs by Michael P. O’Donnell. 1995. Published by the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Pro Fit-ability by Veronica Marsden. Group Healthcare Management. May 1997.
Meeting Expectations by Laura Mensch. Employee Health and Productivity. August 1999
7 Steps to Health Promotion by Daphne Woolf and Veronica Marsden. Group Healthcare Management. February 1996.
Published in The Journal of Health Promotion for Northern Ireland, Issue 9, March 2000

Want some wellness program ideas and wellness policy ideas to get you started? Or maybe you want to jump start or improve upon your current wellness program? The list below provides ‘best practices’ that have the potential to help meet any wellness program budget! The Company Wellness Program ideas are divided into topic areas.

General Wellness Progam Ideas

• Conduct an Employee Needs & Interest Survey
• Develop a Corporate Wellness Program Committee
• Choose health insurance plans that cover costs for weight management and tobacco cessation
• Remove co-pay or reimburse for preventive medical care visits
• Put up handouts on a variety of wellness topics for employees to take
• Develop a wellness resource center or library with videos, books, magazines, DVD’s on a variety of subject matters of interest to staff members
• Identify workers who are mentors or champions for healthy activities and ask them to present or to list as a contact for other workers
• Establish and promote periodic or regular educational sessions.
• Establish monthly educational sessions on the national health observance topic
• Post a Wellness Bulletin Board & update it monthly
• Display messages from national health observances during the month
• Provide healthy tips in newsletters, paycheck stuffers, bulletin boards, etc.
• Sponsor a benefits fair
• Sponsor business fitness and healthy eating challenges
• Sponsor business wellness fairs or other on-Site events

Nutrition Programs

• Offer free, healthy snacks for workers (fruit, nuts, popcorn)
• Provide healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at corporation events
• Offer information to workers about the nutritional content of food served in the cafeteria
• Organize a fresh fruit “snack basket” in the breakroom or cafeteria
• Stock vending machines with healthier options
• Partially fund healthy foods in the cafeteria or snack machines (10¡ apples may be more appealing than $1.00 candy bars)
• Create a weekly or monthly healthy lunch club
• Have brochures available on a variety of healthy eating issues
• Include nutrition articles in employer newsletters
• Have a healthy meal tasting contest Free
• Have educational sessions at lunch-time on a variety of diet issues of interest
• Offer an employee healthy meal cookbook. Either sell the cookbook and use profits for programs, or purchase a cookbook for all staff members

Weight Loss Programs / Weight Management Programs

• Consider offering flexible work schedules so that employees are able to participate in weight-loss programs
• Subsidize registration costs for weight-management programs
• Offer a support group to help workers who are trying to lose weight
• Locate registered dieticians near your worksite as a resource for staff members who want information on healthy eating, meal planning or weight management
• Offer individual counseling for employees trying to lose weight
• Offer workplace fitness and weight-management programs through your local hospital, Weight Watchers, TOPS or local, registered dietician
• Provide an educational session on diet myths and healthy eating

Physical Activity Programs

• Offer flexible work schedules to encourage exercise
• Design a fitness space with aerobic equipment, and weights
• Develop accessible walking paths, trails, and/or bike routes
• Encourage staff members to walk more by parking farther away from the entrance
• Design a fitness center with aerobic equipment, weights, aerobic classes, fitness professionals
• Have walking meetings
• Make the stairways more appealing (carpet, fresh paint, artwork, posters)
• Offer reduced health club membership fees to all workers
• Give facilities for staff members to secure bikes
• Have 5 - 10 minute stretch breaks during the day
• Partially fund fitness center membership for workers who participate a minimal number of days per week (ex., 3 days per week)
• Support lunchtime walking/running clubs or corporation sports team
• Urge stairwell use and incentives/rewards
• Install a basketball hoop outside
• Urge & support neighborhood walks or fitness events
• Urge walking during breaks and other off-time periods
• Give periodic fitness incentive programs to encourage physical activity
• Have educational sessions on fitness activities

Smoking Cessation Programs / Tobacco Cessation Programs

• Establish a tobacco-free grounds
• Establish a smoke-free workplace
• Encourage the use of 1-800-QUIT-NOW, North Carolina’s free Tobacco Use Quitline. Or check www.QuitlineNC.com
• Fully reimburse (or partially reimburse) for tobacco replacement products
• Subsidize the expense of smoking cessation seminars
• Give handouts and information on health effects from tobacco use and tobacco cessation
• Provide awareness sessions to excite employees to try to quit tobacco use
• Schedule onsite tobacco cessation seminars

Employee Health Screening

• Discount healthcare insurance premiums or reduce co-payments for workers who participate in screenings and who participate in managing their risk factors
• Install Blood Pressure (BP) monitoring equipment
• Provide flu shots for workers and family members
• Offer Health Risk Assessments to all staff members, including counseling and follow-up
• Provide periodic Blood Pressure screenings and follow-up
• Provide periodic screenings for cholesterol, blood sugar, body composition, etc.

Stress Management Programs / Work Life Balance Programs

• Provide flexible schedules for family/work life balance
• Provide and promote an EAP
• Offer information on substance abuse prevention
• Offer pamphlets and information on stress management and mental health
• Give pamphlets and information on work life balance, such as monetary planning, childcare, parenting, elder care, etc.
• Offer supervisor and manager training on communication, relationship building, company stressors, etc.
• Assess corporation policies and work schedules to identify corporation stressors
• Evaluate the Employee Assistance Program(EAP) to be sure it is meeting the needs of the workers and business
• Schedule educational sessions on stress management and work life balance
• Provide seminars on relaxation, stress management, and work life balance subject matters

Wellness screenings are important programs to identify chronic disease in their early stages. Once identified, wellness behavior modification programs can help prevent a disease from progressing. Working with local hospitals and other businesses, you can get information on offering screening and behavior modification programs that might improve your employees’ health and save your organization money in absenteeism, treatment for disease complications, and reduced work rate. Below are some ideas to help get you started.

Based upon your Employee Needs & Interest Survey and the demographics of your workplace, consider offering periodic screenings to find specific health risks such as:

• Blood Pressure Checks to identify workers with pre-hypertension or hypertension (high blood pressure),
• Cholesterol Screenings for total, HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol) and/or Triglycerides
• Blood Sugar Screenings fasting or non-fasting to screen for possible diabetes,
• Body composition, such as body mass index (BMI) or body fat measures
• Bone density for potential risk of osteoporosis,
• Cancer screenings such as, skin examinations, mammograms, or PSA screenings,
• Vision checks for glaucoma, or visual acuity
• Other health screenings depending on your worker population and needs

Your local hospital, business physician practice, or health department may offer assistance. Nevertheless, if you have employees you may want to concentrate on programs that will keep them healthy rather than screening for early identification of chronic conditions. The focus of your wellness program might be healthy lifestyle practices to reduce risk and prevent disease.

In addition to the wellness screenings, consider offering a Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment to all workers. The Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment will help to identify factors that may lead to additional risks, such as smoking history, stress levels, image of health, family history, job satisfaction, support systems, and mental health. Often the evaluation results are included on the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, which supplies a more inclusive snap shot of health risks. The summary results offer the important information to plan appropriate interventions.

Employee Health Promotion Program Interventions

The key to the effectiveness of screenings and Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s) is the interventions or follow-up programs. The data collected during the screenings increases awareness and often motivates staff members to consider making healthier changes. It’s the follow up interventions that provide the important reinforcement and assistance necessitated for staff members to actually make and maintain those changes. The interventions can include individual follow-up and ongoing counseling, individual or group health coaching on the risk factors, behavior change programs, and/or corporation reinforcement. Examples include:

• Strategies to decrease Blood Pressure (BP)
• Managing diabetes
• Taking care of your heart
• Healthier eating
• Weight loss plans
• Improving physical exercise
• Tobacco Cessation

Of course, this is for individual information only. Any follow-up interventions planned by the company would be based on interest expressed by the employee.

Based on the outcome and your Worksite Wellness Program Committee objectives you have the potential to plan the best strategies for your corporation and employees. Consider the area resources available to provide services, such as health associations, hospitals, health care providers, and/or public health agencies.

Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals, are an assessment tool or questionnaire scientifically designed to identify health risks and outline information to support  individuals in making healthy changes that effect their health and prevent chronic conditions.

Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals have four standard components in worksite settings:
• A Questionnaire
• A Computerized Program to Evaluate Health Risk Factors
• Confidential Individual Reports
• Group Summary Report

Workers complete a lifestyle questionnaire that includes for example diet practices, height and weight, exercise habits, family history, stress perceptions, smoking history, and work satisfaction. Another important feature to consider is readiness to change questions to determine participation interest. Including wellness screenings such as cholesterol and Blood Pressure results increases the benefits of an Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment by offering a more accurate health assessment and therefore improving lifestyle choice decisions and program options. Nonetheless, it is important to determine if the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment can be used without including this information.

The health risk questionnaire information is entered into a computer program and an individual confidential report is generated that summarizes health risks as well as information on how to reduce risk factors. Individual reports are fully confidential. Depending on the reason for launching the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, it’s important to consider the type of report the organization will receive as well. A group report summarizing major risk factors and recommendations for programs to start in order to reduce employee and organization risks supplies important information for your wellness program.

The Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments can be used to:
• Raise awareness to individual employee’s health status
• Motivate employees to make healthier lifestyle changes
• Coach elevated-risk staff members
• Develop Worksite Wellness Programs based on the identified needs
• Assess program success by comparing Health Risk Appraisals / Health Risk Assessments completed at set intervals such as yearly.

There are countless benefits to thinking of a part-time or full-time occupational and environmental health nurse (OHN). Occupational health nursing is the specialty practice that provides for and delivers health and safety programs and services to workers, and worker populations. The practice focuses on promotion and restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury, treatment of work and non-work related injuries and illnesses, and protection from work related  and environmental hazards.

Onsite Heath Professional roles have the potential to include: Case management, Counseling, Workplace Wellness Program, Legal and regulatory compliance, Clinical services, and Hazard detection and controls. The American Association of Occupational and Environmental Health Nurses is the national association, www.AAOHN.org. The State Chapter also has a website with information including local chapter information to help you find a contact near you, www.NCAOHN.org.

Health educators have the potential to design, conduct and evaluate activities that help improve the health of all your staff members. They are subject matter experts who may be a significant asset regardless your program needs and objectives and goals. They have the potential to help form a Employee Wellness Program Committee and implement many of its programs and services, for example or depending on the structure and time commitments of your Employee Wellness Program Committee, they have the potential to also coordinate the entire program as well. Integrating the activities of the Committee and/or Employee Wellness Program consultant services within your operations, including within your safety and occupational health program will offer additional benefits!

We are organizing Employee Wellness Programs to help you feel better and stay healthy. In order to plan programs that best meet your needs and interests we would like your suggestions! Please take a minute to answer some questions about your interests. Your answers will be combined with those of others’ and reviewed to help plan programs for you. Do not sign your name.

Please complete the survey today and return it to__________. We appreciate your important input! Your help is important for planning successful programs. Return the completed form by _____________.

Rate your interest on a scale of 1 - 3 with one (1) being of little or no interest; two (2) being of some interest and three (3) indicating that you are very interested. Indicate your response by circling or ‘Xing’ the number.

I am interested in:

Participating in wellness programs before work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs after work 1 2 3
Participating in wellness programs during my lunch break 1 2 3
Adopting healthy eating options to lose weight 1 2 3
Sports nutrition 1 2 3
Healthier cooking 1 2 3
Helping my children eat healthier 1 2 3
Quick, healthy meals for hectic lifestyles 1 2 3
Healthy snack options 1 2 3
Learning how to quit smoking 1 2 3
Attending classes to help me quit smoking cigarettes 1 2 3
Stress Mangement skills 1 2 3
Balancing work, family, and personal life 1 2 3
Time upper management skills 1 2 3
Participating in a beginning exercise program 1 2 3
Creating time to exercise for busy people 1 2 3
Getting health information that I can read or watch at home 1 2 3
Learning about cancer prevention 1 2 3
Heart health options 1 2 3
CPR and First Aid 1 2 3
Team sports activities at work 1 2 3
Learning how to stretch 1 2 3
Learning how to stimulate intake of fruits and vegetables 1 2 3
Parenting Topics (age of children: ) 1 2 3
Onsite exercise classes: walking Yoga aerobic other: 1 2 3
Health evaluation such as Blood Pressure (BP), cholesterol, blood glucose 1 2 3

Program evaluation may be The last step, but it must be planned at the beginning of your efforts!  Evaluation helps you identify what parts of the program are working well and what parts need improvement.  Then, based on the evaluation data, adjustments have the potential to be made to fine-tune your wellness program.   Adjusting the program based on evaluation data is essential to its continued performance.  

Evaluating your program need not be complicated.  However, it is valuable to plan how you will oversee your wellness efforts and determine effectiveness during the planning phase or Step 5.  Also remember to evaluate the program based on the objectives and goals you already established during your planning process.  

In order to evaluate your program you need to have a system to document specifics as you go along.  This can be as simple as maintaining file folders on programs that are available, or a computer document with a table or spreadsheet summarizing information collecting.  Consider:

• Program topic and numbers of staff members who participated
• The numbers of handouts taken by employees or distributed and on what topics
• The number of participants in a behavior change program and how many met their goals as well as how many attended all of the sessions
• Numbers of workers who continued the healthy behavior modification following the program?
• Overall employee satisfaction with the program or each topic.  

Depending on your objectives, gather desired data and compare it to previous data collected during the initial assessment to determine if the objectives were met.  Such data might include

• Absentee rates
• Injury rates
• Health risk factors Insurance expenditures  

Summarize and Report Company Wellness Program Results

Once you have collected all of the assessment information it needs to be reviewed with the Worksite Health Promotion Program Committee and summarized.  You will probably have positive results and some areas where a change is required or additional focus required for continuous improvement.  This not-so positive information can be used to make any required changes as well as to plan for next year and is significant to include in your report.  

It is significant to communicate the wellness program results to both management and employees.  Consider how management usually receives reports on operations and productiveness issues and include the yearly wellness program report in the same format.  At some businesses the reports are made during management meetings using presentation styles such as power point slides.  At other businesses, graphs and bar charts are the norm or a list of the objectives and the summary outcomes reported.  

No matter the format, it’s valuable to convey the outcomes and successes achieved, including any anecdotal stories, as well as areas for improvement.  Be sure to link the outcomes to the company mission and bottom line whenever possible.

Staff Members want to receive the same information!  Consider using the same communication channels used when informing employees of the wellness program:

• Company newsletters,
• Bulletin boards,
• E-mails  

Also consider celebrating successes and recognizing achievements by:

• Posting pictures from events
• Highlighting performance stories
• Posting pictures of successes
• Hosting a celebration
• Recognizing champions  

Armed with data, Employee Wellness Program topic preferences and goals - and a Employee Wellness Program Committee rearing to get things done - it is now time to decide how best to take action.  This website supplies tools to help you!  You can read about the various types of wellness programs available by other businesses to get an idea of what might prove effective for your corporation.  There are Statewide Resources listed along with national non-profit groups offering resources, and particular examples of resources available on various wellness topics.  In addition, keep looking under Steps to an Effective Program for ideas to get you started!

If your planning phase was well executed, you must simply have to follow through with the plans you have already made.  

Important Company Health Promotion Program considerations include:

1. Formally Introduce the Workplace Wellness Program and consider policy statements that state the effect of the wellness program.  Examples include a general policy regarding the commitment to employee health and safety as well as specific policies such as No Smoking, Healthy Eating and Physical Activity.
2. Communicate Your Program: The best planned program with great wellness programs will not be advantageous if your employees don’t know about it or do not know the options or how to take part.  Communicate your wellness program using a variety of methods to ensure the message and “how-to’s” are heard!

   Corporate Health Promotion Program Communication Strategies could include:

   • Newsletter articles
   • Postings on the company’s intranet or internet
   • A designated Champion of the program
   • Formal or informal meeting to announce program, “the kick-off”
   • Flyers / handouts / brochures / table tents,
   • Bulletin boards / kiosk where all material is promoted or found,
   • Email / phone messages,
   • Mailings or distributions  

3. Use Worksite Wellness Program Incentives:  You will be amazed to find out what people will do for a no cost T-shirt.  Incentives are able to both support and arouse participation among employees.  Consider both formal or corporation incentives and informal or program rewards/prizes from local resources to reinforce participation in Worksite Wellness Programs. Either way, it’s significant to offer incentives that are enticing and meaningful to your employees.

   Formal Company Wellness Program Incentives:

   • Savings on employee healthcare insurance premiums or co-pays, or contributions to 401K programs, employee stock options, or other mechanisms.  
   
   Click here for more information on health plan incentive ideas
   
   • fitness center/Fitness Center discounts or enrollment fee coverage
   • Public transportation vouchers
   • Flexible work time options
   • “Wellness Days” off work  

   Rewards or Informal Workplace Health Promotion Program Incentives:

   • Cash - a very effective incentive!
   • Prize rewards and incentives such as gift certificates to heart-healthy restaurants; media player to use while working out, emergency kits, or any other prizes that would excite your staff members.
   • T-Shirts, water bottles, or other inexpensive rewards

4. Review community resources available to support some of the wellness services.  The local health department or your company medical care provider may be able to support  you with this information.  There are also vendors throughout the State providing great wellness services for companies.  They are available to help you strategize and find the best options available.

5. Begin your program as planned documenting information and outcomes as you go such as numbers of participants, dates of activities, and any other special details you are tracking.

The Worksite Health Promotion Program Committee must set out a plan for the entire year that outlines accomplishing goals and objectives, as well as supports details for marketing and evaluating the program. The plan is the detailed map of what types of programs will be offered, when and where they will be scheduled, how they will be marketed and evaluated, and what the budget is.  It is significant to plan your wellness activities based on your goals and objectives, as well as the budget since different strategies will provide different outcomes.  For example, if your intention is to broaden awareness on a topic, then distributing brochures or scheduling a one-time class may be appropriate.  Nonetheless, if your objective is to change behavior, then different strategies may be necessary, such as ongoing weekly meetings and support groups.  Click here to link to Program Design Options for additional ideas.

Corporate Wellness Program Marketing

This is the time to coordinate your marketing strategies!  How can you market the wellness program and ongoing activities?  No matter how you decide to, market frequently, keep it fresh, and remind workers repeatedly!  Consider having an overall kickoff exercise to let everyone know about the wellness program.  Senior Leadership must offer the introduction or invitation so that all workers are alert to their reinforcement and leadership in the program.

Possible marketing methods:

• Distributing email messages, including reminders
• Organize bulletins,
• Displaying bulletin board postings,
• Composing articles,
• Sending letters or
• Sending special invitations.  

Other Workplace Wellness Program Considerations:

• Is the Worksite Health Promotion Program promoted to all staff members or to a specific target audience?
• Do you have a Workplace Wellness Program champion (someone who is associated with different groups in the organization, and well respected) who can help in your promotion efforts?
• If your marketing efforts don’t seem to be working, do you have a way to revisit and adjust your plan?
• How will you determine performance and evaluate your program?  And how will you collect the information necessitated to evaluate your program?  

Topics most frequently included in Corporate Wellness Programs:

• Nutrition
• Physical Activity/Exercise
• Tobacco Use Cessation
• Bone Health
• Heart Health
• Healthy Back
• Stress Reduction
• Chronic Disease Awareness & Prevention
• Self-care; Wise Medical Care Consumer
• Screening Services (BMI, Blood Pressure, bone density, cholesterol, glucose, posture, vision, and other…)
• Ergonomic Assessments
• Health Fairs
• Kids/family Events
• Others subject matters that employees have interest in  

The subject matters and type of Worksite Wellness Program planned hinge upon the needs and interest, overriding goal and resources available.  Program Design Options   include awareness programs such as brochures and/or education sessions, behavior change programs such as smoking cessation and weight loss classes, and environmental or business reinforcement such as no smoking policies or healthy selections in snack machines.  

The programs planned also hinge upon the demographics of your workforce.  If you have a young, healthy workforce, you may want to focus the wellness attention on keeping employees healthy and not need to screen for disease.  Instead you might want to focus on healthy lifestyle behavior such as exercise and good nourishment to prevent the on-set of disease.  Click here for more information on strategies for keeping employees well, identifying disease early, or returning employees to work who already have a chronic conditions.

It is also valuable to consider, and plan how you will evaluate the effectiveness of your wellness program.  The system needs to be established for tracking certain data and recording events depending on the program goals.  Step 7 discusses program evaluation in more detail.   And Step 6 will launch your program!