Tag Archive for Corporate Wellness Program

Build flexibility into your Corporate Wellness Program.

December 19, 2008 / Corporate Wellness / No comments

Think ahead: what unexpected challenges might come up as you implement your Corporate Wellness Program? How could you adapt and change the Corporate Wellness Program to meet those challenges?

• Look at the “what if’s?”
• What if your classroom space is suddenly no longer available?
• What if you can’t hold the Health and Wellness in the usual place?
• Have a ‘Plan B’ (or even Plan C or Plan D) in mind for when the “what if’s” happen.

• Build a team that can help with the Corporate Wellness Program
• Who else could teach the health education class if the regular instructor cancels at the last minute?
• Know what areas of expertise your staff has besides their ‘main’ job. By way of example, find out who has fitness instructor credentials besides just the physical therapist.
• Don’t wait for a crisis before you build a network of employees that you can call on.

• Be ready to roll your sleeves up
• Jump in to fill a gap if you need to.
• YOU may have to help restock the milk case in the dining facility when the Dairy Month ‘Milk Mustache’ contest results in increased sales during lunch.

• Be willing (and ready) to respond to feedback about the Corporate Wellness Program
• Get participant feedback while the Corporate Wellness Program is ongoing. Then be ready to adapt to those suggestions.
• By way of example, if kids in a pediatric obesity Corporate Wellness Program fight the idea of completing physical fitness logs, then get a verbal summary of their activity for the week instead.

• Simplify Corporate Wellness Program
• If part of your Corporate Wellness Program is not working, try making that part less complicated.
• By way of example, if getting follow-up information is not going the way you planned, then make the process to get information easier OR decrease the number of pieces of information that you collect.

• Use lemons to make lemonade
• What do you do when the Corporate Wellness Program doesn’t turn out exactly as you planned? Look for what did turn out. Often, the ‘unexpected outcomes’ produce positive results.
• By way of example, one installation’s database to collect sick call data was made obsolete by a regional system. However, the installation database was able to be used in a different way to track vaccination information that improved delivery of care to Employees.
• At another installation, world events halted a new physical training program. Instead, Corporate Wellness Program materials were made into a fitness guide.

Category: Wellness Programs / Tags: ,

Corporate Wellness Program: Small Steps

December 17, 2008 / Corporate Wellness / No comments

Why use small steps toward health behavior change?

Small steps give members immediate feedback on the changes they make towards better health. Measuring these small steps is also an excellent way to collect interim Corporate Wellness Program effectiveness information.

Corporate Wellness Program small steps make a big difference

Small steps for Corporate Wellness Program members
• Walk to work.
• Use fat free milk instead of whole milk.
• Each day think of two things you are grateful for.
• Do sit-ups while you watch TV.
• Drink water before a meal.
• Take 10 deep breaths to relieve tension.
• Eat half your dessert.
• Skip second helpings and buffets.

Measuring small Corporate Wellness Program steps
• Use short pre- and mid-point surveys to ask:
• How many glasses of water do you drink a day?
• How often you do eat fast food?
• How often do you skip a meal?
• How often do you engage in physical activity?
• How many servings of fruits and vegetables do you eat each day?

Use the results to show members how their health behaviors are changing for the better.

• Ask members to rate their health status and/or stress levels before and after an intervention.
• Add up individual (or team) steps and mark the progress on a map towards a far away destination.
• Be innovative! Do not rely only on weight loss, BMI, or cholesterol tests as health status progress indicators or health behavior change feedback.

Wise words for taking small Corporate Wellness Program steps

• The first wealth is health. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
• We are what we repeatedly do. (Aristotle)
• The victory is not always to the swift, but to those who keep moving. (CDC)
• There are 1440 minutes in every day…schedule 30 of them for physical activity. (CDC)

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Corporate Wellness Program Data

December 13, 2008 / Corporate Wellness / No comments

What is Corporate Wellness Program data?

Corporate Wellness Program data is information that is collected about your Corporate Wellness Program. All Corporate Wellness Programs should include data as an integral part of the Corporate Wellness Program plan.

Why should you care about Corporate Wellness Program data?

Data tells the Wellness story. Data is the tangible evidence of a Wellness Program’s impact.

Building data into Corporate Wellness Programs

Why bother with Corporate Wellness Program Data?

You need Corporate Wellness Program data to:
• Evaluate whether or not your Corporate Wellness Program is working.
• Answer the ‘so what?’ about the need for a Corporate Wellness Program.
• Offer information to Upper Management about the impact of the Corporate Wellness Program.
• Write a budget justification so you can secure Corporate Wellness Program resources.
• Use Corporate Wellness Program resources efficiently and market your Corporate Wellness Program more effectively.

Where to begin collecting Corporate Wellness Program data:
• MAKE A PLAN to collect the data: decide what, when, and how information will be collected.
• Determine what information is ALREADY BEING COLLECTED.
o By way of example: use dairy sales information in the dining facility to measure the impact of a milk marketing/dairy month campaign.
• Start collecting JUST A FEW small pieces of information. Be innovative!
o By way of example: BMI, APFT scores (before & after), tobacco quit rates

IT’S NEVER TO LATE TO START collecting Corporate Wellness Program data.

Innovative Corporate Wellness Program data strategies
• Use local college/graduate students to help collect, input, and analyze Corporate Wellness Program information.
• If your business has an internship program, get to know the Internship Director. Make use of intern resources – including having the Director and/or interns implement the data collection plan for your Corporate Wellness Program.
• Use information to let senior management know about the Corporate Wellness Programs affect on the staff members.

Present this information at their monthly/quarterly meetings.
• Use innovative follow-up strategies to get information. Phone calls can be effective, but also consider email, mailed surveys with return postage provided, and going to the units in person to collect the information.
• Make data collection ‘fun’ for Corporate Wellness Program members.
o By way of example: use a team approach – the team with the ‘best’ overall results gets some sort of award or recognition.
• ALWAYS relate the impact of your Corporate Wellness Program to readiness.

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Corporate Wellness Program Return On Investment (ROI)

December 10, 2008 / Corporate Wellness / No comments

For well over a decade, research has been showing the effectiveness of Corporate Wellness Programs. For every dollar spent on Corporate Wellness Programs, the returns have been cost savings of between $2.30 and $10.10 in the areas of decreased absenteeism, fewer sick days, reduced WSIB/WCB claims, lowered health and insurance costs, and improvements to employee performance and productivity.

Statistics do show that Corporate Wellness Programs increase employee morale, improve the ability to attract and retain key employees, all while having more alert and productive staff members. Some Corporate Wellness Program ROI statistics of note:

• Canada Life Insurance reported a return of $3.43 on Corporate Wellness Program, and an overall Corporate Wellness Program ROI of $6.85 on each corporate dollar invested on reduced turnover (32.4 percent lower), productivity gains and decreased medical claims,
• DuPont’s Corporate Wellness Program pilot sites saw a saving of 11,726 disability days and a return of U.S. $2.05 for every dollar invested by the end of the second year,
• The Canadian government’s Corporate Wellness Program ROI was $1.95-$3.75 per employee per dollar spent (as found by Dr. Roy Shephard),
• Municipal staff members in Toronto, missed 3.35 fewer days in the first six months of their Corporate Wellness Program than staff members not enrolled in the program,
• British Columbia Hydro staff members enrolled in a Corporate Wellness Program had a turnover rate of just 3.5 percent compared with a Business average of 10.3%,
• Johnson & Johnson estimated an average saving of U.S. $224.66 per employee per year for the four years examined after the program introduction, with the bulk of the savings being in the third and fourth years,
• Pacific Bell found that overall absenteeism decreased after implementing a Corporate Wellness Program,
• Coca Cola report saving $500 every year per employee after implementing a Corporate Wellness Program, with only 60 percent of their staff members participating,
• Coors Brewing Co. found that for each dollar spent on their Corporate Wellness Program they saw a $5.50 return, and the staff members who participated reduced their absentee rate by 18%, and
• Prudential Insurance Company found that the benefits costs for staff members participating in their program were $312, as opposed to $574 for non-members

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Corporate wellness, Corporate Wellness Programs

November 26, 2008 / Corporate Wellness / No comments

As the science behind Corporate Wellness Programs continues to evolve, the need to define and articulate the components of this broad-based approach increases. In 1987 Allensworth and Kolbe (1987) expanded the prevailing definition of broad-based school health to include the domains of Health Instruction, Environmental Health, Health Services, Physical Education, Counseling and Psychological Services, School Food Service, Corporate Wellness Programs for Faculty and Staff, and the Integration of School and Community Resources.

To promote the health of school children, prevention specialists have found that an integrated broad-based approach is the most effective strategy. Relying only on health education or Physical Education initiatives to foster children’s health has demonstrated limited effectiveness. Consistent health messages delivered by numerous agents increases the possibility of attaining health goals and objectives. A similar model is essential if Corporate Wellness Programs are to impact positively on the health and performance of all staff members.

A broad-based model of Corporate Wellness Programs includes the following components; Health Education Strategies, employee Health Services and Benefits, nutrition and physical fitness Strategies, Corporate Wellness Program Policies and Procedures, Counseling and Employee Assistance Programs, a Safe and Healthy Work Environment, and the Integration of Company and Community Resources. This model can be used to evaluate and plan for Corporate Wellness Programs that are truly broad-based in nature, focusing on primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies for staff members.

One value of a truly broad-based model is that it is possible to promote a holistic approach of employee health. A healthy, productive employee is one who is given the opportunity to develop emotionally, physically, socially, intellectually and spiritually. In addition, this model supports the ideals of wellness and optimal health by encouraging worksites to go beyond initiatives designed to only reduce medical costs, prevent disease, or maintain health.

A key factor in the utility of this model is the overlap of responsibilities. Design and implementation are dependent upon the cooperation and motivation of qualified – and ideally – credentialed experts throughout the administrative structure of a business. Such a model requires consistent communication between health educators, medical staff, human resource managers, physical therapists, industrial hygienists, physical fitness physiologists, ergonomic engineers, dietitians, occupational therapists, psychologists and independent consultants. Planning must also incorporate active involvement of workers, administrators, family members, and business retirees at all stages of the development, implementation and evaluation stages. All must be committed to the development of a healthy organization where staff members are happy and proud to work.

Various professional organizations are working to advance the science of Corporate Wellness Programs. Health educators have the training and expertise to be leaders in this area. On the basis of theoretical foundations of health behavior and the results of empirical research, we must begin to articulate a clear vision of what optimal initiatives should consist of. Components of this model are included below for reference and will be discussed individually in coming posts.

• Health Education
• nutrition and physical fitness Strategies
• employee Health Services and employee Benefits
• Counseling & Employee Assistance Programs
• Safe Work Environment
• Health Related business Policies and Procedures
• Integration of business and Community Resources

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Corporate Wellness Program Statistics

November 22, 2008 / Corporate Wellness / No comments

Corporate Wellness Program Statistics tell a clear story – Corporate Wellness Program Programs are effective , and they save corporations money.

You should take note of these interesting Corporate Wellness Program Statistics:

Some 25 percent of United States corporations were running Corporate Wellness Programs in 1996.
Corporate Wellness Program Statistics depict a savings of $2.30 to $10.10 for every $1 spent on Corporate Wellness Programs.
Coca-Cola’s physical fitness program recouped $500 per year per employee, despite the fact that only 60% of their staff was enrolled.
A Ipsos-Reid Corporate Wellness Program statisics paper in 2004 found the three major preventable causes of staff absenteeism to be mental health (anxiety and/or depression), stress and a bad relationship with a supervisor.
Corporate Wellness Program Statistics from Prudential Insurance reveal a benefit expense of $312 per individual enrolled in their wellness system, but $574 per non-enrolled employee.
At the Coors Brewing Co., Corporate Wellness Program Statistics illuminate a savings of $5.50 per $1 spent on physical fitness, with a positive side-effect of participant absenteeism dropping by 18%.

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Corporate Wellness Program Benefits

November 21, 2008 / Corporate Wellness / No comments

Corporate Wellness Program Benefits still aren’t self-evident to some executives, even though the research, real-world evidence and cost-benefit analyses are demonstrative. With careful planning, almost every company can reap Corporate Wellness Program Benefits.

Part of the problem is that some executives erroneously believe that the Corporate Wellness Program Benefits are mostly on the employee side. The truth is that Corporate Wellness Program Benefits both the business and employee – and according to Corporate Wellness Program statistics , the employer stands to gain $2.30 to $10.10 in cost savings per dollar spent. Employee physical fitness saves businesses money.

At the same time, health care and insurance costs continue to skyrocket. Corporate Wellness Program Benefits are one of the only ways to cut those costs while helping employees at the same time. As Karen Roberts, senior vice president with Aon Consulting, said about Corporate Wellness Program Benefits in her address at the 2006 WorldAtWork Total Rewards Conference & Exhibition, “If you can’t afford to invest in wellness this year, you’re never going to afford it.”

Corporate Wellness Program Benefits include helping to prevent cancer, obesity, heart disease and hypertension. It’s rare that corporations can cut costs and assist struggling employees, support families and even arguably save lives. Isn’t that a good thing?

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Corporate Wellness Program During Flu Season

November 14, 2008 / Corporate Wellness / No comments

Maintaining Corporate Wellness Program during Flu Season can be a challenge for any company. The average adult can get up to four colds in one year, and hundreds of thousands are hospitalized every year for flu complications. From December to March, there are more employees out of the office due to illness, and others who barely made it to the office and can hardly think over their constant coughing and sneezing.

Corporate Wellness Program: Prevention is the Key

Prevention is the key to maintaining good health in the worksite and increasing overall Corporate Wellness Program. Fighting infection after the cold and flu epidemics hit is a losing battle and can best be combated with early action, such as implementing a Corporate Wellness Program Program at the worksite for good health all year long.

Keeping the Office Germ-free During Flu Season

The typical office is the perfect breeding grounds for influenza or the cold virus. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says that there are higher chances for the spread of infection during winter because people spend more time indoors. In an office, this risk is increased by cubicles, bringing many people into a close space. Worksite Health Testings conducted regularly as part of an overall health management program will increase the chances of Corporate Wellness Program year round, and especially during Flu Season.

Education Can Increase Corporate Wellness Program During Flu Season

Educating employees about various ways to stay healthy during Flu Season may help prevent the spread of any sickness to the entire office. Hand washing is a crucial component in maximizing Corporate Wellness Program, as bacteria collects on keyboards, mouses, around the water cooler and next to the community coffee pot. As employees shake hands, infection may be passed, multiplying the chance of getting a cold or coming down with the flu. Hand washing and anti-bacterial cleaners for surfaces can help reduce the spread of sickness.

Corporate Wellness Program is possible during Flu Season. With Corporate Wellness Program, your office can reach one step closer to immunity from sickness during Flu Season.

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Corporate Wellness Program: Businesses Save Millions Through Corporate Wellness Programs

November 13, 2008 / Corporate Wellness / No comments

Corporate Wellness Program Study Shows Millions Lost Due to Illness

Corporate Wellness Program was shown to be a huge economic boon for corporations in a recently-released joint report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Nearly three million productive employees in labor markets worldwide add up to a lot of money. The Corporate Wellness Program study estimates that China will lose $558 billion, India $237 billion, and Russia $303 billion in national income from 2005 to 2015 due to only three chronic diseases: heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Lack of Corporate Wellness Program A “Huge Expense”

The United States Center for Disease Control also reports that chronic disease accounts for approximately 75 percent of yearly employee health care costs in the United States, which constitutes a huge expense for corporations. And the Public Health Foundation of India estimates that its country will lose 18 million potentially productive years of life by 2030, a statistic no nation can afford, let alone a developing one.

Corporate Wellness Programs the Answer

A sustainable solution to these challenges cannot be solved by medical benefits alone. Workplace commitments to Corporate Wellness Program are also crucial. Companies are advised to implement workplace Health Testings for their employees, as well as look into a comprehensive health management program. These and other precautions are good secret weapons against the economic pitfall of unhealthy employees.

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Corporate Wellness Program ROI

November 3, 2008 / Corporate Wellness / No comments

Corporate Wellness Program ROI: Fact or Fiction?

Corporate Wellness Programs … do they provide a strong return on investment? This is a question that we are sure goes through ever company’s mind. HR Magazine addresses the Corporate Wellness Program ROI topic in their June 2008 issue.

Corporate Wellness Program ROI: The Bottom Line

According to the article, titled “Finding Wellness’ Return on Investment,” determining Corporate Wellness Program ROI is not an easy thing to do for corporations because it involves a lot of different variables and time.

However, the businesses that have taken the time to determine the Corporate Wellness Program ROI of their Corporate Wellness Programs have found that it is quite significant. Not to mention, the Wellness program’s effect on the improvement of employee health and the slowing of the rate of their employee health care expenses.

Corporate Wellness Program ROI Alliance

Corporate Wellness Program ROI is such an important aspect of today’s corporate culture, that several large businesses have come together to form the Alliance for Wellness ROI, Inc. According to the HR Magazine article, The Alliance for Wellness ROI was specifically created to address the lack of consistency in proving the value of Corporate Wellness Programs.

The alliance, formed by BMW of North America, Henry Ford Health System, Kraft Foods Global, Schlumberger Limited and MasterCare Worldwide, strongly believes in showing the value of Corporate Wellness Programs and want to develop a standard for how Corporate Wellness Programs are measured.

Corporate Wellness Programs Components

According the alliance, the following components should make up an corporate-provided employee Corporate Wellness Program:

Employee assistance Program
Disease Management Programs
Fitness and exercise Programs
Health risk assessments
Worksite health care Programs
Personal wellness profiles
Preventive Health Testings and immunizations
Tobacco-cessation Programs
Telephone based Corporate Wellness Programs
Weight Management / Loss Programs
Self-Care Programs.

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