H-E-B, for example, tracks the percentage of employees in each retail territory and business unit who are at risk in areas such as high blood pressure, physical inactivity, and smoking against benchmark goals.
The information helps management decide where to allocate resources. Persuading employees to complete HRAs is a challenge, of course, for reasons ranging from privacy, to limited self-awareness about biometric numbers such as blood pressure, to lack of computer access. A high-profile, high-quality initiative within a broader wellness program can foster employee pride and involvement.
Consider, for instance, when MD Anderson became the first health care organization to earn gold-standard accreditation from the CEO Roundtable on Cancer. Many people throughout the organization view this commitment as a badge of honor.
Never forget the pleasure principle in wellness initiatives. Health-related services are, by nature, personal. Communication services provider Comporium, for example, has an on-site health and wellness center staffed by an independent medical practice including nurse-practitioners NPs , with a physician available as needed.
It offers useful services such as hypertension management and treatment for strep throat and sinus infections. Initially, the program faltered because quality was not perceived as high. But the company turned that around, and now the experienced NPs enjoy a loyal following of employees, spouses, and eligible retirees. Our sample companies make low- or no-cost services a priority, and they know that convenience matters.
On-site fitness centers are sometimes criticized for attracting people who would exercise anyway. But employees at companies who have them love them, and employees at other companies want them.
That makes me realize I can do it, too. In Houston, for example, professional trainers go to the trading floor each day at for a minute stretch series. A wide variety of screenings are offered, including bone scans, cholesterol, blood sugar, lung capacity, and hearing. Women can make appointments for mammograms. Chiropractors are available. The local fire department demonstrates how to install a smoke detector, and the police conduct sessions on home safety and give children a chance to be fingerprinted for safety.
Yoga instructors, chaplains, and many others lead seminars. Local bank representatives provide private consultations. Vendors for health and dental insurance and K plans are available.
Employees typically consume one or several meals plus snacks during work hours. Healthful food at work has to be tasty, convenient, and affordable. Organizations increasingly use online resources to deliver wellness messages and to let individuals input information such as HRA data and activity reports.
Companies can also make wellness websites available on smartphones to increase portability. Internal partnerships help wellness programs gain credibility.
External partnerships with specialized vendors enable wellness staffs to benefit from vendor competencies and infrastructure without extra internal investment.
The smallest companies in our study have developed comprehensive wellness programs in part by leveraging the resources of vendor partners. Wellness communications must overcome individual apathy, the sensitivity of personal health issues, and the geographic, demographic, and cultural heterogeneity of employees.
The range and complexity of wellness services also can pose challenges. Our sample companies have honed effective practices over time. For one, they tailor their messages to fit the intended audience. Media diversity also helps. Nelnet, for example, includes information about wellness in its regular corporate e-mail on Wednesdays, features health-related messages on its intranet portal, advertises specific wellness benefits, posts flyers about health in elevators and stairwells, and distributes wellness stickers and magnets.
According to Dr. Although some health risk factors, such as heredity, cannot be modified, focused education and personal discipline can change others such as smoking, physical inactivity, weight gain, and alcohol use—and, by extension, hypertension, high cholesterol, and even depression. The results are worth the effort. By capturing key metrics, a wellness dashboard helps to connect investments in a program with short- and long-term results.
Sophisticated companies set metrics-related goals and examine trends closely, just as they do for other facets of the business. Our example dashboard below is based on our work in the wellness field. This rubric of the most useful metrics incorporates 1 employee measures of participation, satisfaction, and well-being; and 2 organizational measures of financial, productivity, and cultural outcomes.
Items are typically measured monthly, quarterly, or yearly, depending on the metric, and are tracked over time. Penetration —the percentage of employees who have participated in at least one wellness activity. Depth —the percentage breakdown of employees who are light or heavy users of wellness activities. Sustainability —the number of employees who continue to engage in a specific risk-reducing behavior. Health-risk status identifying the percentages of employees at high, moderate, or low health risk from HRAs.
Illness-related absenteeism is an obvious factor in productivity. Less obvious but probably more significant is presenteeism —when people come to work but underperform because of illness or stress. It can include post frequency, relevance and objectives. The policy should be clear about who has authority to make posts, comment and respond, especially to controversial remarks. When United Airlines discovers a negative tweet about its brand, the company has very specific protocols about how a complaint is managed.
When a customer complains online, the first step should be to take the conversation offline and resolve the issue away from a large viewing audience. Then, handle the customer as if they called.
The policy should prohibit employees who are not involved with this process to abstain from any engagement, so the professionals can handle it. Many consumers today have become empowered through social media to expose businesses for their bad behavior. In many ways, the new environment has forced companies to improve their service, while some consumers have found ways to take unfair advantage. The policy should address how social media is managed during a crisis, who is in charge and how the social managers interact with communications teams and senior management.
No company policy is ironclad in the eyes of the law, but many can prevent mistakes and clear confusion among employees. Attorneys and public relations firms can help draft social media policies to fit your organizational needs. When a policy is finalized, it should be presented effectively throughout the entire organization. A strong brand can take decades to build, but even the best brands can come undone in a single day. He is focused on intellectual property with a specialty on domestic and foreign patent and trademark preparation, prosecution, procurement and litigation.
Read on for a list of things you should know before you take your company beyond U. Working with outside suppliers, sales agents, joint venture partners and subsidiaries can serve to expand and grow your business but, when working internationally, they might also expose your organization to civil or criminal violations.
When doing business globally, it is important to know your business partners and put processes in place to avoid running afoul of certain U. The U. Given the changing geopolitical environment, the list of sanctioned countries, organizations and individuals is constantly changing.
The federal government also regulates the export of certain products and services that have a military use or may be used for military purposes. Businesses that operate internationally and that have products or services that are regulated must have controls in place to assure compliance with these trade regulations. These laws and regulations are challenging and the repercussions of non-compliance could result in civil or criminal sanctions.
Ignorance of the law is no legal defense—a business or individual does not have to plan or intend to violate these requirements to be held liable. A business must understand how it delivers its products and services to market, how it gets paid and with whom it does business. Failing to know your business partners might expose a legitimate and reputable business to accusations of doing business with terrorist organizations, sanctioned countries or human traffickers.
Cassidy Law has experience helping clients avoid these common pitfalls. Maragret Cassidy is principal at Cassidy Law. Here are 10 things you should do or stop doing to stay on the good side of your coworkers. Workplace etiquette is defined by dictionary.
Read on below for the 10 things you should do or start doing to avoid raising the ire of your colleagues and show that you do have some common sense as it relates to workplace etiquette.
Stay home! No 9: At all costs, avoid being late. If you happen to have a delay, communicate with your supervisor ahead of time. If you are in training or a meeting please pay attention to the speaker.
Developing friendships at work is expected but remember you are at work and you should be careful about sharing personal information. Emails can be misconstrued. If you are lucky enough to have a kitchen, please make sure that you clean your dishes and wipe out the microwave after you use it.
If you pour the last cup of coffee, you should make a fresh pot. Enough said! Never read an e-mail, note, or fax that is not addressed to you.
Although we all have the right to our opinions, we need to be wary about the things we say while at work. Privacy Policy Terms of Use. The Benefits and Costs of an Employee Wellness Program From reduced health care costs to increased employee morale, there are many benefits of a workplace wellness program. This article will help you understand: What constitutes an employee wellness program; Examples of different types of employee wellness programs; The benefits of offering an employee wellness program; and The costs associated with implementing an employee wellness program.
Their primary priorities are to curtail health costs, retain good workers, attract good employees, reduce absenteeism, and improve employee productivity, morale, and safety. Just as in the past, companies today that do not provide comprehensive wellness programs generally will not see a positive ROI. Holding an annual health fair, hosting an occasional health class, or providing printed health information without follow-up are usually not enough by themselves to generate change or keep healthcare costs from climbing.
To show savings from a wellness program, it is essential for a company to provide a well-run program with comprehensive and effective interventions. Most companies that are serious about managing costs and saving money recognize the need for a comprehensive program that includes:.
How much should you budget for an effective, comprehensive employee wellness program? Ron Goetzel, Director. With training, careful planning, and assistance from outside vendors, an in-house wellness program can be very effective, easy to offer, and affordable.
But keep in mind that the more you invest, the greater the results — and savings — you can expect. While the employer carries the primary cost of the program, the employee can often share expenses on interventions or classes, such as paying half of the enrollment fee for a weight loss class — either up front, or upon receipt of documentation of regular attendance.
In addition, some insurance carriers will cover a portion of health screening expenses and other wellness program costs. The Affordable Care Act, enacted March 23, , provides small businesses fewer than employees access to wellness grants to help establish new worksite wellness programs. To be eligible for a grant, employers cannot have had a workplace wellness program in place prior to the date of enactment, and must implement a comprehensive wellness program that:.
The average employee has at least 2 risks linked to increased healthcare costs, decreased productivity, and increased absenteeism. This shows the real potential for savings from a well-designed wellness program, which can cut these risks in half or even eliminate them.
Plus, employees are happier, less likely to develop serious disease, and more likely to live longer. The average potential increase in longevity is 4.
You can choose to take a reactive approach to healthcare — where you pay for health problems after they develop and continue to see your healthcare costs climb.
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