Employee Wellness for Small and Medium Sized Businesses

Employee Wellness for Small and Medium Sized Businesses presented by: Cathy Rasmusson, MHA Principal Consultant 1

Overview n n n Impact of wellness programs Success strategies Company culture Adaptations Internal resources External resources 2

What is an Employee Wellness Program? An employee health initiative that supports employee wellness and health improvement 3

Why do wellness? n Employee wellness provides opportunities for employees to be aware and actively involved to: n n n Increase awareness health risk factors for illness and/or disease Make decisions about health Be productive and feel better Contain the costs related to health care Avoid injury 4

Employee Health-risk Factors Employee Status Profile Use tobacco Do not get adequate exercise Experience daily stress Poor eating habits Overweight or obese 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 5

Contributors to incidence of illness, injuries, absenteeism and lost productivity n n n n Stress Limited staffing Aging workforce Lack of physical activity Sedentary jobs Overweight Chronic diseases n n n n Performance level Changing jobs Increase in injuries Substance abuse Caretaking Financial concerns Benefit coverage 6

Poor health is pricey! n n n Each smoker costs an employer an additional $3, 856 per yr. in healthcare costs and lost productivity One million employees are absent on an average work day because of stress-related problems Medical expenditures for obese workers are 29% 117% greater than expenditures for workers of normal weight Employees who have body mass index (BMI) >40 lost 183 work days compared to 14 lost workdays for employees with normal weight Average worker’s compensation costs is $60 K per claim 7

Impact on Operations Employees ARE Your Business! n n n Functionality Profitability Reputation Competitiveness Bottom line 8

Absence dynamics n “No show” = others having to do the job and/or jobs not getting done n Resentment n Overtime n Delays n Poor customer service n Job stress n Inattention 9

Success strategies n n n Assess Plan Communicate Target Evaluate 10

Company culture n Leadership support n n Communicates importance Participates in activities Mid-management involved Recognition program & awards n n Company & employees Dedicates budget Involved Adopts and supports policies 11

Policies to support healthy worksite n n n No tobacco on premises Encourage employees to take breaks Allow flex time where possible Health day Stretching Walking meetings Healthier Workforce Initiative http: //www. cdc. gov/nccdphp/dnpao/hwi/index. htm 12

Wellness committee n n n Leadership attends meetings Feedback from employees is shared Include safety, Union representatives, insurance broker, mix of departments Bring in members specific to activity Report results Get substitute if not able to attend meeting or event 13

Program planning n n n Establish mission statement Formulate SMART goals & objectives Sample #1 Goal: Objective: Timeframe Measurement: Strategies: Engage employees in health and wellness activities 20% of employees will see physician for annual preventive visit 1/30/12 -3/30/12 Return of completed Annual Preventive Visit Form Flyer mailed to employees regarding requirements and incentive award for having an annual preventive visit n. Reminder emails will be sent each month n. Information regarding preventive visit included in flyers two months prior and every month during campaign. n. Preventive screening recommendations will be included in quarterly bulletin n. Flyers will be posted at sites n 14

Program planning n Formulate SMART goals & objectives Sample #2 n Goal: Objective: Timeframe Engage employees in health and wellness activities Wellness program information will be posted on intranet monthly Measurement: file Strategies Print out page of intranet after change has been made, date and n n n n Provide links to health plans and wellness discounts on site Upcoming events posted on intranet Include wellness “success” stories and photos Quarterly bulletins will be accessible via intranet Feature “innovator award” for sites that have initiated creative and fun programs 15

Budget items n Staffing Upfront work will cut down the amount of effort/time/staffing needs n Variable depending on available staff, plan Incentives Events Heath screening and/or flu shots (optional) n n 16

No cost & minimal cost n n n Policies Healthy food choices Materials Communication Walk/run event participation Basketball hoops, walking trails, bike racks n n n n Stretching Health plan wellness offerings Preventive exams Intern(s) Volunteers Interest survey Education seminars 17

Adaptations n Company configuration n n Manufacturing Field offices and/or telecommuters Technical Service Demographics n Age, gender, access to health & wellness onsite and offsite 18

Manufacturing n n n Peer training Strong network of wellness champions Wellness bulletin board & activity verification drop box Safety meetings Incentive prizes that would be used on the job (lunch bag, water bottle, key chain) 19

Field & Telecommuters n n n Phone messages (verbal & text) Monthly challenges that accessible to multiple locations Vehicle reminder Strong network, include mid-management and Union (if applicable) in particular Use clinics for flu shot, biometric testing Explore option of having biometric testing when getting pre-hire drug screening 20

Technology n n n n Computer screen pop ups and or wellness banner Schedule stretch breaks (particularly during meetings that last >½ hr. ) Incorporate music Discourage eating at workstation Stress ergonomics Sit on stability ball Basketball hoop Visual graph competitions and/or accomplishments 21

Service organization n n n Pass the wellness “baton” during the day Wellness button or sticker on badge Frequent breaks Comfortable workstation “Overhead” announcement Team challenges 22

Applicable to all n n n Name for wellness program Company function(s) with health theme Participate in walk/run/cycle/hiking philanthropic event Wellness offerings included in new hire packets Include information about wellness in company training 23

Applicable to all n n n n Flex schedule Partner with businesses near by to combine activities Pictures, pictures Switch up often Incentivize Employee interest survey Ask for feedback 24

Motivate n Incentives n n n Ask for local businesses to “match” Offer “marketing opportunity” Health plan Lunch Afternoon off Drawing 25

Activities n Wellness ways – Wellness days n n n Offering healthy food options at lower cost Tuesday “tennies” day Go “green” (vegetables), “red” (heart disease) Healthy pot lucks Wellness Wednesdays (walk, weigh-in, wellness checkup) 26

Get the message out – their way! n Communication n n n Table tents Bulletin board Handouts at meetings Dashboard flyers Intranet Emails Post 27

Internal resources n n n n Leadership Training Wellness champions Networks Events Intranet Philanthropy Safety staff 28

Staffing options n n n n Rotate and/or wellness “action team” Speakers bureau Interns Negotiate workload Volunteers Wellness champions Health/wellness service providers 29

External resources 30

Wellness discounts & services n Health plan discounts n n Gyms, massage, products Flu shots, classes, health coaching Insurance broker Clinics n Walgreens onsite clinics www. takecarehealth. com n Hospitals 31

Not-for-profit organizations n American Cancer Society http: //www. acsworkplacesolutions. com/ n Workplace Solutions n Active for Life n American Heart Association http: //www. startwalkingnow. org/start_workplace. jsp n American Diabetes Association Resources Worksite Health Promotion n www. diabetes. org/communityevents/programs/winningatwork 32

Government programs n National Healthy Worksite Program http: //www. cdc. gov/nationalhealthyworksite/ n n Employer size 50 -1, 000 employees Linking community resources, government entities, employers together Training, webinars, materials United States Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) http: //fnic. nal. usda. gov/consumers 33

Government programs n Healthier Workforce Initiative n n n http: //www. cdc. gov/nccdphp/dnpao/hwi/index. htm Program design Toolkits Policies Obesity prevention 34

Community n n n Colleges Parks & recreation Team sports Walk/run events Grants Clubs 35

Healthy Business Designs § Consulting services to design, develop, coordinate and evaluate employee health promotion/wellness programs at the worksite § Customized for each business & budget § Specializing in strategic planning to optimize use of no-cost and low-cost resources § Development of organizational culture and environment to support health and wellness 36

Healthy Business Designs services n n n Needs assessments Strategic planning Conducting employee interest survey Boosting employee engagement Setting up policies Baseline and evaluation measures n Linking employer up with wellness vendors (biometric screening, health fair coordinators, ergonomics, safety training, etc. ) n n Marketing & communications Action plan, calendar of activities and resources Assist in program implementation Health education seminars 37

Employee Wellness for Small and Medium Sized Businesses Cathy Rasmusson, MHA Principal Consultant Website: www. healthybusinessdesigns. com 38