Posts from — November 2008

Why bother to market your Company Wellness Programs?

Because of the transient nature of the many worker populations, you must market your Company Wellness Programs all the time. Your goal should be to keep your Company Wellness Programs as visible as possible.

Creative marketing can increase awareness of your Company Wellness Program for:
• Potential Company Wellness Program participants
• Senior Management
• Line and medical personnel
• Potential partners and volunteers

Creative Company Wellness Program marketing ideas

Involve Senior Management in your marketing Company Wellness Program as frequently as possible.
• By way of example: invite Senior Management to judge a Company Wellness Program logo contest.

Link your Company Wellness Programs to national advertising campaigns
• …like the Great American Smokeout and the Dairy Council’s Milk Mustache campaign.

Collaborate closely with personnel in the corporate office.
• Submit articles about your Company Wellness Programs that coincide with National Health Observances. By way of example: highlight your Asthma Program in May, which is National Asthma Awareness Month.
• Let the corporate office know you can always provide an article to them when they run short on material. (Then make sure you always follow through.)
Word of mouth is the most effective advertisement for your Company Wellness Program
• Use real workers in your advertising: enlist the help of successful Company Wellness Program participants or use Employees and other post personnel for your marketing materials, when possible.
• Start “buzz” by incorporating an element of competition: which ‘team’ had the most steps over the past week? Which department engaged most frequently in physical activity?
Take advantage of technology
• Use post television and radio resources.
• Use email whenever you can.
Don’t just market your Company Wellness Program to potential participants, but market the opportunities for others to be involved, as well.
• By way of example: does the Red Cross know you can always use a volunteer? Do other departments/clinics know that you can always use personnel with some temporary down time?
Don’t be “old news”
• If you put advertising materials up, be sure to take them down in a timely manner.
• Update marketing logos and themes as appropriate.

What is Company Wellness Program data?

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

Why should you care about Company Wellness Program data?

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

Building data into Company Wellness Programs

Why bother with Company Wellness Program Data?

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

Where to begin collecting Company Wellness Program data:
• MAKE A PLAN to collect the data: decide what, when, and how information will be collected.
• Find out 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.
• Begin collecting JUST A FEW small pieces of information. Be creative!
o By way of example: BMI, APFT scores (before & after), tobacco quit rates

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

Innovative Company Wellness Program data strategies

• Use local college/graduate students to help collect, input, and analyze Company Wellness Program information.
• If your company has an internship program, get to know the Internship Director. Take advantage of intern resources – including having the Director and/or interns implement the data collection plan for your Company Wellness Program.
• Use information to let upper management know about the Company Wellness Programs affect on the workers.

Present this information at their monthly/quarterly meetings.
• Use creative 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 Company Wellness Program participants.
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 Company Wellness Program to readiness.

Collaboration and Effective Company Wellness Programs

Why should you collaborate?

Active, ongoing partnerships and cooperative efforts multiply Company Wellness Program resources in order to better serve Employees and their families.

How can you build collaboration into a Company Wellness Program?

Get Ready…
• Brainstorm a list of every potential Wellness partner you can think of. Be creative!
• Be a politician: introduce yourself to everyone BEFORE you need their help.
• Develop a plan to get Senior Management support from as high up the chain as possible. Make sure to include specific ways that your Company Wellness Program will impact force readiness.
• Determine how YOU can help your partners (not just what they can do for you).

Be Steady…
• Solicit input from everyone that your Company Wellness Program will affect. Make a special effort to talk to the workers closest to Company Wellness Program implementation (those with “boots on the ground”).
• Your most frequently asked questions should be: “What would you suggest?” and “How do you think this would work best?”
• Locate someone who has done the same type of Company Wellness Program before and ask their advice. (Hint: the Company Wellness Program has a list of many Wellness POCs.)
• Plan NOW to show Company Wellness Program effectiveness. Identify who may ALREADY BE COLLECTING information that will show the Company Wellness Program is working.

Get Set…
• Step back and look at your Company Wellness Program from a potential partner’s point of view.
• Brainstorm questions your collaborators might have, and have the answers ready.
• Be ready to frame your “selling points” in terms that are important to each specific partner.
• Put the Company Wellness Program benefits in language your collaborators will understand.
• Emphasize to potential partners how this Company Wellness Program will provide benefit to them.

And Go…
• Build as many partnerships as you can BEFORE you implement a Company Wellness Program.
• Make your partnerships a two-way street: always let your collaborators know what you can do for them – then follow-up and do what you say you would do.
• Maintain Senior Management support by providing a regular flow of information. Invite Senior Management participation in the Company Wellness Program and special events whenever possible. (Hint: they make great judges if you have a contest.)
• Provide regular feedback to your collaborators.
• Don’t hog the spotlight: let your collaborators share in the visibility of the Company Wellness Program.

Company Wellness Programs at the corporate level are beneficial, right? Wellness statistics clearly show that such Company Wellness Programs are not only cost-effective to the organization but can assist the worker in developing a healthier lifestyle. With the rising cost of healthcare, Company Wellness Programs simply make sense. So where does the problem come in? Let’s examine the topic from both perspectives.

Company Wellness Programs: The Good

• A sampling of ROI for Company Wellness Programs: Bank of America: 600%; General Motors:370%; Pepsico: 300%; Citibank: 465%; and the Washoe County School District leading the pack at a whopping 1,560%. (Campbell,J., Wellness Improvement Experts, www.wellnessimprovementexperts.com, Albuquerque, New Mexico.)
• Companies with Company Wellness Programs have found a 28 percent reduction in sick leave, a 26 percent reduction in adjunctive healthcare costs and a 30 percent reduction in disability and workers compensation costs. (Health Affairs, Volume 21, No.2, March, 2002.)
• The Washoe county School District in Northern Nevada found a $15.60 ROI for every dollar spent due to a 20 percent reduction in rates of absence. (Hardy,A. (2005). At the Top Of The Class. WELCOA’s Absolute Advantage Magazine, 5(1), 14-20.)
• Company Wellness Programs provide the structure, encouragement, incentives and ongoing support that many individuals need in order to make lifestyle changes.
• Employees also realize returns on their efforts. FiServ, a financial services technology company, gave workers who filled out a health risk assessment a significant discount on their medical insurance premium. (Holland, Kelley, The New York Times, July 22, 2007.)

Company Wellness Programs: The Bad
The flip side of the argument centers on basic human rights. Do we want/need our employer to tell us to eat our veggies or lose 30 pounds? Some businesses are doing just that and at least one lawsuit has resulted because of it.
• Three hundred businesses have requested assistance from a national employment and labor law firm to institute more aggressive Company Wellness Programs.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)
• Clarian Health, based in Indianapolis, Will begin reducing worker paychecks by $10.00 for every worker who has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of greater than 29.9 because not enough workers were utilizing their wellness services.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)
• Scott Rodrigues filed a suit against his prospective employer, Scotts Miracle-Gro, because he believed the company’s antismoking policy violated his civil rights. The company has a policy against hiring workers who smoke and Mr. Rodrigues’drug screen was positive for nicotine.(Holland, Kelley, The New York Times,July 22,2007.)
• worker advocates are concerned that health discrimination may not be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)

Penalizing workers by hitting them hardest where it hurts the most, in their pocketbook, does not appear to be a a good approach to molding human behavior.
Such tactics may result in increased resentments and retaliation, primarily in the form of rates of absence and presenteeism (decreased productivity on the job.) Voluntary, incentive-based initiatives, such as the one in the Washoe County School District, can and do produce results. A positive attitude on the part of management along with an opportunity for workers to have a stake in the decision-making may yield the greatest dividends to both employer and worker.The motivation and resolve needed to change unhealthy lifestyle habits can best be derived from the basic tenets of encouragement, respect and support.

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

Statistics do show that Company Wellness Programs increase worker morale, improve the ability to attract and retain key workers, all while having more alert and productive workers. Some Company Wellness Program ROI statistics of note:

• Canada Life Insurance reported a return of $3.43 on Company Wellness Program, and an overall Company 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 Company 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 Company Wellness Program ROI was $1.95-$3.75 per worker per dollar spent (as reported by Dr. Roy Shephard),
• Municipal workers in Toronto, missed 3.35 fewer days in the first six months of their Company Wellness Program than workers not enrolled in the program,
• British Columbia Hydro workers enrolled in a Company Wellness Program had a turnover rate of just 3.5 percent compared with a Company average of 10.3 percent,
• Johnson & Johnson estimated an average saving of U.S. $224.66 per worker 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 reported that overall rates of absence decreased after implementing a Company Wellness Program,
• Coca Cola report saving $500 every year per worker after implementing a Company Wellness Program, with only 60 percent of their workers taking part,
• Coors Brewing Co. reported that for each dollar spent on their Company Wellness Program they saw a $5.50 return, and the workers who participated reduced their absentee rate by 18 percent, and
• Prudential Insurance Company reported that the benefits costs for workers taking part in their program were $312, as opposed to $574 for non-participants

Employees breathe life and value into your company.  Within the modern worksite there are increasing instances of stress, anxiety, obesity, depression, and heart disease.  The modern worksite has become increasingly physical fitness-free.

Technological advances have lessened the need to “walk” at work.  Moving a mouse has the same level of physical exertion as pressing the buttons on a remote control.  Emails, the fax, and the internet have meant that it is possible to run a company without having to leave the chair.  The “advances” affect physical and mental health in a disastrous manner ultimately affecting your company’s profit.

A sedentary lifestyle is a recipe for disaster - heart disease, chronic back pain, repetitive stress disorder, and low employee self-esteem are symptomatic of a work environment in which the only physical fitness available is surfing the net.  Company morale will invariably suffer if an physical fitness policy is not endorsed and put in place.

Regular physical fitness can significantly improve worksite health.  Instances of absenteeism and staff turnover, low staff morale and reduced productivity can be alleviated with a Company Wellness Program that energizes and motivates tired workers.  Boredom, repetitive motion injuries and worksite tiredness can only be combated with physical and mental stimulation.

Studies show, workers who are physically active on a regular basis record less sick days each year and are more energetic, dynamic, and industrious.  Investing in the health of your staff pays dividends through increased productivity and goodwill.  Physically active workers are happy workers.

• Reducing medical insurance and compensation costs through reduced need for medical services
• Improving productivity
• Reducing rates of absence
• Improving morale
• Reducing stress

On top of improving the health of your staff, a comprehensive Company Wellness Program shows your workers you care about their well-being.

Golds Gym Company Wellness Programs is committed to creating a healthy, active workforce, providing employers with training incentives for workers at our state-of-the-art facilities. Golds Gym Employee Wellness also provides training services and facility design at your office location.

Incorporating all aspects of fitness training (strength, core, cardiovascular, flexibility), performing comprehensive fitness assessments, designing personalized fitness initiatives, and dynamic group training initiatives.  We take pride in our talented, professional workers who provide creative and effective Company Wellness Programs for diverse workforces.

Golds Gym Company Wellness Program’s workers reach beyond the walls of the fitness center to motivate, educate, and encourage workers to embrace and maintain healthy active lifestyles.  Applying practical experience the Golds Gym Company Wellness Program delivers dynamic cost-effective Company Wellness Program that help workers work happier, harder, and healthier.

To motivate your workers to exercise, eat better, and lose weight, you could invest heavily in facilities, equipment, and staffing to develop on-site Company Wellness Programs for workers, thereby hopefully creating a healthier, more productive workforce.  However, the problem with corporate fitness facilities is that workers spend one quarter of their lives at work and typically are not motivated enough to come in early or stay late to do an exercise program.

Golds Gym Company Wellness Programs provides attractive discounts for businesses to train at our professionally coordinated facilities.  When your company becomes a member of our Company Wellness Program, your workers are eligible for savings off of our regular training rates.  No matter what size of company you keep, we have a Company Wellness Program to keep it healthy, happy, and working strong.

• Coca Cola reported saving $500 per worker every year after implementing a Company Wellness Program with only 60 percent of their workers taking part.
• Pacific Bell reported that overall rates of absence decreased after implementing a Company Wellness Program.
• Coors Brewing Company reported that for each dollar spent on their Company Wellness Program they saw a $5.50 return and the workers who participated reduced their absentee rate by 18%.
• Prudential Insurance Company reported that the benefits costs for workers taking part in their program were $312 as opposed to $574 for non-participants (American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, 2004).

To learn more about Gold’s Gym Company Wellness Programs contact us at (336) 725-8624.

Flu Shot Facts & Myths

Myth: The flu isn’t a serious disease.
Fact: Influenza (flu) is a serious disease of the nose, throat, and lungs, and it can lead to pneumonia. Each year about 200,000 workers in the U.S. are hospitalized and about 36,000 workers die because of the flu. Most who die are 65 years and older. But small children less than 2 years old are as likely as those over 65 to have to go to the hospital because of the flu.

Myth: The flu shot can cause the flu.
Fact: The flu shot cannot cause the flu. Some workers get a little soreness or redness where they get the shot. It goes away in a day or two. Serious problems from the flu shot are very rare.

Myth: The flu shot does not work.
Fact: Most of the time the flu shot will prevent the flu. In scientific studies, the effectiveness of the flu shot has ranged from 70 percent to 90 percent when there is a good match between circulating viruses and those in the vaccine. Getting the vaccine is your best protection against this disease.

Myth: The side effects are worse than the flu.
Fact: The worst side effect you’re likely to get from a flu shot is a sore arm. The nasal mist flu vaccine might cause nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat and cough. The risk of a severe allergic reaction is less than 1 in 4 million.

Myth: Only older workers need a flu vaccine.
Fact: Adults and children with conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease need to get a flu shot. Doctors also recommend children 6 months and older get a flu shot every year until their 5th birthday.

Myth: You must get the flu vaccine before December.
Fact: Flu vaccine can be given before or during the flu season. The best time to get vaccinated is October or November. But you can get vaccinated in December or later.

For more information, ask your healthcare provider or call 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636).  You can also get more information about flu vaccinations by visiting the following Website: www.cdc.gov/flu

Source: The Department of Health and Human ServicesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention

Advantages of Company Wellness Programs: Easy to Find

Employer’s are learning that Company Wellness Programs is an effective way to increase productivity, improve worker health, lower healthcare costs and reduce rates of absence.

A report published in 2003 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlighted how important it is for employers to incorporate Company Wellness Programs as part of their corporate strategy. The report asserts that chronic diseases which are largely preventable place a heavy toll on company, including lower productivity and higher medical insurance costs.

The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that $1.66 trillion was spent on healthcare in 2003 and it attributes a majority of those costs to chronic diseases and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and asthma. Sadly, the money allocated for preventing or controlling these conditions is negligible.

In a recent article, American Cancer Society CEO John Seffrin reported two thirds of cancer deaths in the U.S. could be prevented through lifestyle changes in diet, physical fitness, cancer screening and “especially” tobacco use. A well-designed Company Wellness Programs initiative serves the best interests of workers and employers alike.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Return On Investment

Ron Goetzel, a nationally recognized expert in the science of health management, information analysis and applied research, said in a recent interview that with an investment of $100 to $150 per worker per year in Company Wellness Programs, an employer can expect an average ROI of approximately $3 for every $1
invested ($300 to $450 savings per worker per year).  Goetzel says, however, that these returns are not typically found until two to three years into the Company Wellness Program.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Tax Breaks

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has been an outspoken proponent in seeking legislative solutions for a strained healthcare system.

“As a nation, we have a ‘sick care’ system that is focused on helping workers after they get sick, rather than a ‘health care’ system which focuses on keeping healthy workers healthy,” he says.

Harkin introduced the Healthy Lifestyle and Prevention (HeLP) America Act of 2004. One of the initiatives under Title II - Healthier Communities and Workplaces, provides tax credits to businesses that offer comprehensive programs to promote worker health and grants for small company.

Advantages of Wellness Progams: Getting Started

Implementing a Company Wellness Programs can be accomplished with simple, low-cost strategies.

• Provide incentives for participation.
• Begin a wellness informational campaign.
• Schedule wellness seminars on diabetes, nutrition, physical fitness and cholesterol.
• Begin initiatives such as fitness, sleep diary, smoking cessation and injury prevention.
• Provide onsite chair massages or simple stretching exercises to do at the desk.
• Change snack machine options to offer healthier, low-fat snacks and drinks.
• Actively promote worker participation in all Company Wellness Programs.

A successful Company Wellness Program can boost company morale, enhance productivity, reduce organizational conflict, attract superior workers and lower the rate of worker turnover. The case for beginning a Company Wellness Program is well worth the effort.

Demographic and technological transformations are changing the nature of work in our society. As these changes occur the comprehensive model of Company Wellness Programs described above will evolve and continue to develop. If current trends continue, the workers of tomorrow will be older, more racially and ethically diverse, increasingly female, and will frequently be located off-site. In the later case, technological advances are making it possible for more and more consultants to conduct their work from their homes. Thus the very character of the worksite will change and so must our efforts to deliver Company Wellness Programs. As an example, in the future it is likely that a great deal of health education programming will be delivered through personalized interactive multimedia formats, conveniently supplied to any number of workers through telecommunication systems.

As technological innovations increase in the worksite, Company Wellness Program consultants will face new health related challenges. In the past, some have assumed that technology would make workers more efficient, thereby allowing workers to work less, while being more productive. In reality, increases in technological innovation have simply allowed more of us to take our work with us where ever we go and feel guilty for not being increasingly productive.

This trend may absorb increasingly greater amounts of leisure time that is normally devoted to recreation and relaxation. Subsequent increases in stress and tiredness will ensure the continued need for effective Company Wellness Programs.

When considering the scope of Company Wellness Programs described in this article, many will think of substantial investments made by large businesses. The reality is that 60 percent of individuals working in the U.S. work for a company of less than 100 workers (U. S. Bureau of Census, 1988). Due to economy of scale, it has been difficult and expensive for small company owners to supply adequate healthcare insurance as well as prevention programming for workers.

Company Wellness Program consultants must understand this challenge and develop the method to overcome these obstacles. The evidence is clear that much more could be done to advance the health of our society through the worksite. As change agents, health educators must work to empower employers and workers through education of the benefits of Company Wellness Programs.

Worksites do not exist in a vacuum. They are part and parcel of the community in which they are located. Successful corporate administrators are cognizant of the need for positive community relations and should do what is necessary to promote good will. What better way to bridge relationships than by utilizing existing community Company Wellness Program services and initiatives whenever possible (e.g., voluntary, private and public health agencies) and providing health related services back to the community. Since the community is also the home of the worker, an effective mode of health promotion is through programming directed at the larger community. Sponsorship of community related health fairs is one example more are listed below.

• Encourages worker/employer involvement in the community
Blood drives
Sponsorship of fund raising for community schools and social services
Community recycling initiatives
Youth league sports sponsorship
Job training initiatives
• Public relations and media initiatives advertising a healthy company image
• company newsletters and press releases on health issues to local media
• Environmentally sound use of community resources and waste disposal