Employer toolkit: Eight Steps to Building a Successful Wellness Program

8 Steps to Building a Successful Wellness Program

Employer Toolkit

ADVOCARE GROUP, INC

The additional medical costs associated with people who are obese

Cost of sick time and lost productivity(to employers)

Source: Centers for Disease Control & Preventionhttp://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

© AdvoCare Group, INC 2014

$1,429 $7 Billion


You’re considering a workplace wellness program?

So where do you begin?

Work closely with your insurance partners to define how healthcare costs and the overall culture of your company can benefit from workplace wellness. Think specifically about goals such as:

• Reducing healthcare costs

• Increasing productivity

• Reducing injury

• Providing enhanced benefits package


Establish Your Overall Goals.

In 2007, the total estimated costs of diabetes were $174 billion, including $116 billion in medical expenditures and $58 billion in lost productivity.American Diabetes Association. Economic costs of diabetes in the U.S. in 2007. Diabetes Care. 2008; 31(3): 1-20.

FACT

Tobacco use is responsible for an estimated $96.8 billion per year in lost productivity due to sickness and premature death. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost, and productivity losses – United States, 2000-2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2008; 57(45): 1226-1228.

FACT


INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS

• Biometric testing

• Health Risk Assessments

• Surveys

Assess the needs of your particular organization.

Aggregate reports can be created to assess the overall health of your workforce.

© AdvoCare Group, LLC. 2014© AdvoCare Group, INC 2014

Identify how you will create the most meaningful intervention through a resource

employees can trust.

1. Establish distance between personal concerns and the employer

2. Identify high risk individuals and common health issues based on the demographics and culture of your worksite

3. Appropriately evaluate the success of the programs

A THIRD PARTY PROVIDER CAN HELP: Some tools to consider:

Case Management – Clinicians who can guide employees through health plans and establish accountability

Telemedicine – Virtual access to physicians who can provide quick, accessible treatment and low costs to the employee or employerInsurance Programs

Identify Meaningful Incentives.


• Reduced premium

• Paid Time Off (“Wellness Days”)

• Cash prizes

• Vacation prizes

• Gas cards

• Pampering prizes

Find out what your workforce wants to achieve in terms of health. What motivates your workforce?

Create a wellness committee.

Create a volunteer committee from various departments that focuses on the development, implementation, maintenance and evaluation of wellness activities. This creates stakeholders ownership in the program’s success.



Empower your workforce through Senior Management buy-in.

Embrace health and wellness as a core business value.

• Encourage access to wellness initiatives and activities during company time.

• Fill your vending machines with healthy options.

• Promote your program with every opportunity available (i.e. public broadcasts, intranet, company meetings, posters, company-wide emails).

• Go beyond the annual healthfair. Provide a forum for a diverse range of wellness activities.


Consult ADA and other federal guidelines.

More info available at http://benefits1group.com/ada-and-wellness

ACA, ADA, EEOC: Consider federal law & oversight when building a balanced, effective wellness program.

• When it comes to wellness programs, take “require” and “penalty” out of your vocabulary.

• Clearly define and have readily available reasonable alternatives for participation.

• Closely review anti-discrimination laws as they apply in any policy making when building and maintaining your wellness program.


Measure and evaluate your program regularly.

• Reduction in medical costs associated with health insurance

• Reduction in sick time and absenteeism

• Reduction in workplace injury

• Employee participation

• Referral rate among employees

• Employee perception of program and workplace environment

• Requests for further programming

Additional Resources

BEGIN Wellness (An AdvoCare Group Company)• advocarehealthservices.com/services/workplace-wellness

Ohio BWC Workplace Wellness Grants

www.bwc.ohio.gov/employer/programs/safety/wellnessgrants.asp

Learn more about National Observance Month Tools (FREE)!

• http://healthfinder.gov/nho/

© AdvoCare Group INC 2014

ADVOCARE GROUP, INC

www.advocaregroup.com

AdvoCare Group offers employers best-practice strategies for managing workplace injury, disability, and wellness initiatives throughout the USA.

Our staff is comprised of administrative professionals and clinicians with vast experience in the fields of nursing and care coordination, holistic treatments, vocational counseling and rehabilitation, claims examination, and return-to-work practices.

Employer toolkit: Eight Steps to Building a Successful Wellness Program

Healthcare

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company time

economic costs of diabetes

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