How can our business increase participation in the corporate wellness program?

Having a corporate wellness program in place can increase morale, improve health and fitness and increase productivity in the workplace. Now that you have taken the steps necessary to implement a corporate wellness program, how do you get your staff members interested and willing to participate?

By starting healthful consuming habits, exercise and offering incentives, your staff members will not only sign up for the wellness program, but they will stick with it.

Does your corporation have an on-site fitness center that employees have access to? If not, offering free or discounted fitness center memberships to a local fitness center could be an effective method for getting employees to exercise. Whether the fitness center is on or off-site nevertheless, authorizing employees to use the facility during work hours, like on their lunch break, will increase the likelihood that they’ll exercise.

Rewarding employees’ achievements is another way to keep them motivated and living a healthful lifestyle. Establishing business objectives like collectively walking a certain number of miles, supports team building. Offering incentives like gift cards, certificates of achievement, and even a day off work can be effective ways to keep participation levels up.

Since there will likely be less sick days being used due to disease, your corporation could  be able to afford to offer a day off pass as an incentive. These incentives do not have to be expensive, just valuable to the employee.

Providing a healthy lunch once a week for staff members participating in the corporate health plan, is a excellent way to promote healthy eating. Offering an incentive of healthy, scrumptious, free food is one way to reward staff members for their efforts while supporting their new healthy lifestyle.

Having a corporate wellness program in place will provide long term benefits to both the company and the workers. This is one corporate plan that is certainly worth your time and money!

Why should our company host a corporate health fair?

Do you work in your corporation’s human resources (HR) department? Are you looking for events to plan for your corporation this year? If so, it’d be a excellent idea to look into hosting a corporate wellness fair. Corporate wellness fairs are valuable to both the business and the staff member because they promote overall health, awareness and prevention.

What type of vendors are at a health fair?

There are many providers to select from when bringing a corporate wellness fair to your company. the most popular providers include dentists, massage therapists, chiropractors, nutritionists and the American Red Cross. These few popular providers are a part of a long list available to attend wellness fairs.

How do we select which providers to include in the wellness fair?

While most providers are excellent for all staff members, there are some providers available for companies with a specific demographic. for example, if your company has a lot of pregnant women or women of child bearing age, it may be a good idea to have a provider particularly talking about prenatal care.

If there are a lot of smokers at your business, you could want to have the American Lung Association present. Try to select vendors that meet your employees’ needs. Do not forget that hosting a corporate health fair is meant to be beneficial to them.

When should we hold a wellness fair?

Anytime is a great time to host a wellness fair. However, you might want to consider not scheduling around holidays or busy seasons so that you can maximize participation. Another great choice is having the corporate wellness fair on a weekend and making it family friendly. Corporate wellness fairs help keep everyone healthy, as a result increasing work productivity.

Not only does hosting a corporate health fair promote health, it also builds camaraderie between coworkers, bettering team building and communication in the office. It’s a win-win for both the company and the employee!

Wellness programs have been proven to lower absenteeism, staff member turnover rates, and health care costs. It’s a key piece of a corporation’s success. the results of these programs lead to higher productivity, which in the end leads to a more profitable company.

In order for these programs to run properly and produce results they must’ve a clear operating plan with an attainable and measurable goal. the programs must also encourage all workers to lead a healthy lifestyle while at work and at home.

Wellness programs have been introduced to companies all over the U.S. in an effort to make workers healthier and in turn happier. Businesses which implement these programs do so to varying degrees. Some simply offer literature about how to live a healthy lifestyle and reduce stress while at work.

Some corporations offer health testings and health risk (assessment|appraisal}s for free during the year to help staff members understand what’s going on with their health and what they can do to improve it.

At the top of the list, there are the corporations which offer free, onsite fitness clubs and aerobics programs to be used during lunch breaks or after work. No matter what is offered it’d be a waste not to take benefit of these wellness programs.

It requires cautious planning and thought to implement wellness programs. Once a program is put into place it’s very important to reassess and analyze it a few times for reach the primary goal –  healthier staff members.

All the programs that are put in place should be evaluated after a determined time frame to help the corporation understand what needs to be changed or kept in place to maintain corporate wellness.

Everyone knows today that working in corporate America may be a stressful situation. It seems that employees are expected to work longer hours and spend more time away from home. Long commutes and big amounts of work are taking its toll on American office employees. Something must be done; business wellness is a good way to begin to help all those stressed out employees.

Starting company wellness programs can help develop a healthy culture. There ought to be an incentive program set up to drive interest to wanting to be more health conscious. Making good decisions that affect health now and in the future ought to be rewarded as individual’s objectives are met.

There are a number of wellness ideas that a corporation wellness program can help plan for. Some ideas include giving out maps of walking or jogging trails located near the workplace. It’s a good idea to post a steps accumulated map on the workplace wall where all employees can log their steps or miles.

Be sure to help encourage joggers, walkers, and those who enjoy other forms of exercise to form exercise groups to meet before work, during lunch, or after work.

In a company environment, relationship development is also an area where aligning cultural touch points are necessary. Be sure to work culture affects health practices.

Workers will either form personal relationships in a bad way, like smoking in the break room, or they’ll form relationships doing something more physical like going for a round of golf for relaxation and developing friendships with fellow employees. Be certain to work must be done to develop healthful venues to develop professional friendships and relationships.

There are so many good benefits for a corporation choosing  to make corporation wellness a priority. Staff Members who participate in wellness programs are more likely to be the best workers.

Peer relationships in the workplace are important to creating a healthful lifestyle culture that lasts. as an added bonus, overall job satisfaction is better if workers are feeling well and healthful while doing their work.

Corporate wellness is one of the most important investments that a business can make. Corporations that implement wellness programs are not only investing in the physical wellness, safety, and mental health of their staff members, but are also taking preventive measures by creating a healthier environment.

By beginning a wellness program, businesses are able to improve the overall productivity and are able to save money on medical expenses. Often, businesses are concerned about the actual wellness ROI (return on investment) but the fact is that by encouraging healthier lifestyles, businesses are creating healthier employees who will work more diligently and miss fewer days of work due to disease.

It is imperative that corporations not only provide corporate wellness solutions for their employees, but that they also maintain ongoing knowledge about safety and wellness techniques. Businesss need to keep up to date on health statistics and stay aware of ways to encourage specific wellness issues such as use of tobacco cessation or weight loss.

It’s often helpful for a business to speak with physicians who participate in medical Continuing Medical Education so that they are up to date with how they can assist their staff members in maintaining wellness.

Additionally, if a company maintains an on-site gym, it is necessary that the company employs person who have received the proper training and certification, which makes up the gym management, to assist staff members with exercising safely.

Although companies may establish a robust wellness program with many options, an incentive wellness program is often necessary in order to encourage workers to actually participate in the programs.

Whether one is creating a corporate wellness Chicago or a corporate wellness small-town Nebraska program, the issue that corporations often have in common, is the lack of motivation of workers to actually participate. Providing incentives for workers, like a free lunch or gift cards, might  be simple enough rewards to encourage workers to participate in corporate wellness.

Do you know the fastest-growing reason for employee assistance program (EAP) use since 2003?  

It isn’t for substance abuse or depression. Actually, it’s financial in nature. Over the last five years, there’s been a reported 69% jump in staff member employee assistance program (EAP) use related to personal financial concerns.

The trend isn’t all that surprising in this era of salary freezes, high deductibles and cost-sharing of benefits premiums.

Statistics show that, for the first time since the Great Depression, the average American has negative savings – in other words, debt exceeds income – in a average month.

A lot of workers are racking up high credit card debt, make the problem worse.

Troubling trends

Here are some ominous numbers from a recent staff member survey –

• 27 percent of respondents said they were “one major setback away from financial disaster”

• 22 percent say they were “worse off than last year, with less take-home income and more debt”

• 40% say their corporation is “insensitive to their employees’ financial needs,” and

• only 6% said they felt comfortable with their current financial situation and ability to manage their debts.

The majority of personal-finance related EAP use arises from concerns over debt management, household refinancing and/or failed investments.

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Permitting staff members to bring camera phones to work can carry hidden legal risks.  

But should you tackle this issue aggressively or trust your employees to do the right thing?  Every employer wants to create an environment where employees feel trusted by management. But there’s also the need to stay protected legally, and it isn’t always easy to balance the two.

The cell phone issue is specifically delicate since most employees carry them nowadays, and improper use at work is a non-issue for the vast majority. But there are always several bad apples in every bunch.

Growing number of complaints

There has been an explosion of lawsuits – and complaints to management – about employees taking inappropriate photos at work with their cell phone cameras.

Most cases revolve around embarassing or expliclit photos of coworkers (sometimes but not always posted on the Internet or e-mailed to others in the office). Nonetheless, a handful of lawsuits have arisen from staff members taking photos of confidential documents or other internal information.

As most benefits and HR veterans would tell you, the most valuable benefit an organization can offer its staff members is a workplace where they feel trusted and valued. Contrarily, it only takes one “joke” gone too far to stir up a hornet’s nest of trouble. and no firm is immune from this risk.

Three options

One step every business should take is circulating a memo or having a face-to-face meeting with workers about the need to restrict camera phone use at work, says labor lawyer William Hannum.

This is the time to answer questions and make clear that the policy is a matter of a legal concern, not a case of Big Brother watching over employees’ shoulders. for added legal protection, you may want to develop a formal camera phone policy to be written employee handbooks.

Some employers have gone so far as to take the step of banning camera phone (or personal cell phone) use at work and prohibiting people  from posting personal photos or videos from company computers.

Nevertheless, these policies are challenging to enforce and run the risk of alienating the majority of employees who use the devices responsibly.

As an alternative, several firms that have not banned camera phones have had workers sign a policy that gives managers permission to review photos or videos on the phone when there’s a complaint. If you go down either of these routes, remember –

• the policy must be enforced consistently

• your policy must specify specific steps for filing and evaluating  a complaint, and

• the policy should clearly spell out the disciplinary steps for violations.

The enforcement aspect is in particular tricky. In cases where the phones are company property, businesss obviously have the right to control non-work use – which includes requiring staff members to turn over the contents stored on the phone in cases of suspected abuse. Staff Members have no legal expectation of privacy in such cases.  

Notwithstanding, there’s a slippery slope when the phone is an employee’s property. as a rule of thumb, companys normally have the right to inspect the contents as they pertain to alleged inappropriate behavior within the workplace.

Where it gets tricky is dealing with behavior that takes places on the employee’s private time, but overlaps with the workplace (e.g., staff members go out socializing at a bar after work, and potentially embarassing camera phone photos get spread around the workplace). Legal professionals caution employers to tread very carefully in these cases.

Where does your organization stand?

Does your organization have – or is considering a policy on staff member camera phones? Do you think such policies are workable or even appropriate?

In my conversations with attendees at the SHRM conference in Chicago, HR and benefits managers appear to be divided on the issue.

In a value-based plan, the idea is to reward employees for seeking treatments that promote wellness.

The more clinically viable the treatment, the less an staff member compensates out of pocket for it.

Example –  Women over 40 and younger staff members with a family history of breast cancer pay less for a yearly mammogram than staff members for whom the test isn’t as necessary.

Value-based plans often work better than high-deductible plans when used in combination with standard wellness program features such as health risk (assessment|appraisal}s.

Five target areas

According to the May 2008 issue of Simply Well, there are four quality-of-care criteria that have emerged as key benchmarks of the quality of care –  health care management, preventive screenings and treatments, member service and access to care.

Areas of care that are of particular concern –

• Employees’ dependents receiving appropriate and timely childhood/adolescent immunizations

• Breast cancer screenings for female health plan enrollees, ages 52 to 64

• Diabetic staff members receiving hemoglobin A1C and LDL-C testing

• Members receiving proper referrals and treatment for mental health issues (e.g., primary care physician refers a patient to a specialist to ensure proper prescription and management of an anti-depressant medication)

• Pregnant employees receivig time and appropriate prenatal and postpartum care, and prevention of antibiotic treatment in adults with acute bronchitis.

The quality of care for many of the aforementioned issues can suffer when staff members foot too much of the bill out of their own pockets.

The hope for value-based plans is that staff members get some cost relief and obtain treatments that will reduce costs in the long run.

As scary as they seem at first glance, complying with health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA)’s privacy rules could be relatively painless.

Contrary to common belief, the rules – with several key exceptions – apply only to a fraction of the health information Benefits handles.

As long as the corporation remains legally “hands off” of employee’s private health information, you can dodge most of the HIPAA bullet.

For HIPAA privacy purposes, your firm is considered “hands off” even when you obtain de-identified personal information, aggregate claims data and routine enrollment info.

Bottom line –  If your organization’s health plans are fully insured and the claims administered through a TPA, the insurance business – not your firm – bears the brunt of the HIPAA privacy compliance responsibility.

One major exception –  medical cafeteria plans. In most cases, you’ve two compliance choices –

• Process reimbursement requests first through your TPA, with the TPA making sure the claim qualifies beneath the terms of the cafeteria plan before your firm reimburses it, or

• Create a written cafeteria plan privacy policy, issue a notice to workers, appoint a privacy officer and amend your plan documents.

Rarely affects FMLA

A lot of individuals  - including healthcare providers – misunderstand how HIPAA affects medical certifications for FMLA leave. the key –  HIPAA only applies to personal information that filters through your health plan, not certifications acquired from a physician.

Under FMLA, you’re allowed to obtain the minimum information you need to approve and administer leave. Likewise, HIPAA doesn’t apply to most workers’ comp, return-to-work notices or disability claims.

Even so, it pays to be careful how you ask for and use the information. Other state and federal privacy laws often protect the same kinds of info people  assume falls under HIPAA.

Following procedures

The HIPAA privacy rules are heavy on paperwork and procedure.

But as long as your firm follows  the info-gathering process spelled out in your health plan documents, the health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA) privacy rules should present few major obstacles.

Many firms are still missing an opportunity to trim some medical plan expenses.

Generic versions of high-cholesterol drug Zocor have been on market for two years now, but a fair share of company pharmacy plans have yet to make the switch.

When your PBM gives generic Zocor favored status on the formulary, now’s a good time to remind employees –

• most people  on cholesterol-control meds will get the same therapeutic value from generic Zocor as from the label brand and the more potent – and still patented – Lipitor

•  they can save $10 to $50 (or more, depending on your drug plan design) on their co-pay by switching, but

•  they should ask their physician first. Individuals  with cholesterol levels over 200 and/or family histories of  ultra-high cholesterol might  be better off staying on Lipitor.

Reason –  It takes four times the amount of a Zocor-type medication  to equal one dose of Lipitor.