Drug Education and Intervention in the Workplace

1. Undertake a utilization assessment – While employers can’t get health information on individual employees, insurance providers will supply employers with reports that detail patterns and rates of employee use for things such as physician visits, hospital stays and prescription drug use. This information is vital for a corporation to set a benchmark of its current health risk status. Data from human resources can be integrated with benefits information to provide a complete picture of employees’ health-related costs. Then, employers can determine the specific level of behavior change necessary to result in cost savings. The utilization assessment helps a corporation identify the areas in which it should focus its Employee Health Promotion Program to reap the greatest benefits.

2. Build a company case – Once a utilization assessment is in place, organizations are able to quantify the Medical Care cost savings that will result from specific levels of lifestyle change and risk reduction. This can be done by setting objectives and goals in terms of reductions in identifi able insurance utilization, attendance or disability variables, or by aiming for reductions in health risks and projecting the associated cost savings. Effective estimates factor in the expense of the Workplace Wellness Programs as well as the necessary internal marketing efforts that will surround the program. Says Betty-Jo Saenz, U.S. Medical Care Strategy lead for Motorola, “When we started our programs, our focus was on the 20% of staff members that made up 80% of the costs. We’ve addressed that, and now we’re paying attention to those who are active and Finding Wealth Through Wellness 8 keeping them healthy. Wherever you are on the continuum, there are opportunities.”

3. Establish a cross-functional wellness team – Organizations need to identify potential team members who can be champions of wellness within the corporation. It is significant that the team is representative of the demographic and functional diversity of employees so that it can credibly address any specific needs groups may have. This team will serve as the voice and face for the Workplace Health Promotion Program within the corporation. Best practice organizations integrate members from human resources, communications, corporation development and upper management. Using the utilization analysis as a guide, the wellness team should evaluate what programs would be most effective within each particular corporate culture, aligning health-risk priorities with initiatives that employees will be receptive to.

4. Build buy-in from senior staff – The most effective Company Wellness Programs have support from the highest levels of a organization. Support from management, both in words and in action, sends the message that Company Wellness Programs are a priority for a organization. The utilization analysis can be a powerful tool to build the organization case for Company Wellness Programs and convince executives that initiatives are worthy of investment and attention. Meaningful wellness-related messages are integrated into organization talks and aligned with corporate objectives.

5. Establish a all-inclusive Employee Program Engagement plan – The most brilliantly conceived Company Health Promotion Program is meaningless if no employees take part. Effective wellness talks emphasize both health and monetary benefits at the personal and organization level. According to a 2004 survey by Towers Perrin, only 28 percent of employees say their organization communicates about Medical Care topics other than cost. In addition, wellness-related information ought to be a part of existing organization talks efforts and not coupled solely with benefits talks. This helps elevate the significance of Company Health Promotion Programs and align initiatives with organization objectives.

Additionally, talks around Worksite Wellness Programs can share personal success stories and support corporation progress updates. Successful corporations not only use existing talking channels to generate discussion around activities, but also consider more interactive tools like message boards, forums, blogs and wikis. This helps personalize initiatives and permits for the sharing of best practices within the corporation.

A lot businesses involve healthcare experts to advise in the construction, communication and support of the program. The use of outside authorities such as these will expand the credibility of the Workplace Wellness Programs as well as combat skepticism from employees who may view the company’s motives as merely selfserving.

Another strategy available to businesses is to brand their Corporate Wellness Program. This move can broaden the visibility and acceptance of the offering. Branded wellness programs are most common when businesses are also promoting an external campaign around Corporate Wellness Programs. An example of this is PepsiCo, which launched its HealthRoads Corporate Wellness Program internally along with a consumer campaign, Smart Spot, that puts special labels on healthier food and drink options.

These efforts are more effective when they are not owned solely by the internal communications department, but rather when managers serve as leaders of, as well as participate in, Workplace Wellness Programs within organizations. This creates more immediate accountability and motivation.

6. Measure constantly and consistently – At every step of implementation, a Workplace Health Promotion Program must be able to corroborate its value to a business. Workplace Health Promotion Programs should be designed to allow corporations to set benchmarks and evaluate behavior modification. Measurement ought to consider not only quantitative health measures, but also qualitative measures of stress and employee program engagement. Less than 10% of corporations do extensive management of health care expense, employee health risk status or employee satisfaction with benefit offerings, and less than half of corporations do any measurement in these areas at all.16

Measurement is only useful if a employer explicitly defines what data would constitute success. Potential measures of success comprise:

• Participation rates
• Improved employee program engagement
• Decrease of risk status
• Lowering of direct health costs
• Lowered absenteeism
• Less disability claims

Motorola’s Saenz advises administrators of Workplace Wellness Programs to track as many measures as possible from the start, even if management only needs one, because it is very difficult to retrieve data later. She notes that even if leadership begins by looking at participation rates, they will eventually want to know about reductions in claims and costs.

Frequent measurement is the only way to build backing among management and employees. Nearly half of businesses feel a lack of useful data is a top barrier to their ability to manage employee health, and at least 20% of businesses don’t know how effective existing Worksite Wellness Programs are regarding various outcomes. Organizations should conduct utilization analyses annually and reevaluate Worksite Wellness Program priorities based upon changes. Additionally, progress should be shared with the wider business community to build backing for initiatives. Managers and executives throughout a company are likely to backing a program that can prove increased productivity among employees. Effective Worksite Wellness Programs are designed to be fl exible so they can respond to changes in both company goals/objectives and larger health variations.