From the April 2010 issue of Consumer Driven.
Imagine if you could save your company money and boost employee morale, creativity, and performance through fun-filled activities like the "Biggest Loser Contest" or "Walk the Talk."
A few innovative and entertaining wellness programs can be powerful strategic tools leading to top line growth and bottom line performance. And because we are living in an age of sky-rocketing health care costs, it's more important than ever to crusade for increased wellness in the workplace.
The reality is that employers simply can't afford to turn their backs on these types of programs anymore. Research has shown that investments in employee wellness lower health care premiums and increase productivity.
So what role does the benefits broker play in employee wellness? As professionals in the insurance services industry, we have a unique understanding about the importance of putting innovative, cost-reducing ideas into practice, and it's crucial that we convey this to the businesses we're hired to protect. It is our duty to remain knowledgeable about employee wellness so that we can really partner with and educate our clients to ensure that well-executed and strategic programs are in place. This includes continually exploring what works and what doesn't within our own company so that we can better help our clients reap the rewards.
At Alper Services, we've discovered that the best employee wellness programs are the ones that are unique, entertaining and even challenging. The bottom line is that healthy, active employees are happy, productive employees, and it's important to create wellness programs that don't make employees feel it's just an extension of the workday. Part of a company's business success stems from employees feeling good, not overworked.
Through initiatives like "Walk the Talk!" and a "Biggest Loser Contest," Alper Services was able to inspire employee participation in the name of having fun (who doesn't love teamwork and a little competition?) and bonding with team members. The key was setting these programs up in a way that didn't offend, embarrass or antagonize our employees. With a high retention rate 30 percent of Alper's team has been with the company for 10 years or more it's important to be sensitive to employees' needs, which means inviting everyone to participate through open enrollment.
So how did these programs work? "Walk the Talk!" was a competition we set up with our health and wellness vendor, HealthyRoads. All employees were invited to participate by strapping a wireless activity monitor onto their shoes. For one month, employees were encouraged to walk as much as possible. At the end of the day, they could check out their daily steps by logging into their HealthyRoads accounts online. Grand prizes were awarded to the winning participant and to each member of the team that walked the most steps. The result? Employees had a blast, felt healthier, and averaged about 5,000 steps per day. Some participants even exceeded 150,000 steps during the four-week period.
But perhaps our most effective program to date was the "Biggest Loser Contest," a spinoff of the popular NBC television show. Held from November to February, the contest divided participants into teams and offered cash rewards to the individual and team that lost the highest percentage of body weight. Weigh-ins took place every Monday, and results (weight loss percentages, not pounds) were posted in the kitchen for added inspiration and excitement. In the end, company morale grew noticeably higher as the employees competed and encouraged one another, and a number of participants lost a marked percentage of body weight.
When executed properly, employee wellness programs are a win-win situation. They prevent runaway health care premiums, and when employees' quality of life goes up, so does their productivity, ensuring a successful company. As an employee benefits broker, being proactive about employee wellness is a great way to partner with clients. When clients see you taking care of your own employees, it sends the message that you can take care of the their employees as well.
Jim "Robocop" Thornton, former Chicago Bears player and Alper Services vice president of business development said, "America needs to address its growing obesity problem, and I think it's great that employers, especially brokers, are getting involved. As a broker, education about employee wellness is a vital step toward helping clients' save money, increase productivity, and promote good health. The key is to make sure businesses operate these programs in a way that's well-run, well-organized, and entertaining for everyone."
