Taking a holistic approach willenable employers to meet the specific needs of their employees atthe time of need, not based upon a perceived need and time assumedby the employer. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Life happens. Things happen every day that werarely give a second thought to as we go about our dailyroutines.

High impact life events are another story. Not only do theydisrupt our daily routine, but they can stop us dead in our tracksand affect every aspect of our lives: physically, emotionally,financially and even socially. Even planningfor an expected event can seem to be overwhelming anddisruptive.

With the tight labor market and new generations in theworkforce, the C-suite should be asking HR what they cando to remain relevant, attract top talent, and keep employees atthe organization.

Over the past several years, insurance brokers and consultantshave transformed their business models because they recognize theissues their clients face are often not within a silo but are infact intertwined with other aspects of the business. Activitiesrelated to compliance are integrated with time-and-attendancesystems, payroll systems, reporting and disclosuredocuments, and so on.

Challenges to address

The ability to manage employee risk is challenged by the abilityof the employer to recognize the expensive, yet fractured benefitssystems. The employer has costs that are independent of oneanother. Attempting to bring solutions across various expense lanesis a challenge. For example, a client might implement a disease management program across its employeebenefit program. As a result, costs in worker's compensation,disability programs, or leave of absence programs related to Familyand Medical Leave Act (FLMA) claims could ultimately rise.

Without strong strategic coordination, inefficiency in scalingsolutions across the different buckets of cost is created. Thecurrent health-related approaches to address costs in the employeebenefit programs are focusing on unit prices, or the supply side ofthe equation. For example, reforming the health delivery system,such as direct contracting strategies, quality score cards that areshared, narrow efficient networks, and on-site clinics, orreforming the health insurance financing system, which is what theAffordable Care Act attempted to do, are examples of a strategythat attempts to address the cost issues in healthcare throughsupply side management.

But there is recognition that equal amounts of time andattention should address the demand side of the equation. How doesa client bring consumerism techniques to its employees, empoweringthem to be informed and making individual strategic decisions abouttheir health care? The challenge is that employers need to thinkdifferently about the components of their strategy if they want toachieve a successful outcome.

This is where the concept of a total wellness approach isgaining momentum. There have been individual elements of a holisticstrategy that have made in-roads into the conversation brokers arenow having with their clients. Concepts such as financial wellness(which is the current headline gaining momentum from rising studentloan debt), physical wellness (the traditional wellness programwith the benefit plan), emotional wellness (employee assistanceprograms) and social wellness (team building, corporatevolunteerism) are all approaches that are focused on providingsupport to the employee.

The safety net

Employers have been implementing these strategies individuallytailored or siloed. The missing ingredient is the integration andcoordination of the programs — a sort of safety net that wrapsaround the employee.

Why should these wellness components be implemented as anintegrated approach? The high-impact life event chart shows notonly the impact a life event can have collectively on the wellnesscomponents, but also a shift in balance in any one of these areascan have an impact with one or more of the other components. If anemployer is only focusing on one or two of the holistic wellnesscomponents, their outcomes may not be optimized because theemployee's issue might be manifested in a different category.Taking a holistic approach will enable employers to meet thespecific needs of their employees at the time of need, not basedupon a perceived need and time assumed by the employer.

Employer + trusted advisor

What does an employer need to know about these components andhow can their trusted advisor guide them? Advisors are in aposition to work with their employers to create a strategicwellness plan, which offers a well-rounded benefit package relevantto the needs of the employer's ability to attract and retainemployees. This starts with understanding the company philosophy ofsetting a wellness culture.

An advisor can help an employer understand the correlationbetween the stressors affecting its employee population and theholistic affect that it has on everyone, including the employee,the workforce as a whole and the employer. Understanding thecorporate culture and the outcomes the employer is working towards,a trusted advisor can provide the resources to enable employees tointentionally pursue holistic wellness, ultimately leading to asuccessful and productive workforce.

Effective broker steps:

1. Advocate for and assist in development of each component of awellness plan as a key component of a holistic wellness plan;
2. Do not “boil the ocean.” Work to keep employersfocused on the most important health risks and conditions that areimpacting or have the potential to impact health plan financialperformance;
3. Plan specifically for incentives and cultural changes aimed toassure member engagement and ongoing participation; and,
4. Create and execute a plan to identify, evaluate and installeffective health plan and third-party vendor programs mostconsistent with the plan and identified risk and cost issues.

Every employer desires to build a sustainable business with agreat culture that attracts and retains great employees. To do so,it is important employers focus on and execute, a holistic wellnessprogram. Doing so will bring balance and harmony towards achievinga lasting and sustainable workplace.

Read more:

• The importance of a holistic approach to employeemanagement
• 4 wellness priorities for employers in2019
• Securing CFO buy-in for employee wellnessprograms

Perry Braun([email protected]) is the executive director ofBenefit Advisors Network (BAN) – an exclusive,national network of independent employee benefit brokerage andconsulting companies. Bobbi Kloss ([email protected]) is the director of human capitalmanagement services for the Benefit Advisors Network.