Senior leadership is continuing to put an emphasis on improving employee health, according a survey by Willis North America's Human Capital Practice, a unit of Willis Group Holdings.

In fact, senior leadership commitment rose 42 percent in 2010, compared to 6 percent in 2009. Respondents also say the two most important factors in the success of a workplace wellness program were management support and strong organizational cultural support. Still, employers continue to have trouble successfully engaging the workforce in wellness initiatives and faced barriers when measuring employee success.

"While it is encouraging to see organizational support at the senior level significantly increasing, the survey indicates a need to focus programs on increased employee engagement," says Cheryl Mealey, national practice leader, wellness consulting of Willis Human Capital Practice. "Senior management is really starting to embrace the idea that our health impacts how we work, and how we work impacts our health."

Other key findings from the survey include:

53 percent of employers report having some sort of wellness program, and of those, 57 percent describe their program as "basic."

Health care costs continue to act as the motivator for organizations to employ worksite wellness programs. Seventy-eight percent of employers reviewed their health care cost trends before instituting a wellness program.

Approximately one-third of survey respondents do not think financial rewards should be used to promote healthy lifestyles, a 15 percent jump over the 2009 results.

Forty-four percent of participants say not enough time or staff was the largest barrier to offering a wellness program, followed by budget limitations at 43 percent.

Management support and having a strong internal leader championing wellness within the organization were rated the two most important factors in the success of the wellness program.

Twenty-eight percent of employers have implemented a precise, definite strategy to improve employee engagement, and of those, 64 percent say their worksite wellness program is a critical element of their overall employee engagement strategy.

Thirty-eight percent survey respondents report not having enough data to calculate the return on investment.

The top factors respondents cite as necessary to improving employee engagement are increasing marketing and communication with possible participants, setting more exact goals for achievement and employing more coordinated efforts.

Instant Insights /

Senior leadership committed to wellness, survey says

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