Programs. | 123manken.com health blog

Posts Tagged ‘Programs.’

Health Promotion : Employee Recognition and Health Promotion Programs.

Saturday, October 2nd, 2010

The best employee recognition practices are often the simplest.

Here is one that’s recently been adopted at the publishing company where I work – a progam called “See something good, say something good.” It’s a way for staff members to bring positive attention to things that their coworkers, managers and the company’s different departments do well.

How it works – the company provides colorful index cards, placing them conspicuously in a few commonly traveled areas in the building. When staff members and supervisors want to publically recognize someone else’s efforts, they are able to grab a card and fill it out. It takes very little time.

When the index card is filled out, the staff member drops it into a wrapped box (there are two in the building). the boxes are later gathered and the cards displayed in a room the corporation uses periodically for meetings, presentations and quarterly staff member appreciation events.

In order to build awareness and participation in “Say Something Good,” management put up fliers around the building, so people from every department can see them, as well as visitors and job applicants who’ve come in for interviews.

The program, which was originally thought up by the head of our product advertising and marketing division, doesn’t cost anything apart from the cost of the index cards and paper. There’s minimal administration time, and it takes staff members only a moment or two to fill out a card on a fellow employee’s behalf.

But the return is a lot of, and the recognition possibilities are endless. It’s a good way to boost morale, encourage productivity and differentiate the business culture from work environments where the negative things seem to get the lion’s share of the attention.

Health Promotion : Three Ways Health Promotion Programs Fail.

Friday, October 1st, 2010

When it comes to health promotion programs, it can be tough to get past all the hype. Here is how to avoid the three most common traps businesss fall into.

Trap #1. the “one-size-fits-all” approach

For good reason, your organization doesn’t simply copy other firms’ 401(k) plans or compensation designs. Yet, all too often, firms adopt ill-fitting health promotion programs based on things that have worked elsewhere.

Your CFO might have seen data on the cost savings other companys have achieved via certain wellness incentives. Or an old colleague of your Chief Executive Officer (CEO) swears by the program at his or her own firm.

In response, the top brass pushes for a copycat program – for instance, offering tobacco use cessation incentives.

That could be a good idea, since smoking-related illnesses are a key driver of your company’s medical costs. But how can you be sure? is it good enough to have your employees undergo a health risk (assessment|appraisal}?

Usually, the answer is no.

Health risk (assessment|appraisal}s are a excellent beginning place, but it’s often a mistake to stop there. the assessments help you get a feel for what your employees’ baseline physical problems are before you try to design a program around them.

This creates rough outlines of what your program goals should be and where to target worker initiatives. When you want the maximum bang for your wellness buck, you’ll have to dig a little deeper for information. Key places to look –

• your organization’s medical-claims breakdown for the last three years

• prescription-drug claims

• staff member absence information

• employee assistance program (EAP) use

• disability claims, and

• worker demographics (workers’ ethnic, gender, age and dependent coverage status points to greater – and lesser – health risks associated with each category).

Trap #2. Leaving the program on autopilot

A lot of health promotion programs often get off to a good start and then fizzle out. Employers are left wondering what went wrong. Their mistake – They failed to revisit the program on an ongoing basis – at least every other year.

Why it’s crucial – Your cost-drivers can easily shift as employees come and go from the business.

Example – This year, emphysema and other smoking diseases could be your largest cost driver. But two years from now, it could be obesity and diabetes.

Unless you continuously track the program and adjust your objectives as necessary, you might not be prepared to meet those new challenges.

Trap #3. Unrealistic expectations

Ordinarily, it takes at least a year and a half for corporations to break even on the cost of a health promotion program. As a rule of thumb, the average program cost per staff member per month to the corporation is about $3 to $5.

When, after three years, you still aren’t seeing results, something went wrong. Currently, the benchmark ROI after the third year of a health promotion program is $4 to $5 saved for every dollar spent.

How can you manage the cost in the short-term? In many cases, businesss pass the cost of the health promotion program on to the employees. for instance, let’s say you want to roll out a health promotion program effective January 1 (or whatever your first day is of the new plan year).

You can roll that $3 to $5 per employee per month cost directly into the employee’s monthly share of their healthcare premium. That makes the health promotion program a budget-neutral expense for your organization.

But remember – You get what you pay for – both in time and money invested. the less guesswork that’s involved in the planning and execution, the better the chance for success.

Health Promotion : How Recognition Programs Fail.

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Looking for recognition ideas that get results? Here are two keys to success –

The most common characteristics of high-ROI recognition programs – regardless of their monentary value – are their spontaneity and perceived value by employees themselves.

In reality, the cost of some of most effective spot awards and bonuses often amount to less than 1 percent of base pay – and the awards don’t even have to be given in cash.

Less sense of entitlement

Part of the problem with traditional end-of-year or quarterly bonuses (apart from the fact that they cost corporations an typical of 10% of base pay) is that workers expect to receive them for reaching certain goals.

Sometimes staff members simply expect it no matter what. for instance, at many firms, an annual holiday bonus is viewed as an entitlement and individuals inevitably grumble that it’s not high enough. on the flip side, with spontaneous awards and bonuses, staff members are often pleasantly surprised.

Benefits consultant Ken Stahlmann spells out four keys to making the latter kind of awards work, even if they’re lower in cost –

1. Creativity is crucial

The most effective programs generally give out awards weekly or monthly. to avoid over-stretching the budget – and avoid a ho-hum attitude setting in – creativity is a must.

One way that never gets old – combining time off with a second, non-cash award. Example – One firm gives a half-day off in combo with movie passes once a month.

Another, at weekly staff meetings, holds a random drawing for a dinner gift certificate, plus permission to leave work early once.

2. Make it personal

Rewards have more lasting impact when they’re geared to people ’s personal needs or interests. Two examples –

• one firm with many foreign-born, low-wage employees awards a $20 pre-paid phone card after 90 days of service, and a $100 card for outstanding work, and

• another business with a lot of sports nuts took a few top-performers to a ball game. Managers said it was the best $200 they’ve ever spent as for creating ongoing enthusiasm.

3. Add structure

The awards may seem spur of the moment, but top programs have a fixed budget and structure set before anything is handed out. Example – One retail firm awards “points” for good work. Folks can then trade in their points for store merchandise.

By letting individuals bank points for additional valuable rewards, the company saw a solid jump in retention.

Other organizations prefer to let employees reward each other. for instance, a small health care provider keeps a “goodies box” on-site – paid for in petty cash and stocked by employees themselves.

When someone spots a colleague going the extra mile, he or she pulls out a prize and awards it.

The program is a enormous hit – It’s immediate and personal, yet structured.

4. Don’t let good intentions backfire

Most spot awards go over well. But keep these four issues in mind –

• For most cash or cash-value awards, there are tax implications (just as with traditional bonuses)

• Awards need to be spread around or else resentment can creep in

• Make sure honorees don’t mind being the center of attention (some firms have accidentally alienated people they tried to reward), and

• Be sure the reward is something individuals actually want. One firm that awarded a VIP parking space next to the CEO found no one used it. No one wanted the CEO knowing what time he or she came and left.

Health Promotion : Health Promotion Programs and Ethnic Profiling.

Friday, September 17th, 2010

In many segments of society, we hear about racial and ethnic profiling in negative ways. But what about when it comes to health promotion programs?

When used for the specific purpose of starting – or reviewing - a wellness or disease management (DM) program, profiling isn’t just legal. It’s also encouraged.

Affects health risks

Different racial and ethnic groups tend to be more at risk – for genetic and/or cultural reasons – of certain medical problems. Examples –

• African-American, Latino, Native American and Pacific Islanders are at higher risk of diabetes than Caucasian employees

• Chinese women are statistically twice as likely to get cervical cancer

• Caucasians have disproportionately high rates of obesity and high blood pressure, and

• Latinos have higher rates of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary illness than other groups. the HIV/AIDS population is also disproportionately Hispanic.

Bottom line – By assessing the ethnic breakdown of your worker population, you can set disease management (DM) program priorities with greater confidence and accuracy.

Healthcare quality an issue

Several studies also show there’s an unfortunate relationship between ethnicity and quality of healthcare. Many times, minority employees receive inferior treatment and health education at the same facilities where others receive top-notch care.

This generally happens for innocent reasons. A common scenario – a lack of Spanish-speaking physicians in the network for your Latino employees. But the result is generally higher healthcare costs for you and, often, greater reluctance among minority employees to seek needed treatments.

By profiling employees against the doctors in the network, you ultimately help employees get the care they need and the business to better control long-term costs.

Health Promotion : Health Promotion Programs – Smokers Beware.

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

In the last few years, there’s been a rising trend for public businesss – not just private corporations – to ban smoking. Here is what your colleagues are doing.

What’s New in Benefits and Compensation recently surveyed 374 of our readers from both the private and public sectors to find out their organization’s policy on permitting employees to smoke on-site and hiring smokers in the first place. Here’s what we found –

• 11 percent have created a policy of hiring only non-smokers

• 17% allow employees to smoke offsite, but ban it on all corporation property

• 39% restrict smoking to designated areas outside the building

• 30% allow tobacco use anywhere outside the building, and

• 3% allow smoking in break rooms or other indoor areas.

Public employers get aggressive

While much of the publicity about no-hire policies for smokers centers on private businesses, it’s actually public companys in certain states who have been the most aggressive of late.

For instance, Florida is one of the states at the forefront of the movement. Sarasota County lately became the third Florida county to take a no-hire stance in order to control healthcare costs.

New hires must take a drug test that detects nicotine and sign a pledge certifying that they haven’t smoked in the past 12 months.

The ban won’t affect current employees, but the county has undertaken smoking cessation programs aimed at employees’ wallets.

Non-smokers pay less for coverage through various incentives and the county covers the cost of participating in tobacco use cessation programs.

The reason why Florida public corporations are able to take these steps – the state supreme Supreme Court has ruled that refusing to hire smokers doesn’t break discrimination laws.

But your state laws may vary, so proceed with caution before considering similar policies.

Health Promotion : Health Promotion Programs – Quitters Do Win.

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Quitting smoking at any age can improve a person’s health. And believe it or not, older employees often fair better with smoking cessation than younger workers.

According to the Journal of American Medicine, Duke Univ. reseearchers tracked 573 older patients over 10 years. They found that just 16 percent of those who joined the smoking cessation program later returned to smoking.

Previous research has found young smokers who attempt to quit have a 35 percent to 45 percent relapse rate within two years.

Given that workers nationwide are retiring later and the cost of retiree healthcare is sky high, you might want to keep attempting with use of tobacco cessation programs, even for the oldest workers on your health plan.

Health Promotion : Health Promotion Programs – Smoking Cessation.

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

Medical research has long shown quitting use of tobacco at any age can improve a person’s health.

But a Duke University shows that the group you might think would be the least likely to quit – individuals over the age of 50 – may actually have the best odds for quitting through a smoking cessation program.

Scientists tracked 573 older patients over 10 years. They found that just 16% of those who joined the use of tobacco cessation program later returned to use of tobacco. Meanwhile, previous research has found young smokers who try to quit have a 35% to 45% relapse rate within two years.

Bottom line – Given the aging worker population and the cost of retiree health care, you may want to keep trying with tobacco use cessation education for your older staff members.

Health Promotion : Lobby groups take aim at health promotion programs.

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Given the immense growth of health promotion programs over the last two years, it was inevitable resistance would creep up among watchdog groups.

In Washington, lobbyists have spearheaded a push for Congress, the DOL and IRS to crack down on “punitive” health promotion programs.

Specifically, the groups seek to limit programs in which employees’ share of their health care costs are directly tied to their willingness to participate in a health promotion program.

HIPAA’s non-discrimination rules prohibit businesss from creating negative financial incentives for employees with health risks.

For instance, you can’t raise someone’s premium share because he or she smokes. What you can do is offer a discount when someone completes a tobacco use cessation program.

Reason – the law does allow for financial incentives to staff members who willingly participate in health promotion programs.

The watchdog groups seek greater regulation to be certain incentives and discounts are used only as rewards for healthful behavior, not as a thinly veiled form of discrimination against high-risk employees.

Health Promotion : Obesity Management Programs – Key Measures.

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

Thinking about an obesity-related disease management program for your organization? Here’s what you need to know.

In order to be effective, the program must meet participants’ individual medical and psychological needs, not to mention your own organization’s need to control long-term health care costs.

How wide-reaching should the program be? After all, it doesn’t make sense to pay for services your staff members don’t want or can’t use.

Mary Beth Chalk of Resources for Living suggests that obesity programs can be broken down into four tiers of staff member need, from which your organization’s return on investment (ROI) can also be measured.

Tier 1 – Education

Tier I employees struggle with weight control problems but don’t need a health Coach. Instead, they might benefit from a self-directed program that provides weight-management related materials online, targeted mailing, and/or access to nurse call line.

How to measure ROI – utilization. Do staff members click on the Web site? Do they return to the site regularly? Do individuals use the nurse line? Your program vendor ought to provide you detailed use stats.

Tier 2 – Clinical supervision

If the staff member has been diagnosed as obese – a Body Mass Index (BMI) score over 30 is obese, over 35 is clinically obese – he or she would do better working with a health coach in a clinically supervised program.

Three keys to getting maximum results –

1. Periodically have participants rate their relationship with their health Coaches. Not everybody clicks, so a change may be in order.

2. Coordinate your disease management care with your staff member assistance program (EAP)services. Reason – Inability to control weight is often closely tied with mental health issues – and one can negatively affect the other.

The more closely your employee assistance program and obesity program managers work together, the higher the chance for success.

3. Beware of the fade-out effect. A lot of employees in weight-loss programs get off to a excellent start and then fall back into old habits. Individuals should re-commit to the program after three sessions, four months and nine months.

To measure ROI, look at utlization, goal achievement and reduced presenteeism. of course, presenteeism is notoriously difficult to measure with reliable dollar figures. So how can you overcome that problem?

• Begin with employees’ salaries. Let’s suppose one participant earns $40,000 per year.

• Ask employees to self-report how energetic and productive they feel on the job, on a percentage scale. Then have supervisors estimate the employee’s productivity and split the difference. for this example, let’s assume it averaged to 50%.

• Collect scores again six months and one year into the program and then multiply the difference by salary. the result is your estimated productivity ROI.

In the example above, when the worker earning $40,000 improves from 50 percent to 75 percent after one year, the productivity related ROI is $10,000.

Tier 3 – Medical management

At this level, the obese staff member needs a higher level of care than a health coach can offer. the staff member has chronic medical conditions related to obesity – like diabetes, high blood pressure, and/or sleep apnea – and needs a physician case manager.

Namely, the staff member needs to set up regular visits with the physician and create a treatment plan.

To measure ROI, begin with the lower-tier criteria, then track quarterly and year differences in FMLA or compensated absences, and prescription drug costs. Then compare it to the per-participant cost of the obesity program.

Tier 4 – Morbid obesity

At this level, the employee has been diagnosed as morbidly obese – BMI over 40 – and is considered a potential candidate for gastric bypass surgery.

ROI is measured through ongoing health claims as well as the previous criteria.

Health Promotion : Health Promotion Programs Reap the Benefits of Health.

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

The concern for employee health promotion is an increasing trend for American company. Why? the link between employee health promotion and the bottom line is clear and consistent.

Employers who integrate wellness in their overall objectives find they experience lowered absences, better morale, lowered health risks, and lowered health-care costs.

The purpose of this guide to is to encourage and help you launch your own Health Promotion Program. When you already have a program, but are not receiving the results you expected, perhaps some of the ideas and best practices in this toolkit will help you and your employees reap the benefits of a healthier workforce.

At least 50 percent of health-care expenditures are lifestyle-related, and accordingly, potentially preventable. Yet despite the $5,000 an average business spends on health care per worker each year, most businesss are spending less than 5 percent of that on medical testings and prevention.

The most robust meta-evaluation of Health Promotion Program studies shows something very exciting! It shows that Health Promotion Programs are not only effective at assisting to reverse the rising spiral of health-care costs, but these programs are also becoming more effective. the typical cost-benefit ratio has increased from 1 – 3 for earlier programs to 1 – 6 today.

Simply put, the typical reduction in health-care costs, sick leave, disability costs, and workers’ compensation is more than 25 percent for well designed programs.

Employee health promotion provides a long-term approach for helping keep staff members well. the single most important thing you are able to do for your staff members is to start a Health Promotion Program now.

Posts Tagged ‘Programs.’

Recent Posts