Implementing a Workplace Wellness Program: Setting the Stage for Success

As we all know the cost of doing business in the State of California can be overwhelming at times.  Everything from marketing, to payroll, and cost of goods sold all play a part in determining the bottom line and ultimate profit.  Healthcare costs are often one of the larger costs that employers must bear; not only health Insurance benefits, but the cost of absenteeism due to illness, or low productivity due to stress or other medical factors.

More and more employers are looking for alternatives to lower their healthcare costs and are implementing Workplace Wellness Programs.  Not only do wellness programs reduce overall healthcare costs, they also reduce the demand for medical services, absenteeism, on-the-job injuries, workers’ compensation cost and disability-management costs. 

More and more evidence is surfacing that point to real savings generated from a well-thought out and well-executed Wellness Program.  The wellness program – be it simple or complex -  must target health concerns of the employees and their families.  It must be communicated well and often regarding the program’s aspects and benefits, and culturally a well implemented program must become part of day-to-day business.  This article will outline important factors when considering a wellness plan as well as traps to avoid.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Wellness programs come in all sizes and types, just as organizations.  When considering the implementation of a wellness program, what might have worked for another organization could be a dismal failure in your own.  For example let’s say senior management wants to offer a smoking cessation program.  This might be a good idea as long as smoking-related illnesses are a key driver of your company’s health costs.

It is important to assess the current level of wellness in your own organization.  The assessment will help you get a feel for what your employee’s baseline physical problems are as well as general wellness interests.  Key places to look for information are:

• Employee needs and interests
• Your organization’s medial claims
• Prescription drug claims
• Employee absence information
• Employer Assistant Program use
• Disability claims
• Employee demographic such as workers’ ethnicity, gender, age, and dependent coverage as well as health risks associated with each category.

It is also good to consider the wellness concerns that are unique to your industry or workplace; as well as what potential barriers to success that your wellness program may face (e.g., lack of participation, short-term commitments, or high employee turnover).

Legal Issues to Consider

Employers have a great deal of flexibility in designing wellness programs.  However, as with any workplace initiative, there are legal considerations that cannot be ignored.  Key to any program is accessibility and discrimination issues.  It is recommended that when considering a Workplace Wellness Program that you work closely with your human resource department, insurance providers and your employment attorney or consultant.

Laws that employers should be aware of and review are:

Americans with Disability Act (ADA) which requires employers to offer a reasonable accommodation to an employee with a known disability, and prohibits employers from making medical inquires or requiring medical exams (unless job-related and consistent with business necessity).  It is also unlawful under ADA to take any adverse employment action based on individual’s actual or perceived disability.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and California State laws regarding Harassment and Sexual Discrimination.  EEOC guidelines give employers freedom to conduct medical examination and activities that are part of a voluntarily wellness and health screening program.  For example health screening for high blood pressure and cholesterol is not likely to violate ADA guidelines, as long as there is no penalty (economic or otherwise) for not participating.  Additionally, any program that is provided by an organization must be sure to not discriminate, either directly or indirectly against persons belonging to a protected class (race, color, national origin, religion, age (40+), gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability or genetic characteristics, marital status, ancestry, or denial of Pregnancy or FMLA/CFRA leaves and veteran status).

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) nondiscrimination provisions generally prohibit group health plans from charging similarly situation individuals different premiums or contributions or imposing different deductible, co-payment or other cost-sharing requirements based on a health factor.  Under the regulations, examples of wellness programs that comply with HIPAA’s nondiscrimination requirement without having to satisfy any additional standards, assuming participation in the program is made available to all similarly situated individuals includes:

• Programs that reimburse all or part of the cost for membership in a fitness center
• Diagnostic testing programs that provide a reward for participation and does not base any part of the reward on the outcomes
• Programs that reimburse employees for the costs of smoking cessation programs without regard to whether the employee quits smoking
• Programs that provide rewards to employees for attending a monthly health education seminar.

It is advisable to consult the Department of Labor and frequently asked questions on HIPAA’s nondiscrimination requirements to assist in developing your wellness programs.

Other laws and agencies to refer to are Union Agreements, Internal Revenue codes, and state laws that protect off-duty conduct.

Developing and Implementing your Workplace Wellness Program

The National Wellness Institute defines “wellness” as an active process through which people become aware of and make choices toward a more successful existence.”  The concept of wellness encompasses all aspects of our lives such as physical, emotional, intellectual, occupations, social and spiritual.  When considering your wellness program it is important to consider these aspects to provide a holistic approach to wellness. 

Get Support from the TOP - Any change initiative must be actively led by senior management.  It is important to get support from the top to ensure success.  Support not only comes from financial resources, but also from senior management modeling desired behavior.  Providing senior management with a business case to support the financial and human resources that will be involved is often easy.  Do your home work with regard to numbers and costs of workers’ compensation and disability claims.  Add to that the cost of lost productivity due to sick or light days as well as the rising costs of health care insurance. 

Develop a Plan - Once the business case has been presented and the assessment of needs complete, it is important to create a customized operating plan that includes goals and objectives that are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable relevant and time bound), as well as specific initiatives for implementation, timeline, evaluation and budget.  It is also important to consider and develop an organizational structure to support the wellness program.  Teams of employees, management, supervisors and human resources often provide the best result by ensuring that all stakeholder needs are being addressed.

A wellness champion or point person should be assigned/volunteer to provide direction and answer questions that may arise on benefits, Workers’ Compensation, and other employment regulations as mentioned above.  It is always a good idea to have Human Resources play a key role in wellness programs. 

Examples of wellness initiatives are health fairs and health screening sessions, on-site yoga or exercise classes, reduced health club memberships, partnering with a local YMCA or other health facility to provide personal trainers and chair massages; or partner with Weight Watcher or Jenny Craig franchises and hold lunch time meetings at the job site.  Simple changes could include healthy snacks in vending machines as well scheduled walking programs that employee can drop in on.  It’s important that wellness become a cultural value that is embraced and supported for any wellness program to see a positive return on investment.

Communication, Communication, Communication

Key to any change initiative is development of a strong, consistent and well-executed plan that details how the wellness message will be communicated.  It should outline the time-line for implementation and how employees will benefit.  As human beings we want to know “what’s in it for me.”  It’s important to show employee results of the workplace wellness assessment and show that you heard them by providing programs that address specific needs. 

Examples of how the wellness message might be communicated are:

• A brief “wellness tip” in morning meetings or email
• A wellness section in the workplace newsletter
• Wellness posters in the cafeteria and break room
• Wellness newsletter monthly or quarterly.
• Monthly or quarterly lunch time wellness talks
• Regularly communicated wellness success stories

Finally to make a wellness program as effective as possible, make sure the program launch includes these three elements:

• Get senior management involved at the kick-off.
• Play to the audience by addressing the needs of your employee, dependents and families.
• Make it fun and get creative!  Generate excitement for wellness through activities and give aways.  Many times you can partner with other vendors in the area to provide free day-passes to spa or health clubs, or other promotional items that everyone loves to get.  Often times, employers will kick off their wellness initiative by holding a health fair. 

In closing, with any new initiative it is important to assess and measure results to be sure that your initiatives are on target.  Execute this step in the same way you would employee performance reviews or annual budgeting.  Assessing results provides yet another way to ensure the wellness program is integrated in to the organizational culture and progress and problems can be addressed in a timely manner.

TPO is an award-winning firm established in 1991 made up of a group of highly experienced, nationally certified HR experts and trainers. TPO is licensed by the State of California (PI-25638) to provide investigative services. For more information, please contact us at 800-277-8448 or visit our web site www.tpohr.com

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