I remember a time when “wellness” was a foreign word in corporate America. Proponents of wellness programs couldn’t get these programs past the concept stage, because top management perceived such programs as an expense, not an investment.
That was 20 years ago. Now, however, it seems everyone wants to get on the wellness bandwagon. The reason why is simple: Healthcare (that is, sick care) is expensive; in comparison, wellness is cheap.
I just read an article in Employee Benefits News, a news magazine for human resources and benefits managers.
The headline was “HSA tames cost hikes.” The article discussed two things one small company (87 employees) did to control healthcare costs: It switched from a traditional healthcare coverage to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and it implemented a wellness program for its employees.
The wellness program included screenings for weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol and showed that 65 percent of employees had weight or nutritional problems and 58 percent had high cholesterol.
Following the screenings, an employee committee developed a series of programs to address these problems: a daily walking program, a weight-loss contest, nutrition classes, lunch-time seminars on health and wellness issues, and exercise and yoga classes.
After one year, the article said aggregate cholesterol was down 10 mg/dl; 69 percent of the workforce received flu shots; and annual preventive-care visits increased from 30 percent of employees to 74 percent.
United Healthcare, the company’s insurer, projected 139 percent return on investment in claims savings for every participant in the wellness programs.
If you are considering expanding your healthcare services to industrial or corporate consulting, don’t overlook the little guy. The “little guys” might be your “in” in industrial consulting.
All things considered, small employers have a greater need than the “big” guys: They generally don’t have a dedicated staff person to organize wellness and safety programs; because of their small populations, health insurance costs them more; and they can’t afford to have a workforce that is less than 100 percent able to perform.
Bigger is not always better.
Until next time,
2 responses so far ↓
mradcliff // Jun 9th 2008 at 9:57 pm
Despite a lack of immediate savings by most companies, I think that wellness programs can help them to save money in the long run.
mradcliff // Jun 12th 2008 at 11:23 pm
Wellness programs are great for employee morale.
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