To understand the business case for investing in employee health, we examined existing research and then studied 10 organizations, across a variety of industries, whose wellness programs have systematically achieved measurable results. In group and individual interviews, we met with about 300 people, including many CEOs and CFOs. We asked about what works, what doesn’t, and what overall impact the program had on the organization. Using our findings, we’ve identified six essential pillars of a successful, strategically integrated wellness program, regardless of an organization’s size. Passes to fitness clubs and nutrition information in the cafeteria are not enough, as you’ll see.

Read the full article here.

Although wellness programs have the potential to bring down healthcare costs, determining whether they actually can do that can be tricky.

As wellness programs have become increasingly popular — approximately 77 percent of North American companies currently have one in place, according to New York-based Buck Consultants — one question still looms: Are they paying their way?

More and more companies today are trying to find the answer. In fact, a small industry has developed around wellness measurement. Wellness providers and esteemed university research centers are offering evaluation systems that include sophisticated analyses of claims data.

“[Wellness providers] are finding they have to evaluate to stay in business,” says Adam Long, vice president of research and informatics at Onlife Health Inc., a wellness provider in Nashville, Tenn.

Yet progress has been slow. It’s costly enough to build and promote a wellness program; hiring a company or university to evaluate its effectiveness can be prohibitively expensive. So perhaps it’s not surprising that, as of last year, most companies still did not evaluate their wellness programs, according to a survey from Buck Consultants entitled Working Well: A Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies.

Although the survey found that 64 percent of 1,103 organizations in more than 45 countries used wellness programs, only 22 percent worldwide used metrics to measure their effectiveness. The number was higher in the United States, where 42 percent measured the effect on their healthcare cost-trend-rate. Of these employers, 43 percent reported a reduction in costs — typically 2 to 5 percentage points per year.

Click here to read the full article at Human Resources Executive Online.

10 questions to ask before implementing your program. Click here to read the post at InterView.

Years of relative stability have made many of Cisco’s employees fat and happy. Literally. A 2005 assessment of employee health found that 30% of Cisco’s nearly 50,000 workers had more than two health risks. “A lot of those risks were related to being overweight, unhealthy meals, and sedentary lifestyles,” says Dr. Pam Hymel, Cisco’s director of corporate medical programs.

Given that Cisco is an “older” Silicon Valley company–the average Ciscoan is pushing 40–the diagnosis wasn’t all that surprising. Hymel’s prescription was a companywide program called HealthConnections that incorporates fitness centers, diet and exercise coaches, and meal-planning help. Today, signs in Cisco’s cafés point the way to perfectly calibrated, “good” meals (fewer than 600 calories, 30% or fewer calories from fat, limited sodium, plenty of whole grains). The response to HealthConnections has been encouraging: Sales of the nutritious meals now exceed those of hamburgers and cheeseburgers combined, and in 2007 the nonprofit National Business Group on Health named Cisco one of the best employers for healthy lifestyles. Cisco estimates that the program will save the company $160 million in health-care costs by 2010.

Read the full article at Fast Company to learn how Cisco used their cafeteria to promote healthy eating both on and off the clock.

Small businesses employ over half of the US’ private sectors workforce and make up 99.7% of all employer firms ⁽¹⁾. This makes the offering and creation of a company culture that enhances and supports an employee’s overall well-being that much more important.  Healthy employees are more creative and productive than their unhealthier counterparts ⁽²⁾. This translates to dollars directly hitting the bottom line. Health and well-being programs are a business case and not simply an added employee benefit. What are you waiting for?

Learn why your small business should care about wellness, and some easy steps you can take by reading the full article here.

There have been many discussions about “the good, the bad and the ugly” of the new health reform law. On a positive note, it has provided an endless stream of health topics.

With our next three editions of CareNotes, we will take a closer look at specific provisions of the health reform law. We will review what we know, what needs defining, and when provisions are effective.

This issue of CareNotes examines what the health reform law means for corporate health and productivity initiatives.

Click to read the full article.

Click here to register and learn more about the Legal Compliance for Wellness Programs – Powered by RegOnline.