Workplace Wellness and Productivity-Part 2

How can you drive employee participation?

                                                         By: Lawrence Jones Jr2/21/2017

If your employees will not participate in a wellness program, then how can you increase productivity? A sincere and very important question with an opening for creative thinking.

Wellness programs are beneficial only if the employees take part and use the resources available to them. To get this result employers must educate, train, and place accountability on managers. Once the management staff is educated on the benefits, and use of the program, its resources, as well as the rewards; then it becomes an even playing field. Education on the purpose and bottom line for the program, how it will benefit not just the employee, but the entire team. If there are bonus structures that are relevant, use them as a metrics that will show how the improvement in wellness equals productivity, thus better bonuses.  If there are not any, consider the option if there are increases in productivity that transcend into profits. Employees want to know they matter, not just feel like they matter. There is a difference, and it is not hard to see that difference.

Wellness is not just about eating, not smoking, health and fitness; but it includes financial wellness, as well education wellness. Are there opportunities for upward movement, development, growth in personal financial matters? Is there mentoring to develop a greater quality of employee; because let’s be realistic, if they leave the organization they will go somewhere else and reflect the environment in which they left, as will the next new hire that comes in. Wellness is a general term but development and quality are better terms to describe what the goal is.

Making the employee feel they are an asset, valued, respected, and not just another staff member these are keys to generating participation, respect loyalty motivation and value to the wellness program as well as to the bottom line.

Workplace Wellness and Productivity Part 1

Workplace Wellness and Productivity-Part 1

Does employee wellness really improve productivity?

Want to improve the productivity of the teams in your company? Do you want to increase sales? Do you want to have the quality and caliber of whom you hired be reflected in their work? Be the management of the change and influence of increased success.

FACT: $63.2 Billion estimated annual cost to U.S. businesses of lost productivity between 2015-2016 attributed to sleep deprivation alone. Now being a veteran, that works for training for combat, but it is not very effective for corporate combat. That means more Americans drink coffee and energy drinks to try and supplement the energy and focus that they could naturally be generating from being active, healthy, more fit.

FACT: 77% of productivity loss id attributed to health-related factors. Sick days, are an easy measurable element of health care causes and loss in wages, etc., but, what about employees who come to work under the weather and “Suck It Up”? We all know that one or two, or 10 that have done it; and take pride in not having any sick days…….so they were paid to be at work, but did really nothing.

This is not a blast or attack on them, it’s a great model for what is happening more to mask the wellness impact issue in our country. The solution is simple, wellness program with incentives that reward for coming to work and meeting certain standards and criteria as a part of the wellness initiative. (For this we highly recommend researching the local, state, and federal labor laws on changing standards operating procedures and accountability of work performance regulations and guidelines. Or consulting with a consulting, research, or wellness firm on gathering that information.)

FACT:  There is a 28% reduction in productivity among employees who smoke verses non-smokers.  The amazing thing about this, most companies are implementing no smoking while at work policies, and even though this is a step, it does not fix the issue of the unhealthy lifestyle habit affects the employee thus effecting their productivity; even when they smoke on their own time away from work.

The solution, offer more beneficial alternatives and incentives to employees for not smoking at all, and showing improved performance/productivity from not smoking. This has to be creative, and within the business model of your company. Make it challenging, but achievable, rewarding, and clearly seen of those who have tried, won, and are continuing to attempt to win.

Productivity is effected in many ways, and not just by those who are not well or fit, and living very unproductive recreational lifestyles. The employee(s) who must take on the additional work load, pick up the slack with making quota or dealing with client/guest flow. There are various impacts based upon the industry, but no matter the industry it is still a solution that helps more than just health care cost, or employee retention.

Workplace wellness has changed and become a valuable tool in increasing a company’s production. In doing so there is no longer just a measurable variable of ROI, now the Value of Investment can be just as much be measured. And soon, very soon, the rate of productivity gained and lost will be as well.

What are your productivity challenges?

NOT JUST ABOUT WELLNESS, BUT COMPETITIVE EDGE

Wellness Initiative-Not Just About Health but Competitive Edge

Companies now can see not just a return on investment with corporate wellness programs, but they are also seeing a shift in focus to value of investment. The value of their workforce being dedicated, happy better producers, less costly, and more profitable through production. Wellness programs have increased as part of the standard operating procedure of task and duties of employees over the past 5 years. In addition, the overall value of the programs have increased by 20%, giving a competitive edge to companies within their industry. This edge has been seen in production and services, but also in acquiring better qualified team players. The attraction to more and better qualified employees is a value not seen or predicted when wellness programs were first initiated and deemed valuable in the workplace. Now this edge has increased the qualification expectation of employers on potential employees, as well as on the existing team of employees. Now the more involvement with the department of labor, local, state and federal regulations on wellness programs, their incentives and procedures; the value has been recognized in every aspect of business.

“The industry is expanding and becoming increasingly diverse and competitive; wellness companies are redefining their business models to promote a culture of health; and the value proposition of employee wellness programs is shifting from a return on investment to a new idea: value on investment.”

(http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/36/2/222.short)

In addition to maintaining employment loyalty, diversity, assisting with the retention of staff, and increasing creative thought as well as productivity. Loyalty, diversity and retention is developed as the employee sees an investment in them and their long term health and value which will cause increases to creative thought as well as productivity. The healthcare value of the wellness program in the corporate workplace saves money in health care cost for both the employer as well as the employee, it is not a one sided benefit.

The savings reflected by a wellness program is not just for the employee any longer. With employers becoming the beneficiaries of significant tax breaks, health care premium discounts and liability insurance savings; the ROI has increased over the past 2 years-and still rising. Most ROI calculations reflect the return on every dollar invested in the wellness program from year to year. However, they do not include the initial investment of the program, the very detailed and important variable of the program implementation or participation aspect. Therefore, there are several hundred hours of research, surveys, and assessments that MUST be done in order to secure a more positive and successful participation rate. This is also a contributing factor in the rise of ROI and value being tracked in wellness programs over the past 2 years. More companies are insuring that the processes and management of these programs are looked upon with the same managed requirements as an accounting or payroll operating procedure.

“Amid soaring health spending, there is growing interest in workplace disease prevention and wellness programs to improve health and lower costs. In a critical meta-analysis of the literature on costs and savings associated with such programs, we found that medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent.”

(http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/29/2/304.short)


Lawrence Jones 2/19/2017
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