The Regional Municipality of York introduced its strategic wellness program, in partnership with Sun Life Financial’s Health and Wellness team, in response to information garnered from staff in the region’s first Employee Satisfaction Survey in 2006. The goal was to achieve a culture of wellness with high-impact results.
To provide baseline data, the initial phase of the program included a wellness survey, a health risk assessment and a benefit and drug usage analysis. These were all conducted by an external consultant to ensure confidentiality; the employer received only aggregate data.
A wide variety of wellness initiatives—such as smoking cessation programs, health challenges and health risk screenings—were introduced in response to the survey results, with a focus on making the programs interesting, fun and relevant. Creating a wellness program based on the interests and needs identified by staff has been a key contributor to the program’s success.
Communication has been continuous, with posters, an electronic message board and a dedicated wellness website. Small incentives—such as healthy-eating cookbooks, calendars and playing cards with wellness messaging—are also offered to help maintain employees’ interest.
A series of metrics helps gauge the success and effectiveness of the various programs, with analysis and reporting taking place annually. This reporting and return on investment evaluation has given credence to the value of the program.
And it helps to ensure that wellness is not only part of the region’s culture but also a strategic business goal.
York Region is currently in its sixth year of programming. Senior management has endorsed the wellness program’s development and continues to champion the initiative.
The resulting cost savings are impressive, especially given the organization’s size (approximately 3,400 employees): the projected five-year savings from health risk screenings and smoking cessation programs alone are estimated to be upwards of $240,000.
Lori Casselman is assistant vice-president, health and wellness, with Sun Life Financial. lori.casselman@sunlife.com
Get a PDF of this article.