According to a 2010 Conference Board of Canada survey, 64% of respondents indicated that their benefits programs are focused on health promotions and disease management. However, only 26% reported that their organizations had fully developed a comprehensive wellness strategy.
“Health as a strategic business issue is something that businesses can no longer afford to ignore,” workplace health strategist Allan Smofsky said during the recent Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute’s Benefits Fundamentals session in Toronto.
Smofsky said he’s witnessed organizations shut down their workplace health strategy wellness programs in tough economic times.
As employers continue to strive to retain and engage employees, wellness will play a big role. According to the Principal Financial Group’s 2009 Well-Being Index, 45% of Americans would stay at their jobs longer because of wellness programs, while 40% felt such programs made them feel encouraged to work harder and perform better.
Employers will see some positive outcomes in the first year of a wellness program, Smofsky said, but some outcomes they won’t see until three or five years down the road. “You need the return on investment numbers, but it can’t end there,” he said. “Wellness needs to be a journey.”
One company that is taking that journey is The Economical Insurance Group (TEIG). The property and casualty insurance company headquartered in Waterloo, Ont., is 66% female, with an average age of 41, and the work is mainly sedentary office jobs. It started its wellness initiative in 2008.
“Our demographics are aging, and our benefits experience is becoming worse,” said Jennifer Hubbard, assistant vice-president, corporate HR service, with TEIG. The company took a multi-year approach to its strategy. The first year (2008) was about enhancing awareness—educating employees about their own individual health. TEIG did this with biometric screening clinics (15-minute confidential screenings measuring random blood glucose, cholesterol, etc.) and a wellness assessment online. The assessment was open to employees any time during the year, but employees were encouraged to go during TEIG’s wellness campaign, Hubbard said.
Those who completed the assessment during the campaign were given $300 in wellness credits toward their flex benefits plan. These credits could be used to reimburse fitness/sports equipment, lessons and recognized weight management programs, for example.
In 2009, TEIG wanted to continue learning and create action in its wellness program. The company held a team wellness challenge in November in order to create action and behaviour changes. For each minute of exercise, participants got a point. And teams received five bonus points for participation in focus areas (e.g., eating five fruits and veggies a day).
By 2010, TEIG focused on making wellness program sustainable throughout the year. It wove the programs together into a holistic wellness strategy and started to communicate the focus on health and wellness in a more holistic way.
It created a committee of wellness ambassadors to champion local wellness activities, launch initiatives (e.g., health fairs, fitness classes), etc. Currently, there are about 30 ambassadors.
It also created a spring walking challenge (Stride into Summer), in which participants logged their kilometres online. Hubbard said almost 1,800 employees collectively walked about 112,000 kilometres over the four-week challenge. TEIG is gearing up to do it again this May.
“It’s not just about dollars. It’s about engagement,” she said. “If employees are more engaged in the organization, they are going to feel more satisfied and productive.”