Who's Who in Workplace Health/Roundtable Discussion 2009

The annual Who’s Who in Workplace Health Awards pay tribute to individuals and organizations that have contributed—through leadership and innovation—to the well-being of Canadian employees and their families. On October 16, the 2009 award winners were invited to join forces with representatives from sponsoring organizations in a panel discussion titled “How to Keep Wellness on the Corporate Budget.” Held at the Windsor Arms Hotel just before the awards presentation, the discussion was moderated by Alyssa Hodder, editor of Benefits Canada magazine, who posed a variety of thought-provoking questions about employer and employee roles in safeguarding workplace health. Following are some highlights of the discussion.

Question: This is a challenging time for employers looking to launch wellness initiatives. How can employers use existing resources more effectively?
Baynton: Many opportunities exist in the public domain. For example, non-profit health associations often conduct wellness sessions at low or no cost.
Seward: It’s often possible to create synergies between existing programs. A simple example would be to educate case managers to use EAP services to support return to work.
Smofsky: A group of organizations can join forces with a single service provider to achieve economies of scale. As a recent example, four employers partnered with the same food provider to get the meal plans they wanted at an affordable price.
Lefkowitz: Employees are often very keen to volunteer and get engaged beyond their job description. Collectively, such employees represent a potent source of energy and expertise that we may be underutilizing.
Casselman: Wellness doesn’t have to be about programs; it can be about policy changes and promotion of healthy behaviours. Simple changes like offering healthy snacks at meetings or encouraging walking breaks can make a difference at a cultural level.

Question: How can an organization ensure that knowledge about health policies and opportunities cascades through the workforce?
Lee: The Intranet is an effective communication tool in our organization. When employees log on, our workplace health messaging comes into plain view.
Steinson: In our organization, we’ve designated local “champions” who take our core messages and disseminate them to the workforce within their sites. They bring a unique energy and drive to the table.
Riley: It’s important to aim for consistency of messaging, so that everyone from the CEO to the administrative assistant gets the same information.
Cronin: We’ve had success with videos that showcase wellness programs. A good visual demonstration can be a strong motivational tool.

Question: How do you communicate the importance of health and wellness initiatives to corporate decision-makers who may be skeptical about the idea? How do you train managers to advocate for workplace health?
Langlais: Think-tank sessions that present the business case for organizational wellness can help raise managers’ initial awareness.
Seward: In fact, in a recent presentation to 275 managers and supervisors in the engineering field, we approached workplace health from a hard business perspective. We discussed disability and drug costs in relation to specific disease states. By the end of the session, the participants were sold on the idea of measuring and improving employee health.
Baynton: We’re now finding the legal argument has more weight; employers are afraid of the regulatory and legal ramifications of mishandling workplace mental health issues, for example.
Foley: Employee engagement surveys can help pinpoint areas of concern and identify managers who may need to change their approach.
Lefkowitz: We don’t need to train managers to become psychologists or social workers. It’s more of a question of providing them with the generic skills to conduct difficult conversations.
Vincent: While we ask our floor supervisors to handle the day-to-day health concerns of the workforce, we rely on Human Resources to disseminate global organizational health messages.

Question: What strategies can an organization use to tailor its message to a specific organizational environment, such as a unionized or intergenerational workforce?
Langlais: In a unionized environment, existing communication channels can be used to promote workplace health. Joint health committees, with representation from the union and from management, can help create a sense of unity.
Lefkowitz: We need to be mindful of cultural differences. At the University of Toronto, we have close to 500 service workers, most of whom don’t speak English as a first language. Many of them didn’t relate to the messaging we’d developed because we hadn’t put ourselves in their cultural shoes.

Question: In hard times, employers may face the prospect of cutting back on wellness initiatives. How can an organization decide what to cut while remaining mindful of the organization’s needs?
Baynton: Depending on the organization, employees could be enlisted in the brainstorming process.
Seward: It’s about finding different ways to do things. For example, an early intervention disability management program allowed some major banks to save millions of dollars last year.
Casselman: When cuts are necessary, many organizations target health and wellness programs because there is no strategic business case surrounding these programs. If appropriate metrics were in place, organizations might think longer before making the cuts.
Seward: In 90% of cases, organizations can’t verbalize the rationale for their health programs. A strategic discussion might help the organization articulate its objectives, which would enable decision-makers to select programs that fall in line with these objectives and cut those that don’t.

Question: We know that wellness programs may take years to produce a return on investment (ROI). How do you approach an organization that wants to see immediate results?
Foley: Disease-specific programs can produce some “quick wins.” For instance, diabetes or arthritis screening clinics can demonstrably reduce the costs and productivity losses associated with these diseases.
Casselman: Having diverse metrics can yield a variety of ROI indicators. The organization should be measuring both short-term changes (such as improvement in attendance and engagement) and longer-term changes, such as a decrease in the workforce’s overall risk of cardiovascular disease.
Smofsky: We need to anticipate that certain costs are likely to go up in the short term, while knowing that bigger costs will be mitigated over time.
Lee: A couple of years ago we revamped our disability program, giving ailing employees more time off in the short term. We told management the cost savings would not appear right away. Two years later, we’re finding that our new approach has reduced long-term disability costs.

Question: What are the best ways to assess ROI on wellness?
Seward: Two obvious things to measure are absences and disability claims. Wellness programs can have a huge impact on these parameters, even in the short term.
Baynton: Linking a wellness program to employee retention is another important way of assessing ROI, as replacing an employee costs a minimum of $10,000.
Smofsky: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming a higher priority for lending organizations and for individual employees. If we can link wellness not only to engagement and productivity but to CSR, we’re making a strong case.
Riley: These “big picture” metrics also influence an organization’s ability to attract new employees. More and more, new hires are looking for that “value statement.”

Question: Have employees’ wellness needs changed in recent years and, if so, what can employers do about it?
Riley: In difficult times, employees may have greater needs for financial assistance, which arguably falls under the umbrella of wellness. Employers can provide guidance with retirement plans and other financial matters.
Smofsky: Employees who survive cutbacks may also experience “survivor guilt.” Organizations are more sensitive to this psychological reality than they were in the last recession, though they may need some external guidance to address the issue.

Question: How might employers modify their strategic approach to wellness in these hard economic times? Can frontline managers play a role in this regard?
Casselman: Flexibility is probably more important than ever. Companies can adopt policies and practices that encourage employees to achieve personal balance.
Baynton: It’s difficult for managers to balance their mandate to produce with the need to attend to the health of their team. That said, I have seen managers take a pro-health stand and make a significant difference within their own sphere of influence.
Smofsky: We need to do a better job of organizing resources, both internally and in partnership with external providers.

Question: What low- or no-cost health initiatives might be welcomed in tough times?
Hubbard: We have installed a wellness section in our lending library with books on nutrition, physical activity and some diseases. It’s an inexpensive way of giving people access to information and resources.
Riley: The organization’s leaders can model what they want the workforce to achieve. Seeing the CEO jogging across the compound or work tower can inspire employees to follow suit.
Casselman: Walking meetings cost nothing. Public health departments can also provide free resources.
Lee: We give our employees the chance to volunteer in Breakfast for Learning school programs. The initiative has been very well received.
Baynton: Public-domain resources can make a real difference in people’s lives. For example, the Heart & Stroke Foundation offers a free service that allows people to design their own wellness program with automatic e-mail reminders.

Question: Can a wellness culture start from the ground up, with employees as the driving force?
Baynton: I can recall one situation in which management hired consultants to improve a toxic workplace to no avail. Then, an employee decided to start a wellness committee, which not only sparked people’s interest in health, but also ultimately healed the organizational toxicity.
Casselman: I believe some of the best programs begin with employees. In some cases—Weightwatchers At Work comes to mind—employees may willingly absorb some of the costs.

Question: Any final thoughts?
Steinson: It’s inspiring to participate in this exchange of information, experiences and success stories. Past successes are what inspire employers to take a chance on health and wellness initiatives and to discover the profound benefits of a healthy workplace.

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