91 per cent of firms offer wellness program

The Town of Richmond Hill’s wellness program is entering its 11th year. Over that time, the manager of employee health, safety and benefits for the Ontario municipality has looked at drug and employee assistance utilization data, as well as absenteeism and turnover rates to measure the program’s return on investment.

“That’s where I get the ammunition to be able to sell this program and to continually get the budget funds that we need,” said Debra Wight.

However, while many employers offer wellness initiatives, too few evaluate the effectiveness or attempt to measure ROI, said Ed Buffett, president and CEO of Buffet and Company Worksite Wellness in Whitby, Ont.

The company’s 2009 National Wellness Survey found 91 per cent of the 634 organizations surveyed offered at least one wellness initiative. But only 51.6 per cent have analyzed claims data and about one-quarter have consistently evaluated wellness initiatives, conducted a needs assessment or planned to calculate wellness ROI.

Since Buffett and Company began conducting the tri-annual survey in 1997, the proportion of organizations offering at least one wellness initiative has more than doubled from 44 per cent, and more organizations are offering multiple initiatives, said Buffett.

But there has been little increase in the number of organizations evaluating the outcome of such programs, he said. This is probably why the number one barrier to implementing wellness initiatives, as cited by 58.9 per cent of respondents, is a lack of budget resources, said Buffett.

“One of the easiest ways to get funding is to evaluate your outcomes and use that evaluation as the business case,” he said.

Organizations can look at health-risk data, such as absenteeism rates or prescription drug use for specific conditions, before and after targeted ­wellness initiatives to determine if the programs have helped reduce risk factors, said Buffett.

While some organizations rely on anecdotal feedback about a program’s success, it’s easy to access quantitative data, said Catherine Connelly, assistant professor of human resources and management at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business in Hamilton. She analyzed the survey data for Buffett and Company.

“They have clues but they need to approach it in a better, systematic way,” she said.

Most of the data is available in the HR department — long-term disability claims, EAP reports, prescription drug use — and can be used to ensure wellness programs are actually addressing issues that exist in the workplace, said Buffett.

“Despite an awful lot of data at their fingertips, companies are not using their (workers’ compensation) and their extended health-care and disability claims to help them as extensively as we think they should be,” he said.

Examining claims data and an annual employee survey help the Town of Richmond Hill’s wellness steering committee tailor wellness initiatives to employee needs, said Wight. Unfortunately, many organizations’ wellness initiatives don’t match employees’ health risks, found the survey.

“There was a bit of a disconnect between the concerns that employers had about their employees’ health and what they were doing in order to address those concerns,” said Connelly.

Despite respondents citing eight risk factors for cardiovascular disease among the top 10 health concerns (see sidebar), only two of the top 10 wellness initiatives offered impact cardiovascular health (health awareness, prevention, management or education programs and nutrition education).

“If you have a real concern, it’s very important that your initiatives target those concerns,” said Buffett.

The top three wellness initiatives are EAPs, first aid and CPR courses, and flu shot programs. Given the health risks, more organizations should be offering fitness subsidies, fitness assessments, health-related challenges and blood pressure and cholesterol screening, stated the report.

The Town of Richmond Hill’s wellness initiatives include subsidized, on-site fitness classes, a month-long fitness challenge and an on-site health assessment. Each year, about 100 of the municipality’s 623 employees participate in one or more of the fitness classes. In 2008, 99 employees participated in the fitness challenge and 35 employees did the health assessment, which looks at cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors and gives employees advice on how to control them, said Wight.

These initiatives, combined with work practices such as flexible work arrangements and telework, help create a specific organizational culture, she said.

“It’s changing and promoting workplace health and telling employees that we value (them) at every step of the way.”

Organizational culture, at 53.1 per cent, was the number one reason survey participants offered wellness initiatives. Benefit cost containment, at 17 per cent, was number two.

“The organizations that do offer something, they’re really building a better organizational culture,” said Connelly. “Even when an organization is doing something small, it communicates to employees that, ‘My company values my contribution and cares about my well-being.’”

While a wellness program can help decrease benefit, absenteeism and disability costs and improve productivity, “more importantly, it makes it a much nicer place to work,” she said.

When the economy started to nosedive last October, clients told Buffett they were holding off on new wellness initiatives to reduce costs. But by February or March, there was a 180-degree turn, he said.

“It was a recognition that, if anything, the problem was exacerbated by the recession and that these programs were needed more now than ever.”

Even with the downturn, baby boomers are still set to retire and employers will face a shortage of knowledge workers, said Buffett. Wellness initiatives are some of the best ways to attract and retain high-quality workers, he said.

“A lot of the initiatives that can be offered are not necessarily expensive,” said Connelly. For example, a lunchtime walking program is free and can help employees improve their fitness, reduce stress and ease back pain, she said.

While other initiatives, such as screening programs that measure blood pressure and cholesterol, can be more elaborate and expensive, they’re still worth the money, said Connelly.

“Even though we’re in a recession now, companies still need to hang on to their best employees. People still move around even when unemployment levels are a little bit higher. If an organization can act to make their company a nicer place to work, I think they’ll reap the benefits of that,” she said.