The purpose of completing the assessment is to identify your jobsite’s strengths and areas in need of improvement. The assessment will lead your workgroup to recommend actions for changes to make the worksite more supportive of healthy behaviors (i.e. healthy food choices in vending machines, policies to enforce no smoking on worksite grounds or encouraging walking during break times). You may find some of the actions for supporting healthy behaviors are easy to do and others may not be feasible or efficient in your worksite.  The assessment results can also be used as a baseline measure for evaluation.  The initial assessment can later be compared with a follow-up assessment several months later to note progress.

Who should do the Employee Health and Wellness Program Environment Assessment?

Identify a workgroup (at least 4-5 individuals) who will be responsible for completing the assessment.  This may be a subset of your wellness workgroup.  Forming a diverse group from all areas and levels of your company is important for meaningful assessment and successful planning and implementation. Suggested members include: human resources, staff members from various departments, administrators, supervisors, worker or wellness staff.

When should the Employee Health and Wellness Program Environment Assessment be Done?

Use the assessment as a starting point for your wellness initiative. Once you have completed the assessment, determine which areas the workgroup will focus on (i.e. healthy eating, physical activity, general health, etc.). Create a time for the workgroup to meet and monitor the progress. Also determine a schedule for annual assessments, so that the assessment can serve as a tool for continuous improvement and accountability over time.

Part 1 – Wellness Assessment Checklist

Complete a Worksite Wellness Assessment Checklist to determine what wellness components you currently have at your worksite.   This can be done with the full workgroup or you may want a few key personnel (such as the Human Resources lead, Wellness Coordinator or Workgroup Coordinator) to do a preliminary scan based on information they gather and then let the full workgroup react to their findings. Ask your broker for a sample wellness assessment checklist or create your own.

Completion of the checklist provides a reference point of the wellness functions that are currently in place or in process and it provides an overview of some of the items that should be considered for a comprehensive Employee Health and Wellness Program.

Checklist Components:

Categories.  There are six major categories (General, Physical Activity, Nutrition, Health Screening, Tobacco Use and Emergency Response Plan).  Each category has several questions that address what you currently have in place at your worksite.

Current Status.  Initially, list whether you have the component (Yes), are in the process of instituting the component or you are planning for the component (In Process) or don’t have the component at all (No).  At the end of each category, sub-total the number in each column and then total all of the categories at the end of the checklist to get an overview of where your worksite Employee Health and Wellness Program currently rates. You should also use this baseline measure as a benchmark for later evaluation.  By evaluating where your worksite is on each wellness component, you will be able to get a general idea of your status across each category and all 57 items.

Potential Priorities.  After you have completed the assessment and the employee interest survey, you can use the potential priority column to indicate what components you might want to focus on that are either currently in process or don’t exist.  This can serve as a first testing of possible areas to focus on as you develop your action plan.

Part 2: worker Input

Why would we want to do an employee survey?

You should conduct an employee survey to get a better understanding of your target audience (your company’s staff members) and get an initial idea of their current health habits and interest areas.  The survey can be tailored to your worksite and can be done in paper form or through the use of survey instruments on the internet or that can be purchased.   You can create your own employee survey or ask your broker for a Workplace Wellness Needs and Interest Survey. 

As was the case with the worksite environmental assessment, the employee survey results can also be used as a baseline measure for later evaluation.  The initial survey results can later be compared with a follow-up survey several months later to note progress.

You should also consider engaging staff members in focus groups or informal interviews to gather information on their wants and needs.  This can be done either before or after the survey, or if you don’t have the resources to survey staff members, you could use this method to gather information in place of the survey. 

Whatever method you use to gather information, make it as easy as possible for staff members to complete and submit the information so you get a high return rate.  Look at offering an incentive or prize for individuals who complete the survey.

Key Factors in Employee Health and Wellness Program

In today’s society there are many primary factors that influence people’s health behaviors.  Look at the following list in maintaining participation in your program:

1. TIME.  Staff members are busy, so the more you can work activity and healthy eating into their existing schedules, the better your chances for success.  Example: A walk at lunch doesn’t take away from existing time, it just uses it differently.  Also look at the time of the day and length of any activity you might be promoting, since both time components may be factors.
2. ACCESS.   How accessible is your Employee Health and Wellness Program.  Is it onsite or at a nearby site?  Do you offer access at breaks or outside of normal work hours?
3. KNOWLEDGE.  Staff members need to know “Why” they are taking part in (the benefits) and also will need information about the “How to” in areas that are not commonly known. 
4. COST.  Being able to provide no cost or decreased cost Employee Health and Wellness Programs will help participation rates.  Coupled with incentives for participation, rates of participation will likely increase dramatically. 
5. INCENTIVES.  Some individuals need incentives to get started in a Employee Health and Wellness Program.  A full list of Employee Health and Wellness Program incentive options can be on the website.

Key Time Periods in Employee Health and Wellness Program

Good habits are often difficult to develop.  There tends to be some critical times when individuals drop out or fall off of a physical activity or diet program.   The first key time zone seems to be around 6 weeks.   If individuals can start and stay consistent with a program through the first 6 weeks, they have made a fairly serious commitment to incorporate the habits into their lifestyle.  The second key time is at about 6 months.  Those who made it past 6 weeks may get bored and/or distracted from their program after several months.  If individuals can get past 6 months and sustain behavior through a full set of weather seasons, they have a very good chance of making the changes permanent. 

Look at these time periods and think about how you can “boost” your staff members to get them past these critical time markers.  Promoting individual or group “challenges”, using incentives, or increased publicity/marketing are a few of the things you can do to help get your staff members through these key time periods

Goal Setting for Employee Health and Wellness Program

Setting goals has been shown to lead to better participation and more individuals making a strong commitment.  Whether it be a team goal of walking the equivalent of once around your state or an individual goal of so many miles or minutes of activity, the fact that there is something concrete to shoot for increases the likelihood individuals will stick with the program.

Buddy Systems or Team Goals for Employee Health and Wellness Program

The social aspects of improving one’s health cannot be underestimated.  Many studies point to tight social groups being the backbone for a successful campaign because each individual has a commitment to something bigger than themselves and besides, it’s just more fun for most individuals. Build your program around some type of teams or partners and see what happens.

Team “Campaigns” for Employee Health and Wellness Program

Some individuals like competition and others don’t.  Nevertheless, a worksite wide campaign has the advantage of keeping the message more visible and alive.  Encourage campaign participation, but make it voluntary so that those who prefer that type of motivation can join while others can participate in their own way and at their own pace.  If the idea of a campaign seems like too much work, consider tapping into existing campaigns where someone else provides resources for you. 

Incentives for Employee Health and Wellness Program

Incentives are often helpful in maintaining or raising interest.  Significant incentives such as cash or medical insurance rebates have proven to be very strong motivators for worker participation.  However, even smaller incentives can be beneficial.  Listed below are some sample incentives:

• Achievement awards. Verbal praise and a pat on the back are motivational to some, but a token of recognition of achievement may offer more. A colorful certificate to congratulate an worker for achieving a health-related goal is one example.
• Public recognition.  Announced recognition at campaign mid-point or wrap-up festivities.
• Food.  Include some healthy foods to kick-off, revitalize or wrap up a wellness campaign.
• Entertainment.  Events serve a purpose in jump-starting, reenergizing or wrapping up a campaign.  Having entertainment of any kind can boost morale.
• Merchandise.  There is a long list of merchandise incentives, including sports equipment and small gift certificates to use at local merchants. 
• Monetary rewards.  Nothing says incentive better than cash.  Worksites that have used cash or rebates as an incentive have shown much higher participation rates.
• Time off.  Maybe the next best incentive to cash, or for some individuals even better.  This type of incentive makes good business sense if the number of absences drops significantly and attendance is used as one of the criteria.

The Employee Health and Wellness Program management world is evolving rapidly. Each month, there are new research findings that support the premise that Employee Health and Wellness Programs and disease management have a long-term impact on healthcare costs. Many large businesses that started Employee Health and Wellness Programs three to five years ago are showing savings in health, disability, and workers compensation costs. Small to mid-size businesses are watching all this and wondering where to start with wellness.

Getting upper management support and budget approval is one of the challenges at the beginning of a Employee Health and Wellness Program. This is the case because Employee Health and Wellness Programs can be expensive, averaging $150-300 per worker per year in large businesses. Most of the savings are not realized for a number of years. This long-term investing is hard for businesses on the move.

The key to success for Employee Health and Wellness Programs is to take a strategic approach. Here are ten steps to consider when starting a Employee Health and Wellness Program.

1. Begin with upper management. Without upper management support, a health promotion strategy can fall flat. Begin with the health of your executive team and discover your wellness champions at the top of the company.
2. Analyze the problem. Look at your healthcare claims and analyze the trends. Which conditions are driving your medical, disability, and workers’ compensation claims and which are modifiable? What’s worked and what hasn’t thus far? What is the long-term impact of doing nothing?
3. Hold an initial wellness meeting. Invite your primary stakeholders both inside and outside the company. Ask your broker to facilitate the meeting and invite primary health vendors including health, disability, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), fitness, and occupational nursing. Review claims and utilization information and identify primary areas of concern. Look at current offerings and see how they can be tailored to the needs of the population.
4. Look at both healthy and unhealthy staff members. Since 85 percent of claims are usually attributed to 15 percent of claimants, it is essential to reach those with the most costly conditions while also reaching individuals who are at risk for developing preventable diseases in the future. Voluntary Employee Health and Wellness Programs such as lunch and learns wellness seminars miss many of the individuals who need them most. Look at initiatives that are population-wide or target intact workgroups. Wellness incentives help but do not motivate everyone.
5. Set short-term goals for the Employee Health and Wellness Programs. Set some realistic short-term goals based on your primary areas of concern. Are there any plan design changes that could have an immediate impact on spending? Are there some programmatic actions that could have immediate results?
6. Find out what staff members are thinking. Hold some focus groups to determine where individuals are with wellness. What’s working? What isn’t? How much interest do individuals have in the Employee Health and Wellness Programs? What obstacles and barriers are staff members experiencing when they try to change behavior?
7. Ensure that you have a high-impact Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Your first wellness dollars should go into upgrading your Employee Assistance Program (EAP). A highly utilized Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can provide a foundation for all of your future wellness activities. A good Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a trusted link to the hearts and minds of staff members. At no additional cost, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can provide needed follow-up coaching and personal attention for staff members who are working on modifiable health behaviors or involved in disease management initiatives. Nutritionists, fitness, pregnancy, and stress management specialists are all part of a high-value Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
8. Set three to five year goals for healthcare savings and measure them. Get help from your broker and insurance carrier help you on long-term goals for your health, disability, and workers compensation plans. Create program metrics that will help you to measure return on investment. Go beyond participation rates, completion rates and program satisfaction. Measure changes in readiness, changes in behavior, and changes in risk factors. Create rigorous methods to measure healthcare savings over the long term.
9. Set goals for organizational health. Look at the more intangible benefits of a wellness initiative and quantify them whenever possible. Include worker turnover rates, cost of new hires, worker morale, benefit satisfaction information, and employer of choice issues in setting goals. Create ways to measure success in these areas.
10. Add specifics to your short and long-term plan. Include a Employee Health and Wellness Program strategy, a communication strategy, and a Employee Health and Wellness Program incentive strategy that will fit with your corporate culture. Focus on integration of related components along a health continuum with communications that are focused, simple, and human. Create a budget that includes primary components such as consumer education, health promotion, health risk assessments, and regular biometric screens.

• Weight reduction
• Improved physical fitness
• Increased stamina
• Lower levels of stress
• Increased well-being, self-image and self-esteem

Employers can also benefit from Employee Health and Wellness Programs. According to recent research, employers’ benefits are:

• Enhanced recruitment and retention of healthy staff members
• Reduced healthcare costs
• Decreased rates of illness and injuries
• Reduced worker rates of absence
• Improved worker relations and morale
• Increased productivity

A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report revealed that at worksites with physical activity initiatives as components of their Employee Health and Wellness Programs have:

• Reduced healthcare costs by 20 to 55 percent
• Reduced short-term sick leave by six to 32 percent
• Increased productivity by two to 52 percent

Thanks to modern medicine, life expectancy for Americans has continually increased. How much we enjoy these additional years, however, depends greatly on how we have lived our lives. If our quality of life is to remain high so that we can fully enjoy these extra years, we must practice good eating habits, be active and refrain from using tobacco products.

Furthermore, stress, distractions and the pressures of the job can take its toll on the worker, which makes it important that a Employee Health and Wellness Program is implemented. Today, all across America, Canada, Europe and Asia, top Employee Health and Wellness Programs are being used to help improve worker conditions at work and reduce the cost of worker healthcare.

Some of the top Employee Health and Wellness Programs currently in use today include:

Health Risk Assessments (HRAs)

Health Risk Assessment is a top Employee Health and Wellness Program currently in use globally. Organizations that implement it determine the safety and health concerns of workers by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the staff members.

It can, for example, guide the company into determining how much air quality within an office room affects the users and then help the assessment team to come up with the measures necessary to correct the problem. An HRA can also evaluate the level of exposure workers have to certain hazardous or dangerous materials and practices.

Immunizations

This isn’t always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. However, it has also become an important component of the top Employee Health and Wellness Programs in many businesses in North America.

Immunization, flu shots, such as those used to combat flu, for example, are offered to workers for free.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) consist of a wide variety of services. It can range from providing educational resources to staff members regarding health issues to sponsoring health services and medical care. In many businesses, medical and insurance have also become a staple part of their benefits system.

Weight Management Programs

This is another Employee Health and Wellness Program that businesses use, particularly those that offer in-house commissary or cafeteria services. Instead of serving richer, high-calorie fare, cafeterias offer options for a healthier diet, usually in the form of low-calorie foods and sugar substitutes.

Employee Wellness Newsletters - Health Education Programs

One of the top Employee Health and Wellness Programs that businesses can implement is a self-powered tool using a newsletter to promote wellness, coupled with a visible campaign. The campaign may be done periodically and focus on a specific topic, such as smoking hazards, cancer, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, safety in the workplace, etc.

The newsletter in itself can be an effective means to deliver information to staff members or members of an company but it is far from perfect. Some staff members, for example, may not read the newsletter in its entirety or even pay attention to it. If the issues outlined in the newsletter are promoted through an active and highly visible campaign, it will be easier to maximize positive results.

Physical Fitness and Exercise Programs

Another top health promotion program for businesses is one that involves physical activities. Companies often sponsor exercise-related events such as marathons and company sports initiatives to promote staff members to remain fit or lose excess weight. In mid- to large-sized businesses, businesses may even pay for gym memberships or in-house exercise facilities.

Employee Health and Wellness Program Incentives

Some of the top Employee Health and Wellness Programs implemented by businesses involve incentive rewards. This involves company-sponsored initiatives that reward staff members for achieving specific wellness goals. Participation in health campaigns and signing up for Employee Health and Wellness Programs are two of the most commonly rewarded schemes. Rewards can range from special recognitions to points (for bigger rewards) to specific gifts. In a few cases, cash may also be used.

However, incentive systems have had mixed reactions and levels of success. But it continues to be one of the top choices among businesses who are willing to modify it in order to fit their unique needs.

Group Activities

In many businesses, businesses take advantage of peer pressure in order to encourage workers to participate in Employee Health and Wellness Programs. This is currently one of the favorite worker Employee Health and Wellness Programs currently in use today and growing in popularity. Peer pressure is often leveraged to help promote competitions and to persuade staff members to be active in company-sponsored health fairs.

Employee Health and Wellness Programs: The Good

• A sampling of return on investment for Employee Health and Wellness Programs: Bank of America: 600%; General Motors:370%; Pepsico: 300%; Citibank: 465%; and the Washoe County School District leading the pack at a whopping 1,560%. (Campbell,J., Wellness Improvement Experts, www.wellnessimprovementexperts.com, Albuquerque, New Mexico.)
• Companies with Employee Health and Wellness Programs have realized a 28 percent reduction in sick leave, a 26 percent reduction in adjunctive healthcare costs and a 30 percent reduction in disability and workers compensation costs. (Health Affairs, Volume 21, No.2, March, 2002.)
• The Washoe county School District in Northern Nevada realized a $15.60 return on investment for every dollar spent due to a 20 percent reduction in rates of absence. (Hardy,A. (2005). At the Top Of The Class. WELCOA’s Absolute Advantage Magazine, 5(1), 14-20.)
• Employee Health and Wellness Programs provide the structure, encouragement, incentives and ongoing support that many people need in order to make lifestyle changes.
• Employees also realize returns on their efforts. FiServ, a financial services technology company, gave staff members who filled out a health risk assessment a significant discount on their medical insurance premium. (Holland, Kelley, The New York Times, July 22, 2007.)

Employee Health and Wellness Programs: The Bad

The flip side of the argument centers on basic human rights. Do we want/need our employer to tell us to eat our veggies or lose 30 pounds? Some businesses are doing just that and at least one lawsuit has resulted because of it.

• Three hundred businesses have requested assistance from a national employment and labor law firm to institute more aggressive Employee Health and Wellness Programs.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)
• Clarian Health, based in Indianapolis, Will start decreasing worker paychecks by $10.00 for every worker who has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of greater than 29.9 because not enough staff members were utilizing their wellness services.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)
• Scott Rodrigues filed a suit against his prospective employer, Scotts Miracle-Gro, because he believed the company’s antismoking policy violated his civil rights. The company has a policy against hiring staff members who smoke and Mr. Rodrigues’drug screen was positive for nicotine.(Holland, Kelley, The New York Times,July 22,2007.)
• worker advocates are concerned that health discrimination may not be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act.(Cornwell, Lisa, Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, September 10,2007.)

Penalizing staff members by hitting them hardest where it hurts the most,their pocketbook, does not appear to be a favorable approach to molding human behavior.

Such tactics may result in increased resentments and retaliation, primarily in the form of rates of absence and presenteeism (decreased productivity on the job.) Voluntary, incentive-based initiatives, such as the one in the Washoe County School District, can and do produce results. A positive attitude on the part of management along with an opportunity for staff members to have a stake in the decision-making may yield the greatest dividends to both employer and worker.The motivation and resolve needed to change unhealthy lifestyle habits can best be derived from the basic tenets of encouragement, respect and support.

• Justifications for having a Wellness Fair

• Health risk assessments

• Help for high-risk population: smokers, obese staff members

• Early detection of diabetes, heart disease risk factors (high cholesterol, high blood pressure)

Wellness Fair Participation - Identify your audience

• Employees only, whole family, retirees?

• Community involvement? Theme?

Wellness Fair Time Line 

• Set a date and time Allow 4-6 months of planning time

Wellness Fair Planning

• Identify health-related screenings, tests, other activities you’ll offer Identify educational literature and other learning opportunities Wellness Fair will provide Include any “fun” activities, or food/beverage needs for the fair

Wellness Fair Location & Logistics

• Look at location big enough to accommodate the largest volume of individuals at “peak time” periods

• Determine how booths/stations will be set up

Wellness Fair Vendors

• Target relevant health/safety-related community and corporate vendors to provide services, educational materials, incentives and giveaways

Wellness Fair Marketing

• Determine marketing tools to be used to inform staff members/members (posters, mailings, e-mail)

• Determine any incentives or giveaways that will be included in the fair or used to promote participation in the fair

Wellness Fair Scheduling

• Coordinate timing and events with staff and/or volunteers

Wellness Fair Personnel

• Schedule appropriate experts Physician or similar healthcare personnel to provide patient consultation for review of blood draw lab results

• Nurse(s) to administer vaccinations

• Administrative/all-purpose individual to facilitate paper work, finger sticks and to provide general assistance

• Pharmacist or pharmacist assistant if appropriate Dietitian for nutritional counseling suggested personnel designated for health fairs

Footnotes

1 The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation via Reuters Health E-Line.

2 Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, (9/11/03)

3 www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/press/archive/lower_cost.htm

4 “Is Stress Nibbling Away at Your Bottom Line?” By Stephen Alper, Nov. 15, 2002.

5 Health Promotion in the Workplace, Michael P. O’Donnell, page 415.

6 http://www.bmpcoe.org/bestpractices/internal/dayto/dayto_6.html

Nationwide Insurance is seeing results from a small incentive program initiated by one of the company’s onsite nurses. To promote lunchtime walking, the worker has informally launched a “shoelace program” modeled after the karate-belt color system. Employees progress through the color scale until they reach “black-lace” status. The reward system has resulted in more staff members making commitments to walk during their lunch hour.

At the high end of the reward spectrum, some businesses pay cash to staff members who meet wellness goals. LuK, Inc. offers staff members $250 for kicking the tobacco habit and remaining smoke free for 12 months. For logging fitness points that add up to 10 miles a month, staff members are eligible for health assessments, which can result in reward amounts of up to $225.

The most effective motivator, according to Gordian research, comes through linking participation in Employee Health and Wellness Programs directly to insurance premiums. Doing so clearly demonstrates to staff members the positive effects of wellness on their own healthcare costs. often, the first step in linking wellness programming to insurance coverage is lowering deductibles for wellness care or eliminating deductibles altogether. By adding this benefit, businesses can promote staff members to undertake routine screenings and other procedures to respond to health problems before they become chronic. Early detection benefits both patient health and employer health costs.

Incentivizing Employee Health and Wellness Program participation with healthcare credits

More frequently, employers are going beyond increased wellness care coverage and looking to demonstrate the importance of wellness by linking participation to staff members’ bottom lines. Worthington Industries has recently rolled out a program that allows staff members to eliminate their portion of the insurance premium by enrolling in a Healthy Choices Employee Health and Wellness Program.

During the first year of the Healthy Choices program, staff members and their spouses complete Personal Health Assessments and medical screenings to determine their levels of health risks. Nurses, dietitians and exercise specialists are available to help moderate- and high-risk members develop individual action plans for improved health through the use of educational materials, behavior modification, telephone help from third-party program health coordinators, and formal health management initiatives. By completing the assessments, staff members earn their full premium credit. Because some plans at Worthington require no worker contribution, a cash award takes the place of a credit in those cases.  During year two of the program, the wellness bar is raised slightly. To continue to receive the wellness credit, members in the moderate- to high-risk category will be required to work at setting goals with third-party health coordinators.

Year three raises the bar again, requiring members to show progress in meeting goals and to continue to work with health coordinators to reach goals.

After year three, Worthington Industries staff members will be on the wellness track. The company believes that will mean a healthier workforce and cost savings for staff members and the company. The well being of Worthington staff members is the foundation of this program, and both staff members and the company are expected to benefit from the long-term advantages of the Healthy Choices Employee Health and Wellness Program.

While Worthington has taken a broad approach to wellness, other businesses have found success in offering incentives in specific areas. Longaberger, for example, offers a discount on healthcare policies for staff members who do not use tobacco. An individual worker who doesn’t use tobacco saves $7 per bi-weekly pay. For tobacco-free staff members with family coverage whose families are also tobacco-free, the savings increases to $14 per pay.

The next step: Penalizing harmful behaviors

As it stands, healthcare is the only type of insurance that doesn’t focus on penalizing for behaviors that put the insured party at risk. With healthcare costs rising so dramatically, that could soon change. Just as an accident likely raises auto insurance premiums, increasing premiums for those who engage in unhealthy behaviors is a possible next step in employers’ attempts to manage healthcare costs.

Reports that staff members would support this type of action are stacking up. One Ohio employer conducted an informal survey that indicated staff members would consider it a morale boost if health-conscious staff members were relieved of some of the burden of subsidizing care for staff members who engage in behaviors that adversely affect their health. Whether or not this type of program gains popularity, one thing is sure: the need to control the rise in healthcare costs is becoming ever more pressing.

Take the first step

Whatever the strategy, from offering staff members health resources to providing incentives for healthy behaviors, employers have a real opportunity to improve morale and productivity, reduce rates of absence and control healthcare costs through wellness. The first step is committing to taking one, no matter what size effort is appropriate for your organization.

Big strides start with small steps.

Stretching initiatives are another effective tool in injury prevention. According to the Best Practices in Manufacturing Web site, Dayton Parts, Inc. (DPI) in Harrisburg, Pa., conducted research that revealed approximately 80 percent of all manufacturing injuries occurred within the first two hours of each shift. After starting a program that required production staff members to stretch for 10 to 15 minutes at the beginning of their shifts, they saw a dramatic reduction in injuries.

While the DPI Employee Health and Wellness Program costs about $75,000 a year to operate, in conjunction with other company initiatives, it has helped bring the annual cost of workers’ compensation from $700,000 to $200,000 per year.6

To help prevent lengthy absences and reduce workers’ compensation claims, Honda instituted a work recovery program. Through the program, workers who have had an injury can work in a modified job—getting better. Employees in the program spend their work days receiving physical conditioning to increase overall fitness, physical therapy to restore functionality, health education and nutrition counseling. The program is based on information that shows fewer work days are lost when an worker stays connected to the work environment.

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, www.ohiobwc.com, provides a “10-Step Business Plan” as a guide for businesses in providing Employee Health and Wellness Programs that aim to reduce injuries. The plan includes information on safety and health initiatives to prevent occurrences of on-the-job accidents, including:

worker involvement - To ensure the success of any Employee Health and Wellness Program, staff members must participate in the safety and health-management process. This can be done through safety and health audits, accident investigations, or by forming safety and health involvement teams, focus groups or committees.

Orientation and training plan - Conduct orientation and training sessions to educate staff members on the company’s safety policies. These sessions should include procedures for the safe use of machinery and tools, chemical hazards and how to prevent contact or exposure, specific job/task safe practices, and hazard recognition and prevention.

Communication - Open communication keeps staff members informed and provides suggestions and feedback on the effectiveness of the Employee Health and Wellness Program. Through memos, bulletin boards and staff meetings, important health and safety information can be conveyed throughout the organization, keeping all management staff and staff members knowledgeable about the company’s safe practices.

The company plan also outlines incentives for post-injury procedures, including:

Medical treatment and return-to-work practices - arly return-to-work strategies help injured or ill workers return to work in a timely manner. Companies should establish a disability management policy to help injured or ill staff members obtain quality medical treatment, making their transition back to work quick and effortless.

Timely notification of claims - Employers should document workplace injuries immediately after they occur and promptly send that documentation to a claims handler. Quickly providing claim information demonstrates care and concern for the injured worker, prevents delays and confusion with the claim process, and reduces the potential for abuse or needless litigation.

Record keeping - Internal documents should be kept to record work-time injuries and to assess the success of the company’s safety efforts. Corporation audits, surveys and injury or illness reports can all be used to analyze which safety practices and policies have proven successful, and what areas of health and wellness need improvement.