Health risk assessments and biometrics, while an important source of wellness data, are not always the best place to start when implementing a wellness program, a wellness expert said in a Thompson Interactive webinar.
“Think through your culture and what you’ve been doing,” said Brad Cooper, CEO of US Corporate Wellness. Many companies started with an HRA to set a baseline for measuring employee wellness, and there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it may make sense to “build a relationship first,” he said.
“For a lot of people, having their blood taken freaks them out,” and if given an online survey they’re not sure who’ll see the results so they’re less likely to answer it honestly, said Cooper, author of Thompson’s Employee Wellness: Implementing a High Impact, High ROI Strategy. If you spend a few months establishing trust first, you might get more reliable responses, he said.
And regardless of their timing, HRAs and biometric screenings provide an important baseline but “they’re not a wellness program,” Cooper said. They’re an effective screening tool but “only if we follow up with them.”
Of the critical steps to an effective wellness program, the first is to “remove the blindfold,” Cooper said. Statistics show a dramatic increase in obesity nationwide in recent years, and new hires under age 40 are actually now more likely to be obese or overweight than those over 40, he noted. “The problem is not going away,” and obesity is just one “symptom of a lot of other things going on.”
The cost to employers of even incremental increases in risk factors like weight is equally stark, Cooper added — and not limited to health benefit claims. He cited a recent Duke University study finding that simply “overweight” (not obese) employees cost nearly twice as much in workers’ compensation claims as those with a normal body mass index.
The next step is to avoid simply “checking the box,” Cooper continued. A serious, rather than a “token,” wellness program needs to start a relationship, and not just with the “health police,” he said. “It’s got to be repeated throughout the year,” and reframed to reach the individual. “That’s where your coaching can be extremely beneficial.”
Another key is to choose wellness programs and vendors carefully. “Make sure you understand what you’re getting,” Cooper said. “Real participation trumps all.” A seemingly less expensive program may end up costing much more per “actively engaged” employee if it takes only a “passive approach,” he said.
Engaging employees actively requires tailoring your approach individually, Cooper continued. “We see some tough situations out there,” he said. “People are at different places,” and the approach to take with each one has to vary accordingly.
For additional information about employee wellness programs, see Thompson’s employee benefits library, including Employee Wellness: Implementing a High Impact, High ROI Strategy.