COLORADO EMPLOYERS HEALTH & WELLNESS SURVEY

Transcription

1 BLH CONSULTING COLORADO EMPLOYERS HEALTH & WELLNESS SURVEY JULY 2017

2 CONTENTS Executive Summary Key Insights Spotlight Companies Summary of Respondents Overview of Programming Types of Programming Availability of Programming Targeted Dimensions Incentives Purposes and Outcomes ROI & Success Measures Less than 100 employees 100-1,000 employees More than 1,000 employees Key Take Aways

3 ABOUT THIS SURVEY BLH Consulting conducted this survey from February through June Employers were asked about their health and wellness programs, challenges, targeted dimensions, incentives, and ROI. SHARON LIPINSKI, CEO In Colorado s competitive job market, health and wellness programming is one way employers make themselves more attractive to qualified employees. The survey was delivered electronically. All Colorado based organizations were eligible to participate, regardless of employee size. Participating organizations included a wide range of industries and ranged from fewer than 100 to more than 10,000 employees. As a result, the health and wellness programming of a representative sample of Colorado employers is captured in the report. Companies were not required to have an established wellness program in place in order to participate in the survey in order to reflect the general state of wellness program trends and challenges. All percentages displayed in the charts and tables throughout this report are rounded and totals may not always equal 100%. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION For additional information or questions regarding this survey, please send inquiries to: sharon@sharonlipinski.com

4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE BIG PICTURE Health and wellness programming is now offered by a majority of employers in the state, and the data suggests that trend will continue. While starting or growing this type of programming in a company faces many challenges, it s not because employers think it s unimportant. 16.2% of employers reported that some of their employees were not interested in this type of programming, but 100% of employers said they themselves saw a need for it-- even among companies who did not have health and wellness programs. Only 13.5% of companies reported a lack of support by management as a challenge. Employers have broad hopes for their programming. They want it to improve employees health, reduce health care costs, improve organizational culture, reinforce their corporate image, make them more attractive to prospective employees, reduce turnover, and increase employee productivity and engagement. Unfortunately, the survey reveals that across the board health and wellness programming is less impactful than desired. This is especially apparent regarding employee well-being. 100% state that improving employee wellbeing is one of their goals, but just slightly more than half report their programs have actually improved their employees health. The good news is that health and wellness programming appears to be driven by good intentions and a passion for health instead of monetary considerations. 48% aren t measuring the success of the programming in any capacity, while the rest are using a combination of annual engagement surveys, participation rates, and health care costs. Employers who are measuring their health care costs are most likely to also track participation rates. But this data isn t resulting in a measurable ROI. 96% of companies are not tracking an ROI at all, even when they report a decrease in health care costs as a result. It does not appear that the lack of ROI statistics is dampening the enthusiasm of leadership. Only 13.5% reported the lack of ROI statistics as an impediment to growing their programming. The lack of success in terms of ROI or other desired outcomes could be due to many factors including the incentive system. 33% are not offering any incentives. Or it could be due to the low utilization of mobile apps, social sharing, one-on-one health coaches, and personalization, which could yield more individualized goals and engage with employees through multiple avenues. Health and wellness programming is largely focused on the physical health dimension. 92% of employers target it through exercise, weight, nutrition, smoking cessation, drug recovery, and/or medical screening programs. With just over half of employers seeking to address stress, this is the next most commonly targeted dimension. 86% of employers who target work stress also target personal stress. PG3

5 KEY INSIGHTS INTERESTING.. The data revealed... None of the employers who have health and wellness programs plan to reduce them. While some employers reported that not all employees are interested in health and wellness programs, all reported that the employer saw a need for the programming. 95% of employers are NOT tracking the ROI of their health and wellness programming. 33% of employers offer no incentives to employees for participating in or achieving health goals. Despite tobacco use being directly associated with higher health care costs, only 22% of employers offer a tobacco cessation program. Despite the increasing opioid epidemic, only 14.8% of employers provide drug abuse recovery programs. Employee Assistance Programs are the most popular program with 77.8% of employers making this available to their employees. Few employers, only 16.5%, are targeting their employees spiritual health or career advancement needs. PG4

6 SPOTLIGHT MAXIMUS ORGANIZATIONS 1 company from each category of organization size was interviewed in-depth to provide more context and examples of health and wellness programming in actual organizations. Teletech: An insight interview with 1,000 plus employee respondent, Teletech, reveals the breadth and depth of health and wellness programming that is possible when leadership commitment and resources combine. Teletech is a leading global provider of technology enabled customer experience. They are supported by 48,000 employees delivering services in 23 countries from 82 customer engagement centers on six continents. Fiscal 2016 revenue was $1.2 billion. Estes Park Medical Center: Representing the 100-1,000 employee category, Estes Park Medical Center is a 25-bed critical access hospital with a 24-hour emergency department, 24-hour Advanced Life Support Ambulance Service, medical/surgical services, obstetrics, and home health and hospice services. Located within the small community of Estes Park, they are uniquely positioned to bring health and wellness programming to the entire community. Groover Seminars: In the under 100 employees category, Groover Seminars maintains a presence on 3 continents with strategically placed full-time and part-time employees. Through seminars, trainings, and coaching, Groover Seminars teaches men and women how to increase their personal presence, individual magnetism, and leadership ability so they can be seen, inspire change, and create wealth. Despite their small size, their programming is large. PG5

7 SUMMARY OF RESPONDENTS PG6

8 OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMMING The majority of Colorado employers either already have health and wellness programming or plan to offer it. A national study of more than 700 companies ranging in size from less than 100 employees to more than 10,000 employees found that 83% had or planned to have health and wellness program. At 67%, Colorado employers fall below the national trend. 1 Regardless of size and program development stage, employers report not having enough time, budget constraints, or geographically disbursed employees as their biggest challenges. 1. THE WILLIS HEALTH AND PRODUCTIVITY SURVEY REPORT; New York; 2015 PG7

9 OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMMING Among employers who had health and wellness programming in place, slightly less than half are planning to include more health and wellness programming in the future. The intention to grow or maintain programs was not related to development stage or company size although more companies with basic programs in place were planning to maintain and not increase their offerings. 78% of health and wellness programs range from not yet started, initial stages, or basic programs in place. Health and wellness programming remains modest in Colorado companies, and companies with more robust programming (established goals, targeted programs, and integrated programs) make up only 22%. PG8

10 OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMMING Groover Seminars, 7 full time and 7 part time employees, wanted to invest in health and wellness programming as soon as they were financially able to do so. They met with their employees to get their feedback and insight about what that might look like. For their first program, they paid for employees gym memberships. A year later, as the company s profitability increased, they then made the decision to make health insurance available and to pay for 50% of the premiums. A year after that, they spoke with the employees again, and instead of offering taxable bonuses, they all agreed to the company increasing the health insurance subsidy to 85% of the premium. In addition, twice a year employees participate in a competition to meet health, financial, and/or professional goals. Employees are divided into teams of 3. They each identify 3 goals to be met over a 6 month period, and if all members of the team achieve all their goals, all members of the team receive a $500 cash reward. Groover Seminars believes these programs are essential to creating a positive, productive, engaged work environment, and they plan to continue adding more health and wellness programs. PG9

11 TYPES OF PROGRAMMING Estes Park Medical Center (EPMC) has found a lot of success by partnering with other organizations. They ve partnered with the University of Colorado to offer the State of Slim, a 16 week weight loss program. And they partnered with the Anschutz Wellness Center to offer a wellness assessment. The assessment includes areas such as life satisfaction, sleep, nutrition, and stress, in addition to physical measurements such as cholesterol, blood sugar levels, body fat percentage, a step test, a grip test, and a flexibility test. Being the primary health care provider in a small town means partnering with the community, too. Employees can participate for a steep discount, but these programs are also available to the public. For example, when EPMC worked with the local supermarket to stock the necessary items for the State of Slim program, word of mouth led to local residents becoming aware of and joining in the program. PG10

12 AVAILABILITY OF PROGRAMMING Teletech faces many challenges in communicating with their employees. Not only do they span the geographic and generational spectrum, but many of their employees work on-site at other companies which places technological limitations on how Teletech can reach their employees. As a result, Teletech uses every possible method they can imagine including s, intranet, social media, posters, and flyers. In early 2017, they increased their focus on identifying, cultivating, and promoting Wellness Champions. These are employees who have expressed an interest in health, have participated in past wellness programming, and volunteer to act as onsite promoters to raise awareness and encourage participation among their colleagues. Teletech says it s especially important to communicate with words and images that employees can relate to. For that reason, they prefer before and after photos of real people over stock photography of beautiful, healthy people. PG11

13 TARGETED DIMENSIONS Estes Park Medical Center has addressed physical health through a number of creative programs. In addition to offering on-site yoga and Tai Chi classes, discounted gym memberships, weight loss programs, and monthly physician talks, they have a popular themed walking challenge. This winter, employees were challenged to walk as many as it would take to walk to Cancun as the crow flies. Employees joined up in groups of 8 to 10, and submitted their miles. Teams could earn additional points by sending in pictures of themselves working out. Miles are displayed on a map, so teams can see how they compare to other teams. They ve also done a Walk the Continental Divide challenge and plan to hold another hiking themed challenge soon. These challenges are quite popular with nearly a third of employees participating and many walking more than 5 miles a day. PG12

14 INCENTIVES Companies are utilizing a wide range of incentives in order to encourage participation in health and wellness programming. After conducting employee roundtables, Teletech found that employees preferred to receive their incentive in the form of cash. Even though it was the same amount as the discount on the health insurance premium, a lump sum added to their paycheck twice a year felt more motivating than a smaller discount every month. They believe the key to incentive success is to tie the incentive to behavior changes and not to participation. For example, instead of providing an incentive for completing a Health Risk Assessment, an employee can choose to tie their incentive to their walking program. The employee sets a 6 month step goal and only receives a cash incentive if they meet their goal. For the second half of the year, the employee is encouraged to increase the number of steps in order to get the next incentive. PG13

15 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES While all employers intended to improve the health of their employees, just slightly more than half report having done so. The impact of health and wellness programming is less than desired in every category except in enhancing attractiveness to prospective employees. PG14

16 ROI & SUCCESS MEASURES 96% of respondents are not measuring an ROI on their programming. This could reflect the difficulty in defining success, the difficulty in collecting the necessary data to measure an ROI, and/ or a move to value based return on investment where the main purpose is not financial gain but the intention to help their employees. Teletech has spent the last year laying the ground work for a robust ROI reporting that required linking their claims data to programming like the Fitbit steps program. Going forward, they hope to discover if there is indeed a connection to reduced health claims for those who meet their steps goal. PG15

17 LESS THAN 100 EMPLOYEES Most small employers are not offering health and wellness programming. Of the 9 surveyed, only 2, or 22%, currently offer programing. One of those only provided an Employee Assistance Program. The other, Groover Seminars, has been spotlighted in this report. In a small organization, there is a premium on time and money. Health and wellness programming does not appear to rise to the top of the list in terms of priority. In addition, with fewer employees, it can be hard to justify the expense as it doesn t affect many people. A high turnover rate means extra money spent on an employee who leaves the company has been lost. PG16

18 100-1,000 EMPLOYEES Once the 100 employee threshold is reached, a company is far more likely to provide health and wellness programing. These companies are more likely to report feeling constrained by not having enough time and staff than their larger counterparts. Companies in this category are more likely than their smaller counterparts to report employees being in various geographic locations as a challenge. Slightly more employers is this category report planning to maintain but not increase their programming. 78% of companies are in an early or basic development stage with only 22% having established, integrated, or targeted programs. PG17

19 100-1,000 EMPLOYEES Even though Estes Park Medical Center does not expect additional funding, they plan to grow their health and wellness programming. The key to their success is a strong, volunteer based Wellness Committee. Members of this committee take on this additional responsibility because of their own passion and interest in physical health. The committee identifies potential health challenges facing their coworkers, chooses activities that will engage them, and then promotes initiatives through a marketing campaign and their own participation. Costs such as door prizes and t-shirts associated with these activities are paid for through the Employee Services Budget. PG18

20 MORE THAN 1,000 EMPLOYEES 7 of the 8 large employers surveyed offered health and wellness programming. The 8th had some free services available through community partners, but as a government agency they had no wellness budget and did not anticipate getting one. Larger companies are more likely to report that geographically disbursed employees are a challenge to their health and wellness programming. While they are less likely to report not enough time and staff, they are more likely to feel constrained by their budget. Large employers are just as likely to have basic programs in place, but the intention to grow could mean that in the near future large employers could have more robust programming than smaller companies. Although they intend to grow their programs, they are more likely than their smaller counterparts to report that management support is a challenge. PG19

21 MORE THAN 1,000 EMPLOYEES Teletech s programming is built around the body, mind, and finance dimensions. Each dimensions has its own defined programs. Let s Move targets the body. Stress Free Me targets the mind. Who s Chirping About Money targets finances. Teletech identifies 3 keys to their success. First, understanding their employees lives before designing programming. Second, using the data from their benefits plans to identify the hot spots that need attention. Third, designing the programs to encourage growth. For example, they understand their employees work in call centers. Their data showed that most employees weren t even hitting 2,000 steps a day. Instead of setting 10,000 steps as an arbitrary goal for all employees, their Let s Move program asks employees to set their own goal for the first half of the year and then increase it for the second half. PG20

22 KEY TAKE MAXIMUS AWAYS Health and wellness programming will soon be expected by employees in companies over a certain size. When investing in your employees health, consider these 4 tips. 1. Involve employees in health and wellness discussions. All the interviewed employers either formally or informally ask for insight into the employees health challenges, what kind of programming they want, and what they find rewarding. Program administrators solicit ongoing feedback, so they can better meet their employees needs and increase participation in the programs. 2. Company leadership as well as those responsible for implementing health and wellness programing must visibly participate in the programs. Leadership participation sets the tone about what is acceptable and expected. It s difficult to expect your employees to take a walking break if the CEO never does. Participation among the program implementers is important, because it establishes them as a trusted authority that employees can come to for advice on their own health challenges. 3. Start where you can. All health and wellness programs start somewhere, such as paying for gym memberships, hosting an informal walking challenge, or offering health risk assessments or biometric screening in conjunction with your health insurance provider. When you can do more, do more. 4. Design programs that are open to different abilities, interests, fitness levels, and ages. A culture of health includes those who have health challenges and grows with them as their health improves.

23 BLH CONSULTING SHARON LIPINSKI, CEO (970)