Employer focus
Responsibility for good health is a two-way street
Keeping employees healthy is not just about providing them with access to great health care providers and benefits. It is about engaging them and collaborating with them to share responsibility for long-term change. According to Hewitt Associates, the promotion of employee accountability as a key health care strategy now ranks above offering competitive benefits and managing health risk.
Employers have come to realize cost shifting alone will not bring about the behavior and lifestyle changes needed to contain medical costs. The good news is that long-term, sustainable behavior change is possible when paired with the right message on a regular basis in a supportive environment. Furthermore, when an employer develops a health promotion and disease prevention partnership with employees and their families, employees value the effort, and the impact will spread throughout the entire organization.
Honda of America Mfg., Inc., located in Marysville, Ohio, has been implementing a long-term strategy to drive down overall medical costs. The integrated strategy includes establishing a culture and mindset of wellness (aptly named Destination Wellness), health care plan designs with features based on wellness participation, and workforce stability initiatives. "Accountability was the underlying theme," explains Kevin Decot, senior staff administrator - wellness lead with Honda. "There needed to be a paradigm shift from health care as Honda's responsibility to health care as everyone's responsibility."
As employers challenge employees to take more responsibility for their own health, they need to be prepared to offer a supportive environment to encourage behavior change. A wellness champion is necessary to get any wellness and health promotion initiative off to a great start, but maintaining a wellness team that represents a variety of employee groups is a big part of the equation. "Getting associates, spouses and families involved, and asking for their help and input is a first step in the process," says Decot.
In addition, Decot recommends "recruiting a team of passionate people that will go out and identify the health risk problems and help develop the best targeted interventions and programs." At Honda, this team of passionate people has evolved into the Destination Wellness representative network - associates from across the organization who promote and implement activities.
The power of partnership
The visibility, involvement and support of senior leadership go a long way toward helping employees adjust to their new roles as advocates for their own health. Sitting down in small groups with leadership to discuss health status and behavior change has made an impact at Honda. "The establishment of round tables which allow associates direct contact with leadership to share challenges, concerns, and success stories has made a difference," confirms Decot.
In addition, this approach has created transparency in long-term objectives and intentions; associates feel they play an integral role in the process and are not being kept in the dark. "If you know what you are going to do 4-5 years from now, don't hide it from your associates," Decot recommends. "Share the path and the journey with them so they feel invested."
Creating a sustainable culture of health and accountability must extend beyond the walls of the workplace to the surrounding communities. Honda's Destination Wellness strategy includes outreach to the nearby medical community for program support and resources, outreach to schools to share a message of health with local children and the establishment of a county-wide wellness consortium.
Keep the lines of communication open
Last but not least on the path to accountability is communication. From the launch of any new strategy to ongoing educational efforts to promote and discuss behavior and lifestyle change, communication must come in many forms and be a constant and concentrated effort. "We need to regularly restate the value of the wellness program," says Decot. "Associates need to be continually reminded they are getting a deeper understanding of their health and resources to make changes."
Sources
Buck Consultants, Consumerism 360: Better Engaging Employees in Their Career, Health, and Wealth Decisions, 2009.
Hewitt Associates, Challenges for Health Care in Uncertain Times, 2009.
Hewitt Associates, Wellness and Beyond: Employers Examine Way to Improve Employee Health and Productivity and Reduce Costs, 2008.
Hope Health, Employee Benefits: How to Effectively Communicate Change, 2007.
Pronk, Nico P., Designing a Multi Sector Approach To Health and Wellness, AHIP Annual Conference, San Diego, CA, June 2009.
