Like most companies, Invacare Corp.’s health care costs have
risen over the years, and the medical equipment manufacturer
knew it was time to take action.
“There’s only so much you can do to pass your cost on to
employees, and you have to look at the root of why the
costs are going up,” says Karen Chapple, Invacare’s director
of safety and health. “So you start looking at, what are programs you can put in place.”
Invacare created a team of employees to research the
problem and find a solution. The team, together with the
company’s benefits department, determined the conditions
most prevalent in its population and those that had the
biggest impact on employees’ quality of life. From that, the
team built a wellness program based on lifestyle choices
and worked with CIGNA HealthCare and The Wellness
Council of Northeast Ohio to create events such as walks
and weight-loss challenges. The program also made coaches available to help employees with specific conditions.
When implementing a wellness program at your company,
make sure the program is attractive for employees and easy
to participate in.
“Walking is something anyone can do, so you don’t have to
go out and buy equipment,” Chapple says. “Things that are
team-oriented seem to go better. And present it as a positive
for them as opposed to a positive for the bottom line of the
company. We’re careful to focus on what’s the benefit for
them when we advertise the program.”
Also make sure that the program involves something
employees can easily do while at work and that it doesn’t
cut into their personal time.
“We did a great information session on a specific disease
and made it after work, and it wasn’t as successful,” Chapple
says. “Make it so that they can do most of what they are going
to during work, so it doesn’t take them away from their normal activities after work.”
Chapple says Invacare’s program succeeded because of
the company’s communication strategy.
“We did a lot of e-mail, postings and meetings,” Chapple
says. “We always tried to make it as positive as possible,
upbeat and something that people wanted to be part of.
Communicate often what you’re trying to accomplish and
what their role is.”
To get people to participate in the programs, offer
rewards. Even small prizes can convince people to get
involved.
“The biggest individual thing we offered was a $50 gift
certificate to a local sporting goods store,” Chapple says.
“We’ve never given an individual a lot of money, but everyone who finishes the event gets a T-shirt. We’ve given water
bottles, caps, a variety of things.”
The program has helped keep company health care costs
down and has brought employees together and pushed
them to work toward a common goal.
“It helps with morale; it really gives an esprit de corp
when they’re all competing against each other,” Chapple
says. “It generates teamwork and just a positive attitude
about coming to work.”
HOW TO REACH: Invacare Corp., (440) 329-6000 or www.invacare.com
Keys to healthy living
Creating and maintaining a workplace wellness program is hard
work, and it doesn’t happen overnight, says Joseph Gregor, president and general manager of CIGNA HealthCare for the Great
Lakes market.
Gregor offers several steps you can take to make the healthy
workplace concept succeed at your company.
n Take the time to understand the problem and the drivers. When
you understand these, you can communicate effectively about
them.
“Most employers understand that they have a real cost problem
with health care benefits, and they need to do something about it,”
Gregor says.
You need to understand why costs are rising, as healthy people
become less healthy and make more use of the health care system.
n Know yourself and your employees, and build a specific strategy that you can publish, get behind and get your people behind.
n Treat a wellness program like any other mission-critical marketing campaign.
n Communicate, communicate, communicate, and reinforce,
reinforce, reinforce.
n Pick a partner who can take you where you want to go. You
need to have a first-year, a second-year and a third-year strategy,
and that requires knowledge, tools and analysis, Gregor says. You
need a partner who is there philosophically and practically and
who can lead you where you want to go. Look for someone with
experience and capability in articulating the program.
HOW TO REACH: CIGNA HealthCare, or www.cigna.com