Focus on what your employees really want

Have you ever engaged your employee base (and maybe even spouses) with a Health Risk Assessment (HRA), then once completed, asked “what should I do now?” Like most employers, you will be presented by your wellness provider with 4-5 major risk areas. Do you cover them all right away? Do you take a guess at the most prevalent risk? Do you launch a smoking cessation program to handle the employees gathered outside the main entrance to your building?

IWS, LLC is a URAC accredited, full-service, comprehensive wellness company. We believe in face-to-face engagement and ensuring the direction taken at any client is what the employees' want, not what we want. Through the use of a few simple interest questions, we can hone-in on the risk areas that your employees want to work on. We then see who is interested in education at the work place, at home, on-line or on-site. Knowing that an individual will most likely engage with a health coach when presented the opportunity develops the buy-in of the employee base, because their employer is listening.

In a recent IWS Interest Survey of roughly 7,000 employees and spouses with varying demographics, here are some of the results:

With tangible feedback from your participants, now you can build a service calendar with programs and events geared toward what the masses want. If communicated the right way, then you have heard what your employees want, and are making efforts to meet their needs. The best next step would be a letter from the CEO or President communicating a few of the aggregate results and future plans. This additional effort assures the participants taking the HRA and survey were not a waste of time, and a strategy is being pursued. Below is an example of a letter from a CEO to her employee base:

"Thank you for the participation this year in the Health Risk Assessment (HRA), Biometrics and Consultations. Understanding our current health and taking action where necessary is a significant milestone in our goal to have a healthier organization.

As many of you know there are several new initiatives we introduced to assist our employees in getting healthier. We have:

• Access to quarterly on-site and on-line programs tailored towards our aggregate results
• Access to face-to-face LifeStyle Coaching to assist those of you who want consultation around basic lifestyle issues that may be keeping you from succeeding with good health.
• Subsidized healthy foods in the cafeteria - look for the weekly specials!

Based on the aggregate results we obtained through the HRA and Biometrics, the major risk areas identified were:

• 36% of our employees have 3 or more high risk factors
• 47% are borderline high or too high for blood pressure
• 27% are at moderate to high risk for Cholesterol
• 64% are at moderate to high risk for body mass index
• 78% are at moderate to high risk for poor eating habits
• 63% are at moderate to high risk for not getting enough exercise
• 70% are at moderate to high risk for stress
• Over 20% of us eligible for mammograms, prostate tests and colonoscopies have not stayed current in having these important tests

Please remember these results were provided to us by our wellness partner, IWS, in a manner where no one at our company has any access to individual data. All information is 100% HIPAA protected.

As a result of the Interest Survey conducted by IWS, the majority of us wanted to focus on weight reduction, better eating habits and stress reduction. Thanks to your feedback, these three areas will the focus for the balance of this year.

Remember, our wellness program is in place to help us predict potential risk factors so we can help prevent serious issues in the future. If you are at risk for any of the metrics we measured, please consult with your Primary Care Physician and utilize the resources we have made available. Please pay attention to on-site events, emails, newsletters, and other communications coming soon and participate as often as you can. Our collective goal is to increase our compliance with preventative exams, raise awareness of healthier habits, and prevent future chronic disease for our Associates and their families. Our health is the greatest wealth we have."

Focus on what your employees want. You will appreciate the results!

Written by Stuart M. Sutley, Founder and Managing Director of IWS, LLC ssutley@chooseiws.com