Does Your Wellness Program Need a Trip to the Doctor?

On a quarterly basis, we hold two forums in Sydney, Australia. One on Organisation Development and the other on HR Technology. These forums are by invitation only and bring together 10 to 15 managers and directors from a cross section of organisations. In each forum, we discuss current challenges and issues, leading practices, and emerging trends. The agenda is driven by the members. This weeks OD forum was on the topic of Wellness Programs. Here are some highlights from the discussion:

It was a surprise to me that New Approaches to Wellness Programs was chosen as the topic of interest by the OD Forum members. It’s not what I would consider a hot topic in this era of cost cutting. Even more surprising was that most of the interest came from the financial sector. Others in attendance were from telecommunications, life sciences and a not-for-profit organisation.

The Forum opened with NSW Heart Foundation sharing their experience. If you are like me, it would be easy to assume that as a not-for-profit and a company whose services focus on good health, the NSW Health Foundation would have no problem designing and implementing a wellness program. But the issues they faced were similar to those experienced by other attendees.

NSW Heart Foundation initially used an external vendor but this did not work. More momentum was achieved when their Workforce Wellness Program was developed internally. Staff were consulted to clearly understand what they wanted. It was interesting to hear that they attribute the success of their program to executive sponsorship and participation – in fact, we all agreed this is a key factor in any wellness programs. Their program has now been running for three years and has a participation rate of 90%. It has contributed to decreased absenteeism and voluntary redundancy. Contact them if you would like a copy of their booklet “Healthy Workplace Guide: Ten Steps to Implementing a Workplace Health Program“.

Another speaker at the Forum was Dr Gordon Spence from the Australian Institute of Business Wellbeing. Dr Spence reinforced NSW Heart Foundation’s experience with his research on corporate wellness programs in Australia. He challenged us by asking why wellness programs exist if they do not necessarily benefit an employer brand. He has found wellness programs tend to flounder if:

• Staff believe their company is just trying to squeeze just that little bit more out of them
• Staff think that the initiatives are just PR exercise
• There is no alignment to employee needs
• Staff do not have time to participate
• There are concerns over employee privacy

As you can see from this list, cynicism is alive and well in many organisations! One organisation at the Forum spoke of how they have overcome this by linking initiatives to fund raising.

We also spent some time discussing qualities of successful wellness programs. These include:

• Alignment to company culture
• Sponsorship and participation by executives
• Consultation with staff to identify initiatives that would be motivating
• Measurements which identify ROI

The most startling news was to learn about the negative health effects caused by our increasing sedentary lifestyles. Data suggests Australians now spend half their day sitting. It is hard to believe but initial studies show that people over 45 who sit long hours and do more than 5 hours physical activity have similar health risks as those who do no physical activity yet stand in their job most of the day. Evidence suggests that prolonged sitting is a risk factor for all causes of mortality. So, don’t forget to stand more often or hold a one on one meeting while walking around the block. In fact, I’m off for a walk right now!

If you would like further information on our Forums or copies of the slides from the event, please contact us.