Lowering Healthcare Costs By Encouraging Behavior and Lifestyle Changes In Employees

Annuvia, Inc, San Francisco, CA, Fri, 2008-06-20

Client Issue

A publicly-traded, multi-national manufacturing company with more than thirty locations was faced with constantly increasing health care costs for its employees. The company recognized that the key to decreasing long-term healthcare expenses was to enable employees to become healthier-- treating the problem before it became a problem. The company understood the importance of on-site wellness programs that would encourage lasting employee behavior and lifestyle changes, resulting in a healthier workforce, thereby reducing health care costs. While the importance of this type of programming was understood, the company lacked a cogent methodology of implementing professional, on-site coaching for aesthetically, demographically, and geographically diverse facilities.

Solution

ANNUVIA was hired to assist with the design of pilot wellness programs at two facilities. Of primary focus was the recognition that it was essential to create an overall attitude of personal responsibility related to wellness decisions in each employee in order for lifestyle changes to occur. Each site was provided with a wellness coach who worked in consultation with the site managers to make wellness a priority. The programs were designed to accomplish the following goals:

• Encourage employees to take charge of their own personal health by setting individual goals and objectives that would be reviewed regularly.
• Implement educational programs such as smoking cessation, cardiovascular health maintenance, and healthy eating choices.
• Establish onsite facilities where employees could participate in aerobic exercise and strength training.

With the establishment of these onsite programs, ANNUVIA was able to help the client realize that a corollary effect of increasing personal fitness and activity levels would lead to a reduction of repetitive stress injuries associated with the manufacturing process in which the employees engaged.

Results

After one year, employees at the two pilot wellness sites expressed overwhelming satisfaction with the established programs, with one site voting their workplace as a “top place to work.” The wellness program in place was cited as one of the paramount reasons for this choice. A measurable reduction in the number of health care claims was noted by the employer. There was increased production and decreased absenteeism. Employees expressed pleasure and increased job satisfaction at the tone of wellness throughout the facilities, stating that it had enabled them to reach personal fitness levels they had not previously imagined--including in some cases running marathons. The initial sites requested renewals after the first year and the organization implemented the program at twenty additional sites. There are current plans to expand the program internationally.

Contact Us

For more information about this project, contact Rebecca Spector at 866-364-7940 or at rspector@annuvia.com.