Posts from — October 2008

Why it’s important and how to do it

The Corporate Health Promotion Plan Vision

A Corporate Health Promotion Plan vision statement is a concise statement that summarizes the purpose and goals of your organization’s commitment to creating a Corporate Wellness Program. Taking the time to clarify and describe your organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan vision can provide a focus and a consistent direction for your Strategies for years to come. The vision statement reminds leaders and workers of the link between worker health and the organization’s ability to achieve its overall mission.

Answer the following questions and you’ll have the components needed to build a simple and powerful Corporate Health Promotion Plan vision for your organization’s culture of wellness:

• What do you want your Corporate Health Promotion Plan to accomplish?
• How do you intend to accomplish it?
• How does this Corporate Health Promotion Plan mission support or further the organization’s mission?

A sample Corporate Health Promotion Plan vision statement might be . . .

To have workers who perform at their best and who enable XYZ Corporation to be an industry leader in printing quality and customer service (organization’s mission), XYZ Corporation is committed to providing opportunities for healthy behaviors during the workday (how) in order to encourage workers not to smoke, to be active, and to eat healthfully (what).

The Corporate Health Promotion Plan Brand

In the same way that your organization’s name and brand image provide visibility for your business, your Strategies toward creating a Corporate Health Promotion Plan will benefit from being easily recognizable to workers:

• A consistently used Corporate Health Promotion Plan brand on all communications conveys to workers that the commitment to a culture of wellness is here to stay.
• A Corporate Health Promotion Plan brand institutionalizes the culture and makes it more likely to withstand changes in staff and budget.

Do what you can to engage workers in creating the identity (brand) for your organization’s Corporate Wellness Program. Not only are they more likely to accept the name, it’s also a great way to announce to workers the organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan commitment. Here are two possible approaches to involving workers:

Option 1: Have a Corporate Health Promotion Plan contest

1. Announce the Corporate Health Promotion Plan contest guidelines and deadline.
2. Have the Health Promotion Committee review the ideas submitted, and pick a name.

If, for example, your corporation, Premier Building and Design, is in the commercial construction business, you might receive the following Corporate Health Promotion Plan ideas from workers:

• Cornerstone: Feeling well is what it’s all about
• Premier Elements: Building healthier workers
• Custom Build: Building health builds wealth
• Building Health: Designing better worker health

After reviewing the entries, your Health Promotion Committee determines that it likes the name “Premier Elements” and the subtitle “Building health builds wealth”. Your committee awards the “name the Corporate Health Promotion Plan contest” prize to the two workers, those who submitted the pieces of the name that represent the final product.

Premier Elements: Building health builds wealth

3. Select a Corporate Health Promotion Plan logo to go with the name.

The Corporate Health Promotion Plan logo is an important piece of the branding

• Review any ideas submitted for Corporate Health Promotion Plan logos.
• If you’re fortunate enough to have a graphic design professional at your corporation, enlist her or his help with developing the Corporate Health Promotion Plan logo!
• As an alternative, pick a piece of clip-art that fits with the Corporate Health Promotion Plan name you’ve selected. For example, the corporation referenced above might look for a symbol that conveys building, health and wealth.

Option 2: Health Promotion Committee determines the name and brand

1. Have your Health Promotion Committee brainstorm Corporate Health Promotion Plan names.
• To get ideas flowing, ask members to write down all health-related words and words associated with your organization or industry.
• Try clustering words together as in the construction corporation example above.
2. Once your Health Promotion Committee has narrowed down the possibilities to about three ideas, have committee members vote to select a name for your culture of wellness.
3. Select a Corporate Health Promotion Plan logo to go with the winning name.
4. Announce the organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan and the corresponding Corporate Health Promotion Plan name. Explain that employees on the advisory committee chose the name.

Sample Corporate Health Promotion Plan meeting agendas and topics for discussion

Is your organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan Health Promotion Committee new?  Has it existed on paper but been inactive for a while?  In either case, some of the following may be appropriate agenda items for your first Corporate Health Promotion Plan meetings.   You may also want to revisit these topics each year.

•    Clarify roles of Health Promotion Committee members
­    Are members responsible for implementing changes or recommending changes?
­    How long are members’ terms on the Health Promotion Committee?
­    How will new members be selected?

•    Determine Health Promotion Committee meeting frequency and processes
­    Establish dates, times, and locations.
­    Determine how agendas will be set.
­    Plan for recording and distributing meeting notes.

•    Plan Corporate Health Promotion Plan communication with upper management
­    Does a leader sit on the group or does the coordinator report on progress (and to whom)?
­    How often do leaders want reports on Corporate Health Promotion Plan progress?

•    Select a name and brand for your organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan

•    Create a vision statement for your organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan

•    Establish existing allies Corporate Health Promotion Plan for promoting worker health within your organization
­    Who do Health Promotion Committee members know who could be relied on to support worksite changes required to develop a culture that encourages health?

•    Brainstorm challenges your organization may face in working to develop facilities, policies and Corporate Health Promotion Plan practices that promote worker health
­    What do committee members regard as opportunities? How about potential Corporate Health Promotion Plan obstacles?

•    History of past Corporate Health Promotion Plan efforts
­    If relevant, summarize past Corporate Health Promotion Plan efforts. Discuss what your organization learned from those efforts.
?    What has the organization tried over the last few years?
?    What has worked well?
?    What hasn’t worked well?
?    How, if at all, was success of previous Corporate Health Promotion Plan efforts measured?

A representative Health Promotion Committee is a cornerstone of a successful Corporate Wellness Program, regardless of the size of the organization.

Membership of your Health Promotion Committee

Aim for a committee of a manageable size (no more than 15 members, depending on your organization’s size). Your Health Promotion Committee should represent all employee groups (e.g., full-time and part-time workers, managers and front-line employees, salary and hourly workers, union representation, Human Resources, marketing or communications, legal, and occupational health/safety).

Here are some additional considerations:

• Health Promotion Committee members can be selected by leadership or can be selected from among volunteers.
• Determine in advance how long Health Promotion Committee members will support and how new members will be selected. Balance the need for continuity with the need to bring fresh ideas and energy to your organization’s Corporate Wellness Program.
• It’s not necessary, or even desirable, to have your healthiest workers on the Health Promotion Committee. Ideal Health Promotion Committee members are those who best can represent their peers, motivate others and support the implementation of the Corporate Wellness Program.
• Consider providing an incentive or recognition to Health Promotion Committee members. It legitimizes their positions and encourages participation. Some organizations that have implemented stipends have generated enough worker interest that the selection of Health Promotion Committee membership becomes a competitive process. The Health Promotion Committee responsibilities become a formal part of the member’s job accountabilities.

Role of your Health Promotion Committee

In some organizations the Health Promotion Committee is responsible for the implementation of the Corporate Wellness Program. In other organizations, the Health Promotion Committee plays an advisory role. In either case, the group members can be asked to:

• Attend regular meetings of the Health Promotion Committee.
• Help create a vision and name for the organization’s Corporate Wellness Program.
• Represent their peers by sharing ideas, needs, concerns and feedback from their work areas and colleagues about proposed Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies, policies, and programs.
• Make available feedback on the possible barriers to proposed Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies and offer suggestions for addressing those barriers (e.g., how does a proposed policy fit with the schedules of workers?).
• Suggest effective Corporate Health Promotion Plan communication Strategies and solutions to challenges. For example, what is the best way to communicate with workers who work the third shift? How will workers react to a proposed message from upper management?
• Be a voice of support for a culture of wellness, carrying the message from the Health Promotion Committee to their work areas and colleagues.

Functioning of your Health Promotion Committee

Meet. Schedule regular Health Promotion Committee meetings on paid work time. Your Health Promotion Committee may want to meet very often at first, then slightly less often as your health improvement strategy is more established. If your Health Promotion Committee is new, it might be useful to ask members to provide information about themselves and their interests.

Communicate. Set up frequent and regular channels of communication with Health Promotion Committee members so they are up to date and engaged. An email list is often the easiest way to do this. Encourage communication to flow both ways: from Corporate Health Promotion Plan coordinator to members and from members to coordinator.

Check-in. At least once a year, assess how effectively the Health Promotion Committee is functioning. Is the Health Promotion Committee serving its original purpose? Ask committee members for their feedback. Do they feel like their work is making a difference? Do they feel like their input is valued and taken into account when planning and implementing initiatives? Do they understand their expected Corporate Health Promotion Plan roles and responsibilities? Are there members who want to rotate off of the committee? How will new members be selected?

Starting a Corporate Health Promotion Plan need not be expensive, but will require the commitment of some financial resources. If possible, include the Corporate Health Promotion Plan in your organization’s annual business plan and budget as you do for other efforts important to your organization’s success.

How much to budget for the Corporate Wellness Program?

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for creating a Corporate Health Promotion Plan that results in enhanced employee health. Organizations differ in how much money they need and how much they can make available for the Corporate Wellness Program. Consider the following common expenses in developing an adequate Corporate Health Promotion Plan budget:

• Corporate Health Promotion Plan staffing costs (either internal salaries or consultant fees)
• Corporate Health Promotion Plan data collection costs (including health risk assessment costs, if relevant)
• Corporate Health Promotion Plan rewards for healthy behaviors (such as discounts on premiums for non-smokers)
• Costs of Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies to be implemented (such as costs of covering tobacco quit medications or costs of subsidizing healthy foods in the cafeteria or vending machines)
• Corporate Health Promotion Plan administrative and communications expenses

In times of tight finances, be prepared to justify your requested Corporate Health Promotion Plan budget. Arm yourself with data on potential short- and long-term outcomes of the proposed Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies. Itemize the Corporate Health Promotion Plan expenses of past programs and share projected expenses for programs planned for the upcoming year.

Sustaining Corporate Health Promotion Plan Financing

A dedicated Corporate Health Promotion Plan line item in your organization’s budget makes it more likely to be regarded as a need, rather than as a “nice-to-have” amenity that could be cut when funds run low.

One of the best Strategies for ensuring continued financial support for the Corporate Health Promotion Plan is frequent communication to upper management, including:

• How many workers have you reached through the Corporate Wellness Program? Has morale increased? Have health risks decreased, e.g., fewer workers using tobacco, more workers active?
• How well are you managing the Corporate Health Promotion Plan resources you’ve been given? Where and how has your budget been spent? Keep track of the staff time required for each program and be able to present the numbers at any time.
• Anecdotal Corporate Health Promotion Plan success stories from workers. Don’t underestimate the power of a good story to put a human face on your success.

Additional sources of Corporate Health Promotion Plan Financing

If required, have the individuals responsible for creating a Corporate Health Promotion Plan look for ways to supplement available internal funds. Are there grants or other funding available that can help support your Corporate Health Promotion Plan ? What community Corporate Health Promotion Plan resources could you use to meet some of your needs?

Locating an individual to lead your organization in creating a Corporate Health Promotion Plan

Without a qualified Corporate Health Promotion Plan coordinator to lead and manage your organization’s creation of a culture of wellness, efforts can be scattered and momentum can stall. While it’s vital that the creation of a culture of wellness be someone’s priority, not all organizations need a full-time coordinator.  There are a number of ways to gain the time of a qualified coordinator.

Be careful not to confuse Corporate Health Promotion Plan skills with fitness skills. You are not looking for a personal trainer or a nutritionist to run your Corporate Wellness Program. The following are good indications that an individual may be qualified to be a Corporate Health Promotion Plan coordinator:

• knowledge of community health, population health and worksite Corporate Wellness Programs
• competent working with and understanding aggregate data, preferably Corporate Health Promotion Plan data
• competent managing projects, including developing timelines and facilitating meetings
• competent in strategic planning, including defining goals and related objectives
• ability to understand, and use the findings of, journal articles on effective Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies.

What will a Corporate Health Promotion Plan coordinator do?

The Corporate Health Promotion Plan coordinator is responsible for guiding a process that creates worksite facilities, policies and practices that promote health. The individual may do some of all of the following for your Corporate Wellness Program:

• act as a liaison between upper management and the Corporate Health Promotion Plan employee advisory workgroup
• interpret health-related data on your Corporate Health Promotion Plan
• create and manage work plans and budgets for implementation of selected Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies
• facilitate Health Promotion Committee meetings
• lead your organization in establishing measurable goals for the Corporate Health Promotion Plan
• recommend effective Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies, using the evidence in the health behavior literature and national and/or recommended best practices
• document and report short-term and long-term progress on Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies and goals.

Where can we find a qualified Corporate Health Promotion Plan coordinator?

Explore the following when looking for a Corporate Health Promotion Plan coordinator:

• Existing employees: Are there individuals on employees who have the background, or are interested in gaining the skills, to support as a Corporate Health Promotion Plan coordinator? Is it possible to dedicate a portion of someone’s time (e.g., .5 FTE) to the position of coordinating your organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies? If possible, budget enough to cover not only salary but also continued learning, journal subscriptions and membership fees for this Corporate Health Promotion Plan position.
• New employees – Can you hire an individual to be your organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan coordinator? Would it need to be a full-time position, or would part-time be sufficient?
• Corporate Health Promotion Plan Consultation – Various organizations (e.g., health plans, benefit consultants and public health departments) provide Corporate Health Promotion Plan consultation on building a culture of wellness within a worksite.

An outside Corporate Health Promotion Plan consultant can advise an internal Corporate Health Promotion Plan coordinator and your Health Promotion Committee on establishing priorities and selecting Strategies. Or, you can contract with a Corporate Health Promotion Plan consultant to be your coordinator. If you go with the latter approach, you’ll want to contract with the individual for sufficient hours to carry out all of the responsibilities associated with coordinating an effective strategy.

Strong and visible upper management support for the Corporate Health Promotion Plan encourages health and is vital to securing required Corporate Health Promotion Plan resources (staff, time, and money) and implementing recommended changes.

1. Establish a Corporate Health Promotion Plan champion

In a small organization, there may be a single leader who is the clear choice to champion the Corporate Wellness Program. In a larger organization, look for an executive with the authority to sway others in the uppermost levels of the organization regarding the Corporate Wellness Program. The Corporate Health Promotion Plan champion need not be the fittest member of upper management. Rather, look for a Corporate Health Promotion Plan leader with the disposition to be a visible and vocal supporter of worksite policies that encourage healthy behaviors. Organizations with multiple sites can consider whether it would be useful to have an executive Corporate Health Promotion Plan champion at each site.

2. Find existing Corporate Health Promotion Plan allies

There may already be a number of individuals within your organization who recognize the value of a Corporate Wellness Program. Think about who those individuals are in your organization; consider areas such as occupational safety, union representatives, risk management, health officers, and human resources when looking for a Corporate Health Promotion Plan ally. Capture their stated support for the Corporate Wellness Program. Corporate Health Promotion Plan support could include contributions of staff time or expertise, financial resources, agreement to endorse/support policy and environmental changes, or agreement to participate in, and voice their support for, changes in the worksite that will help to build a culture of wellness.

3. Build a business case for the Corporate Health Promotion Plan

There is a reason that more and more employers are finding a way to promote employee health via a Corporate Health Promotion Plan and policies: A Corporate Health Promotion Plan makes good business sense. employees with healthy behaviors, on average, are more productive when at work (higher presenteeism)1 and incur lower medical care costs than workers with less healthy behaviors.2,3  As a result it would be foolish not to have a Corporate Wellness Program.

4. When developing a Corporate Health Promotion Plan use what you know about leadership styles and the decision-making process within your organization

Every organization is different. Build upper management support for the Corporate Health Promotion Plan in the way that makes the most sense for your organization. Think about the following as you plan how to approach upper management for Corporate Health Promotion Plan support:

• What are the current priorities and pressures facing executives? How could a Corporate Health Promotion Plan and a healthier workforce support those priorities?
• How do the leaders rather receive data: written documents? verbal presentations?
• What types of Corporate Health Promotion Plan information are likely to sway decisions? Do they want data and Corporate Health Promotion Plan statistics specific to your organization, or are state or national data sufficient? Are the leaders more influenced by internal factors or by what competitors are doing?
• Who would the leaders see as a reliable messenger for this Corporate Health Promotion Plan information? Does someone from the risk management area carry more clout than someone from the human resources area?
• How do decisions really get made in your organization? Informal committee meetings? Formal or informal meetings between executives? Plan accordingly and you improve the odds that the Corporate Health Promotion Plan will become a reality.

5. Maintain Corporate Health Promotion Plan support once you have it

Once you have appropriate Corporate Health Promotion Plan support, ensure that you maintain it by regularly updating the leaders on employee health and progress toward creating a culture that encourages health. Ask upper management how often they want to receive Corporate Health Promotion Plan progress reports.

Source Information:
1 Bunn, JOEM, 2006, 48:10.
2 Foldes, Bland, An et al. Modifiable Health Risks and Short-Term Health Care Costs. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota internal research, submitted for publication.
3 Anderson, 2000, American Journal of Health Promotion, 15:1.

The worksite environment is a powerful, but often overlooked, element in managing worker health.  Here we will establish some of the best-practices in creating a Corporate Health Promotion Plan that supports your organization’s employee health strategy and allows workers to take charge of their own health.  For example, a Corporate Health Promotion Plan that includes a tobacco-free worksite policy improves the likelihood that workers will try to quit tobacco use and will quit using tobacco successfully. Similarly, a Corporate Health Promotion Plan that includes discounting healthy foods in your cafeteria and vending machines helps increase workers’ consumption of healthy foods which supports your investment in disease management programs for workers with diabetes, heart disease or hypertension. The following will guide you through the ten key steps in creating a Corporate Health Promotion Plan and worksite environment that encourages worker health.

In an era of rising medical care costs and intense competition, employers have a vested interest in the health of their workers.  Studies have found that, on average, workers with healthy behaviors (such as not using tobacco or being active for 30 minutes a day) incur lower medical care expenses, are absent from work less often, and are more productive when at work (higher presenteeism) than workers with unhealthy behaviors.

Corporate Wellness Program: Gaining Upper Management Support

Corporate Health Promotion Plan support from the uppermost level of upper management is vital to your success in creating a culture of wellness within your worksite. Look for Corporate Health Promotion Plan support from a leader who is respected by and can sway other leaders. (It’s not necessary that he or she be the fittest executive within your organization just that they directly support the Corporate Wellness Program.) You will be relying on this culture-of-health champion to advocate for changes that you recommend and to ensure the organization allocates adequate Corporate Health Promotion Plan resources (staff, time, and money) to maintain and improve the worksite policies, physical environment, and social norms.

Capture Corporate Health Promotion Plan Staff and Financing

Starting and maintaining a Corporate Health Promotion Plan within your organization needs to be someone’s priority. However, unless your organization is quite large, you likely don’t need to hire a full-time staff person for the Corporate Wellness Program.  There are a number of ways to find an individual with the required skills to guide and support your organization’s Corporate Wellness Program.

Starting facilities and Corporate Health Promotion Plan policies, such as those allowing workers to be physically active during the workday, does not need to be expensive, but it does require adequate and sustained funding.  If possible, include the creation of a worksite environment that supports the Corporate Health Promotion Plan as a permanent part of the operating budget; that helps to ensure it’s an ongoing priority for your organization.

Staff Member Involvement in the Corporate Health Promotion Plan

Pulling together a representative group of employees to advise your organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan ensures that improvements in worksite facilities, policies and practices address the true needs and barriers of all groups of employees.   In addition, these workers can support as the front-line Corporate Health Promotion Plan supporters of policies and practices with their peers.

Create a Corporate Health Promotion Plan Vision and “Brand”

A Corporate Health Promotion Plan vision and a brand are powerful first steps in turning a Corporate Health Promotion Plan from an idea to a reality. What would you like your worksite environment to look like five years from now? A succinct Corporate Health Promotion Plan vision statement summarizes for all (workers and leaders alike) the reasons for creating a Corporate Wellness Program. It also reminds everyone of the link between worker health and your organization’s ability to achieve its overall mission.

Branding your organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan conveys to workers that the organization’s commitment and support of healthy behaviors is important and is here to stay. Select a Corporate Health Promotion Plan name and logo that resonate with workers. Then use that brand on all Corporate Health Promotion Plan communications with workers about the policies, facilities and programs your organization offers to promote healthy behaviors.

Assess Your Current Corporate Health Promotion Plan Situation

Exactly how your organization creates a Corporate Health Promotion Plan that encourages healthy eating, physical activity, and reduces tobacco use will depend on the unique characteristics of your organization and employee population.

Assess how the current worksite facilities, policies, and unwritten norms support — or discourage — healthy behaviors.

Gather information on the health and health-related behaviors of your employee population.  The most common method is by using a validated health risk assessment. If you don’t have data specific to your workers, you can estimate the prevalence of different health risks and behaviors within your employee population using state or national data.  Note: Information on employees’ health interests alone is not sufficient; but can be a useful supplement to health risk data and might help you set priorities.

Establish Corporate Health Promotion Plan Goals and Priorities

Use what you’ve learned about employee health and about your current worksite environment to determine your organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan priorities. From those Corporate Health Promotion Plan priorities, define clear and measurable Corporate Health Promotion Plan goals for improving employee health and your organization’s culture. Well written goals will provide the basis for planning and for measuring your progress.

Select Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies

Focus your organization’s Corporate Health Promotion Plan resources (time, energy and money) on strategies that are most likely to produce results:  a rise in healthy eating, a rise in physical activity, and a reduction in tobacco use. There’s no need to guess at what might work. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reviewed thousands of studies and has identified the Corporate Health Promotion Plan approaches most likely to result in significant, lasting, and widespread improvements in health behaviors. Those Corporate Health Promotion Plan strategies are included in the physical activity, tobacco, and healthy eating sections of this website.

The formula for Corporate Health Promotion Plan success is to make the healthier choices the easier choices.

Implement Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies

Once you’ve chosen your Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies, it can be useful to arrange the work on a timeline.  The “right” amount of time for implementing each Corporate Health Promotion Plan strategy depends on the staff time, budget, and business demands of your organization.  Work plans maintain your efforts moving and help to ensure that plans to create a Corporate Health Promotion Plan stay on track even if there are changes in staffing or other challenges.

Communicate and Educate About the Corporate Health Promotion Plan

Ensure workers are aware of the Corporate Health Promotion Plan opportunities you’ve provided.   Planning your Corporate Health Promotion Plan communications allows you to communicate regularly with workers without overwhelming them at any one time.

Monitor and Report Your Corporate Health Promotion Plan Results

At the same time that you plan your Corporate Health Promotion Plan Strategies, think about how you’ll measure success.  It’s much easier to gather information – or to create systems for collecting information — before you implement a Corporate Health Promotion Plan strategy rather than as an afterthought.   Keep in mind that you’re likely to see improvements in worker morale and/or behaviors before you see decreases in absenteeism or medical care claims.

Report both your Corporate Health Promotion Plan successes in building a healthy worksite environment (such as complete implementation of a policy that provides workers time for walking during the workday), and Corporate Health Promotion Plan successes in getting employees to take charge of their health (a rise in the number of workers who contacted the stop-smoking program, or a rise in the number of fruit-cups purchased from the cafeteria following a promotion and price-cut).