Any company is only as good as its people. Loss of key managers or line staff,
whether to a short-term hospital stay or permanently, will have a devastating effect
on organizational productivity. However,
efforts to develop a comprehensive employee health culture can have a dramatic positive impact on reducing health insurance
costs and improving organizational effectiveness. The most important first step in heading down the path to employee health and
wellness is to assess the health and risk factors of the company’s employee population.
This is done by utilizing an assessment tool
called a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA).
An HRA allows a company to identify
trends related to employee health risks,
states Doug Ribley, vice president of health
and wellness services at the Akron General
Medical Health and Wellness Centers. Programs and services can be introduced that
help reduce the identified health risks, thus
creating a healthy, cost-efficient work force.
Smart Business spoke with Ribley about
the nuances and benefits of HRAs.
Where does an HRA program start?
I like to look at HRAs as the first phase in a
two-phase process. HRAs represent the
information gathering part of the process,
while program implementation and health
education represents the second phase.
When an organization decides to improve the
health of its work force, it starts by administering a health risk appraisal, which provides
specific information on the health risks of
each individual employee. This information
is then combined to provide aggregate data
representing health risk trends for the entire
organization. These trends may identify common health issues such as low back pain,
high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes and stress.
Once identified and ranked, the company
can build a strategy to reduce or eliminate
the causes of these health issues.
What is involved?
Typically, an HRA consists of a series of
questions that focus on medical and personal health history. It has three main categories:
family history and incidence of disease, the
employee’s specific medical history and specific lifestyle choices that impact health, such as exercise, smoking and seat belt use. This
information leads to the development of a
wide range of results-oriented programs
designed to create positive change.
Most HRAs take 30 minutes to complete,
however, statistical accuracy is important
when the intent is to create change. This part
of the process requires honesty, thought and
a dedicated time commitment. Many organizations have had success by offering the ability to complete an HRA online. Of course,
you can complete an HRA manually, too.
Generally, a company’s HRA is completed
over a two-week period of time and the
results can be back within one to two weeks.
Should human resources handle this?
Typically, an organization that embarks on
an employee health initiative assigns a leader
and/or committee to develop and administer
the program. These people will often contract with third-party employee health professionals to ensure that the effort is
designed and administered efficiently and
effectively. HR leadership usually assumes
the responsibility for this effort since reduced
health care costs, employee satisfaction,
absenteeism and retention are HR objectives.
Companies with employee wellness or exercise programs often have the program manager report to HR. Wherever the program
resides, the idea is to motivate employees to
improve health and reduce risks.
What is the return?
Numerous case studies report that it’s typical to generate a $3 to $4 return on every dollar invested in a comprehensive employee
health program. The challenge is that the
return doesn’t come overnight, but over time.
Companies focused on quarter-to-quarter
returns struggle with this consistent and ongoing commitment. Companies with leadership teams that are insightful and willing to
invest over time favor HRAs.
What is the next step?
After a firm completes an HRA, the team
puts together health education and screening
programs to address results. The HRA is just
the starting point. The focus of the applied
initiatives are to get employees to embrace
lifestyle changes that reduce health risks.
Can we make HRAs mandatory?
Some large companies have taken an
aggressive stand on HRAs since they have
the potential to lower health insurance premiums. Making assessment and programs
mandatory will be challenged in courts over
time. Today, there is no definitive answer to
mandatory participation.
What does seem to work is individual
incentives for program participation. For
example, a $100 bonus to employees who
complete an HRA. Some companies create
rewards by lowering employee contributions
toward insurance premiums.
The most important message is that
embracing an employee health focus is the
right thing to do in today’s world of soaring
health care costs and a landscape requiring
organizations to produce more with less.
Companies that are committed to improving
the health of their work force will find that it
correlates directly with organizational success. But this is not a quick fix. You have to be
in to for the long haul to reap the rewards. <<
DOUG RIBLEY is vice president of health and wellness services at the Akron General Medical Center Health and Wellness Centers.
Reach him at [email protected].
