NEW YORK—During the early 1980s, while I headed the Human Resources team at SOLA Optical, we implemented an employee Health and Wellness program called Healthways. Our goals in creating the program were simple, yet profound:

• To reduce the prevalent use of hospital emergency rooms in favor of using one’s personal physician.
• To provide on-site inoculations for employees and their families, reducing the risk of contracting a medical issue or quite simply, the seasonal flu.
• To encourage physical fitness programs, from daily walks or jogging, to sponsorship of recreational activities.
• To provide information on healthy eating and healthy living.
• To support the formation of teams that competed against one another in programs, one of which was called “Waist Reduction,” similarly named to our manufacturing best practice “Waste Reduction” program.
• To improve employee attendance and reduce our insurance premiums.

We were in time and in commitment light years ahead of other privately-held or publicly-listed companies in the establishment of this program, like so many others at SOLA. And a few of the following results were significant:

• Our attendance patterns were significantly improved.
• Our employee’s families were healthier, improving employee’s work attendance and their children’s school attendance.
• Our employees had even more fun at work.
• And we reduced our annual medical insurance premium to a rate 25 percent below all other employers in the U.S.

After a few years, we introduced semi-annual, at work physical screenings and blood testing. From this, several employees found they were diabetic or may have other medical issues that required immediate attention. Other initiatives followed, all met with gratitude by employees and the greatly improved recruitment of new employees who saw our initiatives as leading edge and personally valuable.

Decades later, other employers have been exposed to the growing evidence that the benefits of employee health and wellness programs can dramatically increase employee wellbeing. Yet only 11 percent of companies have reported investment in employee health and wellness programs, most of which are larger corporations.

Implementing an employee health and wellness, or employee wellbeing programs, requires close collaboration between company leadership, human resources, finance, benefit providers, insurance brokers and local health providers. Equally important, it requires a commitment from company leadership and ownership.

The evidence then and now is overwhelmingly in favor of taking the leap and implementing such a new program. If you do not have such a program today, take the time to contact your insurance carrier or broker, or feel free to contact our firm, for assistance to launch your program. Whoever you choose to assist you, get started now: the benefits to your company and to your employees will be greatly valued.

Hedley Lawson, Contributing Editor
Managing Partner
Aligned Growth Partners, LLC
(707) 217-0979
hlawson@alignedgrowth.com
www.alignedgrowth.com