Health programs are becoming commonplace in many organisations. Offerings range from free flu vaccinations through to running an onsite gym. Teresa Russell talks to three companies and explores what they offer, how they run their programs and why their staff would revolt if their health programs were cancelled
Health programs are becoming commonplace in many organisations. Offerings range from free flu vaccinations through to running an onsite gym. Teresa Russell talks to three companies and explores what they offer, how they run their programs and why their staff would revolt if their health programs were cancelled
Richard Morris (38) is a marine consultant, currently contracted to the NSW Waterways Authority. He used to be fit and strong, leading a very active lifestyle in his 20s. He stopped smoking seven years ago, discovered that food tasted great, got a desk job five years ago and started putting on weight. In August last year his company paid for a full health and fitness check through an external provider. “I was shocked into reality by the results of the tests,” he claims. He needed to lose weight and start exercising. “I’ve learnt a lot about nutrition and have moved training and fitness right to the top of the pile,” says Morris. Now seven kilograms lighter, very fit and with a changed body shape, Morris feels great and claims his productivity has increased in everything he does.
Just like the former Morris, 60 per cent of Australians are overweight, a condition that leads to a lot of lifestyle related diseases – diseases which ultimately have a significant impact upon workplace productivity through reduced enthusiasm, reduced effectiveness on the job, increased stress levels and extended sick leave. One of the arguments for instituting a corporate health program is that it improves productivity in the workforce – whether that comes from fewer sick days due to flu vaccinations, or greater output from fit and motivated employees. Studies have found that physical activity programs at work reduce absenteeism by up to 20 per cent and physically active employees take 27 per cent less sick leave.
A recent survey of 1,100 Australians found that 25 per cent of workers consider themselves to be desk potatoes, while 21 per cent are tied to their desks for six to eight hours without a chance to stretch their legs. The survey, conducted by recruitment firm Talent2, also found that 47 per cent of workers believe employers have an obligation to encourage and even subsidise fitness at work.
So, are organisations implementing corporate health programs out of a sense of social responsibility, or is it all about improving the bottom line?
Bayer Australia
Bayer’s new health program, Energise, was launched in March to most of its 900 employees in Australia and New Zealand. The 2004 calendar of events includes diet consultations, massage, blood pressure screening, pilates, iridology, self defence, cholesterol screening, ergonomics, skin checks and yoga. Energise joins company provided flu vaccinations and blood glucose testing to complete its health program. Susan Birdsall, Bayer’s environment, health and safety manager explained that Energise was rolled out after a successful pilot in Bayer’s Health Care division. This program had been initiated at an employee’s suggestion, as their previous employer had had a corporate health program.
Greg Henry, Bayer’s general manager human resources says that Energise is just a part of a broader strategy begun two years ago to make the company an employer of choice. Salary packaging, an employee discount and purchasing plan and personal development plans have also been introduced during that time. “The whole package helps to attract and retain staff. Turnover has dropped in the areas where it was significant [among sales reps]. We also get regular positive feedback from both prospective and current employees,” said Henry.
Birdsall said that the Energise program started with a health survey. “We had a 68 per cent participation rate – the buy-in was amazing,” she says. Birdsall plans on doing a follow-up health survey in the next 12 to 18 months to compare results with the baseline.
Both Henry and Birdsall believe that corporate health programs are part of an organisation’s social responsibility. “People spend at least a third of their day at work. They should be given every opportunity to get health checks during that time,” asserts Birdsall. “Employees are also more likely to tell you about a problem they’re having before it becomes an injury requiring a worker’s compensation claim,” she says, referring to the recent massage month.
Although Henry describes the cost of the health program as a “significant investment”, he said there was no problem getting senior management buy-in because they had run a low-cost pilot program, which received very positive staff feedback. Henry says a corporate health program is an easy sell if it reduces absenteeism and staff turnover by just 2 to 3 per cent.
Referring to their recent experience, Birdsall and Henry believe it is vital to get employee buy-in first. Because the pilot program was so popular, the roll-out gained momentum very quickly across the organisation.
Deloitte
Deloitte’s 2,800 employees in Australia have experienced an evolving corporate health and fitness program during the past five years. Damien Power, the company’s senior human resources manager says that Deloitte has always fully subsidised netball, basketball, touch football and corporate triathlon teams, the Oxfam 100km walk and held an annual company swimming carnival. It also has a corporate health insurance plan. Three years ago it started flu vaccinations (with about a 35 to 50 per cent uptake), then two years ago, the HR department put out tenders for user pays, onsite yoga, massage, pilates and beautician services. These services are almost always fully booked. Just 10 months ago, Deloitte introduced an online health and lifestyle assessment tool via an external provider. Already, 800 staff have filled in the survey and received feedback in terms of suggested changes in lifestyle.
Power explained that one of the reasons he introduced this survey was to gather hard evidence on the health and wellbeing of staff across the business. “We hope to see general trends by office and address any work/life balance issues that might be revealed,” he says.
Deloitte’s primary motive for its corporate health initiatives is to build the wellbeing of its employees, making them more productive, Power asserts. However, he concedes it also helps staff retention and boosts Deloitte’s corporate image among its staff and graduates. “If we didn’t provide these types of things, we wouldn’t be keeping up with other large corporates. You can’t take, take, take from your employees. You have to give something back and encourage people to spend time doing other things,” he says.
Power believes the key to success in any corporate health program is to build it up gradually, as the take-up rates pick up over time. “Promotion is also vital – there’s always a spike in participation when we talk about programs with our staff,” he said. Power strongly believes that it should be the responsibility of HR, not finance, to determine the quality of any provider. “HR is in a far better position to communicate better with recruiters and other HR professionals within business units to promote these programs,” he concludes.
David Ahern, head of human resources shared services at AMP prefers not to call his organisation’s employee health initiatives a ‘program’, because “that word gives the impression that it is a one-off, rather than just the way we operate”. According to Ahern, AMP has always had strong participation in health and sporting activities, but initiatives were spread across the business. Three years ago, all activities and events became centrally coordinated, including the three fully equipped and supervised, 24/7, onsite health clubs run in the company’s Sydney, Parramatta and Melbourne offices.
AMP’s health promotion activities, such as an ergonomics program, healthy heart checks, skin cancer checks, chill-out (stress management) and nutrition advice require partial payment from participants. The health clubs are cost neutral to AMP. Between 30 to 40 per cent of staff utilise a salary sacrifice plan to join the gyms, at a rate that is 50 to 90 per cent cheaper than commercial gym membership. Ahern targets a 25 per cent participation rate in all the activities, promotes them on the intranet and provides online booking and credit card facilities for payment. “Our employees value these activities because they are not easily accessed outside (the organisation) and they make a personal financial investment themselves. It’s all about partnership and making things easy for the employee. We make sure they get value for money,” says Ahern.
In 2003, 38 per cent of AMP’s employees participated in a health promotion activity. Of these, 98 per cent found it beneficial and 68 per cent were inspired to make a lifestyle change. Whether they actually made the change is not surveyed. Ahern stresses that individuals have a responsibility for their own health. Employers just facilitate access to these services.
AMP also has a range of events that it sponsors throughout the year. These include the Sydney City to Surf fun run, corporate triathlons, Sydney to Wollongong bike ride and the corporate games. Employees pay their own entry fees, but the company provides t-shirts, a post event function and other such things for the hundreds of AMP participants.
“You can’t measure the ROI solely on these activities and events. They all make a contribution towards the morale, performance and health of our employees,” says Ahern. He sees these things as an important part of AMP’s employment offering, but says they should be treated like any other business initiative. “Get regular feedback from stakeholders, measure and report participation rates and results, get some wins under your belt before expanding, and review and change as required” he advises.
Ahern also suggests companies try to offer choices and keep health initiatives as broad as possible to cater for the different lifestyles that people lead. “We’re not all elite athletes,” he quips.
