New research offers further proof that there’s a clear correlation between senior management’s involvement in wellness programs and employee participation rates.
Mercer and the not-for-profit Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) had nearly 450 employers fill out Employee Health Management Best Practice Scorecards.
The scorecards rated how well the employers incorporated best practices into their wellness programs. And after that research was completed, both Mercer and HERO analyzed what affect those employer practices had on participation rates and health plan costs.
The scorecards asked two key questions:
- Does senior leadership make a point of participating in wellness programs themselves?
- Does the corporate mission statement mention supporting workforce health as a goal?
Wellness program participation rates were highest among the employers who could answer “yes” to one or both of these questions.
Employees at these organizations were more likely to complete a health risk assessment (59% on average), versus employees at organizations that reported little or no leadership support (41%).
Those at organizations with support from the top were also more likely to participate in biometric screenings (53% versus 38%).
Better health, significant savings
As you can imagine, higher participation leads to better health outcomes: 66% of organizations with strong leadership support reported improvements in employee health risks, versus only 26% of those with little support.
But despite all of that, the impact of strong support from the top brass might best be seen in companies’ bottom lines. Employers with strong support for wellness initiatives were 10 times as likely to see a substantial positive impact on their health plan cost trend.
Info: For a more detailed look at the study and the analysis that followed, visit Mercer’s website here.
