Case 1
KGA's employee assistance program initiated a wellness initiative consultation with one of its clients, a $100M pharmaceutical company. This client had rich wellness and work life offerings but was not getting the return they expected from the dollars they were already investing in wellness. There was some overlap between vendors and some gaps in services. The client invited its work life vendors, health and disability representatives, EAP, and fitness center providers to a wellness-planning meeting.
The goal of the wellness initiative was to coordinate resources, prevent overlap, target specific healthcare issues, and find a uniform way to communicate wellness offerings to employees. The health and disability carriers discussed the disability, medical, and prescription drug issues that were driving claims. Each vendor presented possible solutions that could be provided to the client for little or no extra cost. A master calendar of integrated themes and activities was created that incorporated these solutions along with existing wellness programs.
The result of the planning effort was a more results-oriented wellness program with better utilization of existing resources. This revamped wellness program was incorporated into the company's intranet and promoted by the health plan, EAP, and other vendors. Utilization of wellness services increased immediately.
Case 2
A public utility with 3400 employees approached KGA to help address the impact of stress on their customer service group. According to the utility's disability carrier, the customer service group was responsible for 20% of its disability claims - even though they accounted for only 5% of the employee population. The claims were predominately stress-related. In fact, 56% of the mental health referrals to the organization's EAP were Call Center employees.
KGA worked with the Medical and EAP Departments to create a customized wellness program specifically for the Call Center. The strategic year-long program was designed to help customer service employees improve modifiable health risks through behavioral change. KGA developed a series of sessions to provide information, tools, practice exercises, and time management skills training. Evaluation and follow-up were built into the plan. All of the 220 Call Center employees and managers were expected to participate in this group-wide effort.
The first half of the program involved a set of four-hour training sessions on stress and wellness management, followed by one-hour time management seminars. Toward the end of the program participants were offered one-hour discussion groups as follow-up.
A key component of the data gathering was the KGA Five-Minute HealthCheck™, which measures changes in modifiable health risk. KGA measured two baseline populations: less healthy and healthier. Those who were healthier at baseline reported improvements in meaning and purpose in life, work/family balance, alone time, and stress management, as well as decreased alcohol consumption. Those who were less healthy reported positive changes in managing stress, strength training, work/life balance, alone time, expression of feelings, and exercise, in addition to reduced alcohol intake and increased water intake.
As a result of the KGA Wellness Program, disability time was reduced by 610 hours, leading to savings of $14,000, and potential overtime was avoided, for a savings of $20,740. In addition, mental health referrals and the use of medical benefits were reduced by 23%, while on-site fitness center participation increased dramatically. Company officials concluded that the program was a tremendous success and had more than paid for itself.
Case 3
When managers and employees at a wireless technology company started showing signs of stress overload, its HR department, CTO, and managers formed a Stress Management Team to identify stress inducers and stress relievers at the workplace. Although some of the stressors were seen as "out of the control of managers and employees," the team recommended stress management training.
In order to assist the workforce in not only recovering from stress overload but also in staying healthy and productive, senior management hired KGA, Inc. to provide stress management training. The training was directed at all employees and managers. The managers were expected to attend and subsequently encouraged employee attendance within their groups. The program, consisting of one half-day educational session and a one-hour follow-up session after four months, had the incentive of potentially winning a trip to Canyon Ranch and/or a free chair massage for successfully attending both sessions. Emailed wellness tips were also used on a monthly basis to provide a fuller wellness experience.
The stress management program was delivered to 66 managers and 134 employees during the first round of the program. KGA used the KGA Five-Minute HealthCheck to measure two baseline populations: those who were generally healthier and those who were generally less healthy.
Those who were already healthier at baseline reported an improvement after four months in:
managing stress and finding time to relax during the day (13%)
increasing the amount of water they consume in a day (11%)
finding more meaning and purpose in their lives (10%)
practicing more strength training (8%)
Those who were less healthy at baseline reported the following improvements in their behavior:
minimizing sugar in their diets (32%)
being more open about feelings when angry or worried (19%)
being more mindful about fat grams (16%)
managing stress and finding time to relax (15%)
