Wellness: Sized to fit

1. form a wellness advisory committee;
2. complete an organizational health audit;
3. develop an online survey to assess employee needs and interests;
4. review C.S.T.’s health issues and key cost pressures;
5. develop a mission and goals;
6. develop a program plan that reflects health and fitness trends, employee interests, organizational cost pressures, available resources and C.S.T.’s culture; and
7. develop an operating plan, including a budget, marketing strategies, program leadership, program metrics and reporting.

Ninety-two percent of employees completed the company survey, with more than 55% indicating that they were not as satisfied as they would like to be with their health status. Several employees commended C.S.T. for taking action to enhance employee health (with comments such as, “I think this is another positive initiative that will be well received by staff and add value to the employee and the employer” and “C.S.T. is a dynamic and well-maintained organization with a good work ethic. All these initiatives keep reducing any forms of stress and providing internal stability and hope for a better life.”). Some of the most common requests included nutrition counselling, outdoor fitness classes in the courtyard, lunchtime yoga classes, on-site massage service, fitness challenges, a walking club, sharing of healthy recipes and stretch breaks.

Following the planning process, C.S.T. offered a variety of face-to-face and Web-based solutions to the company’s 125 employees. Programs available to employees included monthly wellness clinics on a variety of health topics and the delivery of e-programs, including Tri Fit’s Winning@Losing and Walktober challenges. Employees also appreciated the consultant’s regular on-site visits to access the wellness coaching service. A wellness consultant was on-site two days per month to provide consistent, cost-effective and interactive programs and services such as wellness coaching to bolster employee health and energy. The annual calendar of events focused on four wellness topics of high interest to employees: fitness, nutrition, weight management and work/life balance. A variety of delivery methods were used to appeal to different learning styles, including the following:

• wellness clinics;
• e-campaigns;
• e-challenges, including Walktober;
• wellness coaching (fitness, nutrition, weight management, work/life balance);
• resource management;
• wellness seminars and clinics; and
• no-sweat fitness activities, including stretch breaks and a walking boot camp.

Nine months into the program, with participation already having reached 45% and employees asking for more, C.S.T. decided to increase the support
of the on-site consultant from two days a month to weekly visits. Personal success stories from participants in the Winning@Losing weight-loss challenge and other events helped to build support for behaviour change.

MacDonald says the success of C.S.T.’s wellness initiatives made the team realize that the workplace has a profound effect on its employees’ health. “We have come to understand the vital connection between employee satisfaction and health,” she says. “We also believe that our workplace wellness program enables our employees to choose healthier behaviours at work and at home. We have been delighted to see measurable and positive results of our wellness program.”

Intria
Intria—a Canadian company focused on financial and business information processing—serves a wide range of clients in the financial, utility and retail sectors and processes more than 560 million items annually.

The company offers a comprehensive, integrated suite of payment services, including currency management, remittance processing and cheque clearing.

Intria is a subsidiary of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and has more than 2,200 employees and a national network of 17 high-tech processing centres. Its challenge in designing a wellness program was to reach its employees to promote health, reduce repetitive strain injuries, improve the ability to perform work tasks and encourage employees’ involvement in their personal health and safety.

Intria launched its wellness program in 2004, with a company-wide stretch break initiative. It hired a professional wellness consultant, who manages the national program from Intria’s head office, to go on-site two days a week to co-ordinate the initiative and train employee volunteers.

Since 2004, five-minute stretch breaks have been scheduled once every four-hour shift to increase employees’ circulation, improve their posture and prevent musculoskeletal injury. Volunteer Employee Energizers are trained to deliver the program. To keep motivation high among participants, new stretch routines are introduced monthly, while quarterly challenges add an element of healthy competition. One such example is the Ergo Check Challenge—which will run in September for a week—whereby supervisors and managers randomly praise employees for correct standing, sitting, wrist posture and safe lifting practices. An information sheet is sent to employees, and a checklist is sent to supervisors and managers with “correct” and “incorrect” versions of posture. The idea is based on the behaviour modification principle that positively reinforcing employees will increase the correct behaviour. Employees are given a fun sticker that they can wear all day, and their name is entered into a draw for a prize.

Over the past eight years, the program has grown to the point where on-site professional support has increased from two to three days per week with the delivery of a broader scope of online and face-to-face programs.

In 2011, Intria introduced the SafePlus program, an overarching health, safety and wellness brand. It includes health and safety (safe lifting, hazardous energy control, trip and fall), ergonomics and the stretch break program.

Weekly SafePlus huddles are a vehicle to communicate any health, safety or wellness messages, such as seasonal tips, upcoming events or challenge results. These huddles are linked into the Weekly Operations huddles so that managers can access the material and discuss wellness issues with the majority of Intria employees who do not have computers. Tri Fit programs complement Intria’s new SafePlus initiative by contributing weekly Health and Safety Huddle information.

Intria is currently working on an ergonomics initiative under the SafePlus banner, which includes lunch and learns and various huddles about desk set-up and troubleshooting ergonomic issues.

Intria has realized significant returns. Year after year, surveys show that the company’s employees (70% in 2011) experience less discomfort after completing stretch breaks. The
percentage of repetitive strain injuries of the total injuries has gone down since the program started in 2004. In 2003, the percentage was 31%; nine years later, it’s a mere 3%.

Janice Schweizer, senior director, HR, with Intria, says the SafePlus program provides “a win-win solution for our employees and for our organization. Our employees are benefiting from a wellness program that will improve their health, and the business is seeing improved productivity. We have tremendous sponsorship from our senior leadership team, and our Employee Energizers have really brought the program to life.”

Direct Energy
Direct Energy, the largest competitive retailer of energy and related services in North America, began its wellness journey in 2005 with an ad hoc approach. Back then, says Gloria Phibbs, corporate manager, health, safety, wellness and environments, “I was a one-person show, trying to deliver wellness to a geographi-cally diverse workforce of 6,500 employees across 46 states and 10 provinces.” The program consisted of a variety of one-off programs such as health fairs, a few site-specific fitness classes, a biometric screening program and a walking challenge. But with the goal to expand the wellness program to provide a more consistent, targeted and continuous offering, Phibbs realized she could not do it alone.

In 2011, Direct Energy hired a full-time senior wellness consultant for its Toronto office and three part-time staff for its largest sites—Calgary, Houston and Pittsburgh. In addition, a team of health and safety representatives helped to promote the program in locations without an on-site wellness consultant, and wellness students from local colleges provided additional support.

In the fall of 2011, the program was launched with Walktober, a month-long walking challenge that pitted different sites against one another. To kick things off, a short video was produced featuring Chris Weston, president and CEO, and Eddy Collier, president of the Home Services group throughout North America, lacing up their running shoes. Aired on the company intranet, the message to employees was clear from the start: we want everyone to get involved.

Following the challenge, employees were surveyed in Calgary, Houston and Pittsburgh to get their input. Armed with this information, the wellness consultants were then able to adapt the program to the unique needs of each location. “Having a team of consultants with ‘feet on the ground’ allowed for flexibility to customize the overall program to be culture- and location-specific,” says Phibbs.

Direct Energy’s annual calendar of wellness programs includes monthly clinics, regularly published wellness bulletins, one-on-one consultations, flu shot and blood pressure clinics, weight and body fat screenings, and Tri Fit at Home (an online fitness and wellness portal and walking challenge). Additionally, fitness classes such as boot camp and ab strengthening are offered at several sites.

Phibbs has witnessed positive trends as Direct Energy’s culture of wellness evolves. One team that participated in the Winning@Losing Challenge lost a combined weight of 106 pounds. The team has since stopped serving doughnuts at morning meetings and has replaced the sugary treats with healthier options. The recently launched Recipe Club (in which registrants receive weekly healthy, easy-to-prepare recipes via email) has already attracted more than 430 members.

Phibbs says Direct Energy’s wellness program makes it easy for employees to make healthy choices every day regardless of location. “Tri Fit’s Web-based e-campaigns and challenges can reach everyone, even a four-person office in a remote location. Employees inspire one another as they achieve their wellness goals. Whether it be losing weight or quitting smoking, the wellness success stories are passed along.”

But Phibbs recognizes that a company can’t mandate healthy lifestyle as it can with health and safety. “You need to create a groundswell and build on your success,” she says. As health costs continue to climb, she believes that wellness is not a nice-to-have but a must-have program. “We believe healthier employees are happier and more productive.”

The success of Direct Energy’s wellness program has not gone unnoticed. The Houston Business Journal and the Pittsburgh Business Times have recognized Direct Energy’s offices in those cities as healthy employers.

These companies showcase three unique wellness programs scaled to fit their employee and organizational goals and objectives. While each program has
taken its own course, several factors are common to each one’s success:

• a program champion to drive the wellness program forward;
• strong senior management commitment and support;
• a wellness-for-all approach;
• professional support;
• employee volunteers taking an active leadership role;
• a long-term view when measuring the return on investment; and
• a strategic approach that ensures program goals are aligned with the goals of the business.

With the elimination of mandatory retirement for most professions and the increased health costs of an aging workforce, it is never too early to invest in the health and well-being
of your employees. Forward-thinking companies—no matter the size—also realize that investing in their younger workforce to keep them low risk will pay huge dividends down the road.

Sue Pridham is president of Tri Fit Inc. sue@trifit.com

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