January 2015

Rising healthcare costs are a major concern for many businesses, and learning how to keep those costs low is important not just for the bottom line, but also for improving employee health and, in turn, increasing productivity. As a result, many companies have begun conducting workplace health assessments to identify where and how meaningful improvements can be made. Before an assessment can be conducted, though, management needs to understand its purpose and value.

What does a workplace health assessment involve?

The purpose of an assessment is to gather data about all the factors that have an impact on the health of employees while they’re on the job, and then to determine which of those factors are good and which ones need to be improved. It’s also a time to consider new programs like health incentives and interventions that can help improve employee health, decrease worker absenteeism, increase productivity and decrease overall health costs. Sometimes, those interventions can be as simple as upgrading lighting; in other cases, a complete ergonomic overhaul of an office may be in order.

At the end of the assessment, the management team will be in a much better position to set goals, develop strategies, and set aside time and money to achieve established end points.

Individual and Organizational Effort

Both the employees and the employer and management teams have an influence over the effectiveness of any workplace health assessment and initiative. On an individual level, workers have their own personal behaviors or health issues such as smoking or obesity that can have a direct impact on their absentee rates as well as their healthcare costs. From an organizational standpoint, health benefits have a significant impact by determining how affordable it is for employees to get the care they need to remain healthy. The employer also influences design elements that can affect health, such as ventilation systems and furnishings.

Depending on the size of your company, a health assessment can be fairly complex and extensive, but the savings achieved through such a large-scale project can be a tremendous boon to your bottom line.

Obesity costs business more than $150 billion annually in productivity losses, according to a recent Gallup poll,and nearly 50 percent more in healthcare costs. The poll also revealed about 66 percent of those who work full time are either overweight or obese, and most of them have at least one additional chronic health problem. Even for relatively small companies, the impact on the bottom line can be substantial.

The obesity problem has grown significantly during the past decade, with the CDC estimating more than a third of adults in the U.S. are obese. Because obese men and women tend to have additional chronic health conditions, it’s no surprise workers’ compensation claims associated with overweight workers is substantially more than for those of “normal” weights. In fact, studies indicate workers with BMIs above 40 file two times as many claims as non-obese workers, and the probability of an obese person being injure don the job is significantly higher than for workers with normal BMIs. One study from Johns Hopkins found medical costs associated with obese workers were nearly seven times the amount of claims filed by people with BMIs in the normal range. Indemnity costs were a whopping 11 times more.

So what can a business do to reduce its potential costs associated with obese employees? Here are some tips:

·         Consider developing a workplace wellness plan that includes reimbursement for health club membership or incentives for losing weight.

·         Consider the health risks most commonly faced by obese employees – lower extremity injuries and lower back problems are very common – and include risk management objectives based on limiting or addressing those health risks.

·         Encourage health screening to identify comorbidities, like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, perhaps by providing free screenings at your workplace.

·         Identify special furniture or equipment designed for obese workers that can help avoid injuries and reduce claims.

·         Be proactive in helping injured obese workers return to work (hereby limiting the duration and cost of their claims) by learning about their needs and accommodating them as much as possible.

Obesity is a health problem that’s on the rise. Being proactive is the best way your business can minimize the costs it can cause and its ultimate impact on your company’s bottom line.

Mention a business’ resources, and the focus inevitably falls to money; but time is also a resource, and unlike money, you can’t “earn” more of it. Risk manager who learn to manage their time as wisely as possible can maximize the results they achieve, both in predicting and managing risk, and ins recognizing and seizing opportunities. As part of your New Year initiative, try incorporating a few of these time management strategies into your routine and see how they affect your overall performance and results:

• Learn how to allocate your time. Jot down estimates of how much time a task should take and then try to stick with those general guidelines. Don’t get hung up on small details that can cause other responsibilities to derail.

• Work on your ability to focus on one task at a time. A few years ago, it was all about multitasking; but then, several studies emerged demonstrating that multitasking can actually decrease efficiency. A better approach: Dedicate blocks of time to a single task and focus only on that task during that time period. You don’t have to complete tasks – just make progress. Set aside more blocks until the task is complete.

• Understand how to achieve balance. Make sure to spend as much time relaxing as you do working to avoid burnout and ensure peak efficiency while on the job. It’s also a good way to release stress so you enjoy better workplace relationships overall.

• Know the 80-20 rule. There’s a well-known principle that says 80 percent of results or outputs come from 20 percent of actions or inputs. Identify which tasks are most important – for instance, the 20 percent of activities that result in the most risks to your company – and spend most of your time addressing those before moving on to tasks with less of a potential impact.

• Learn how to delegate. This is one of the most difficult skills to learn for many people, but it’s also the one that can yield the biggest rewards. Set goals and make sure the person understands what they are, and check in frequently to make sure the task is on target. It also helps if you can identify the strengths of different employees and assign tasks accordingly.

The New Year is here, and that means it’s time for lots of resolutions. When it comes to managing risks, there are lots of tasks you can adopt to help manage risk, both in terms of identifying and limiting “bad” risks and in determining which risks represent potential opportunity for growth. Here’s a quick list of a few of the most important resolutions to consider adopting for 2015:

• Revisit your current risk management process. Is it streamlined? Does it need to be updated to address new or emerging issues such as BYOD or BYOX? Does employee training need to be improved? Be thorough!

• Write your goals down. Studies have shown that people who write down their goals are much more successful in actually achieving them, especially when those goals are very specific and incorporate a time line. Write down your risk management goals for 2015, and make sure your plan facilitates overall business goals rather than hindering them.

• Communicate better. Being able to gather information from all quarters is the key to identifying problems before they occur. Making an effort to improve communication and engagement is one resolution that can have a positive ripple effect across your entire company.

• Think outside the box. Be open to new ideas that can help you approach problems and opportunities with a new perspective. Not only can it help you find more cost-effective solutions, but it can also foster a more open sense of communication, support and sharing.

• Understand others’ expectations. Too often, we proceed based on our own expectations and assume they align with others desires. Looking at the risk management process in terms of the expectations of other stakeholders can result in a fresh approach, better outcomes and even lower costs. Remember: Risk management is a team effort; going that extra distance to meet others’ expectations can increase support and make it easier to achieve goals.

This new year provides plenty of opportunity for managing risk better as well as identifying and building on opportunities. Fine-tune your program so you’re ready to respond, no matter what comes your way.