Wellness Program : Financial Wellness

by Health Assessments on December 5, 2010

With the downturn in the economy, it seems like most companies are shifting their focus when it comes to worker benefits and compensation.  The current situation is also very stressful on benefits managers.

In times like these, it’s vital for coworkers to share their concerns, experiences suggestions. A few weeks ago, HRBenefitsAlert.com ran a special report on calming employees’ 401(k) fears.

The reader comments revealed that many benefits pros were just as afraid as workers, and people ’s frustration led to some unfortunate carping back and forth between a few readers.

The purpose of the comments section, apart from giving individuals  the opportunity to react to the story, is to provide a forum for benefits managers to interact.

It’s my hope that we can generate an exchange ideas that have (and have not) been working at readers’ organizations during the current situation. Especially –

• What are you doing to manage health benefits costs as budgets are either frozen or shrink?

• Have you noticed a dip in morale or productivity with all the doom-and-gloom in the news?

• How’s your company trying to calm employees’ fears about salary freezes or layoffs, 401(k) losses, health cost shifting and other issues that get a lot of mainstream media focus?

• What are you saying to workers to deliver the news they need to know but also keep morale high?

Thank you in advance for your willingness to share your professionalise and personal experiences. Everyone benefits in the long run.

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Wellness Program : The height of winter flu season is here, so it’s a good time to test your flu prevention program’s chances for success.

by Health Assessments on December 4, 2010

Few corporations benchmark their flu programs, a published study  from the Disability Management Corporation Coalition finds. But those that do often discover room for improvement.

Nearly 80 percent of corporations provide staff access to flu shots, either onsite or at a local clinic.  And 72 percent cover some or all of the cost (typically compensating between $10 to $20). But –

• At 89 percent of firms, fewer than half of personnel actually get a flu shot

• At 38% of businesses, fewer than 25% of staff members participate

• only 6 percent of firms are able to get at least 75 percent participation

• 87% of survey respondents said  they never measure absenteeism during flu season, and

• 75% never tracked whether personnel who get flu shots are actually absent less often.

The firms that get best results are those that actively educate workforce, track flu-related absenteeism and send sick workforce home.

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Wellness Program : Financial Fears and Eap Use.

December 3, 2010

The fastest-growing use of EAPs since 2002 has been tied to employees’ financial worries.
Over the last five years, there’s been a reported 69 percent jump in staff member employee assistance program use related to personal financial concerns.  The trend is not all that surprising.
Statistics show that, for the first time since the Excellent Depression, the [...]

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Wellness Program : Presenteeism.

December 2, 2010

The problem of presenteeism – personnel showing up at work but taking a “mental vacation day” – isn’t going away any time soon.
A recent survey found the typical worker has three unused vacation days at the end of the year. But 33 percent admit that they sometimes take “unofficial” vacation days of a half-day or [...]

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Wellness Program : Employee Benefit Participation

December 1, 2010

It’s tough to get personnel to participate in benefit programs that they don’t even know exist.
Seventy-one% of staff lack basic knowledge of standard benefit programs, according to a new study by the American Payroll Association (APA).
Low participation rates
The ASA research study  focused on personnel knowledge of their company’s pre-tax benefits. While nearly three quarters of [...]

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Wellness Program : What New Health Promotion Rules Mean for You.

November 30, 2010

Compliance with health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA) non-discrimination rules is a big challenge for wellness programs.  The old rules were unclear about which incentives passed muster.
That’s all changed, with the rules established earlier this year by the DOL and U.S.  Treasury Department.  The rules themselves haven’t changed, but they’ve been clarified. Here is [...]

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Wellness Program : Old Staff Member Benefit Files.

November 29, 2010

Ever set out to organize and dispose of old worker files and paperwork in the office? the job is tougher than it seems.
Best practice – Develop a records retention policy as your first step. A host of federal and state laws specify how long you must retain pay- and benefits-related documents.
Compliance is essential if a [...]

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Wellness Program : Worker Gift Cards.

November 28, 2010

Many corporations attempt to reward staff members during the holidays. But be cautious –
There’s a common misbelief that the IRS considers gift cards worth $20 or less de minimus benefits and, hence, they’re tax free. Regrettably, that’s not true.  With few exceptions, the IRS considers nearly anything with cash value a taxable form of [...]

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Wellness Program : Is Self-Insurance Right for Your Company?

November 27, 2010

In recent years, it’s become increasingly common for companys with as few as 200 employees to explore self-insurance. But beware of hidden traps.
When your business is weighing self-insurance – or has already taken it – here are three pitfalls that can create unexpected costs.
1. Unfavorable staff member mix
It’s impossible to completely eliminate the risk of [...]

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Wellness Program : Non-traditional Health Benefits.

November 26, 2010

Evidence-based medicine has become a large buzzword in health care over the last few years. But certain non-traditional treatments, like chiropractic care, may also prove effective in certain cases.
The key –  Using these treatments and to – not instead of – conventional medicine may prove more cost-efficient in the long term.
What the latest research says
Do [...]

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