CCW AND ALMA WELLNESS PUBLISH A CASE FOR WELLNESS

Businesses in Hong Kong, and throughout the rest of the world, are constantly seeking new and innovative ways to attract and retain, vital employee talent whilst helping existing staff members to reach ever greater levels of productivity and fulfillment in their work.

One of the ways in which companies have historically enticed workers to greater heights is through the implementation and offering of a comprehensive employee benefits package which includes some form of health insurance coverage. However, in a world where medical inflation is running at an average of 10 per cent per year, the premiums associated with traditional group medical insurance options are quickly spiralling out of control – in the early 2000’s auto manufacturing giant, General Motors, was spending more on health insurance coverage for workers than it was on steel to make cars!

Thankfully, in the last few years a number of innovative solutions have emerged which are helping businesses (and individuals) contain the costs of their health insurance coverage even against the background of ever increasing healthcare prices.

Cooper, Claridge-Ware (CCW) is a Hong Kong headquartered insurance brokerage which is leading the charge to change the perception of health insurance in Asia. CCW understands that there is more to health than insurance, and that there are myriad industries which can play a major role in helping businesses to save money while inspiring employees to greater heights.

From instituting simple work/life balance to making a concentrated drive to spur smarter lifestyle choices, wellness programs sitting alongside flexible insurance products are changing the current corporate paradigm – companies offering both comprehensive employee benefits and wellness services to workers are reaping the benefits of a wave of innovation and motivation rarely seen in the corporate world.

Cooper Claridge-Ware has investigated the current climate of sustainability for group medical insurance premiums in a recent article titled Is Group Medical Insurance Sustainable? In that piece CCW highlights the need to evolve current thinking in terms of how companies are choosing, and offering insurance coverage to employees.

However, this is only a small part of the overall story – CCW together with ALMA Wellness have published an innovative whitepaper titled The Case For Wellness which presents further reasons for businesses to get more involved in the health of their employees; enabling both cost savings and profitability at the same time.

blog – an Active Work Day – cubicle-500x363Earlier in my career, I was a desk-bound employee who spent 40+ hours a week in a cubicle farm. But as a health-conscious individual who was aware of the perils of inactivity, I found a way to put in the hours but remain physically active.

A hands-free headset for my desk phone from my company’s IT department was my best friend as I got into the habit of taking phone calls standing up. Shoulder stretches and neck exercises were an hourly occurrence, as were frequent walking breaks down the long hallway to the pantry to get a snack and a glass of water. I was also the weird one in the office who would drop down and do pushups on my cubicle floor whenever I needed a boost of energy.

Luckily, two of my colleagues sitting nearby were equally as active and health conscious – the three of us: a competitive martial artist, a former college rugby player and a yoga fanatic. A little friendly competition always helps, so we pinned up an activity log sheet outside my cubicle wall and we each wrote down our physical activities for the week. These fun and games among the three of us started to build health awareness throughout the office floor.

Fast forward 15 years and I still see similar workplace activities, some of which are a bit more extreme. An October 2013 article in the South China Morning Post entitled “Action Stations: office fitness initiatives take root in Hong Kong” gives examples. At CLP Power, incentive-based employee health competitions such weight-loss competitions and lucky draws for walking the stairs were implemented in 2013. I also know executives in Singapore and Hong Kong who have implemented standing desks and who are experimenting with treadmill desks.

Companies are also getting their employees active with lunchtime and after hours workshops. Sarah Breidenbach, Executive Health Coach at ALMA Wellness and psychology counselor at FOCUS Psychological Enrichment Centre, recently led workshops at a large financial institution and at a global pharmaceuticals company in Hong Kong where she combined her expertise in meditation, yoga and psychology to help employees manage workplace stress.

Global consulting leader Accenture offers employees health coaching services, incentives to reach 10,000 steps a day, and clubs for basketball, volleyball and badminton. Tech giant Cisco offers education programs, and an onsite health center and childcare center. Among other health benefits, General Electric has online health resources and seminars on mindfulness and achieving balance. If you want even more ideas and inspiration, check out this list of the 46 Healthiest Companies to Work For, published by Greatist, and the healthy services and activities these companies provide their employees.

Much like we’ve discussed the importance of executives and busy professionals engaging in regular self assessments, the best companies engage in regular assessments of their people engagement.

To get more glimpses about this topic, I interviewed Hong Kong-based HR specialist, Dani Friggi Lu, to get her perspective and advice. With 17+ years of Human Resources experience at Deloitte, PwC, AT&T, Accenture and now as Director of her own HR Consulting Practice called “Boosting Passion,” Dani’s insights are well sought-after.

ALMA Wellness: What is a People Survey and why would HR professionals want to use one?

Dani: The employees of a company play a key role in determining its level of success, or can even be considered as its key asset. And it takes an engaged workforce, which are passionate about their job, to cultivate the clients and success a company’s look for.

Having this in mind, a People Survey (or Engagement Survey), is a very powerful HR tool used to provide a unique insight into the employees’ perspectives. As the first step to better understand or improve anything is to be capable of measuring it, People Surveys can generate actionable outcomes to enhance the workforce productivity and engagement. This, of course, if the survey is well implemented.

ALMA Wellness: Which People Surveys would you recommend?

Dani: I have worked with very reputable People Survey providers such as ISR, Kenexa, Gallup, and Great Place to Work. I think these companies provide a remarkable job within the subject by providing value far beyond the actual survey. Many of them have comprehensive databases for company benchmarking by location, industry and others. You can also generate reports by specific workgroups without compromising the confidentiality. You can get lost comparing benchmark data!

From a technical or methodological perspective, some companies use an “Engagement Index” and “Engagement-related” surveys. This means that they not only measure employee work satisfaction, motivation and cultural alignment, but they also ask specific questions to be able to track employee “emotional commitment” and “fidelity” to the company. It is a quite an interesting HR subject!

ALMA Wellness: Please explain the concept of “Engagement.”

Dani: An “engaged employee” is the one who is passionate about his/her job! This emotional commitment means he cares beyond his daily job, and works towards the company’s goals. Therefore, a company with a high employee engagement level can be expected to outperform the others.

For companies, showing reciprocal care can be a very good start to reinforce engagement levels. Some are now targeting health and wellness investments for that, flex-time and related.

Studies have suggested that engagement levels are largely influenced by company strategies and policies. An analysis of both rational and emotional forms of engagement reveals that emotional engagement is four times more valuable than rational engagement in driving employee effort.

ALMA Wellness: What recommendations do you have if HR professionals want to implement a People Survey?

Dani: It’s up to the company to choose the most appropriate tool to be used, taking into consideration their culture and values, the main objectives with implementing a People Survey, company size, budget, etc. A HR expert can certainly help the company in this task. They can also be the project coordinator to support a successful implementation, assist to analyze gaps and be a strategic advisor on the topics. But it is most important that the company be committed to appropriately use the tool.

Commitment to a People Survey means sharing the results with the workforce and leaders, engaging people in the action plans discussions and holding them accountable for it. Lots of actions can be taken with very low or no cost.

Unfortunately, I have seen companies doing surveys and simply don’t use its results to invest in any change. They also don’t give feedback to the employees, and in doing so employees lose faith in the company’s leadership, in HR, and in any future survey tool.

So if you choose to start assessing your company’s health, be sure you are willing to take actions!