Quality management has always been a measure of success for a business. Business are looking for ways to engage their employees so they will participate in quality measures and provide better profits. Communication with employee gives the business a chance to connect the everyday quality of work with consumer satisfaction. Employees are communicating what makes a different in their workday.
Employees are looking for businesses with wellness benefits. Providing employees with wellness benefits with a corporate wellness program has been shown to increase engagement in the workforce. Employees feel cared for by their employer and may stay longer than those without a wellness program. Employees have reported 48% fewer safety incidents, 41% fewer patient safety issues, and 41% fewer defects. The benefit for the employer may be in the profit margins at the end of the year.
Up to 75% of businesses are now offering some type of wellness program. Weight loss and smoking cessation have been the focus to cut health care cost. The problem is that businesses have a hard time showing a return on their investment with prevention programs. The cost of a wellness program may be $175 per employee per year, but the cost of preventing a $100,000 medical occurrence is harder to show. Employees that participate in wellness programs are more engaged with less sick days.
A quality wellness program is one with tracking tools. The employee can be engaged with simple online tools to track their progress and find relevant health information. Steps to engage the employee into programs with the results of their biometric screenings actually focus on methods to reduce their chronic disease. Employees with high blood pressure or high blood sugar that participate in quality health management programs have been shown to reduce their progression of disease.
Health management programs have several types of administrators. The program administrators with experience in chronic disease management are able to engage employees into individuals programs that work. Health coaches providing services should have a strong background in chronic disease management, with an understanding of medications, nutrition for specific diseases, and physical activity.
Advanced practice nurses, such as Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialist, have the Master’s degree background and years of experience to provide quality wellness programs. Their background in medication, nutrition for specific diseases, and physical activity provides essential wellness services. Compare this to a certified wellness coach that may only have a year or two of experience and has taken an entry level course with an exam. Certified wellness coaches may or may not have understanding of essential elements of disease management.
Providing a quality wellness program to reduce health care cost may be difficult to show a return on investment. Other variables should be tracked to show employees are happy and engaged. Retention tools to recruit and retain engaged employees make a difference to year end profits. This competitive advantage takes a business to the next level of success while keeping talented employees.
Mary Ann Wietbrock RN MSN ACNS-BC CMC
Holistic Wellness Consultant at Cardinal Elements Inc
Mary Ann is a Registered Nurse (RN) with a Master’s Degree (MSN) as an Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Board Certified (BC), with a Cardiac Medical Certification (CMC). She can be contacted at www.cardinalelements.com. She helps businesses develop individualized wellness programs and provides full service onsite corporate wellness programs.
References
By Sharon Florentine CIO.com
https://hbr.org/2013/07/employee-engagement-does-more/
Harvard Business Review
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