Wellness Programs Improve Your Bottom Line

In the face of rapidly rising health care costs, companies are coming up with innovative ways to lower their insurance costs while improving their employees' health.

One such company is Lincoln Plating of Lincoln, Nebraska, a metal finishing company with 485 employees at three U.S. sites. Lincoln Plating takes employee health and wellness seriously, as evidenced in its mission statement: "Wellness and healthy lifestyles are important to our success."

"The investment we've made in wellness has paid off with lower turnover, lower absenteeism, higher quality, lower costs, and most importantly, a happier company," says Lincoln Plating Chairman and CEO Marc LeBaron. LeBaron estimates that the company has cut health care costs to 50% below the national average and has reduced workers' comp costs to less than 1% of the total payroll.

Lincoln Plating hosts regular health education seminars and job-specific safety training programs. It is proud of its status as a tobacco-free campus and provides free on-site, on-the-clock tobacco cessation programs and individual coaching for employees and their spouses by a certified tobacco cessation specialist. It also provides health reimbursement accounts with credits for being tobacco free.

The company endorses a body, mind, spirit approach and has a full-time wellness manager. The wellness staff conducts personal wellness profiles and health culture audits that examine employees' personal habits and the workplace culture that influences their physical and emotional well-being. Wellness mentors encourage and counsel employees.

To get their employees moving, Lincoln Plating provides them with free pedometers so that they can "mark their miles" and track their daily steps. The company also provides financial incentives including gym membership reimbursement and Wellbucks, a $40 cash incentive to participate in certain wellness programs.

The centerpiece of the company's wellness program is Go Platinum, which was launched in 2004. Employees earn points for taking steps to improve their health. These include quarterly health screenings, participation in health risk appraisals, and annual blood profiles. By completing all the steps, employees are eligible for a platinum, gold, silver, or bronze medal. Platinum medalists earn an opportunity to climb a 14,000-foot mountain in Colorado.

What Your Company Can Do to Improve Employee Health

• Start a wellness program. Even a singularly focused program, such as a fitness, smoking cessation, or a stress reduction program, can improve employee absenteeism and overall productivity. Start small and build up.
• Provide support. Show your commitment and lead the way by participating in the programs. LeBaron and Lincoln Plating senior managers regularly participate in the company's "wellness outings," such as nature walks.
• Recognize progress. Financial incentives or other forms of recognition are always appreciated. Lincoln Plating names "departmental wellness champions" and recognizes them with a "Night of Champions" event.

Lincoln Plating's health care strategies and that of 14 other Chamber member companies will be profiled in a new publication, Leading by Example, being developed by the U.S. Chamber and the Partnership for Prevention. The publication, due out later this spring, will highlight a variety of workplace wellness and prevention programs that can be implemented by companies of all sizes.

Leading by Example has earned kudos from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. Speaking at a recent Chamber event, Leavitt praised the U.S. Chamber and the Partnership for Prevention for showing the link between healthy employees and healthy companies. "It's just the thing we need," said Leavitt.