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The inability to clearly demonstrate the return on investment in wellness programmes prevents many companies from taking that first step, Andrew Heard tells Masoom Gupte
What are the key trends observed by the 'Towers Watson Health & Productivity Report 2011-12' with regard to the Indian market? Are these trends different in other APAC markets?
Employers understand the urgency of addressing health and productivity issues: 72 per cent of the respondents to the survey view it as priority. Programmes, on the other hand, are still playing catch up as the majority of companies have only one or two programmes in place - health checkups and employee assistance programmes. The logical inference is that employers have a vision for health and wellness, but lack a plan to achieve it. This is true given the rising concern about stress. Compared to the US, employers in India rated nearly every source of stress as higher for their employees. However, only 25 per cent of the employers have taken action.
As compared to the APAC region, India stands out in two programme areas: The prevalence of stress/resilience and lifestyle coaching programmes in India is nearly double that for Asia Pacific: 39 per cent versus 19 per cent and 33 per cent versus 16 per cent, respectively. From our experience, this may be the result of a greater availability of local vendors in these areas.
What are the challenges Indian companies face with regard to rolling out health and wellness benefits? Does the fact that India has a young workforce require companies to rework their approach?
A challenge that persists is building and sustaining engagement. Our research shows that the top five programmes offered by employers are on an average used by less than 50 per cent of the employees. Reaching out to the young workforce means moving beyond one-way communication, which still is the most dominant tactic used by 81 per cent of employers in India.
Organisations should also look to customise their health programmes in line with the risk profile of the employee population. Leading employers are integrating new media and social networking tactics: 20-30 per cent of employers use testimonials and personal stories and games to create excitement about their initiatives.
Another obstacle is the quality and credibility of vendors. Few organisations initiate steps to improve vendor performance and accountability. Measuring the impact to understand what works and what doesn't is critical for the successful continuation of any health programme. Many organisations collect lagging indicators like outpatient and hospitalisation claims, but few also track indicators like employee satisfaction, and behaviour changes.
While the conversation around health and wellness benefits is picking up, is there any data on whether the presence (or absence) of such benefits in a prospective workplace can swing an employee's decision while considering a job offer?
The insights from our Global Workforce Study show that health and wellness benefits are an important mechanism in Asia, ranking among the top five reasons why an employee would join a company. It stands at 23 per cent for Asian respondents compared to 20 per cent globally. In India, it ranks as an important retention driver with 18 per cent employees considering it among the top five reasons to stay at their organisation, which is above the global average.
Most companies stop at health insurance. How can companies make wellness a priority area?
A hurdle that stops many companies from adding the "wellness" part is not knowing where to begin. Making health and wellness an ongoing priority requires taking a step back and understanding the current state. In an example of a client who used this approach, data from Health Risk Assessment and Towers Watson research were studied to highlight significant opportunity areas. While self-care (such as going for recommended preventative exams) was high risk for only a quarter of the employees, data also shows interventions to improve self-care have a high rate of success (74 per cent are able to improve their status within a year on an average).
Obtaining a buy-in from senior leadership is another critical step in going beyond basic health benefits and ensuring a long-term commitment to a comprehensive health and wellness programmes.
The inability to clearly demonstrate the return on investment in wellness programmes prevents many companies from taking that first step.
Wellness programmes are looked at by companies as key investments for their employees. How does one measure the return on this investment?
Before setting out to measure the ROI, a long-term measurement, companies must first accurately capture the short- to mid-term indicators of their programme's effectiveness. At the most basic level, something that is often overlooked, is maintaining accurate data on employee participation and satisfaction.
Moving to outcomes, short-term metrics include attitudes about health, behavioural and lifestyle changes, while mid-term results are reflected in clinical markers and disease prevalence. Lastly, the long-term impacts are measured by the changes in the utilisation of healthcare services and ultimately business outcomes such as cost savings, engagement and productivity, which when divided by cost provides the ROI calculation. Especially in the first two years, keeping a close watch on the short- and mid-term metrics is the best means to identify programmes that are working and in achieving longer-term success.
Healthy practice
- Heard, with an educational background spanning business administration to psychology, retirement management to financial planning, has worked in the benefit (health & wellness-based) consulting for more than 25 years
- Heard has worked with both government and corporate clients in APAC, the US and the UK. His stints have taken him from the insurance sector to investment, before ensconcing in the world of consulting
- Prior to this, Heard worked with the Mellon Group, first as the principal of Buck Consultants and MD of Buck's Asian operation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group, and then as the head of Mellon HR and investor solutions in Asia
