It’s all about the Journey in Health and Wellbeing. Therefore, we will share our key information for an innovative and evidence-based approach to help our clients attract and retain a productive, engaged, and healthy workforce.  

Digital health promises to improve access to health care, change behaviors, and impact the workforce in productivity and health. Because of this, digital health is one of the most far-reaching trends in healthcare. Remote devices monitor weight and blood pressure, as well as blood sugar. It can improve the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Telemedicine solutions are now available to help deliver physical therapy 24/7 in the privacy of your own home, treat earaches, and provide therapy/counseling. 

Because there are thousands of digital health solutions employers must research before adding digital healthcare solutions to their health strategy in their workforce. The digital solutions additions should be combined with a strategy that promotes employee engagement, is consistent with overall organization goals, and is based on employer-specific data.  

It is important to not put the solution before the problem. Order is everything. Start with human capital needs and business issues, then apply a digital health framework to develop specific goals and objectives for a strategy. Having a clear understanding of which workforce issues are impacting your performance as an organization is key. Find how important attraction and retention of talent is to you, as well employee morale and engagement, absence, productivity, and benefit-cost. After that, set your priorities, establish measurable objectives, invest in solutions, develop a plan for engagement of employees and their families, and monitor performance.  

Continuing with the importance of employees and their families, a positive culture can enhance the bottom line and market brand as you position health as a business value. Taking a top-down/bottom-up “sandwich approach” is important as you develop a supportive physical work environment. This will engage employees and build organizational support. Promoting the value of employee well-being by engaging senior leaders empowers management to harness peer-to-peer influence and educate their teammates by establishing a network of workforce health and ambassadors. Providing easy access to resources by leveraging technology to personalize messages make it possible for employees to engage anywhere, anytime.  

The most important measure of the success of a program is how employees perceive it as well as the impact it has on the engagement of employees.  Employers who take a population health and well-being approach should be doing so to enhance all areas of life.  

In the past, many employers look at their Return on Investment (ROI) as their focused workforce health and productivity investments on physical health as the primary outcome metric. Now more employers are focusing on Value on Investment (VOI) to view the impact their investments can have on outcomes in business. This includes criteria such as productivity, attraction/retention, absenteeism, presenteeism, and engagement. 

A more holistic approach with health and well-being programs has expanded the focus on financial, social, and emotional health as well as organizational culture. A study done recently has found that employees who thrive socially, financially, physically, and emotionally have 35% lower turnover, 40% lower health care costs, and 31% higher productivity. 

 “This content is strictly informational and should not be used as specific advice on insurance products, legal, accounting, and/or tax-related matters. Insureds should always contact the appropriate licensed professional for their insurance, legal, accounting or tax needs.” B&B