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Simple Tips for Lowering Your Benefits Costs by Creating a Healthy Corporate Culture:
For most businesses, employee health benefits are a significant portion of the bottom line.
And, with healthcare reform mandating changes across the board, many business owners are
worried about the future cost of offering health insurance.
While there is nothing to be done about the actual changes, how you run your organization
can make a difference in your overall insurance costs.
A healthier workforce means lower insurance rates for your business.
Here are a few simple ways to cut healthcare costs -- with the added perk of increasing
employee morale in the process.
ONE Provide a wellness program. A 2010 study published in the American Journal of Health
Promotion showed that a steady wellness program is capable of slowing the growth by healthcare
plan costs by 15%.
The scope and size of wellness programs vary greatly, but you don't have to make your program
complicated to make it effective.
Many aspects of successful wellness programs come a little or no cost.
Activities such as health-related lunch & learns and employee contests (think: Biggest Loser)
can educate your staff and serve as excellent team building experiences.
TWO Setting up a wellness page on your internal website is another low cost incentive you
can offer your employees.
Online tools such as calorie trackers and food journals require little or no effort
once they are established, and they encourage users to take ownership of their healthy lifestyles.
THREE Create a wellness committee in conjunction with your new wellness program. If you proactively
involve your team in your wellness program, you will see a greater level of participation
across the board. And, you'll be surprised how many good ideas can come from a collective
discussion about better health.
Four Foster an active and healthy culture in the workplace. Management can encourage
people to be healthy all they want, but without a commitment on the part of leadership, it's
nothing but lip service.
Many companies offer complementary employee exercise time, such as an optional 30 minute
block in addition to the normal break time. If this isn't feasible for your productivity
rates, consider launching a "use the stairway" campaign to encourage people to skip the elevator
and raise their heart rate. Another easy way to help your team live better is to offer
healthier food choices in your organizations cafeterias and vending machines.
FIVE Offer smoking cessation. This option is low-hanging fruit to be sure. It's no secret
that smoking is a financial liability. According to the CDC, smokers cost the United States
approximately $193 billion a year between lost productivity and healthcare expenses.
On-site smoking cessation programs are an excellent way to encourage your employees
to kick the habit. Free cessation kits are available online, and some non-profit groups
offer professional cessation classes free of charge.
Providing employees with the information and tools to adopt healthy behaviors will result
in noticeable payoffs. Being that your workforce is your most valuable asset, an investment
in them is an investment in your business.
To learn how BenefitWerks can help your company or to request a demo of our HR Administration
Software:
Please Call : 866-745-7544 or Visit :www.benefitwerks.com