Flying Blind? Health Risk Assessments Steer to the Right Wellness Programs

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Sure, you’re offering programs aimed at keeping employees healthy and productive while controlling costs. But leading-edge companies know that without Health Risk Assessments (HRAs), they’re flying blind. HRAs help employers design the right wellness programs and motivate employees to engage. Employees take the HRA, a questionnaire, usually after they have received their biometric screening results (cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose). They’re asked questions about their medical status and habits. Employees learn—often for the first time—what [...] Read more »

What Is the Right Incentive to Activate My Employees?

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How can I get my employees to engage in the wellness programs my company offers? That’s the $64,000 (at least) question—and that’s why we’re big on employee activation. The most common and most effective way to motivate your employees is to offer an incentive—but not just any incentive. What type of incentive makes the most sense, given your company culture and budget? Possible wellness incentives include: Extra Paid Day Off, HSA, FSA, HRA Contribution, Premium [...] Read more »

Frenkel Employees Act to Bring Their Ages Down!

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Frenkel recently kicked off our 2012 Smarter Choices Wellness Program with two successful health and wellness fairs that launched our new health risk assessment (HRA) tool, AgeGage. AgeGage includes virtual coaches, educational videos, and health calculators but goes beyond the usual. In addition, it takes the HRA results that discuss risk and puts a tangible number to them. If I’m 40, rarely exercise, and eat poorly, my AgeGage might tell me that my body’s age is actually ten years older: 50!—an alarming [...] Read more »

Wellness Programs: A Big Idea? Start Small

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Employers are starting to realize that wellness programs and employee activation are the key to controlling healthcare costs. Flu shots, weight loss, and smoking cessation programs are increasingly common, even among smaller companies. So, how does the human resource manager take the next step and begin to activate employees? Taking that next step does not necessitate a big idea.Instead, incorporate small activities that motivate employees to participate in your existing program. Simple events can help grow [...] Read more »

The Fruit Went First

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Here at Frenkel, before we started our wellness program, “Smarter Choices,” Frenkel employees brought their usual eating habits to the table, literally.  When food was purchased for meetings or for office celebrations, it was mostly junk food–pizza, cake, bagels, and pastries–and complaints were rare. We’re now a couple years into the program, so we ask ourselves, like any employer would, are Frenkel employees actually making Smarter Choices? If so, how do we measure that change? [...] Read more »