Return on Investment (ROI) from your corporate health and wellness programs, employee wellness fairs, is most evident when an employee discovers an underlying health problem and takes action to correct it BEFORE it becomes an acute health problem or a chronic illness.
We hear stories all of the time of the busy executive or stressed out employee who receives a blood pressure screening at the office, is encouraged to seek medical attention immediately and arrives at the hospital to find out that they are days away from a heart attack. It is easy to see how this $500 screening just saved the company $150,000 in emergency medical expenses, lost production and long term medical treatment; not to mention the human tragedy.
Beyond the immediate return of not paying for costly medical bills for a tragic and avoidable health crisis is where the majority of your ROI comes from. This is created when you are able to make subtle behavioral changes in your employee’s health.
Healthy behavioral changes often occur in small steps and if they are reinforced over time they can lead to significantly healthier employees. This is where a Full Service Health & Wellness fair comes into play. Here’s how:
An unfavorable reading during a routine medical screening, such as cholesterol/glucose or blood pressure screening, is likely to impinge on your employee(s) and cause them to consider a potential solution. In today’s society, this impingement is often short lived. If you do not offer fast and convenient solutions you are likely to lose an opportunity for your employee to make a healthy behavioral change.
So you need to have the biometric screenings at your event to impinge on your most at risk employees. Then you also need to have local health & wellness professionals at your event so your employees have someone to turn to.
Without having local recourses at your event to offer your employees new and previously unexplored options to choose from they will most likely continue down the same path that lead to their poor health in the first place. This would be unfortunate because what you have basically done is give these employees more stress without giving them the resources that they would need to handle their health situation.
As you can see, employee health and wellness extends beyond a once, or twice, a year health fair. There is no magic pill or treatment that can be offered at an event that will make your employees healthy. A well rounded, well planned and executed health & wellness fair will extend its benefits far beyond your event through local health & wellness exhibitors.
Talk to your Health Fairs Direct representative to start planning an event that will maximize your ROI and create a healthy and energetic employee base.
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Corporate Health and Wellness Programs Increases Productivity
Corporations need to re-invest in their employees’ health & wellbeing during these tough economic times. Many corporations have cut their employee Health and Wellness programs believing they were slashing discretionary spending. Unfortunately for them, good employees are not discretionary and should not be treated that way. In reality, these corporations are cutting the actual programs that are needed the most to guide them through these uncertain times.
Stress levels at corporations have hit historic levels. It does not matter if your company has directly experienced layoffs, pay freezes or spending cuts as many employees have family, friends or neighbors who have been negatively affected by the economy. One only needs to turn on the news to become uncertain about their economic future.
The anxiety is real. We all feel it and our job performances are is being negatively affected by it. Your employees cannot focus on the tasks at hand if they are worrying about the stability of their jobs or the financial difficulties that they have at home. Stress leads to poor job performance which leads to backlogs, missed deadlines and even more stress. Stress also leads to more illnesses and accidents.
The solution is to offer your employees more knowledge so they have the information that they need to make smarter decisions. During economic downturns three industries historically do very well; Alcohol, Tobacco and Cosmetic. This tells you that many of your employees will be turning to ways to avoid their stress by drinking, to escape their stress by taking more smoking “breaks” or to cover up their stress with a more pleasant appearance. Other quick fixes, such as pharmaceuticals, are equally as ineffective because they do not help your employees to develop new coping skills to help them rise to their current challenges.
To help your company make it through, you need to give your employees the tools that they need to actually handle their stress. Encourage your employees to become part of the solution. To become part of a focused, dedicated and hard working team who is determined to make the most of the opportunities that recessions offer.
While other corporations are mired down in the doom and gloom of the recession, your company could be expanding, taking on a larger percentage of market and becoming stronger. The only guarantee of future success and stability during tough economic times is with a healthy and focused work force who is working toward a brighter future. Stress, worry and anxiety are not part of a successful corporation. Healthy, motivated, dedicated and focused employees are.
Health & wellness events, such as health fairs, stress down days and employee pampering days are the most economical ways to show your employees that despite the tough times their company is committed to their success. They offer a level of stability and peace of mind that cannot be created any other way.
Some of the corporations that we have been working with have commented that they are hesitant to run health and wellness events because they do not want their employees to think that they are spending money on frivolous activities when they just had layoffs. This consideration is quickly dismissed when you see that the majority of your employees will be appreciative that their employer still cares enough to invest in their health and wellbeing. After all, your employees are your most valuable asset and you should do everything you can to make them feel appreciated.
Give your employees something positive to focus on. Give them potential solutions to their problems. Reduce their stress and encourage them to become proactive.
Corporate health and wellness programs have a 20 year track record of creating positive return on investment. It may seem counterintuitive, but spending more money on the health & wellbeing of your employees is the best investment you can make during tough economic times.
Be Smart, Be Healthy, Stay Competitive... Have a Health Fair.
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For More Health Fair Ideas
Call 732-563-9749 x0 or email
healthfairdesign@healthfairsdirect.com
Health Fair Direct's corporate offices are located in New Jersey and New York, NY. Most of our health fair, flu shot, employee health program and employee wellness events are in New York City, NJ, CT and other major US cities.