A fast search of studies, surveys and white papers reveals interesting trends regarding business leaders’ opinion of barriers to business growth and organizational health culture. Increasing evidence puts employee health in perspective along with other business growth barriers or concerns about health culture. The perspective is whether or not to do something about the expense and how to do something. Here are 3 easy steps to challenge your status quo and ultimately mold health culture to your business strategy.

Stop convinced that health culture is simply another advantage you cannot afford to act on
Observe the employees and business habits: Don’t analyze until you’re paralyzed.
Measure something: don’t waste time and energy deciding how to start.

1. An insurance broker once opined, “Wouldn’t the investment in human capital be looked at Medical health insurance? Perhaps salaries and other benefits as well.” Whether you choose to believe the empirical evidence, anecdotal evidence or both, the truth is the direct and indirect expenses associated with employee health are trending higher each year at an accelerated rate. Those costs include premium rates, workers comp rates, lost time because of injuries, sluggish sales team, absenteeism, presenteeism, employee errors, and many more. As business leaders continue to look for methods to create value within their organizations health culture and the associated benefits are increasingly incorporated into the overall business strategy.

To further illustrate poor health culture as a barrier to business growth by viewing it as being just another benefit, in a recent report, Deloitte, LLP reported that senior executives surveyed, identified health costs like a greater barrier to business growth than taxes. Not surprising considering the findings from Nationwide Better Health insurance and the FDA Department of Health and Human Services. Their combined report indentified a trend that health costs will surpass wages by 2032. That means that countless organizations, currently run by senior executives and business people, will eventually be repaying more for his or her grandchildren’s associated health costs (when they become wage earners) compared to what they will for their wages. However, if you do nothing, a minimum of you don’t have to worry about spending anything around the problem.

2. Not doing anything may also result from paralysis by analysis. However, you don’t have to pour over mountains of numbers and data to understand that you’ve a problem at your organization. All you have to do is browse around. Perform some observing. You would like the employees to become healthier? Consider these 5 quick observations. What’s in your vending machines? What food have you got for meetings or lunches? Do your employees go for a walk / run at lunch? Are your employee workstations ergonomically appropriate? If you want to hire someone to evaluate your organizational health culture as part of your overall business strategy, you will find reputable companies available in the US and internationally.

3. One of the greatest mistakes to implementing an agenda would be to fail to benchmark or measure something. How do you know in case your company is succeeding? You utilize your personal set of metrics, right? (i.e., sales revenue, quality control, customer support, etc.) Your wellbeing culture is certainly no exception. Discover where your greatest pain or barrier to growth or sustainability is and benchmark it? Then implement a wellness solution plan and re-evaluate in a predetermined timeline. While you are deciding what to measure, don’t try to reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to when searching for programs to implement?

I suggest hiring a vendor with a innovative platform that’s in a position to coordinate the local resources to free up your time and energy, to help you concentrate on other business matters. In three separate surveys from Willis Group Holdings, OptumHealth and CGR, asking business leaders exactly what the biggest barriers would implementing wellness initiatives or employee participation, the best area of responses went to time, energy and cost. You’d also do your tremendous benefit if you had a vendor that also gives you a game title changing tool that automates the communication process to implement your required programs.

Nowadays Internship program for the business requires clear objectives, a good plan and disciplined oversight to operate smoothly. Intern recruiting starts as early as February – better to approach a nearby school where your firm already includes a relationship or in which a curriculum matches your organization’s needs.

Both student and the business have shared objectives and expectations – both seek an effective experience and also the chance to learn valuable skills. Internship programs have always been a great resource of talent for firms and opportunities for college students. It starts with defining the reason and impact of the internship in your business.

Essentials for building a successful Internship Program:

Establish a definite objective (i.e. Improve or update the firm’s prospect files or expand the firm’s Social media reach)

Assign a title (i.e., Sales Intern, Account Executive Intern, Marketing Intern, etc.)

Align the Intern to 2 individuals: One should function as the direct reporting manager and the other individual should be a mentor (for the best results make sure the mentor has the same area of subject matter expertise)

Map out a Training Plan: The intern will need formal orientation to your business PLUS subject material or product training. You can blend the training schedule with an increasing amount of work responsibilities. Training must be measurable. While department round robins appear to be a great idea in writing, to be successful they need to link in assignments and follow up.

Empower the Intern to affect the Organization: Plan in advance. As this is a college student, minimize the clerical duties. Select meaningful projects and assignments which will bring value for your organization. Examples might include social networking postings or content creation for newsletters; workflow analysis and updates; procedure guides for specific positions; identify and centralize key forms on the shared drive for use by others in the organization, etc.

Supervise the Intern: Start the week having a clear plan and goals. End a few days with summary and feedback including positive achievements and encouragement for further growth. Anticipate to increase responsibilities for that Intern if they are performing at a top-level. If the Intern appears to be achieving all assignments above average and fits within the company’s culture, make sure to discuss full time/future employment before their assignment ends.

Try to make the internship a victory for both the student and your business. For those who have recruited well and made a successful internship program, the success will lead to full-time job offers and hires which will carry an instantaneous impact on your firm.