Health care is changing fast and HR executives across Oregon are wondering if their company’s plan is keeping pace. On August 17th, TAO hosted the second of three summer webinars to help HR practitioners to make decisions about their employees’ health plan.
Over the hour-long webinar – Innovation and Its Impact in Creating a New World of Healthcare – two guest speakers shared their insights from unique perspectives. Katy Cassel, Total Rewards Manager at Jama Software served as the moderator, helping to guide the conversation.
Katy began with how much healthcare and innovation has changed in the past few years, especially noting the challenge of increasing digital access to wellness without compromising privacy.
Brian Berchtold, the VP of Sales & Marketing for Hubbub Health, an online and mobile wellness solution for employers brought an interesting perspective as he summarized the new trend of rethinking what wellness actually is. Having a more holistic approach at wellness is becoming more and more popular, as teams look at less tangible triggers vs. in the past. Family time, increasing energy, improving mental health or happiness are some of the examples where numbers around weight or diet are becoming more limited.
He offered several different ways to measure the impact of wellness within an organization. One of the leading examples for companies to consider is platforms or processes that unite employees, despite differences in age, location or role within the company.
Renae Coombs, Benefits, Wellness and Compensation Manager at SAIF Corporation played off of Brian’s recommendations by introducing the simple, yet sometimes unique concept of how wellness can be driven by company culture. Developing simple tactics like encouraging small networks around healthy activities creates an environment where employees shift from personal goals to collaborative support. The low cost of promoting camaraderie around exercise or similar hobbies is worth the time investment spent. While costs and scalability around programs can sometimes seem daunting, Renae encourages flexibility across departments and locations. Trying a one-size fits all benefit for all employees can be challenging, so being open to testing the waters among different areas of the business should be embraced
If you missed the webinar and are interested in these topics, a recording is available to TAO members. Email our Membership Manager, Armando Yaws-Gonzalez for a link. Not sure if your company is a member of TAO? He will also have the answer!
