How To Go About It
The Health and Productivity Framework uses a thorough common-sense methodology that will allow you to: Assess your situation Identify gaps between the current state and smart practices Plan and prioritize the actions you can take Measure the results With the help of tools based on Watson Wyatt research and expertise in this field, and developed specifically for Health and Productivity initiatives, an initial assessment of your organization’s practices can be performed very quickly, through a series of targeted interviews. The resulting summary analysis will provide an excellent snapshot view of health and productivity issues in your organization, as compared to a smart practice scale. Productive Engagement measures organizational practices that contribute to a successful workplace. Workforce Health measures the effectiveness of group health care practices.

Once the strengths and improvement levers of your organizational health and workforce health practices have been identified, your results can be positioned on the Health and Productivity Matrix. You will then be prepared to develop a high-value course of action in cooperation with your Watson Wyatt consultant. Your organization can choose its level of involvement in the process, and Watson Wyatt consultants are prepared to work as advisors, partners or as a fully external resource.

Going From Lag to Lead

Metrics that speak before the problems do. Typically, measurement relating to health and productivity consists mostly of lag indicators. For example, you may measure absence, disability and turnover rates and costs, but this information is not particularly helpful in finding ways to prevent future escalation. A Health and Productivity assessment identifies lead indicators such as employee engagement, EAP and health service utilization rates, drug consumption rates, and levels and causes of presenteeism. This knowledge will allow you to act on the root causes of problems.

Working in sync. Typically, health and productivity is affected by the practices of different departments, each with its own objectives. For example, there may be pressure from Finance to redesign health care coverage to better control benefit costs, but HR needs to actively promote the attractiveness of benefits within the total compensation package to attract top talent from competitors. Uncoordinated, such actions can work against each other and have long-term consequences on your business. A Health and Productivity assessment will help you pinpoint the practices that need to be coordinated efficiently to achieve the best results for the organization.

What You Can Expect To Gain

The Health and Productivity Framework can help you see more clearly which issues are interrelated and how to prioritize your actions to get the best results. Through targeted intervention, you can expect outcomes such as:

• Reduced benefit costs related to absences and disabilities
• Lower turnover rates, overtime expenses, and replacement and recruitment costs
• Improved employee health, satisfaction and productivity
• Better attraction and retention, and recognition as an employer of choice
• Increased shareholder value

By cultivating smart organizational and workforce health practices, you can positively influence
business results.