Say This…

"Ultimately the rise in health care cost affects you as much or more than it affects the company"

Over the last 10 years, the United States Economy has seen 27 percent inflation. This means that if you had $1.00 in the year 2000, you would need $1.27 to purchase the same thing in 2010. Over the same period of time, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, insurance premiums have increased by 114 percent. This difference has been referred to as the health care affordability gap. This gap has caused businesses to examine different ways to offset some of the pain of the ever-increasing insurance burden. Organizations have increased employee contributions (we'll get to that shortly), raised deductibles, increased co-pays and chosen lower quality plans. Still, no matter what measures they take to lessen the impact, insurance premiums have increased 87 percent when adjusted for inflation (114 to 27 percent).

While the affordability gap has been drastic for businesses, the employee has actually taken a heavier burden of the health care cost increases. Over the same 10 year period, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average worker contribution has increased by 147 percent; an inflation adjusted increase of 120 percent.

You see, this isn't just a problem for business. Employees need to know that they should care about this issue because like the inflated cost of gas for their cars, insurance costs are eating into their budget more than ever.

Not That…

"The company can change our health costs, you can't"

This idea closely mirrors the first idea that you do want to communicate to your employees and you can see how it is a fine line you walk with successful communication campaigns. This fact is exactly that, a truthful statement. When you go out of your way to remind the employee that your decisions, while best for the company, have a negative consequence to them, it proves divisive. This communication can lead them to ask questions such as "If you do care about me and my health, then why are you not making decisions with my best interest in mind?"

You are making the best decision and you do have their best interest in mind. You just need to communicate all of the positive aspects of your wellness initiatives and always phrase things in terms of "us." Don't communicate anything the employee is relinquishing as a positive to the organization or a choice that was consciously made with their outcome in mind.

Say This…

"Your health and health care choices drive our health care costs"

There are many factors contributing to increased health care costs. Some, such as an aging population are inevitable and irreversible. Other factors are controllable decisions that people make every day. These include choices such as maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking and making conscious decisions of how to "spend your health care dollar." Employees need to realize there is a direct correlation between their health risks, the claims they incur and the insurance premiums that are then offered by the health insurers. The problem with this is that many employees don't have the information that they need or the education to make the best decisions and impact these numbers.

Employers need to provide education as to how to make smart choices with their health plan. Some are providing this education in conjunction with consumer-driven health options. Most though, are either not doing enough to educate their employees, or are providing information that is confusing or hard to use. There are services that can show employees where they can go for a combination of the best care for the least money. Combined with incentives to use the service, this message can show employees how to be smart consumers. 

The second level of help that employees need is programs designed to maintain or improve their health. Everyone knows smoking and obesity are bad for your health. If the information alone changed behavior, we'd have a perfectly healthy population. Employers need to focus more on providing the means and motivation within their plan design to empower their employees to be healthy. Programs like smoking cessation, "Biggest Loser" contests and walking challenges have shown a positive return on investment.

Not That…

"Get healthy, you're costing us money"

Company profits can be a motivating factor to an individual, but most times it's not at the top of their list of factors that drive their performance on a daily basis. Unless there is a very clear profit sharing plan or the employee is a part-owner of the company, the relationship of profit to their benefit is foggy at best. If there is no certain short-term gain to be had by the individual, this statement positioned this way can only lead them to derive one conclusion; the company is telling me what to do (and in some cases how to do it) so that they can better line their pockets. In a down economy, this message doesn't resonate with employees.

A theme similar to this is growing in popularity within the wellness industry. In wellness people often refer to the proverbial carrot and the stick. The carrot has long been used to encourage participation in wellness programs and is generally the preferred method of human resource professionals. Studies show that the use of the stick is growing very quickly in popularity. According to the Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health Staying@work Study, the use of penalties to drive wellness participation or outcomes is expected to double in the next year, from 19 percent to 38 percent. While it can be argued that this trend is necessary to see results, companies need to keep in mind the end goal of having an employee that they can work with on their objectives. A penalty can be offered and communicated in a positive manner or have a very blunt, negative undertone. Being careful about how the message is offered up can pay huge dividends.

Say This…

"We would like to help you make smart healthy choices, and we'd like you to help each other as well"

This concept is key. Employees need to know that their employer cares about them and that this is going to have to be a team effort if they are going to curb the rise of heath care premiums. No one will be able to accomplish this themselves. The employer needs to support their employees. This may take the form of policy shifts, open mindedness to suggestions, senior management support, incentive offerings or other manners that suit your specific culture.

Likewise, the employees have to support the organization. They can join a wellness committee, champion the programs, be vocal in the support of programs or even just provide a positive attitude at wellness events. Finally, as in any successful work environment, you have to have support from your peers. This will make the programs more engaging, motivational and make it generally easier to accomplish your goals.

Not That…

"Health care is a benefit, not an obligation"

Like the previous statement, this is true…but that doesn't mean that your employees want to be reminded of it. This can be looked at like someone constantly reminding a smoker that it is bad for their health. Or like your boss telling you they make more money than you. Or if your neighbor told you that their house is bigger than yours.

All of these statements may very well be true, but are totally unnecessary to be pointed out. It's obvious and even if it's not, it will be appreciated much less if it is rubbed in the employee's face.

Another way to think about this is if you got a great birthday present from a family member only to be reminded how great the gift was at every holiday. After a while you'd wish they never gave it to you in the first place.

If you feel like you must communicate the value of your benefits, you can do so in a more tactful way. Provide total compensation reviews for your employees or share with them the total insurance package when you roll out premium increases at open enrollment.