Spring has officially sprung in the Northern Hemisphere, which is welcome news to those of you living and working in colder climates. Although I escaped Minnesota winters when I moved to California a few years ago, I celebrate with many of you the return to longer daylight hours, the return of cherry blossoms, and the great outdoors enticing me to get outside and move more often. The change of seasons also brings for HERO many different transitions. As you’ll see in this month’s briefing, we’ve brought significant closure to many projects including publication of a collaborative consensus paper that responds EEOC proposed regulations and the release of HERO’s final report to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on developing culture of health metrics. We’ve also intensified our focus on preparations for the July 19th Research Meeting in Bloomington, Minnesota and for our annual HERO Forum, which will take place in September in Atlanta, Georgia. Read on for more information on these and other upcoming events as well as links to articles from HERO staff, from our HERO members, and other sources we felt merited your attention. In particular, we call your attention to a timely article by HERO Board member Ron Goetzel and collaborator Hector De La Torre on how to design “wellness programs that work” as well as a recent New York Times article that features numerous HERO member organizations such as Google, IBM, Zipongo, and Virgin Pulse, among others. And if you fancy it, take your reading outdoors to enjoy the energizing delight of spring.
HERO Research Meeting
Join HERO and our special guest presenters at the annual HERO Research Meeting on July 19th in Bloomington, MN. This HERO members gathering–including top thought leaders, industry innovators, and experienced managers from best practice companies–features an intimate, small group format to discuss emerging research in the workplace health and well-being field and inform HERO’s research agenda for 2017. This full-day meeting will be held at the Hilton Minneapolis/Bloomington hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Learn more and register today!
HERO Forum
Remember – HERO Award nominations are due by 4/30/2016. You still have until the end of April to submit nominations for the HERO Leadership Awards to recognize commitment to the field and practice of workplace health and well-being. It’s not too late to apply for any of these four awards: The Bill Whitmer Leadership Award, The Mark Dundon Research Award, The Jerry Noyce Executive Health Champion Award, and The Heart of HERO Award. Don’t delay, visit the HERO website before 4/30/2016 to learn more about the awards and to submit a nomination for a mentor, a colleague, or a leader you feel merits recognition.
On a related note, the 2016 HERO Forum will be in Atlanta, GA, September 27-29. Learn more and register today here.
FitBit Webinar
Join me on April 20th at 1:00 CST for a webinar presentation by myself and Amanda Natividad of FitBit on the VOI and ROI of wellness.
FitBit Captivate Conference
If you’re in San Francisco June 7-9, 2016, you can catch up with me and other industry experts, such as HERO member Target Corporation, at the Fitbit Captivate Summit. Check out the Fitbit website for more information or to register.
Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference
If you’re in Orlando April 27-29, 2016, you can catch up with Paul Terry, myself, HERO Board members– including Ron Goetzel, David Anderson, David Ballard—and many other industry experts, at the 26th Annual Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference. Check out the ASHP website to check out the presentation schedule and plan your session schedule.
Recent Wednesday Webinars with HERO
Have you missed out on recent Wednesday Webinars? On March 30th, we featured Dee Edington and Jennifer Pitts of Edington Associates, LLC, who discussed their new book, “Shared Values, Shared Results.” Then, on April 13th, we featured Jason Langheier of Zipongo.
HERO members can view recordings of these webinars in our Resource Center. Not a member yet? Don’t worry! We’ve recapped these webinars on our HERO blog to give you a glimpse into what we discussed with our guests.
The American Journal of Health Promotion and The Art of Health Promotion “Food Issue”
In late March, The American Journal of Health Promotion hosted a webinar for The Art of Health Promotion on nutrition. Hear Paul Terry and panelists discuss the recent journal issue about the impact of nutrition on health.
EEOC Policy Paper Published in March Issue of JOEM
HERO formed a collaborative workgroup to identify areas of consensus in response to proposed EEOC, ADA and GINA regulations on employer-sponsored health, safety and well-being initiatives, which included a review of existing and proposed regulations as well as identification of key areas where consensus is needed. You can access the article here.
“Developing Culture of Health Metrics That Really Matter to Companies and Communities”
HERO has released the final report on developing culture of health metrics to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. You can access the PDF report here.
Research Study Subcommittee – Industry Research Review
The influence of organizational culture is considered an important determinant of the success of health and well-being programs, yet few research studies exist to inform our understanding about how to change an organization’s culture to be more supportive of employee health and well-being. Dr. Colleen Saringer from Alliant Employee Benefits highlights in her industry research review how we can leverage a recently published case study to inform our culture of health initiatives.
“Well-Being and the Next Industrial Revolution”
HERO president & CEO, Paul Terry, recently attended The Clinton Foundation Health Matters Summit. Read his summary of the event here.
“Expanding the Value Proposition for Employee Health and Well-being”
Earlier this year, three separate but related studies were published that demonstrate a correlation between a company’s approach to employee health and well-being and their corporate stock performance. One of those studies was conducted by the Health Enhancement Research Organization and an article I wrote about the studies was featured by the the Institute for HealthCare Consumerism.
“How to Design a Corporate Wellness Plan That Actually Works”
HERO Board of Directors Chair, Ron Goetzel, and Hector De La Torre published an article about designing functional wellness programs in the Harvard Business Review. Tapping the tenets of adult learning theory, it offers practical yet evidence-based advice on what to do and what not to do when it comes to influencing population health and well-being as well as an organizational culture of health. You can read it here.
HERO Member Organizations Featured in New York Times Article
HERO member organizations are often featured as subject matter experts and leading innovators when it comes to advancing the health and well-being of their employees. A recent New York Times article features numerous HERO members such as Zipongo, Google, IBM, Virgin Pulse and others for their efforts to make healthy eating choices the easiest and most convenient choices by leveraging environmental supports and emerging technology. Access the full article here.
“Economic Opportunity + a National Culture of Health: Did You Miss a Game-Changer?”
Build Healthy Places Network has a recap for us on speeches from Risa Lavizzo-Mourey of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and John C. Williams of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco who switched roles to discuss finance and health, respectively. You can read the article here.
“Should Companies Invest in a Chief Health Officer?”
Health Insurance Companion published an article about why wellness initiatives matter to shareholders. Read the full article here.
With longer daylight hours returning, my spouse and I have started a regular habit of a walk to a local park and back at the end of each workday. While we catch one another up on events of the day and add steps to our fitness trackers, we marvel at each discovery of new flowers blooming and the return of songbirds that flew south for the winter. One of our springtime favorites is the return of magnolia blossoms! Whatever your favorite harbinger of spring may be, I urge you to take a few moments to pause, savor, and celebrate it.