Health is but a role player in well-being. What are the greatest drivers of well-being and how will employers exert leadership in these other vital domains? This month’s HERO Brief catches you up on research, events and readings that get the conversation started on how health and well-being initiatives fit alongside the growing national interest in holding companies accountable for the “triple aims” of people, environmental and financial performance. We need our best minds to tackle these topics, so I urge you to register now for our Research Meeting this July 19th in Minneapolis on “Pursuing Well-being and the Big How.” You’ll see I also call for you to start thinking about our Fall Think Tank on Sustainability; call for your input on “Culture Case Studies;” call for “Well-being in all Policies;” call for HERO Board Nominations; and call on you to watch our webinars and read our research reviews to keep you current on everything from Champion networks to the Penultimate Culture Study. That’s a lot of calling! I’ll look forward to your brilliant answers. Speaking of brilliant, read on also to see who won Prevention Partners’ “Excellence in Prevention” Award and Harvard’s “Excellence in Teaching” Award.
Join Us in Minneapolis on July 19th to Discuss Well-Being and Research
Join HERO and our special guest presenters at the annual HERO Research Meeting on July 19th in Bloomington, MN as we discuss “Pursuing Well-Being and the Big How.” This annual 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 year’s focus will be on how HERO pursues the research priorities our members are most interested in, particularly around the topic of well-being.
Our discounted room rates are limited and will end soon! Learn more and register today!
HERO Forum
The 2016 HERO Forum on Leading in Well-Being: Workplaces Influencing the Health of Employees, Families & Communities will be in Atlanta, GA, September 27-29, at the Loews Atlanta Hotel.
Learn more and register today!
Seeking Companies for Healthy Culture Case Studies
HERO, in collaboration with workplace wellness experts, is seeking companies from a variety of industries, business types and sizes to participate in a case study project. These case studies will focus on employers who have developed and actively fostered a healthy culture in the workplace; one that is intentionally designed with elements and indicators that support employee health and well-being. The HERO Culture of Health Study Committee is leading this work.
In late May, the committee sent a brief survey to HERO members to generate interest as a kick-off to the process. Here is the survey link as a reminder for you to complete the information on your company; or if you are a provider, work with your select clients that you believe would like to be a part of the process. For more information, contact the study project coordinator, Jessica Grossmeier at jessica.grossmeier@hero-health.org.
Jessica Grossmeier Speaking at the 41st Annual National Wellness Conference
HERO’s Vice President of Research, Jessica Grossmeier, will be speaking at the National Wellness Conference June 27-29 in St. Paul, MN. Her presentation will be part of the Worksite Academy and is titled “Key Drivers of Sustainability for Workplace Wellness.” Jessica’s presentation will be on June 27th, and you can learn more here.
Call for HERO Board Member Nominations
The HERO Board provides the leadership, oversight, strategic direction setting and passionate advocacy that all HERO members depend upon for our membership-led organization to be successful. We will be filling four vacating Board seats in 2017 and our Board’s Nominating Committee invites you to consider nominating yourself or someone else you consider to be a strong candidate as a Board member. We are committed to fielding a diverse slate of candidates who are closely aligned with HERO’s mission and able to make the considerable commitment of time and talent we need to move HERO forward as a leader in health and well-being for employees, families and communities.
The Nominating Committee has reviewed our Board’s strengths and needs for the coming years and we will be looking, in particular, for candidates with the below qualifications.
- Expertise in health policy and technology that advances health and well-being.
- We are also focused on candidates who work at corporations considered innovators in advancing health and well-being.
- Non-profit organization representatives will also be considered as will individuals who represent the voice of the employee.
- Human resources and finance experts will also be given special consideration.
Commitment level:
Candidates need to be able to commit to six board meetings per year. Four are telephonic and two in person (lodging is reimbursed). Board members also serve on Board Subcommittees that meet three to six times per year. Board members are expected to be actively involved in HERO activities and be ambassadors of our mission.
Please contact Paul Terry, HERO president & CEO, if you are interested in being considered for a HERO Board seat: paul.terry@hero-health.org.
Thank you for your consideration of this exciting leadership role. We consider the HERO Board a unique and valuable platform for being of service to the needs of our members and the health and well-being of the nation.
Nominating Committee: Seth Serxner, Chair; Betty Jo Saenz, ADT; Paul Terry, HERO; Laurie Whitsel, AHA; Susan Willette, AON; Lilly Wyttenbach, JPMorgan
Call for Ideas on HERO’s “Sustainability” Think Tank this September
Are shareholders increasingly holding business leaders accountable for a “Triple Bottom Line?” Can health and well-being initiatives play an integral part in achieving an organization’s sustainability aims? Have you put the “people” metrics in place that allow your company leaders to put human resources investments on par with financial measures of success?
These are the kind of questions we will tackle at our next 2016 Pre-Forum Think Tank on Sustainability this September 26th at the Loews Atlanta Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. Planning has begun for this event and we would love your ideas! Please contact Paul Terry, HERO president & CEO, if you know of exemplary people, programs or companies making the link between health and well-being and sustainability: paul.terry@hero-health.org.
What Strategies in Health Promotion are Working Globally? Complete the Global Wellness Survey
Interested in what is happening in health promotion globally? Do you want a free report on the subject? Buck Consultants is entering its 10th year of its most popular survey: Working Well: A Global Survey of Workforce Wellbeing Strategies. Now in its 7th edition, the survey expands its focus from wellness to well-being. This online survey is open until August of 2016 when global results will be available. Participants in the survey will receive a complementary report. Read more here.
Who Has the One-Up on America in Well-Being? A Webinar on Global Health Promotion
Did you miss our “Global Health Promotion” webinar with the American Journal of Health Promotion? America has much to share with the rest of the world with respect to our successes in workplace health promotion. Nevertheless, the thesis I advanced with my guests Wolf Kirsten, an international health consultant, and Tsitsi Masvawure, a medical anthropologist, is that when it comes to advancing well-being, we have much to learn from other cultures. You can watch a recording of the webinar here.
Nicolaas Pronk wins 2016 Harvard Faculty Teaching Award
Dr. Pronk won this year’s “Executive and Continuing Professional Education Excellence in Teaching Award” at Harvard University along with his colleague Dr. Glorian Sorensen. Nico has co-chaired HERO’s Employer-Community Collaboration Committee and has been instrumental in our grant work, Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Communities supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Nico is Vice President for Health Management and Chief Science Officer at HealthPartners.
Colleen Saringer Reviews the Penultimate Culture of Health Study: HERO Research Industry Review
Colleen Saringer of Alliant Employee Benefits released a new Industry Research Review for HERO entitled “Safety Culture Intervention Case Study May Inform Potential Approaches to Culture of Health Interventions.” HERO’s Culture of Health Committee has conducted a comprehensive literature review of culture research, and I consider this study by Dr. Kent J. Nielson to be the most impressive example of culture change that measurably improves health (safety related) outcomes. Read Dr. Saringer’s detailed review here.
Stefan Gingerich Analyzes Champions: HERO Scorecard Commentary
On a quarterly basis, HERO partners with members to tap into the growing HERO Scorecard database to glean insights about employer use of health and well-being best practices. Quite often we find a researcher who is also a fun, fit and preternaturally fully formed human being. Such is the case this quarter as we feature a commentary by Stefan Gingerich from StayWell titled “Strategies for Wellness Champion Networks Vary by Employer Size.” Check out the HERO blog for more information.
How Much Does Health Affect Life Satisfaction? Read “Well-Being in All Policies”
Our movement toward well-being may represent a time in the health promotion field when we realize that health is but a role player in overall life satisfaction. What are the other, more significant, drivers of well-being? In a recent article published in Preventing Chronic Disease, authors Thomas Klottke, Matt Stiefel and HERO Committee Chair, Nico Pronk, look at how we can improve people’s lives through cross-sectoral collaboration in well-being policies.
Investing in Socially Responsible Companies
Our VP of Research, Jessica Grossmeier, and HERO Board Chair, Ron Goetzel, remain busy responding to journals about their findings that companies with solid wellness programs show stronger shareholder returns. It is a correlation that provides yet another affirmation the best companies to invest in are those that invest in their employees. Read on in Employee Benefit Advisor: “Effective wellness plans correlate with high stock performance.”
“Winning with Wellness”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a report stating that “workplace wellness programs help improve our nation’s health.” You can read the full report here.
University of Maryland: Health Equity and Prosperity
Interested in engaging in deep dialogue about health disparities and possible solutions for same? Register for the University of Maryland’s Health Equity and Prosperity conference on August 45, 2016. Read more and register here.
HERO is honored to have been selected for the Prevention Excellence Award from Prevention Partners. As presented by Prevention Partners, President, Meg Molloy, this is a national honor that was awarded to HERO for exemplifying “leadership in prevention by creating a rich and thoughtful conversation about best practices through its network, its research, and its conferences. HERO brings together a strong and diverse group of business leaders and pushes them to do more to support employees and staying at the cutting edge of prevention.” Thank you, Prevention Partners!
From left to right: Gregg Stave, Prevention Partners, Paul Terry, HERO, Pat Rohner ,HERO, Meg Molloy, Prevention Partners