HERO Rings in the New Year with a New President
January 2, 2019 – The HERO Board of Directors has elected Karen Moseley as HERO’s next President. Moseley assumed the position from Paul Terry, Ph.D., on January 1, 2019. Prior to being chosen as the next leader of HERO, Moseley served as the organization’s Vice President of Education and Director of Operations. In these positions, she was instrumental in growing HERO membership, increasing member engagement, and continuously improving educational programming. According to Terry, Moseley brings fresh and visionary leadership to the health and well-being field. Terry will continue with HERO in the role of Senior Fellow. Click here to read the complete press release.
The HERO 2018 Annual Report is here!
The HERO Team is proud to share our 2018 Annual Report of Accomplishments. You will see that our partnerships with HERO members and kindred experts from around the nation have spurred on influential learning events, timely and relevant research results and papers and journal articles that are contributing to new directions for researchers and practitioners working in employee health and well-being. In this report, you will find details about 21 papers we published and the 23 webinars we hosted, many featuring HERO members as our co-authors and presenters. We also share summaries and reviews of our conferences and link you to the Proceedings from our three 2018 Think Tanks and HEROForum18. In reviewing our program agendas, planning teams, faculty and presentation highlights, you’ll see the prominent roles HERO members play by sharing their stories and helping to teach other professionals throughout the nation what is possible from well-designed health and well-being initiatives. Click here to read all about it.
It is not too late to register for the Winter Think Tank! See below for our dynamic lineup of experts slated to share their knowledge on Psychological Safety in the Workplace with HERO members. Also, the call for presenters for Forum19 is open until February 18th. Find the link to submit abstracts in the Upcoming Events section below and read on for more exciting HERO news.
Call for HERO Award Nominations
2019 HERO Workplace Health and Well-Being Awards
For the 10th consecutive year, the HERO Workplace Health & Well-Being Awards will recognize outstanding leadership and achievements as well as commitment to the field of workplace health and well-being (HWB). The nomination process opens February 1, 2019 and closes April 30, 2019.
Nominate your peers for the: Bill Whitmer Leadership Award, Mark Dundon Research Award, Jerry Noyce Executive Health Champion Award, and Heart of HERO Award.
Visit the HERO website to learn about the awards and access the appropriate forms. This is our industry’s premier individual awards program. Please nominate any colleagues or associates who you feel deserve recognition by 4/30/2019.
*Please note there have been some changes to the nomination process, so please review all documents closely. If you have any questions, please contact Emily Wolfe.
RESEARCH AND SCORECARD
HERO’s Research Advisory Group (RAG), led by HERO Board Chair Dr. Seth Serxner, completed its annual update of the HERO Research Agenda, which is now available on the HERO website. The research agenda is integrated into a Strategy and Research Agenda visual, with updates on the many HERO committee activities that contribute to advancing HERO’s strategic objectives.
HERO and Mercer published the 2018 HERO Scorecard Progress Report to the HERO website in December and promoted it via a news release and infographic that went to many major media outlets. As a result, the report was featured in many industry trade journals including those listed below:
“Leadership Plays Key Role in Effective Workforce Wellness Efforts.” Health Payer Intelligence Dec. 20, 2018
“Report Quantifies Value of Leaders’ Involvement in Wellness Initiatives.“Business Record Dec. 20, 2018
“Supportive Leadership Drives Successful Well-being Programs, Says New Study.” HR Dive Dec. 21, 2018
“Leadership Support Spurs Better Well-being Outcomes at Work.” Benefits Pro Dec. 24, 2018
UPCOMING EVENTS
HERO Winter Think Tank – Members Only!
Psychological Safety at Work
February 12-13, 2019 | San Antonio, Texas
Tuesday, February 12th, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; 6:00 pm Member’s Reception & Dinner
Wednesday, February 13th, 9:00 – 12:00 pm HERO Strategy Refresh
The benefits of health and well-being initiatives are often captured by showing the relationship between reduced risks and improved performance and productivity. Nevertheless, this HERO Think Tank is designed to show how organizations that encourage risk-taking are creating more effective teams. We are not referring, of course, to more closet smoking or drinking. We are, however, intent on examining the benefits of more talking! Given work is a leading source of stress for most of us, second only to our worries about money, what happens when we increasingly risk sharing our ideas about our work and the workplace out in the open? Are there policies and practices such as drug testing or zero tolerance approaches that increase stigma and fear at work? Conversely, are there supervisory and leadership skills that open the door to mental health dialogue and foster honesty and resolution once the door has been opened? Do teams with higher psychological safety produce better results? Might talking more openly also net out better mental health and greater employee retention and performance in the process?
Spoiler alert! The answer is a resounding yes!
For the agenda, more information and to register click here.
HEROForum19
Thriving Organizations: Achieving Well-Being through Collaboration
September 10-12, 2019 | Portland, Oregon
Our inalienable rights in America are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. How well has the workplace-based health and well-being movement in America helped us to achieve this inspired guarantee? HERO specializes in featuring exemplary companies and ground-breaking health promotion professionals who consider our shared mission to be nothing less than achieving well-being for all.
HEROForum19 will feature partnerships that have defied traditional boundaries. As always, we will feature leaders, organizations and experts who believe that healthy cultures are prerequisites to health for individuals. But this year we will focus on those who profoundly embrace the need for collaboration across disciplines and sectors to affect change.
For a full description of the Forum19 theme, visit the Forum website.
Our Call for Presenters is open through February 18th. Gather the best minds around you and start your submission today!
HERO RECOMMENDS
Resources and Readings
Click here for HERO’s 2018 Annual Report!
29th Annual Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference
April 1 – 5, 2019 | Hilton Head Marriott Resort & Spa
Join HERO’s Emily Wolfe, along with HERO committee volunteers Kathy Meacham Webb, Jennifer Flynn and Dan Krick, for an experience filled with learning, sharing and connecting with others who share our passion for health promotion and commitment to making a difference as she presents at the 29th Annual Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference. They will be presenting “Creating Healthy Cultures Takes Work: Case Studies, Evidence & Real-World Implications for the Workplace” on April 5th. You can see the full program here – www.healthpromotionconference.com.
Worksite Health International
Volume 9, Number 2
The latest issue of Worksite Health International includes an interview with HERO’s Paul Terry. In his interview, Paul talks about the state of workplace wellness and HERO’s and the HERO Scorecard’s place in the profession. He also tells us what works and what works better. Click here to read this thoughtful interview.
Moseley named to head health nonprofit
The Warren Record, January 9, 2019
Read about HERO’s Karen Moseley and the path that led to her current position as HERO’s new president. Click here for the full article.
On Voluntariness in Wellness
HERO Senior Fellow Paul Terry authored a commentary in the January issue of the
American Journal of Health Promotion (AJHP) which discusses organizational health contingent use of incentives within the context of voluntariness standard in employer use of financial incentives in wellness programs. Read about it in HERO’s blog.
HERO Member Johnson & Johnson in the News
HERO member organization Johnson & Johnson published a randomized controlled trial that tested the “Effectiveness of an Energy Management Training Course on Employee Well-Being.”
HERO WEBINARS
The HERO Learning Series
Coming in February: Sara Johnson, Pro-Change Behavioral Systems, Inc.; Susan Morgan Bailey, Marsh & McLennan Agency; and Bruce Sherman, Conduent HR Services present on Financial Well-Being
February 26, 2019 | 12:00 pm Central Time
Preview the webinar with their article in the American Journal of Health Promotion. Watch the HERO website for registration information.
If you missed the webinar with Amy Edmondson, author of The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth, you can watch it here.
MEMBER PROFILE
Marci Cordaro
Our January member profile features Marci Cordaro, Manager of Corporate Health at Meredith. She is the nurse manager for the onsite employee health clinic and works closely with the HR department providing input for health-related benefits and services.
Q. What innovative program are you most excited about in your workplace?
A. We acquired Time Inc. in 2018, and bringing these two companies together has been a major undertaking. One of the innovations I’m most looking forward to is introducing all the new Meredith employees to our award-winning wellness program. We are also looking to expand some of our offerings to include more for emotional well-being. We are partnering with a new employee assistance program and exploring the option of offering onsite counseling. What has been interesting – and encouraging – to me is that although there still is stigma surrounding mental illness, our new generation of workers is so much more open to embracing mental health and physical health together as just health!
Q. Thinking toward the future, where do you think the next major focus will or should be in the field of workplace health and well-being?
A. I think the next major focus is emotional well-being. There has been so much written about this recently in the health and wellness industry and employers are looking for ways to support their employees. Mental illness is a significant health condition in our society impacting all aspects of an individual’s life – work and home. Employers are starting to recognize that this impacts presenteeism, absenteeism, productivity, sick time, disability claims, insurance rates … and that being proactive and offering support and services on the front end is good for everyone.
Q. What’s on your professional reading list that you’d recommend to fellow HERO members?
A. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek.
