Managing Employee Benefits: Employee Wellness at Premier Financial Services

Shelly Austin is frustrated as she conducts the company’s annual analysis of employee benefits. As the director of compensation and benefits at Premier Financial Services, she is charged with ensuring that the company’s benefit offerings provide value for the organization. This means that the benefits must be cost effective and meet the needs of employees. Shelley’s goal is for the employees to appreciate the benefits and for the benefits to have a positive impact on the organization. As she reviews a collection of reports, it seems clear that the company has room for improvement in both cost effectiveness and employee satisfaction.

Premier Financial Services provides a variety of financial products and services to high- income clients across the country. The company operates in a fast-paced, competitive, and high-stress environment. A majority of the employees are in sales positions and receive commission-based pay; thus, many employees work long hours to make more sales and increase their pay. These long working hours seem to lead many employees to neglect their health, as Shelly observes increasing premium costs associated with a high number of claims under the company’s health insurance plan.

In addition to increasing health insurance costs, a recent employee satisfaction survey suggests that Premier Financial Services has some room to improve in creating a welcoming and engaging work environment. Among other things, employees report that they find their daily work days stressful and feel that it is challenging to manage their time daily. A surprising percentage of employees reported in the survey that they have considered looking for another job within the last six months. This generally negative mood is reflected by company profits, as Premier Financial has experienced a decline in overall sales over the past year. Further, Shelly has noted that there has been a higher rate of absenteeism over the last few months. In examining information from past years, the decline seems to be an ongoing trend.

In researching solutions to the challenge of lowering health insurance costs and improving the overall well-being of employees, Shelly has determined that Premier Financial should consider implementing a wellness program. The company currently does not offer any kind of wellness program benefits, and Shelly believes that even though there would be a cost to add a wellness program, in the long run, it could positively impact overall benefit costs and employee satisfaction. However, her research has uncovered many options for wellness programs, so she is not sure where to begin.

1. Would a wellness program benefit Premier Financial Services?

2. What components of a wellness program would be appropriate for this company?

3. If a wellness program is started, how can Shelly encourage employees to participate in the programs?