RESEARCH REPORT SUBMISSION #1
COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING NOTES AND PRELIMINARY
ANNOTATED LIST OF SOURCES (FOR TOPIC #1)
Prepared by (Team 6)
Ksenia Basharina (301018483)
Kevin Chu (301048397)
Soo Jung (Crystal) Kim (200100084)
Su (Russell) Lo (301005437)
Prepared for
Professor Christian Venhuizen
Teaching Assistant Marianna Lee
Business Communication Section D500
June 3, 2009
USING QUESTIONS TO GENERATE IDEAS
WHO?
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Will be consulted?
Else currently has wellness programs present within their companies?
Can you go to in your organization to help you create a healthier culture? (i.e. formal and
informal “change agents”)
Will be instrumental to implementing changes?
Else will be permitted to join the wellness plan? (i.e. family members)
Would enrol in the wellness program?
Will do the decision making?
Will benefit from implementing the employee wellness program?
Is likely to be opposed to implementing employee wellness program?
Is in favour of introducing wellness program at Marketerz?
Should legal issues be addressed to, if any?
WHAT?
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Is the purpose of an employee wellness program?
Is an employee wellness program?
Are the key components of a workplace wellness program?
Can employers do to encourage healthy lifestyles for employees?
Is the current office environment with respect to wellness?
Resources are needed to support wellness initiatives?
Initiatives have other companies implemented?
Is the cost / benefit analysis of workplace wellness programs?
Are the elements of a healthy workplace?
Are the short and long-term benefits?
Are the on-site facilities needed for a wellness program?
Are some of the more popular wellness programs companies are putting in place?
Are the current HR policies?
Cultural issues will we need to address?
Are the legal ramifications of a wellness program?
Are the links with wellness programs to corporate goals?
Is the corporate image of Marketerz?
Are the disadvantages with wellness programs?
Are the success rates of wellness programs in small companies?
Components of wellness program are suitable for Marketerz?
Are the environmental factors we need to consider?
Are the current/future employees’ lifestyles?
Outsourcing options are available? (e.g. concierge services, counselling services)
Alternative actions can Marketerz take?
Is the financial position of Marketerz?
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Is Marketerz’s cost expectation?
Are the other reasons of past employees leaving the firm?
Are the reasons senior management has stayed?
Are the major benefits of a wellness program for employees?
Are the major benefits of a wellness program for employers?
Are some examples of successful wellness program?
Are the possible responses when employees hear about the workplace wellness program?
WHEN?
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Implementing the wellness programs, can it align with the corporate strategic plan?
Is the appropriate time to introduce a wellness program?
Do employees feel the need for a wellness program?
Do employers feel the need for wellness program?
Will we see the benefit/loss of implementing a wellness program?
Do wellness programs fail?
Will Marketerz decide to implement our recommendations?
Will one know if the wellness program is successful or not?
WHERE?
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Do senior management of Marketerz stand pertaining to instituting a wellness program?
Do the past employees of Marketerz work now?
Are possible locations of wellness centres in Vancouver we can incorporate into our plan?
WHY?
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Implement a workplace wellness program at Marketerz?
Is corporate wellness a growing trend?
Are employers expected to pay for the costs for wellness?
Is a high turnover rate and absenteeism present?
Do employee wellness programs fail?
HOW?
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Does the workplace affect employee health?
Do workplace wellness programs comply with the existing benefit plans?
Are the working conditions compared to other small businesses locally? Nationally?
Globally?
Would an employee wellness program be implemented?
Would an employee wellness program be received by employees?
Does workplace wellness benefit employees?
Does workplace wellness benefit the employer?
Do wellness programs affect retention and recruitment of employees?
Has this issue become a responsibility of Corporate Canada?
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Can a small business support an extensive wellness program?
Will we evaluate the success or failure of a wellness program if implemented?
Will the management demonstrate commitment and support?
Will we justify the costs associated with wellness programs?
Might the cultural background of employees affect the implementation of an employee
wellness program?
Does a wellness program improve employee efficiency and productivity?
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DOCUMENT PLANNING PRIMER
OBSERVATIONS ABOUT AUDIENCE
WHO IS OUR AUDIENCE?
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Initial
- Jonathon Filtwater – Chief Executive Officer, Marketerz
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Primary
- Jonathon Filtwater – Chief Executive Officer, Marketerz
- Senior Management, Marketerz
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Secondary
- Marketerz employees and their family members
- Marketerz shareholders/owners
- Marketerz’s insurance Corporation
- Marketerz’s lawyers
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Gatekeeper
- Jonathon Filtwater – Chief Executive Officer, Marketerz
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Watchdog
- Small Business BC
- British Columbia Health Authorities
- WorkSafeBC
- Media
- Public
- Rival consulting firms and other businesses
HOW WILL THE MESSAGE BE RECEIVED?
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Jonathon Filtwater – Chief Executive Officer, Marketerz
- Friendly, minimal resistance: He has asked us to investigate employee wellness
programs. However, if our report is below his standards, he may be resistant to
accepting our recommendations.
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Senior Management, Marketerz
- Friendly, moderate resistance: We are assuming they are aware of the current
employee issues and are receptive towards solutions. They may be concerned with the
value of our findings, where they may have knowledge of better alternatives than
instituting a wellness program. Moreover, if our recommendations involve a high cost
to the company, they will be resistant.
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Marketerz Employees
- Friendly, minimal resistance: Employees appreciate the willingness from
management to improve the working conditions within the company.
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Marketerz Insurance Corporation
- High resistance: If the wellness program is implemented, insurance policies will have
to be revised and premiums may be lowered.
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Small Business BC
- Friendly, minimal resistance: If implemented and successful, Small Business BC may
reference Marketerz to other small businesses as a success story.
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British Columbia Health Authorities
- Friendly, minimal resistance: They should be receptive to any company that looks for
ways to improve employees’ working conditions.
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WorkSafeBC
- Friendly, moderate resistance: They may be friendly since workplace wellness
programs help in preventing injury, illness and disease. However, they need to ensure
employee safety and that the recommendations would comply with their existing
health and safety policies and regulations.
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Rival consulting firms and other businesses
- Friendly, moderate resistance: Other firms and businesses can use Marketerz as a
sample case to gain knowledge from the impact of a wellness program, if it were to
be implemented. There may be problems with direct rivals who are also competing in
recruiting new employees that do not offer a wellness program.
IS THERE RESISTANCE BEFORE THE MESSAGE IS EVEN WRITTEN?
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Low resistance
- Jonathon Filtwater – Chief Executive Office, Marketerz
- Marketerz Employees
- Small Business BC
- British Columbia Health Authorities
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Possible resistance
- Senior Management, Marketerz
- WorkSafeBC
- Rival consulting firms and other businesses
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Resistant
- Marketerz Insurance Corporation
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WHAT EMOTION MIGHT OUR READER BE FEELING?
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Jonathon Filtwater – Chief Executive Officer and Senior Management, Marketerz
- Optimistic about the potential to improve the company conditions
- Eager to learn more about employee wellness programs
- Desperate for corporate change
WHICH APPROACH STYLE WILL WE USE?
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Direct Approach
- Because there is minimal resistance from our target audience (executives), we will
write our message with a direct approach. We will use deductive reasoning to be
explicit about our findings and recommendations.
WHAT ASSUMPTIONS CAN WE MAKE ABOUT OUR AUDIENCE?
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Jonathon Filtwater
- He is interested in implementing employee wellness program at Marketerz as he is
aware of the benefits.
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Senior Management, Marketerz
- Not all agree that a wellness program is the leading strategy to improve the company.
- Since they have been committed to the firm, they have a vested interest in the firm’s
well being.
Employees
- Not all may be aware the CEO of Marketerz is investigating wellness plans.
- The main reason for high turnover is due to stress, work/life balance, and health
issues.
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WHAT ARE OUR AUDIENCE’S SPECIFIC NEEDS AND CONCERNS?
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Jonathon Filtwater and Senior Management, Marketerz wants:
- To know about the components of a wellness program
- To be provided with the costs associated with a wellness program
- To be informed about the benefits associated
- To know the advantages and disadvantages
- To be provided with our recommendation
OBSERVATIONS ABOUT WRITER
WHAT IS OUR WRITING POSITION?
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Outsider: We are an external, independent consulting firm, unassociated with Marketerz.
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WHAT ARE OUR FEELINGS TOWARD OUR AUDIENCE?
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Appreciative and enthusiastic to provide our consulting services and abilities
WHAT ARE OUR FEELINGS TOWARD THE MESSAGE?
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Confident our report will help Marketerz improve their current conditions
DO WE HAVE ANY PERCEIVED BIAS?
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Being an external consulting firm, we will be as objective as possible since our reputation
will be based on the success of our recommendations.
Upon discussion amongst team members, we noted the team is in support of wellness
programs being implemented; therefore, some bias may present itself in our
recommendations.
WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR PROFESSIONAL IMAGE?
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Our consulting firm has a strong professional image which is why we were
commissioned to write the report.
We are unaffiliated with Marketerz, which allows us to be objective in our findings and
recommendations.
ARE WE CREDIBLE?
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Yes, our consulting firm has a history of successful past consultations in employment
matters.
Yes, we are a diverse, talented and skillful group which is why Jonathon Filtwater has
asked us to investigate wellness plans and present our findings.
WHAT IS AT STAKE FOR US?
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Benefits
- Further consultations will be held if wellness program is instituted
- Improved reputation if the senior management at Marketerz agrees and implements
our recommendations
- Goodwill from helping a company dealing workplace issues
- Future consulting assignments from Marketerz and referrals to associated partners if
our report is exceptional
- Performance rewards awarded to if wellness program resolves company issues
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Drawbacks
- Reduced reputation if the senior management at Marketerz finds our work insufficient
or omitting important findings
- Negative feelings from Marketerz if our report fails to meet their standards
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OBSERVATIONS ABOUT RELATIVE STATUS
WHAT IS OUR POSITION IN THE HIERARCHY?
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External employees of Innovative Consulting Inc
We are not directly in Marketerz hierarchy; although we have a link to senior
management.
WHAT IS THE FRAME OF REFERENCE?
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Jonathon Filtwater has seen some negative behaviour in his workplace which has caused
high stress levels and absenteeism. He is aware of the advantages of employee wellness
programs and is interested in implementing a wellness program to improve employee
morale at Marketerz.
He is aware of why (stress, work/life balance, health issues) previous employees left and
wants to improve retention of employees.
Jonathon Filtwater is aware of raised issues by departing employees and they may be
similar to what some current employees are feeling.
The senior managers of Marketerz are interested in improving the well being of the firm.
- As they have been with Marketerz since inception, they are committed to the firm.
- They are interested in improving working conditions.
WHAT ARE THE POWER DYNAMICS?
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Jonathon Filtwater, CEO of Marketerz, is our superior because he has commissioned us
to write this report and will make the decision to accept or reject our recommendations.
Senior management is our superior because they have influence on whether our
recommendations will be accepted.
We are separate from the organization hierarchy since we are an external consulting firm.
ARE THERE ANY KNOWLEDGE DEFICITS TO CONSIDER?
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Jonathon Filtwater does not know the exact reason for employees leaving Marketerz. Past
employees may have been hesitant to provide the “real” reason for leaving during
informal interviews.
There is limited research in employee wellness programs for small companies in Canada.
The long term effects of wellness programs are limited.
The lifestyles of future employees are unknown.
Limited information is available in respect to how cultural backgrounds affect the
implementation of wellness programs.
OBSERVATIONS ABOUT PURPOSE
WHAT ARE WE WRITING?
We are writing a report on employee wellness programs with our recommendations on whether
implementing such a program at Marketerz will be beneficial.
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WHY ARE WE WRITING THIS DOCUMENT?
The purpose of this report is to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of wellness plans in
terms of employees and employers.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE MESSAGE?
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The report will be persuasive, expository and goodwill in purpose.
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Expository
- Explain the components of a wellness program
- Provide the costs associated with an employee wellness program
- Outline the advantages and disadvantages
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Persuasive
- Convince Jonathon Filtwater and the senior management of Marketerz our report
provides the needed information and meets the required standards
- Influence the final decision of the executives at Marketerz to follow our
recommendations
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Goodwill
- Build on the positive relationship between our consulting firm and Marketerz for
further consultations
WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES OF THE MESSAGE?
 To provide Jonathon Filtwater with an overview of employee wellness programs
 To provide Jonathon Filtwater with an analysis of advantages and disadvantages of
employee wellness programs
 To recommend whether Marketerz should implement an employee wellness program
based on findings
 To inform Jonathon Filtwater of the costs and benefits associated with employee wellness
programs
 To persuade John Filtwater to accept our recommendations
 To come up with a list of recommendations
 To identify the key features of wellness programs
 To document the ways in which workplace impacts employee health and wellness
HOW WILL THE PURPOSE INFLUENCE THE ORGANIZATION OF THE
MESSAGE?
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The direct approach will be used because our purpose is to inform the audience based on
facts.
We will present our report in this order:
- Introduction/Problem/Background
- Conclusions or Recommendations
- Fact and Findings
- Discussion and Analysis
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OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CONTEXT & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
WHAT IS THE CONTEXT OF THE MESSAGE?
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Simple and low context
- We have been asked to investigate and report our findings about wellness programs.
- The report format will allow for ease of readability and communication.
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Complex Environmental Factors
- History – the company has a history of high turnover rates and low employee morale.
The audience may be more receptive as they are desperate to improve this issue.
- Workplace dynamics – because the senior management has been with the company
since inception, they may not be understanding of employees’ issues
- Culture :
o The company has an unstable corporate culture due to the constant changing
of its employees. The executives may be resistant to providing costly benefits
to employees with low commitment to the company.
o As the employees are from 15 different countries, they may have different
lifestyles, ethics, and/or beliefs.
- Gender difference – different standards of wellness benefits may be desired by the
employees
- Economic state – the rise of costs and availability of funds will affect Marketerz’s
decision
OBSERVATIONS ABOUT TONE
WHAT KIND OF TONE IS NEEDED BEYOND THE BASELINE?
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Polite but serious and use impersonal style to increase objectivity and emphasize on facts.
WHAT KIND OF LANGUAGE SHOULD WE USE?
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Clear, non-technical language
Appropriate business language; between lay and expert
HOW CAN WE ESTABLISH TONE AS EARLY ON AS POSSIBLE?
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Stress reader benefits by using positive you-attitude
Direct message towards CEO and senior managers
Concentrate on facts and findings
Common courtesy to create mutual respect
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OBSERVATIONS ABOUT OBJECTIONS
ARE THERE ANY LIKELY READER OBJECTIONS?
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If our recommendation is to implement a wellness program:
- If costs are higher than expected, Jonathon Filtwater, along with the senior managers,
will reject our recommendations.
- If additional costs are required from employees, there may be employee resistance
If our recommendation is not to implement a wellness program.
- Jonathon Filtwater may not believe our findings since he is well aware of the
advantages of employee wellness programs.
Lack of empirical evidence from small companies in Canada may result in the rejection
of our recommendations.
HOW CAN SUCH OBJECTIONS BE ANTICIPATED OR OVERCOME?
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Rationalize high costs with concrete data on return on investment, improvements in
employee morale, absenteeism, retention, and other benefits
Detail the disadvantages of wellness programs and provide information on the
determinants of successful wellness programs
Bridge the gap between existing evidence through assumptions and theory
Provide feasible recommendations
INNOVATIVE CONSULTING INC
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PRELIMINARY ANNOTATED LIST OF SOURCES
Below, you will find our five preliminary sources and a description of how we found the source
convincing in terms of reliability, relevance and recency. The sources adhere to the American
Psychological Association (APA) formatting and style.
REFERENCE ONE
Clark, A. D. (2008). The New Frontier of Wellness. Benefits Quarterly, 24(2), 23-28. Retrieved
May 19, 2009, from Business Source Complete database.
RELIABILITY
About the author
Ann Clark has a doctorate degree from the University of Wisconsin. Furthermore, she finished a
post doctorate research on alcoholism and sexuality at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Ann
Clark is a founder and CEO of ACI Specialty Benefits which is a full-service international
employee assistance program. In addition, she is a motivational speaker, lecturer, and
commentator.
Dr. Ann Clark is a Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP), Forensic Counsellor,
Marriage and Family Therapist and a member of professional association. After completing her
doctoral studies, Dr. Clark became an Associate Professor and began her college teaching career.
During that time she received many federal grants and conducted significant research. Dr. Clark
was appointed a Director of Education at the New Mexico Facility for the Mentally Retarded,
and later as a State wide Director of Child Abuse Services. As a founder and CEO of ACI
Specialty Benefits, Dr. Clark’s article may be biased to focus only on the benefits of the wellness
programs.
About the journal
Benefits quarterly is a respected journal that includes latest trends and innovations in benefits
and compensation. Included are articles on health care, retirement, and compensation. It is
published by the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists. The editor of
the journal, Jack L. VanDerhei, has a PhD from Temple University in Philadelphia. To become a
member, an individual has to have earned the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS),
Group Benefits Associate (GBA), Retirement Plans Associate (RPA), and Compensation
Management Specialist (CMS).
RELEVANCE
The article explained firms’ need to invest and think creatively about wellness offerings if they
want to be successful in attracting and retaining employees. In addition, it argued that the
REPORT SUBMISSION #1
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implementation of wellness programs would reduce health care costs and lower turnover rate as
the employees would feel more content. This article is highly relevant to our report because it
describes many of the problems Marketerz is experiencing. They include a rise in healthcare
costs and difficulty with recruiting new employees while experiencing high turnover rates.
The statistics of heath care costs are taken from United States and our topic is concerned with a
Canadian firm. The health care cost figures may not be transferable as they might be different
than in Canada.
RECENCY
The facts and the container are both very recent. The article was published in 2008. The
references for this article range from 2003-2007.
REFERENCE TWO
Collins, J. (2004). Workplace Wellness. Business & Economic Review, 51(1), 3-7. Retrieved
May 22, 2009, from Business Source Complete database.
RELIABILITY
About the author
As the managing editor and senior writer of the Business & Economic Review, Jan Collins has
held the position for over 26 years. Her work also includes co-authoring two weekly syndicated
columns in the United Features Syndicate. In addition, she has worked as a public correspondent
for The Economist (of London), an authoritative newspaper focusing on the global scope of
business news and international politics. The author is a member of the American Society of
Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and the Committee of Concerned Journalists. Her expertise
includes: aging, divorce, business, politics, social issues, education, and personality profiles.
About the journal
Business & Economic Review is published by the Division of Research of the Moore School of
Business at the University of South Carolina. The peer reviewed publication has twice received a
Notable State Document Award for exemplary merit and usefulness as a state government
publication. As a government publication, it enhances the credibility of the source.
RELEVANCE
We found the article closely matching one of our report’s objectives; the article explains the
reasoning behind implementing workplace wellness programs. The article further explains why
workplace issues (stress, obesity, medical expenses) are contributing reasons to the increasing
trend of corporate healthy promotion. This ties in to our report as we are looking to figure out the
key determinants of understanding why there is a rise in companies addressing workplace health.
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INNOVATIVE CONSULTING INC
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To add credibility to the source, the article provides a case study of one of the earliest known
corporations with a wellness program (Colonial Life and Accident Insurance Company) and their
results. In their case study, the source describes the bottom-line return on investment and
highlights some of the features of their wellness plan. The source then provides an explanation
on how to proceed with a corporate wellness program from scratch. This will help our report in
clarifying how a wellness program is implemented.
There are issues of transferability with this source. The publication focuses on the current
business topics relating to South Carolina and the Southeast region of the United States. There
may be some notable differences between the working environment in South Carolina and
Vancouver.
RECENCY
Despite having been published in 2004, the article covers research from 1983 to 2003. However,
the information from 1983 is from profiling one of the earliest corporation wellness programs in
the United States. The reasoning for implementing a wellness program is similar to the reasons
implementing wellness programs today. The other cited materials are from 2003 and 2004.
REFERENCE THREE
Divine, R. L. (2005). Determinants of Small Business Interest in Offering a Wellness Program to
Their Employees. Health Marketing Quarterly, 22(3), 43-58. Retrieved May 23, 2009, from
Business Source Complete database.
RELIABILITY
About the author
Richard L. Divine is a Professor and a Chairperson for Department of Marketing and Hospitality
Services Administration at Central Michigan University. His primary areas of teaching focus on
buyer behaviour, marketing analysis and promotional strategy. In addition, his research interests
include consumer behaviour, marketing education and research, and new product development.
As a marketer, Richard Divine may be biased to promote only the benefits of wellness programs.
About the journal
Health Marketing Quarterly is an applied journal directed at academicians and practitioners,
with an emphasis on issues of marketing use by health care organizations. Practitioners and
academicians contribute valuable information in the constantly changing health care field.
The editorial board of the journal consists of individuals with Doctorate degrees. The editors of
the journal, Robert E. Stevens and David L. Loudon, also have Doctorate degrees. The journal is
published by Haworth Press, Inc., a publisher of professional journals.
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RELEVANCE
This report analyzed the data from a survey of small business managers. It is highly relevant to
our report as it gave an overall summary of what wellness programs include and the associated
cost reductions. Further, this report illustrated the application of wellness programs in small
businesses. The findings included reductions in absenteeism and turnover rates.
The report is scalable to Marketerz, a small business with 20 employees. However,
transferability is a concern since the survey contains data collected from a sample of 1,400 small
businesses in the United States. Small business in Canada may operate differently than those in
the United States.
RECENCY
Although this article was published in 2005, the references range from 1975 to the 2005.
However, the actual survey was conducted in 2000s; therefore, the facts are recent and the source
is still relevant.
REFERENCE FOUR
Lero, D. S., Richardson, J., & Korabik, K. (2009). Cost Benefit Review of WorkLife Balance Practices - 2009. The Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour
Legislation. Retrieved May 20, 2009, from http://www.caall-acalo.org.
RELIABILITY
About the authors
Donna S. Lero is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Relations and Applied
Nutrition at the University of Guelph. She is a director of research on public policy, workplace
practice and community supports in the University's Centre for Families, Work and Well-Being,
which she co-founded. She has been involved in Canadian research and policy analysis on work
and family issues and the author of over 50 book chapters, articles and government reports.
Julia Richardson is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour at York University. She
has broad-based expertise and interest in career theory, with a specific interest in career self
management both at an international and national level.
Karen Korabik is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Guelph. Dr.
Korabik has researched numerous public and private sector organizational settings both in
Canada and internationally. She has published many book chapters and scientific articles on
various topics including leadership and conflict management, work/family balance and program
evaluation. Furthermore, she has supervised and conducted evaluation projects in a variety of
settings and areas.
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INNOVATIVE CONSULTING INC
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As a comprehensive report encompassing a wide range of research papers and literature, any
biases of the authors will be eliminated in this report.
About CAALL
Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation (CAALL)
is an association of federal-provincial-territorial departments of labour and
heads of occupational safety and health agencies. It provides a continuous
forum for federal, provincial and territorial senior officials. CAALL
provides governments with an opportunity to develop strong and
cooperative
working
relationships.
(from
CAALL
website
http://www.caall-acalo.org)
As a government publication, this source is reliable; however; the report explicitly states, “the
views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation.” Therefore, the reliability of
the source will be determined from the credibility of the authors.
RELEVANCE
This extensive report provides a structured review of academic, policy and business research and
literature. The authors surveyed business information published since 1990 with focus on Canada
and United States, excluding sources with inadequate information. The effects of certain
wellness programs on absenteeism, recruitment, retention, and cost savings are highlighted. This
will be useful in formulating our report as Jonathon Filtwater is concerned about these areas.
This report will be effective in analyzing the effects of wellness programs in small Canadian
companies as it contains information about small and midsize enterprises in Canada. However,
the authors discuss several knowledge gaps; particularly of interest is the limited research on
small and midsize enterprises. Further investigation would be needed if the information provided
in the report can be applied to Marketerz.
RECENCY
This report was published in 2009 and cites references going back to 1990. As the authors have
used information that is relevant to 2009, we will assume the facts contained in the report are
current.
REFERENCE FIVE
Naydeck, B., Pearson, J., Ozminkowski, R., Day, B., & Goetzel, R. (2008, February). The
Impact of the Highmark Employee Weliness Programs on 4-Year Healthcare Costs. Journal
of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 50(2), 146-156. Retrieved May 20, 2009, from
LWW Journals plus Archive.
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RELIABILITY
About the authors
Barbara L. Naydeck (MPH), Janine A. Pearson (PhD) and Brian T. Day (EdD) were employed
by Highmark, Inc. during the study. Barbara L. Naydeck has a Master in Physical Health who
specializes in statistical analysis, study design, public health, cardiovascular disease, risk factor
modification, project management and product design.
Ron Z. Goetzel (PhD) is the director of the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies at
Cornell University and Vice President of Consulting at Thomson Medstat. Ronald J.
Ozminkowski (PhD) is the associate director of the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies
at Cornell University and Director of Health and Productivity Research at Thomson Medstat.
Both Ron and Ronald have individually and collaboratively conducted a number of research
studies focused on the relationship between health and well-being, and work related productivity.
As the authors of the research are advocates of health promotion, the study may be biased to
favour the use of wellness programs. However, we can assume the authors’ bias would not skew
the results as the study was quantitative. Furthermore, this study was funded by Highmark and
published in a well known journal; the authors may have been pressured to present Highmark as
a leader and as a benchmark company.
About the journal
The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine is the official publication of the
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. This journal includes original
peer-reviewed articles, clinically oriented research articles and technical reports.
The report reveals several limitations to the study: selection bias, measurement bias, and over or
under estimation of the return on investment. The limitations are well documented in the report
and will be taken into consideration for our recommendations.
RELEVANCE
The study consisted of collecting qualitative data on Highmark employees who took part in the
company’s employee wellness program from 2001 to 2005. The study followed the same
participants throughout this duration. In addition, comparative non-participant data was collected
and the difference was used to measure the savings resulting from the program. The report found
improvements in well being and medical care savings of employees as well as reduction in
medical care costs of the employer. This study will be used in outlining the benefits to the
employer and employees of wellness programs. However, both transferability and scalability
could be an issue. The study was conducted on a single company, and may not be reflective of
wellness programs in general. Moreover, Highmark is a company with over 10,000 employees
compared to Marketerz, a small company with 20 employees. Marketerz may not see the same
benefits as Highmark: the company may face higher costs per employee to implement a wellness
program and Marketerz may not be able to offer as many components in its wellness program.
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Despite the deficiencies, the findings of this report are supportive of other sources used in our
report.
RECENCY
Published in 2008, the study uses data collected from 2001 through 2005. Although some content
cited in the report is from less current sources, the study itself covers recent periods and is
reflective of current trends in employee wellness programs.
REPORT SUBMISSION #1
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