presenteeism & productivityANALYSIS
Case Study & ROI Fact Sheet
well
BEING
Data indicate that 22% of group health
insurance costs are stress related and in the
neighborhood of $308 billion dollars annually.1
Stress is the most costly lifestyle factor in
corporate America and was found to generate
more than $35 million in medical costs at Union
Pacific Railroad based in Omaha, Nebraska.2
The U.S. Bureau of Labor says that stress costs
U.S. businesses $300 billion annually in lost
productivity, absenteeism, accidents, employee
turnover, and medical, legal and insurance fees,
and workers’ compensation awards. 3
North Shore Medical Imaging Center
The use of magnetic imaging as a diagnostic is
rapidly growing. North Shore Medical
Imaging Center (NSMIC) needed to meet this
business opportunity. The CEO of this
magnetic imaging facility with 75 employees
needed to grow the business 400% over two
years by dramatically changing how and
where they delivered services.
Situation
In addition to profits, the CEO wanted to
develop a work environment of organizational
effectiveness, employee satisfaction, and
increased leadership at multiple levels without
increasing risk, turnover, or new hires. These
impending growth goals were creating
situations of low morale, overwork, resistance
to change, underperformance in targeted
1
Manning, M., et.al., "Occupational stress, social support,
and the costs of health care." Academy of Management
Journal, 1996, Vol. 39, No. 3, 738-750.
2
Leutzinger, Goetzel, Richling, & Wades, 1993.
3
The U.S. Bureau of Labor, Government Report, 1996.
earnings per employee, and in meeting the
industry benchmark number of customers per
magnet per month. Medical, technical, and
management staff had communication
problems since they spoke different
“languages”. Invoice processing was
cumbersome and error prone which slowed
cash flow. Outdated technology was impeding
growth.
presenteeism & productivityANALYSIS
In their confidential Personal Stress
Navigators® (PSN), the workers revealed
burnout, mental and physical health issues,
and work related problems. Through the
Presenteeism Report gained from the
presenteeism and productivityANALYSIS, the
collective responses were broken down by
work function so medical, technical, and
management levels could be compared for
significant differences in negative stress
impact. The organizational report identified
actionable, root cause issues from the impact
of demands and pressures on burnout, physical
and mental health, and work/life distractions
on the workforce that blocked growth and
caused operational and management problems.
As a result, NSMIC managers quickly took
action to increase productivity.
Direct outcomes include offering
stressACTION WORKSHOPS to employees,
locating a site for an additional free standing
facility, adding MRI magnets to the existing
facility, managing newly created mobile vans
containing MRI magnets to service their four
remote hospital partners at the hospital sites,
and planning to implement in-house MRI
facilities in the coming years.
(Continued on reverse)
Resolution
The CEO and her management team reviewed the Presenteeism Report with a trusted management
advisor and mapped a significant organizational reporting structure and operations change to
prepare the company for successfully meeting their growth goals. They also instituted a year-toyear measurement of stress by using the PSN and Presenteeism Report the following year to gain
an understanding of which root cause issues such as burnout, mental and physical health issues,
and work related problems were decreased by specific interventions and what additional
refinements were needed in the second year.
Technology issues surrounding equipment and software vendor relations blocking efficient daily
workflows were remedied allowing the development of improved scheduling and a paperless
billing process as patient loads increased. Employees were able to design and implement
operational process improvements for invoicing which reduced 27 hand touch points to 20
paperless touch points. This new invoicing system reduced billing errors and significantly
improved the organization’s cash flow. Organizational effectiveness was addressed through
innovative company meetings held by the CEO where cross-functional learning and
communication through work group development and problem solving were promoted. Human
resource issues regarding job descriptions, reporting structures, and communication channels were
resolved through team-building exercises that improved morale and employee satisfaction.
Several stressACTION WORKSHOPS were conducted to help employees handle personal issues
related to health and productivity, team building, communication, and morale using information
from their confidential PSN Employee Interpretive Report. This empowerment allowed them to
take responsibility for their health, reduce their resistance to change, and improve productivity.
ROI
Through the presenteeism and productivityANALYSIS, NSMIC achieved an employee and
management partnership that brought tremendous success. The company had specific business
objectives to successfully navigate growth of 400% over a two-year period and implement a
complex set of service deliveries while maintaining a stable head count. The company was 100%
successful in their business goals. Overall stress symptoms had been brought down 38% from year
one to year two, burnout was decreased by 12% and chronic stress by 9%. The earnings per
employee had increased to the target level and the new payment processing system had increased
cash flow efficiency and timing by 27%. Patients per MRI machine per month increased 19%.
With all these positive improvements, they undoubtedly met their benchmarking goals for the
number of patients per magnet per month.
CIGNA Behavioral Health, Inc.
Attn: Presale Department
11095 Viking Drive, Suite 350
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
© CIGNA Behavioral Health, Inc.