CORPORATE WELLNESS A
s corporate well- ness can be quite sterile, spas have the opportunity
We now want to take our
to provide it in a warmer, more relaxed environment. T ey already off er modali- ties recommended in care plans, although spas still need to educate employers about how services could fi t into an employee pro- gramme – such as highlighting the evidence of how massage and touch therapies can eff ectively lower blood pressure. Business wise, this drives traffi c back to the spa, and also delivers a caring service to employees. T e sweet spot for small- to mid-size spas
will be the corporations in the 50-300 plus employee range. T is way, spas can get to know the employees and really engage them in their care plans. Although larger spas may want to approach bigger companies. Engaging employees and having a
hands-on approach to implementing well- ness programmes is key to success. We’ve
PRITI ODEDRA President, ECOSPA 360
been delivering evidence-based wellness pro- grammes for fi ve years and our clients include banks, manufacturers and consultancy fi rms ranging from 10-500 plus employees. Early on, we found the initial consultation with the employer is very important because it sets the stage for their expectations. We also get very involved in the programme design, liaising with insurance fi rms if necessary, mapping it out and suggesting incentives to ensure participation. In addition, we conduct onsite employee
enrolment meetings so staff understand what participation we expect from them and what they need to do to collect incentives. T is in itself also encourages employees to sign up – we aim for a 75 per cent involvement.
We conduct onsite employee enrolment meetings so staff understand what participation we expect from them and why they need to do to collect incentives
C
orporate well- ness in the US is intrinsically linked to the
turnkey model to the spa market to help operators link up with corporations looking to introduce wellness pro- grammes. Our programme covers everything from BMI,
body fat, waist circumference and blood screenings and measuring stress to off ering education and one-to-one coaching. A crucial feature to any programme is
tracking biometric results and participation levels. We developed an electronic medical record platform, certifi ed by the US govern- ment health service, to do this as it’s the only way to prove corporate wellness programmes work... and we’ve had very good results. One of our clients, Gateway Travel Plaza, had a medical loss ratio of 110 per cent in 2008-09, which meant that its insurance company Health America was spending us$1.10 just on claims for every us$1 pre- mium. T is was reduced to a remarkable 80 per cent in 2010-11 aſt er implementing its wellness programme.
ECOSPA 360 was formed in early 2012 in a buyout by healthcare fi rm Apex Energetics. It began life as a water technology fi rm, Quantum Health &Wellness, that ventured into corporate wellness in 2007. Details:
www.ecospa360.com
medical system and health insurance. We don’t have free national healthcare, so insurance for medical services is vital. Recently, there’s a growing trend for con-
DR DANIEL FRIEDLAND CEO, SuperSmartHealth
sumer driven health plans. In these plans, premiums are relatively low and the con- sumer and/or company will contribute towards a healthcare fund. But if the person gets sick, they have to pay a deducible – say the fi rst us$1,000 – out of the fund and may have to cost share on medical expenses. As the individual is on the hook for a larger pro- portion of upfront expenses, they’re more likely to invest in their health and engage in wellness prevention and programmes. So how can spas get involved? Well, there’s
a natural overlap between existing corporate wellness programmes – tackling stress, healthy eating, exercise and habit modifi cation – and spa services. T ere’s a great possibility for spas to link up with corporations/insurance compa- nies and those which focus on wellness, rather than just pampering will be most successful at
SPA BUSINESS 3 2012 ©Cybertrek 2012
creating alliances. Spas that are able to demon- strate models of economic sustainability and deliver a return on investment (of the pro- gramme) will also have a clear advantage. T e holy grail of corporate wellness is how
to facilitate employee engagement. And the key is stress management or what I call stress navigation. T e 2009 Stress in America Sur- vey showed that only 43 per cent of people with self-reported high stress levels engage in weight-loss endeavours compared to 77 per cent with low levels of stress. T at tells us there’s no point off ering a programme unless you deal with stress to begin with. Yet you need to know how to navigate stress intelli- gently as some amount of healthy stress can help drive performance too. I’m currently piloting a programme – 4 in
4 Framework to Achieve Peak Performance – with large fi rms including Bridgepoint, IMC2 and Group Health as well as the Australian
destination spa Gwinganna (see sb09/3 p50). The eight-week pro-
g ramme, ba s ed on neuroscience and rewiring the brain, begins with an onsite launch by myself or
a two-day immersion workshop, plus 60-90 minute videos and webinars each week which are integrated with a 140-page work- book. Specifi cally, it covers four steps: how to recognise and deal with your reaction to stress; how to neutralise the underlying trig- gers of stress and self-doubt; how to optimise your health, relationships and productivity; and how to stay on this track. I’ll be tracking the results via an extensive
pre- and post-programme self-report ques- tionnaire and my long-term aim is to tie it up with databases to work out the impact on absenteeism and medical costs.
Dr Friedland wrote one of the fi rst books on evidence-based medicine and co-founded
spaevidence.com. He delivers health coaching and wellness programmes and is the medical director of insurance brokers Barney & Barney. Details:
www.supersmarthealth.com
Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital 25
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