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Healthy Enterprise Initiative
Health care costs are continually rising and your health care expenditures will likely double in the next five to eight years. Employees with health risks and chronic illness are often absent, which can result in lost productivity, lower levels of engagement in their work, and increased costs to the organization. As a result, many organizations now recognize that an investment in the health of their workforce is an investment in the economic health of their organization.
What is a Healthy Enterprise Initiative?
A Healthy Enterprise Initiative creates a healthy environment for employees and their dependents, which reduces workforce costs and enables employees to more completely engage in their work and life. It assists them with issues that may distract or prevent them from being engaged in their work because of health, personal (e.g., dependent, legal, financial, family), or work-related (e.g., inadequate tools and resources) issues. Greater engagement leads to improved retention, productivity, creativity, and innovation.
Sibson Consulting has developed the Healthy Enterprise model to help organizations create a healthy work environment for employees and their dependents.
A healthy enterprise:
- Keeps healthy people healthy
- Helps unhealthy people change their behavior to be healthier
- Supports people who have more serious health issues
- Enables people to be more productive and satisfied in their work and life
What can a Healthy Enterprise Initiative do for your organization?
A Healthy Enterprise Initiative will help your organization:
- Better manage its health care and absence-related costs
- Enhance the productivity of its employees
- Improve employee affiliation and pride, which can result in reduced turnover
While many organizations currently invest in various programs that support a healthy enterprise initiative, these programs often go unnoticed and are underused. Employees may not know about them, how the programs interrelate or they don't know where to focus. The programs are often not optimally designed, delivered and communicated, which make them confusing for employees. Our experience shows that various options must be offered and should focus on behavior change in order to optimize an organization's return on the investment made in providing those programs.
Several published research studies demonstrate a return on investment in excess of 300% when a health improvement program is designed and implemented appropriately. A reduction in health- and absence-related costs in excess of 25% for programs that have been in place longer than three years are noted. Sibson has also found a relationship between certain practices and strategies and reduced health costs.
Take our Healthy Enterprise survey.
How do you begin a Healthy Enterprise Initiative?
Sibson consultants recommend the following process for creating a Healthy Enterprise:

Contact us today to learn how we can help you construct your own Healthy Enterprise Initiative.
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Presentations
- Pursuing a Healthy Campus During Turbulent Times: The University of Tennessee Odyssey
CUPA-HR Tennessee Spring Conference - Sustaining a Healthy Enterprise During Turbulent Times
HRMAC March 2009 Total Rewards Interest Group Meeting - A Healthy Enterprise Yields Healthy Consumers
Midwest Business Group on Health 2008 Annual Conference - A Healthy Campus: Michigan Healthy Community Story
CUPA-HR Midwest Region 2008 Conference - A Healthy Organization - It is More than Just Wellness
Metro Milwaukee SHRM 2008 Spring Conference - Employee Engagement for Impact
Metro Milwaukee SHRM 2008 Spring Conference - Rewards of Work: Defining Employee Engagement for Impact
WorldatWork Total Rewards 2007 Conference - Creating a Healthy University: The Healthy Purdue Initiative
CUPA-HR 2007 National Conference and Expo - Absence (Behavioral Health) Management Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
CUPA-HR Midwest Region Spring 2007 Conference