There Is Always Something Else for HR to Do

The year after COVID wasn't the easiest time for HR to take on one more thing, but that was exactly when the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) decided to do more. They recognized employees needed additional support when it came to their health and wellbeing.

After years of disruption, MAC wanted to re-engage employees in preventive care, reconnect them with their health metrics, increase utilization of available resources and get more people actively participating in the wellness program. The need was clear, but finding the capacity to address it was another matter.

That challenge isn't unique to the post-COVID era. There is always something competing for HR's attention: recruiting, retention, open enrollment, staffing shortages, benefits changes, compliance, leadership transitions, and new initiatives. Much of it lands squarely on HR's plate to communicate and accommodate.

In fact, one of the most common reasons organizations don't complete their wellness goals isn't a lack of interest. It's organizational change, including leadership transitions, contact turnover, and staffing issues. These things happen, and they can derail a successful program.

The Foundation That Powers the Wellness Program

When people see a wellness initiative, they often see “activities”. What they don't see is the work required behind-the-scenes to make those activities happen consistently and strategically.

At MAC, that work was extensive. The organization has more than 650 employees working across Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and six reliever airports throughout the Twin Cities metro area. The wellness strategy needed to reach this dispersed population while also extending opportunities to spouses and retirees.

HealthSource Solutions helped wrap a comprehensive strategy around that challenge, including employee training on the wellness portal, coordination with managers and supervisors, promotion of onsite health coaching, targeted communications, wellness education during onboarding, vendor coordination, and development of onsite activities.

The program also went beyond traditional wellness. Employees participated in an employee garden and Adopt-a-Highway cleanups. Therapy dogs visited departments for stress-management breaks, and team-based activities tapped into MAC’s existing culture to encourage participation.

Without a strong support structure, managing all of those details would have been difficult for HR to take on alone.

Comprehensive Support Means Doing the Advanced Work

The HealthSource team helps guide and develop the strategy. Once the strategy is set, we help make it come to life; we build communications, coordinate resources, create programming, work with vendors, track data, and review outcomes. We ensure the strategy keeps moving forward.

We support HR with all the tools and communications so they can easily deliver a program that exceeds employee expectations.

Across our book of business, clients consistently tell us we save them time. One client described the support simply: “We would not have a Wellbeing program without the HealthSource team.” Another noted that time previously spent sourcing and writing wellness content could instead be redirected toward other critical responsibilities.

Staying the Course Produces Measurable Results

At MAC, the average for unique portal logins reached 63% per month, exceeding the 49% benchmark. Eighty-one percent of eligible employees completed a health assessment, 60% completed biometric screening and 85% completed an annual preventive care exam. The program also reached beyond employees, with 281 active spouses participating in the portal with an 89% activation rate among them.

MAC didn't reach those results by simply adding “manage wellness program” to someone's already crowded list of responsibilities. There was a strategy behind the program and a partner accountable for keeping the strategy, and all its parts moving forward.

HR will always need to respond to today's urgent need. This too often pushes the long-term health of their people to the back burner.

When we say we take wellness off your plate, we don't mean we take HR out of the program. We do the work that makes it possible for HR to keep the program working.