AMY ENGEBRETSON
Account Executive, HNI

Health care is too expensive.  But what can you do as an individual?  While you aren’t going to be able to talk your way out of your premiums, you CAN start taking more control of your costs. 

Of course, it’s much easier to talk about open communication and collaboration than to actually promote it in an organization.  Several social media platforms are emerging that can do a great deal to foster this type of dialogue and with it, employee engagement.    

RENEE KUHS
Compliance Attorney, HNI

LARRY LINNE
CEO, Sitkins International

MIKE NATALIZIO
President & CEO, HNI

As part of our HNI University series, we hosted a workshop last week called Engage the Troops and Get Out of the Way with Nancy Melcher, the architect of the GetMOR program. In this workshop, she offered her insight into the current gap between employee engagement and employee benefits and what employers can do to help bridge this divide.

When I got into the insurance business, one of the first things my boss did was give me a math quiz.   Having tackled algebra, geometry, and calculus back in my formative years I was not frightened by the test I was about to receive.    He went to the white-board and wrote down the following equation: 

HNI is constantly searching for ways to empower our employees to take ownership of their behaviors and to get engaged in their own health care, a problem that many businesses face.  Our journey to implement a culture of wellness began back in 2008.  Although we had a fairly healthy population, our culture didn’t always support the maintenance of that health.  

While organizations vary greatly in how they define the term “employee engagement,” there is little doubt that companies of all sizes and across all industries value it tremendously.  Whatever the definition used, employee engagement essentially boils down to the extent to which people are willing to give their “all” for the company.  

Most business are driven by the fantastic products or services delivered to the market. Much of the time spent is ensuring the deliverables are representative of the company, to prove it’s worth and success. This is how people judge the value of the company and become customers for life. 

In 2010, Michelle Obama, announced ‘The White House Forum of Workplace Flexibility,’ a forum that promotes workplace environment where American citizens can meet the demands of their jobs without sacrificing their family lifestyles.  In the current economic decline many employees have had the burden of increased responsibility, which plays alongside increase in stress and lack of time for personal endeavors.