Nearly two-thirds (64%) of U.S. employers say that by 2018, they will focus on developing a workplace culture that supports employee well-being as a primary strategy to boost health engagement, according to a Willis Towers Watson survey.
This is a significant shift, as just one-third (34%) say it was a core strategy in 2015, the company notes.
The 2015/2016 Willis Towers Watson Staying@Work Survey of 487 U.S. employers further found that more employers have adopted a broader view of workforce health that includes physical, mental, emotional and financial health. For example, 47% include financial well-being as a key part of their overall workforce well-being strategy today, and 80% expect to include it by 2018.
Just more than half (51%) of employers say their senior leaders are visible champions of the organization’s health and well-being strategy. Just less half (49%) have built health and well-being into their employee value proposition.
More than two-thirds (70%) of employers have improved their physical environments to encourage healthy behaviors. Examples include adding healthy foods to cafeteria menus, walking paths and campus bike-sharing programs. Many employers also are tapping into the power of peer influence by recruiting local champions (62%), encouraging employees to share personal stories (61%) and enabling key influencers to spread the word through social networks (32%).
More than half (56%) of employers ask employees what’s missing from their well-being experience and what they need to succeed at work. More than one-third (35%) invite family members to participate in programs and activities.
Three-quarters of employers (74%) make online health improvement tools available to employees both at work and at home. More than half (58%) have a portal devoted exclusively to health-related information.
“Workforce health can be a true differentiator,” says Shelly Wolff, senior health care consultant at Willis Towers Watson. “As the well-being of employees and their families is enhanced, employers are better positioned to achieve bottom-line goals, improve benefit cost management and lower absenteeism. What’s more, they’ll also have happier, healthier and more engaged employees.”
A comprehensive report on findings from the 2015/2016 Willis Towers Watson Staying@Work Survey is now available for download on the Willis Towers Watson website.
Segal Group expands Communications Practice with new hire; Newport Group names leader of Institutional Sales; Voya Makes Organizational Changes, and more.
Jennifer Schuster has rejoined The Segal Group as a vice president and senior consultant in the communications practice.
Schuster
has 20 years of experience in planning and managing employee communications and
change initiatives. After first joining Segal in 2003, she worked with
employers and other plan sponsors on various communications projects, including
total rewards, organizational change, health and financial well-being programs,
career frameworks, performance management and social media strategies.
Schuster
rejoins Segal from Mercer, where she served for one year as a principal and
senior consultant. She has spoken at conferences sponsored by the International
Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, WorldatWork and CUPA-HR and is a recent
recipient of the International Association of Business Communicators Gold Quill
Award.
Schuster
earned a BA from the University of California, Davis. She is based in the
firm’s San Francisco office.
NEXT: Newport Group Names Leader of
Institutional Sales
Micah DiSalvo has joined Newport Group as senior vice president, institutional sales.
DiSalvo
will lead the company’s qualified retirement plan sales team in the further
development of business goals and strategies. He will report to CEO Greg Tschider.
DiSalvo
has 17 years of experience in the retirement services industry. Prior to
joining Newport Group, he was a vice president of retirement sales and service
with BMO Retirement Services, which was recently acquired by OneAmerica. In
that role, he was responsible for all aspects of the company’s institutional
markets, including sales, relationship management, client services, and
marketing.
He
previously served as director of institutional sales for CUNA Mutual Group, and
a regional sales support specialist for U.S. Bancorp’s investments and
insurance group.
NEXT: Voya Makes Organizational Changes
Voya Financial’s retirement business
announced a number of strategic changes to support its goals for accelerated
growth and its commitment to the retirement business.
Voya
is combining its small/mid corporate and large corporate markets segments into
one corporate markets business. Previously, these two businesses were run
separately. While successful on their own, the company sees even greater
opportunity for accelerated growth under one leader. Voya Retriement CEO Charlie Nelson will be overseeing the combined corporate markets business until a new leader has been identified. Rick Mason, who was overseeing the small/mid corporate market segment, will
be focusing on retirement research and taking on a role as a senior adviser for
the company’s Retirement Research Institute.
The retirement organization will also be adding a leader to its tax-exempt markets (TEM) business through an internal
promotion from its insurance solutions organization. Heather Lavallee, who has been successfully overseeing Voya’s employee benefits business, will serve in this TEM leadership role. Going
forward, Carolyn Johnson, who was
managing both Voya’s annuities and tax-exempt markets since 2014, will be dedicating her focus on the annuities business. Johnson, who reports into Alain Karaoglan, Voya’s COO and CEO of retirement and investment solutions, helped reposition and grow the TEM business over the past two
years and leaves a strong foundation for Lavallee to build upon.
NEXT: Heffernan Hires Adviser for Orange County
and Los Angeles Offices
Sean Kelly has joined Heffernan Retirement Services, a
division of Heffernan Insurance Brokers, to serve as the retirement plan adviser for the Orange County and Los Angeles
offices.
Kelly
comes to Heffernan with well-rounded experience in the retirement plan space.
He began working for Bill Chetney at NRP,
followed by heading up the West Territory Retirement Partners Consulting team
under Greg Koleno after the LPL
acquisition, and most recently recruiting advisers to LPL as part of Geoff White's Retirement Partner's business development team. Kelly also worked extensively within the bank channel at
LPL, integrating LPL's banks and credit unions in to the retirement plan space.
Since
starting with NRP in 2007, Kelly had always planned on transitioning in to an
adviser role at some point.
Since
2007, Sean has worked with Blake
Thibault, John Prichard, Sr., and John Clark from the corporate BD/RIA side
at NRP and LPL. "The Heffernan team is on the short list among the most
respected retirement advisers in the industry," Kelly states.
"Recruiting and consulting to hundreds of retirement plan advisers for
just fewer than 10 years enables a person to develop a well-rounded perspective
on advisers and our industry… joining Heffernan is the right call."
"We
are excited that Sean has joined the Heffernan Retirement Services team,"
says Blake Thibault, managing director.
"With Sean's background and experience, we feel strongly about his ability
to build relationships with plan sponsors and participants, and guide them down
the retirement plan pathway."
NEXT: Ellwood Associates to Acquire Watershed
Investment
Investment
consultancy Ellwood Associates has
entered into a purchase agreement to acquire Colorado-based Watershed Investment Consultants,
subject to customary closing conditions, including obtaining consents from
Watershed clients.
The
closing is expected to occur on or about May 31. Ellwood and Watershed are both private,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered, employee-owned firms that
provide research-based investment related counsel and services for institutions and high net worth
individuals and families.
According
to Russell Hill, Ellwood’s chairman and
CEO, the combination is designed to benefit the clients of both
firms: “Ellwood clients will gain from the addition of three highly
respected
investment professionals with decades of experience, who share our core
values
and standards of client service. Watershed clients will gain from the
professional depth and operational and research resources that Ellwood
has
established over the past 39 years.”
Upon
completion of the transaction, Watershed’s
three principals—Dale Connors, Paul Schreder and Kevin Yoshida—will become
senior consultants and have equity ownership positions at Ellwood, and will
continue to operate from Watershed’s current location in Greenwood Village,
Colorado. The transaction will not affect existing relationships with Ellwood
clients, or the current operating structure of Ellwood. Watershed clients will become clients of Ellwood
upon completion of the transaction.