It’s Time to Make Space for Well-Being in Your ESG Program

Health and well-being leaders from across the country recently gathered in Salt Lake City for the 2023 HERO Forum. The conference theme, “Doing Well by Doing Good: How Responsible Organizations are Addressing Societal Challenges” aimed to help attending organizations optimize their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) efforts so that they successfully address societal challenges, drive performance, and improve population health.

Environmental, Social, and Governance principles now influence decision making at 90% of companies, according to a recent MorningStar survey. While ESG metrics provide a framework for assessing a company’s sustainability efforts, they often overlook a critical aspect of a company’s overall health: the well-being of its employees.

As a health outcomes company, ‘Doing well by doing good’ closely aligns with MOBE’s mission to make people healthier and happier. We use advanced analytics to identify populations where we can make a real difference in both individual health status and expense reduction for our clients.

I was honored to speak at the HERO Forum alongside Janice Trey of CNH Industrial. We talked about ways to optimize health and well-being programs, so that cost savings are realized, and engagement and outcomes are sustainable.

Our session focused on 4 key ways to do that, which include:

1. Establishing a high-touch program, focused on whole-person approach
2. Engaging a targeted population, those who have the highest need
3. Lightening the lift for your internal resources
4. Measuring results, realizing measurable cost savings

Janice and I shared a successful case study of how focusing on a whole-person approach was able to achieve impressive results, including 90% member satisfaction, 10% improvement in self-reported health measures, 30% engagement in the client’s targeted population, as well as a 7% cost savings.
 

Investing in the health and well-being of your employee population isn’t just the right thing to do, it also makes good business sense. Deloitte’s report “Well-being: A new cornerstone for ESG strategy and reporting,” cites research that demonstrates organizations that support the well-being of their people experience lower turnover and burnout, as well as greater productivity and engagement. When planning for 2024 and beyond, if your company is looking at cost management strategies that also improve employee health and engagement, it may be time to look at your well-being program and how it’s performing. Here are three reasons why:

• Not only are healthy, engaged, and satisfied employees more productive and committed to their organizations, but prioritizing employee well-being can reduce turnover, attract top talent, and foster a positive workplace culture.
• Addressing the well-being of employees and communities can help mitigate risks related to legal compliance, reputation damage, and operational disruptions. Companies that prioritize holistic wellness are better equipped to respond to crises and adapt to changing societal expectations.
• Lastly, a whole-person approach to wellness ensures that a company's success is not short-lived. By considering the long-term well-being of all stakeholders, businesses can position themselves for sustained growth and resilience in an ever-changing world.

I was privileged to meet many responsible, committed decision makers at the HERO Forum who represent companies that are improving the communities we live and work in every day. We all walked away with a renewed focus on sustainable business strategies and ideas to drive greater change within our own companies and clients. While incorporating employee health and well-being within a company’s ESG strategy may be an emerging focus, I suspect that many will see it contribute to a healthier workforce and become critical to their organization’s success.