Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER May 16, 2016 20 FEATURES CREATING THE OPTIMAL WORKPLACE EXPERIENCE REGISTER ONLINE: www.HRReporter.com/CPDCentre For more Live and On-demand Webinars, visit us online. PRESENTER: Paul Boston | Actus Performance Inc. HIGHLIGHTS: • Why employee engagement is just the starting point • Why improved performance management processes are not enough • How to create a culture of signi cance • What workplace happiness is really all about DATE: MAY 25, 2016 LIVE WEBINAR TIME: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. ET Integration of interns important BENEFITS An ounce of prevention… Offering preventative health screening can lead to healthier, less costly employees By Liz Bernier T he Toronto Transit Com- mission recently pro- vided 12,000 employees with an interesting benefit — its first-ever diabetes screening program. As a workplace with a lot of employees performing rather sedentary tasks, provid- ing such testing pre-emptively made sense. And it makes sense for many em- ployers in Canada, where cases of Type 2 diabetes are increasingly on the rise. "Type 2 diabetes is a signifi- cant problem in Canada — the prevalence is rising. It's doubled from the year 2000 to 2010, and it continues to increase," says Seema Nagpal, director of public policy and epidemiologist at the Canadian Diabetes Association in Ottawa. "Just over 11 million Canadians have diabetes and pre-diabetes now, and it will continue to in- crease unless we do take measures to try to prevent diabetes… So (in) making people aware of the risks, and allowing them an opportuni- ty to modify the risks if possible, you can put them on a different trajectory." Catching issues early But diabetes isn't the only costly and all-too-prevalent health condition that can be caught early through preventative health screening. e four most prevalent dis- eases often screened for include hypertension or high blood pres- sure, heart disease, diabetes and obesity, according to Joshua Pol- lack, director of sales and market- ing at the Health Team in Toronto, which provided the screening to TTC employees. "ose four chronic diseases are the most prevalent in society and are actually the top causes of death, intertwined as well into what they call metabolic syn- drome. So they all play off each other and they all deal with the same sort of lifestyle decisions you're making," he says. "e lifestyle factors that we're trying to address are exercise, nutrition, smoking, alcohol con- sumption and stress. It's important because these conditions are so prevalent, says Pollack. "And the amount of time that employees can miss having to deal with some of these issues (can be significant)." A good screen often includes metabolic disease, cardiovascular, some areas of cancer risk preven- tion and muscular-skeletal issues, and it can even include mental health issues, says Yolanda Bil- linkoff, vice-president of sales and account management at MedCan in Toronto. "Allowing someone to have time with a doctor instead of be- ing rushed allows the person to feel that they have a safe (situa- tion) to talk about things related to mental health that they may not be calling their EAP provider for because it's just not some- thing that they've put on their list." Whether it's the employee himself or a family member, these health conditions can have a ma- jor impact on the workplace, says Pollack. ey could translate into missed time, lost productivity or presenteeism — where people are at the office but distracted or not performing well — lethargy or other symptoms that can impact the job. Preventative screening is a valuable benefit for employees that's actually quite quick and easy — generally, it entails about a 20-minute appointment with an on-site nurse, he says. Preventative screening is also important because the current health system does not allow for preventative medicine — instead, it's managing reactions to health care, says Billinkoff. "(at leaves) an employee who is strapped for time to wait until a health concern escalates before they address it," she says. "And when they do address it, there is a considerable amount of incon- venience — transport, time in waiting rooms, multiple clinics, unproductive communication." Investing in wellness It's also important to look at the actual culture an organization portrays when it says prevention is important, says Billinkoff. "We're all human and we all get sick, and we all could strive toward better health," she says. "I work with a lot of legal and finan- cial services firms where a lawyer doesn't feel they have permission to spend time with their physi- cian unless the company says from above that they're going to invest (in that)… they can make their health a priority and their company agrees with it." Long-term, it's an investment that makes sense. "Metabolic disease is one of the leading concerns that we have in North America, and these people are in corporations. ey're cost- ing companies productive time; they're also costing companies drug and other resources because it's a wellness disease. ey're not taking care of themselves and they're not making their health a priority," says Billinkoff. "Some preventative screening means that people get ahead of things before they become insur- mountable. When you are work- ing long hours, you can't necessar- ily get ahead of that, so this opens up the door to be able to do that." e healthier a person is, the more engaged she is in life and at work, says Pollack. "As an employer, you'd hope your employees are the healthiest they can be while at work because the spillover benefits of them be- ing healthy (are significant)," he says. Worth the expense ere's also the competitiveness factor. "Major employers with deep pockets who can spend a lot on treating employees well, you want to be seen as providing everything you can to your employees," says Pollack. "e personal benefits at the employee level are important, so making sure your employees are healthy benefits the company." Some employers might be con- cerned that implementing these programs is relatively expensive and the return on that investment is not worth it, says Pollack. "But when you're looking at the amounts a company is going to spend on insurance programs, when you're spending $2,000 to $4,000 a year on an employee… (preventative screening clinics) can cost $40 to $100 per person, per year," he says. "If you think of it as something you can combine into your ben- efits package, an extra $50 to $100 per employee — and you're only paying for people who are using it — it's not that expensive." And if a person finds out through preventative health screening that he has a condition such as pre-diabetes, for example, he can take action to try to pre- vent the progression of the condi- tion, says Nagpal. "From an employer's perspec- tive, a person being able to modify their risks and not develop diabe- tes, that would allow that person to not require medication, to not require time to manage their con- dition during work. It's perhaps an opportunity to allow someone to experience their full health poten- tial rather than develop a chronic illness that they'll have to manage their whole lives." There are certainly budget- ary constraints and a tight mar- ket, says Billinkoff, and that's the reality. "I get that our current eco- nomic system is not in the same talent acquisition mode that we used to be. But I do think if you look at the cost commitment… to do preventative screens, we do so many other things — bring speak- ers in on wellness, have a catered lunch, have work buildings close to subways stops, those kinds of things," she says. "Being able to actually do some- thing about our medical situation to create some prevention and real benefit… is just a cost of do- ing business." employers to gain insight into their capabilities. Offering op- portunities for professional de- velopment and growth will help to keep interns engaged and provide them with experience they need for their resumés. Give them the freedom to manage a task and encourage them to step outside of their comfort zone to achieve their goals. eir creativity and ability to collaborate may gener- ate impressive results. Set up a support structure: Everyone in the company should understand why an internship is important, so make sure the pro- gram is communicated properly. Plan who will support and super- vise an intern and where she will sit to ensure she is integrated into the office environment. Part of the learning process should be interacting with others in the workplace so interns should be as integrated as possible. Leverage former interns to find new ones: Past interns can provide great word-of-mouth networking for your company. Enlist the help of former interns who are now employees to help recruit new interns. Include pre- vious interns in the interview pro- cess so they can offer prospective candidates insight into what to expect and serve as an example of the potential that comes with the position. While not all the interns will stay with the company, they can be good references to help your recruitment. One of the biggest challenges for businesses is looking beyond the "intern" title and treating them like full-time employees. But mak- ing an intern feel like part of the company and appreciating their contributions means they will be more comfortable, engaged and increases the likelihood of retain- ing them longer. Developing an internship pro- gram takes time and planning to make the most of this opportu- nity and offer interns a meaning- ful placement. And there should be time spent reviewing and evaluating the program annually to ensure it is delivering results. Employers may need to tweak it to keep up with company needs. Good interns can provide great value to a company with their ideas, youthful energy and ability to embrace new technologies with ease. An upfront investment now to find the right intern can yield great returns in the form of long- term employees to add to a team. Steve Titus is president and CEO of Aercoustics Engineering in Toronto, a privately held firm that specializes in fostering innovation in acoustics, vibration and noise control. AERCOUSTICS < pg. 19 "Being able to actually do something about our medical situation, to create some prevention and real benefit... is just a cost of doing business.

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