Sorry for the delay in posting the day two wrap up from our 2011 Conference. We owe a big thanks to Curtis Midkiff from SHRM for putting these together. Think of this like fine wine - it is worth waiting for.
- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Just the right amount of FANTASTIC!
Today we have a guest post from China Gorman. China was a recent keynote speaker at our state conference. These are her comments...
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| China Gorman speaking in the Drury Lane Theater at ILSHRM11 |
A new casino/hotel recently opened in Las Vegas. Their marketing campaign was “Just the right amount of wrong.” Clearly I wasn’t in their target demographic, because, as a consumer, no amount of wrong is right with me.
I feel the same way about conferences. Especially HR conferences. And I just attended one that was just the right amount of Fantastic!
I was honored to have been asked to be the final keynote speaker at the recent 12th Annual Illinois HR Conference. With more than 800 attendees – from as far away as India! – this SHRM-affiliated conference really set the bar for excellence in every category!
What makes this so noteworthy to me is that the conference was organized entirely by volunteers! SHRM puts on 5 commercial conferences a year. Only one SHRM event, the big annual conference, is bigger than the Illinois HR Conference. And SHRM has a full-time staff of more than 9 meeting planning and marketing professionals organizing their conferences – including the 4 events that are much smaller than the Annual Illinois HR Conference! This just puts into perspective the incredible achievement of the organizing team led by Conference Co-Directors, John Jorgensen and Cathy Plouzek.
From the other keynote speakers (Ryan Estis and Talent Anarchy, Joe Gerstandt and Jason Lauritsen), to the pre-conference Social Media Bootcamp led by Jessica Miller Merrill, to the incredible lineup of concurrent session speakers, to the venue, the food, the social media engagement and coverage – truly, everything about this conference was just the right amount of fantastic!
From someone who knows conferences – especially HR conferences – I offer my congratulations to the full conference planning team. And I highly recommend that other SHRM state conference organizers contact John and Cathy for tips and lessons learned. These folks are doing it right!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Second Annual WOWIE Awards from ILSHRM11
Legislators and health care policy experts might consider talking to the 2011 WOWIE Award winners to view for themselves the power of effective employee wellness programs in reducing health care costs and improving employee wellness and productivity.
Six Illinois companies have been honored with the Second Annual WOWIE Award, sponsored by The Illinois State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (ISC-SHRM) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL). The WOWIE award recognizes employers who champion the health of their employees and strive to create a work culture that promotes physical activity.
Awards were presented at the 2011 12th Annual Illinois HR Conference & Exposition on Tuesday, August 23rd at Drury Lane Theater.
Applications were divided into two categories: “Companies with More than 200 Employees,” and “Companies with Fewer Than 200 Employees.” Three awards were given in each of the following categories: Platinum, Gold and Silver.
Recipients include:
Companies with More Than 200 Employees
State Farm developed its own wellness program called “Live Well, Be Well” and incorporated it into the State Farm philosophy.
“Our Live Well, Be Well initiative encourages employees to make informed lifestyle decisions in the areas of physical activity, nutrition, tobacco cessation and preventive screenings,” said Sheri Gatto, wellness coordinator at State Farm.
“We made a business case for our wellness initiative and sought buy in from our executive team in 2007,” Gatto said. In 2008, State Farm hired Gatto to develop and oversee the program and she now works with a steering committee that provides input for her and a team of occupational health nurses and wellness ambassadors who work to promote Live Well, Be Well initiatives in State Farm’s operational sites throughout the country.
One of the strengths of the Live Well, Be Well program is its communications strategy, Gatto said.
“We have a number of ways to deliver wellness messages to our employees,” she said. Employees receive letters from the company’s medical director as well as emails with wellness messages and information. State Farm is also committed to new media, with a “Live Well, Be Well” website, Intranet and blog that feature positive stories of employees improving their own health and fitness.
State Farm conducts an annual review of its aggregate employee health plan medical claims data to determine areas of focus and measure the program’s effectiveness. "Last year, more than 29,000 employees completed a wellness assessment and knew their cholesterol and blood pressure,” said Dr. Stephen Kindred, medical director and assistant vice president of Human Resources. “We have seen a significant increase in the number of employees who are going to a primary care doctor and utilizing their health plan’s preventive care benefits.
South Holland, Ill.-based Robinson Engineering was not only one of the first companies to ever receive this honor, they are the only company to repeat its 2010 WOWIE Award win with another first-place, Platinum Award in the “200 Employees or Fewer” category with its “Robinson Employee Wellness Program.” Robinson Engineering is a professional civil engineering firm that has been providing services in the Chicago area for nearly 75 years. According to Denise St. Pierre, director of Organizational Development at Robinson, the company added some new initiatives in 2011.
“We most recently participated in the 100-day challenge through a 12-month grant that focuses on wellness in the workplace, awarded by the Chicago Chamber of Commerce “Live Healthy America – Chicago 100 Day Challenge” consisting of eight Robinson teams (an employee participation rate of 67%),” she said. Robinson has also participated in the Virgin HealthMiles pedometer program where 51% of its employees paraticipated.
St. Pierre said that one of the company’s greatest fitness and health achievements was realized when 60 percent of its employees participated in the Biggest Improver contest, a 100-day challenge that focused on making healthier food choices and increasing activity.
“Our employees reduced their BMI 4 % per person and body fat decreased by 11 percent on average per person,” she said.
In addition to the 2010 and 2011 WOWIE Awards, Robinson was also named one of the 100 healthiest companies in America by Interactive Health Solutions and Robinson has been recognized at the platinum level for wellness the last two years and received a Worksite Innovation Award in 2011 by the American Heart Association.
“More and more employers and human resources professionals have come to realize that employee wellness programs are excellent ways to promote positive health care behaviors and
create more productive workers and employees,” said Donna Rogers, director of ISC-SHRM.
-Chris Martin for ISC SHRM
Six Illinois companies have been honored with the Second Annual WOWIE Award, sponsored by The Illinois State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (ISC-SHRM) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL). The WOWIE award recognizes employers who champion the health of their employees and strive to create a work culture that promotes physical activity.
Awards were presented at the 2011 12th Annual Illinois HR Conference & Exposition on Tuesday, August 23rd at Drury Lane Theater.
Applications were divided into two categories: “Companies with More than 200 Employees,” and “Companies with Fewer Than 200 Employees.” Three awards were given in each of the following categories: Platinum, Gold and Silver.
Recipients include:
 |
| At the podium Emcee Charlie Judy (L)Sharyn Hoptay-Blue Cross Sherri Gatto-State Farm (R) |
- Platinum: State Farm Insurance, Bloomington, Ill.
- Gold: CDW, Inc., Vernon Hills, Ill.
- Silver: Provena Health System, Mokena, Ill
Companies with Fewer Than 200 Employees
- Platinum: Robinson Engineering, South Holland, Ill.
- Gold: Alper Services LLC, Chicago
- Silver: Advanced Rehab, Bloomington, Ill.
“Our Live Well, Be Well initiative encourages employees to make informed lifestyle decisions in the areas of physical activity, nutrition, tobacco cessation and preventive screenings,” said Sheri Gatto, wellness coordinator at State Farm.
“We made a business case for our wellness initiative and sought buy in from our executive team in 2007,” Gatto said. In 2008, State Farm hired Gatto to develop and oversee the program and she now works with a steering committee that provides input for her and a team of occupational health nurses and wellness ambassadors who work to promote Live Well, Be Well initiatives in State Farm’s operational sites throughout the country.
One of the strengths of the Live Well, Be Well program is its communications strategy, Gatto said.
“We have a number of ways to deliver wellness messages to our employees,” she said. Employees receive letters from the company’s medical director as well as emails with wellness messages and information. State Farm is also committed to new media, with a “Live Well, Be Well” website, Intranet and blog that feature positive stories of employees improving their own health and fitness.
State Farm conducts an annual review of its aggregate employee health plan medical claims data to determine areas of focus and measure the program’s effectiveness. "Last year, more than 29,000 employees completed a wellness assessment and knew their cholesterol and blood pressure,” said Dr. Stephen Kindred, medical director and assistant vice president of Human Resources. “We have seen a significant increase in the number of employees who are going to a primary care doctor and utilizing their health plan’s preventive care benefits.
South Holland, Ill.-based Robinson Engineering was not only one of the first companies to ever receive this honor, they are the only company to repeat its 2010 WOWIE Award win with another first-place, Platinum Award in the “200 Employees or Fewer” category with its “Robinson Employee Wellness Program.” Robinson Engineering is a professional civil engineering firm that has been providing services in the Chicago area for nearly 75 years. According to Denise St. Pierre, director of Organizational Development at Robinson, the company added some new initiatives in 2011.
“We most recently participated in the 100-day challenge through a 12-month grant that focuses on wellness in the workplace, awarded by the Chicago Chamber of Commerce “Live Healthy America – Chicago 100 Day Challenge” consisting of eight Robinson teams (an employee participation rate of 67%),” she said. Robinson has also participated in the Virgin HealthMiles pedometer program where 51% of its employees paraticipated.
St. Pierre said that one of the company’s greatest fitness and health achievements was realized when 60 percent of its employees participated in the Biggest Improver contest, a 100-day challenge that focused on making healthier food choices and increasing activity.
“Our employees reduced their BMI 4 % per person and body fat decreased by 11 percent on average per person,” she said.
In addition to the 2010 and 2011 WOWIE Awards, Robinson was also named one of the 100 healthiest companies in America by Interactive Health Solutions and Robinson has been recognized at the platinum level for wellness the last two years and received a Worksite Innovation Award in 2011 by the American Heart Association.
“More and more employers and human resources professionals have come to realize that employee wellness programs are excellent ways to promote positive health care behaviors and
create more productive workers and employees,” said Donna Rogers, director of ISC-SHRM.
-Chris Martin for ISC SHRM
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