Whether you’re talking about company performance, culture or even health care costs, the old saying, “It starts at the top,” rings true. And as we prepare to ring in a new year, now is the time to consider how you’re supporting your executive team to reach their full potential.
Your company leaders are the primary drivers of your culture, and a mission-critical influencer of your company’s performance. They can also have an outsized impact on your health care costs.
The healthier your executives are, the better they perform and the better they lead the rest of the organization. Better health and well-being at the top trickles down in many ways to the rest of your company. Most employers understand this to be true, but are they doing the right things to keep execs happy and healthy? Here are four keys to making health work harder for leaders.
Remove the obstacles. Executives are busy. They are already teetering on the verge of burnout on a daily basis. Adding one more thing to the to do list is not a good idea, especially when that one thing is health care related. If you are trying to better support the health of your leaders, you have to streamline the process and make it uber convenient for them to participate.
Tie it to performance. Leaders are goal oriented. They need to know the “why.” In some cases, better health just for better health sake isn’t enough to motivate them. They need to clearly see how improvements in physical, emotional and mental health set them up for success in their role and their career.
Add real value. Whatever services you are providing must add tangible and obvious value for executives to stick around and engage long-term.
Reduce the stigma. Many areas of health care are impacted by stigmas and existing beliefs. Mental health being a really big one. Look for ways to diffuse this truth and normalize needing help with health-related issues.
We work with many employers across the region to set up executive health programs that fuel better performance for leaders. To learn more about the Vanderbilt Executive Health Physicals program, fill out this interest form or contact us at employersolutions@vumc.org or 615-421–0112 for more information.
