Biometric screenings are often one of the first steps in any corporate wellness program. They provide objective data that can be tracked over time and used to deliver more timely and personalized health interventions. And, the higher the participation rate, the more accurate the overall assessment of the employees' health status.

Why are millions of people glued to their TVs relishing in the excitement of the London Olympics for two weeks? One word: Stories. It's hard not to be inspired as you hear the stories of the top athletes from around the world. The personal stories about their backgrounds, journeys, struggles, and victories have us cheering at the top of our lungs. From Usain and Missy, to Jessica and Rebecca, to Ryan and Cavendish – we feel like we know them and we become engaged with their story.

Can you make employee flu shots fun? The flu is serious business, but that doesn't mean you can't have a little fun with promoting your flu shot clinics. After all, isn't moving people to take action about making an emotional connection. When a connection is there, it sparks new behaviors and actions. So infusing a little fun in your flu vaccination campaign can be an effective way to motivate employees to get their flu shots. 

There's no doubt about it.

Health care reform is a hot topic these days.

It has stirred up passionate feelings about increasing access to care and providing affordable health insurance. With all the talk about health care reform, are we missing something? It seems like the debate is more about health insurance instead of health care. What about improving the health of Americans? What about the role that employers can play in improving public health? 

As an employer concerned about the health of your employees and your bottom line, wouldn't it be nice to know what type of Return on Investment (ROI) you could expect from your on site flu shot program?  

It is estimated that 10 to 20 percent of the workforce is absent at some point during the flu season, due to the impact of the influenza virus. One of the many benefits of a worksite flu shot program is a healthier workforce. Overall a vaccinated workforce experiences:

Let's say you're a workplace wellness or HR professional, and you've just finished gathering data
about the health status of your employee population. You've done biometric screenings, a health risk assessment, a medical claim analysis, and conducted an employee interest survey. 

But where do you go from here? How do you transform this data into a comprehensive wellness operating plan that drives engagement and delivers results?

In the past, flu shot efforts have mainly focused on seniors and people with chronic health conditions. Today, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention recommends that almost everyone over the age of six months receive a flu vaccination because anyone can get the flu and anyone can give the flu to somebody else. With this change, employers face a new challenge: to encourage all employees to get vaccinated.

Preventative maintenance is important to keep things such as home appliances, cars and tools in good working order. But what about the most important asset of all – health?

While many people think of the flu as just a "common cold" the flu is really a serious respiratory disease. Every year in the United States, on average: