Personal responsibility will have to be increased. "No one but you can keep you healthy. … People should have the right to know the price and quality in health care as in anything else."

What can businesses do? "Tell everyone how much you paid for their health insurance. Tell them this is the extra pay you’re not getting."

Obesity is an under-recognized threat. Children should be weighed at least three times a year to identify outliers who are likely candidates for diabetes and other illnesses.

"A fundamental change in culture is needed with obesity," Gingrich says. "We did it with smoking, seat belts and drunk driving. We need to do it again."

An overall approach he recommends is chronic disease management, with focuses on early detection, wellness and prevention.

Gingrich is coming to Indiana on November 6 as keynote speaker at the Indiana Chamber’s 19th Annual Awards Dinner.

What’s more, each employee I talked to during my visit stressed how much the open door policy with management creates an atmosphere of teamwork rather than giving them an ominous Big Brother complex.

Speaking with HR director Dennis Rohrs was especially eye-opening as he beamed about the pride he feels in working with the caliber of people he does. Although, he noted this as a benefit from a very thorough hiring process, which includes such evaluations as the NFL-adopted Wonderlic test. I guess if it was effective enough to motivate the Colts to take Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf, it’ll serve Fort Wayne Metals just fine when considering applicants.

For more about this company that was recently honored as a Top 15 finalist in our Best Places to Work contest, see here.

• Every Friday employees can submit a “thumbs up” about someone else, which serves a pass to wear denim for the day. These positive comments are then posted on the company intranet for everyone to read.
• For Becky Schneider, her ability to balance her career and home life makes working at Matrix ideal. “I love the fact that they give the flexibility to have a career and a family,” she asserts. The five-year employee is expecting her second child this year. She has the freedom to make her own routine and doesn’t have to sacrifice her family or marketing career at Matrix.
• Workout equipment is available in the employee break room and healthy snacks (such as bananas and grapes) are available for free. Some employees meet after work for a fitness walk as part of the wellness program, Schneider shares.

Read more about Matrix Integration in the May/June issue of BizVoice®.

The first two interviews traveled the green spectrum – one person describing active involvement in a community recognition program for environmentally-friendly practices; the other admitting to not having greenwashing and carbon footprint on her radar screen.

What do you think? Do you feel a personal responsibility to alter the way you operate at home, work and play to try and make a difference for future generations? Or, despite Al Gore’s best efforts, are you unconvinced about global warming and man’s direct impact?

 Let us know what you think. I’d like to add your perspective to our BizVoice® report and analysis.

I’m chairing an initiative by our Wellness Committee called the Workplace Wellness Project. The goal of the project is to make the office more environmentally-friendly and help conserve our resources. Here are a few of the things we’re doing:

* Remove Styrofoam cups from the break room and supply paper cups, although we encourage staff to use their own mugs

* Recycle cans in the break room, as well as collect poptabs for the Ronald McDonald House

* Recycle office paper through a local trash company (which we’ve been doing for years). The Chamber also has a publications department, so we’ve recently started recycling old pubs through Indianapolis Recycled Fiber. They will actually come pick them up.

* Educate staff with an environmental speaker at a staff meeting

* Kick off the project with a Pizza Party on Earth Day, which is April 22. Those who wish to attend must sign the Green Commandments, which are 10 suggested behaviors encouraging eco-friendly behavior such as shutting off lights when not in use, recycling when possible, not printing materials when e-documents suffice, bringing lunch in reusable containers, using pens until they are out of ink, etc.

We even have a cartoonish mascot to rally behind named Stan Arbor, the Workplace Wellness Wallaby (oh, the joys of Microsoft Publisher).

These are just some ideas to consider if you’d like to make your office more eco-friendly, help your bottom line and boost morale through a green project.

The Indiana Chamber’s wellness program includes a variety of activities, including - for the second season - organized kickball. The Chamber competes against other teams on Wednesday nights. The season lasts approximately eight weeks, including playoffs, and does a great job of fostering teamwork among employees.

All Chamber wellness activities are completely voluntary and offer rewards, including the opportunity to earn a paid day off, to participating staff. 

In today’s poor economic environment, businesses all across the state (and beyond) are seeking ways to cut costs. One department where your company can control costs is employee benefits.

Turn to the Indiana Chamber’s publication, Building a Business in Indiana (written by a team of attorneys from the Indianapolis law firm Bose McKinney & Evans LLP), for the guidance you’re looking for. Here are just a few ideas, as outlined in Chapter 6: "How Can I Keep My Benefit Costs Under Control?"

Consider implementing a wellness program. When employees are healthier, health care costs are lowered. Wellness programs typically are most successful when coupled with financial incentives.

Reduce annual and lifetime plan limits. Federal law does not prevent a health plan from imposing annual and lifetime benefit maximums. Employers seeking to minimize their financial exposure to unanticipated health care claims should reduce benefit maximums prior to the receipt of significant health claims from a single individual.

Offer different benefits for participants and dependents. Both the ADA and HIPAA explicitly permit health plans to provide different levels of benefits for participants and dependents. For example, it would not violate federal law for a health plan to have a $100,000 benefit cap for employees but only a $50,000 benefit cap for employee dependents.

Wellness is a frequent topic at Chamber conferences, finds its way into several publications, is a frequent topic in BizVoice magazine (nutrition tips for eating on the go are offered in the current issue) and a popular program for our organization. Lunch hour yoga, kickball (yes, I said kickball), a walking club, healthy snacks, health screenings and more are helping the Chamber and its staff.

There are numerous resources to help you get started or enhance an existing program. Let us know how we might be able to help.