THIS year's list of the Singapore Health Award recipients revealed a glaring truth: most were multinational companies or government agencies, with just a handful of SMEs. 'In general, smaller companies have many other challenging business priorities,' said Health Promotion Board (HPB) chief executive officer Lam Pin Woon. 'Many also have the misconception that a workplace health programme is expensive.'
According to HPB, 33.5 per cent of this year's award winners employ 200 people or less, up from 30.3 per cent in 2004 but a dip from 34.1 per cent in 2006. But the numbers include public agencies, so the actual proportion of SME winners is lower.
Going by the accounts of SME recipients, a workplace health programme need not be that expensive. For instance, specialty chemicals firm Kuraray Asia Pacific, which has fewer than 80 workers, has found a lot can be done with just $10,000.
'The cost need not be big,' said Kuraray's HR and administration senior manager Gracie Neo. 'And it's a way to differentiate your company from others as a choice employer. It's a way to attract and retain staff.'
Simple things like physical exercise sessions, mass health screening, free fruit and advice on how to eat right and stay fit can go long way, she says. A recipient of the Singapore Health-Gold award, Kuraray started implementing such programmes in 2004.
Cargo Community Network, which has 60 staff, organises very low cost or free activities such as jogging and brisk walking. 'Kent Ridge Park is in our backyard, so we take advantage of this to allow staff to engage in exercise' said the IT solutions provider's general manager Teow Boon Ling. 'We also organise a yearly run in Kent Ridge Park - and we don't have to pay a cent to use it.'
Kuraray's annual medical costs fell 10 per cent in 2006. And the company has noticed a big increase in team spirit.
'When you participate as a group, for instance, at jogging or badminton, you come together with other people. There's a lot of laughter, a lot of bonding,' said Ms Neo.
Although no longer an SME, Apex-Pal started a workplace health programme in 2002 when it was one. Back then the company behind the Sakae Sushi chain had 160 staff and four outlets. But its small size did not stop it encouraging its employees to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
It fully subsidises fees when they attend activities conducted by the Singapore Sports Council or at any community centre island-wide. And staff get $10 vouchers they can accumulate to offset against the purchase of sports gear.
Besides free generic health screening, Apex-Pal negotiates corporate rates for staff for specialist screening. It has also made available confidential counselling to help employees with personal well-being, including marital, family, financial, mental and emotional problems. In fact, it even pays the full cost of programmes to help staff quit smoking.
Apex-Pal, which now has more than 30 dining outlets and 1,200 staff in Singapore, started measuring the outcomes of its health programmes in 2004.
'HR is often questioned about the return on investments of these programmes,' said group HR and capability development vice-president May Foo. 'Based on our statistics, our MC rate has dropped by 400 days per year.'
Better still, monthly staff turnover has dropped from 10 per cent in 2006 to 4 per cent last year. As a result, recruitment and training costs as a proportion of overall operating expenses fell from 10 per cent in 2005 to 5 per cent in 2006.
Support available
HPB's study shows 51 per cent of private companies with between 50 and 200 employees have some form of workplace health programme. And for those yet to introduce one, there is no time like the present.
HPB offers inexperienced SMEs one-on-one coaching and modular programmes that can be carried out easily. There are also external vendors, including hospitals, non-profit organisations and commercial service providers that conduct health activities on site for a fee.
SMEs with at least 30 employees can tap the Workplace Health & Sports Promotion Grant, which provides up to $10,000 for an organisation to start and sustain health promotion and sports programmes at work. The SME must co-fund the project by an equal or greater amount. The fund can be used for employee health assessments, health promotion training or consultancy, active recreation or enhancing sports knowledge.
'Recognising that SMEs may not have the resources or critical mass to run in-house programmes, HPB has started to work with commercial building owners such as Ascendas and Singapore Labour Foundation to bring health programmes and screening services to the doorstep of SMEs,' said HPB's Mr Lam. 'We would like to rally more commercial building owners to do the same, so that SMEs which form natural clusters all over Singapore can get together to form a critical mass, share resources and gain benefits from workplace health.'
Even after kick-starting programmes, a major challenge can be persuading employees to spare the time to take part. Cargo Community Network has tackled this. It lets staff to go off 30 minutes earlier for a weekly runs or walk if they spend at least one hour on the physical activity. Employees are also awarded points for individual and team participation. These points are accumulated until the company's annual family day, when teams are ranked and prizes given.
'To show we are serious about promoting a healthy lifestyle, we also encourage participation by including it as a factor in performance appraisal,' said Cargo Community Network's Mr Teow, a winner of this year's Health Leader Award. 'Although a small component of the overall appraisal, this can still affect the bonus an individual gets at the end of the year,' he said.
But experienced SMEs warns against using short-term indicators to measure the long-term benefits of encouraging a healthy lifestyle. Apex-Pal's Ms Foo suggests allowing at least three years for a programme to show a return on investment.
'As new managers come in, some of them just want to drive sales,' she said. 'As HR, we have to keep pitching to them to encourage them to send staff for health programmes, because we'll be looking at healthier, more productive employees'
This article was first published in The Business Times on December 02, 2008.
