Integrated Benefits Institute Offers New Resource to Help Employers Improve Workforce Health, Lost Time and Productivity

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Employers seek to better coordinate the work of their many benefits suppliers to reduce waste while improving the employee experience and workforce health and productivity. To this end, the non-profit Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI) has released a new "how-to" resource.

The resource, Winning Together: Turning Vendors into Partners for Workforce Health and Productivity, includes a DVD to explain these coordination strategies; a downloadable toolkit of checklists, templates and guides developed by Chris McSwain through his pioneering work at SCANA and Whirlpool; and information on IBI modeling and measurement tools. Additional details on the resource, including a highlights video, can be found on IBI's website. Free copies of the supplier management resources and DVD also are available from the website.

"Historically employers organized their many health-related benefits programs in independent silos, even though the multiple vendors that provide health-related services target the very same people," said Thomas Parry, PhD, president, IBI. "Many employers now want to take a more holistic and integrated approach. The information in this tool kit assists employers in managing their health, absence and disability-related vendors to coordinate services and improve the health and productivity of the workforce."

Funded by Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., the DVD features a conversation between Thomas Parry and Chris McSwain, who now works for Walmart as Vice President, U.S. Benefits.

"Suppliers often will need direction to show them why and how to change," said Chris McSwain. "They need an employer to help them think differently and make the transition from vendor, to supplier, to partner. Employers of all sizes can meet key benefits delivery goals by adopting supplier coordination as a core competency for their benefits team."

About the Integrated Benefits Institute

The Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI) provides employers and their supplier partners with resources for demonstrating the business value of health. As a pioneer, leader and nonprofit supplier of health and productivity research, measurement and benchmarking, IBI is a trusted source for benefits performance analysis, research-based approaches, and forums for information and education. IBI's programs, resources and expert member networks advance understanding about the link between – and the impact of – health-related productivity on corporate America's bottom line. For additional information visit: ibiweb.org.

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SOURCE Integrated Benefits Institute