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Measuring Workforce Productivity 2012 Executive Board of Directors President Robin Knight Hayward, Tilton & Rolapp Insurance Assoc. Vice President Mark Turner San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital TreasurerLynn Elder Childhelp Merv Griffin Village Secretary Ken Coate Inland Surety Board Members Lynn Bogh Baldi, Director Emeritus Sean Balingit, Baldi Bros. Linda Hanley, The Bank of Hemet Lyle Millage, Director Emeritus Terry Peak, Peak Expectations Matt Pistilli, Pistilli Landscape Deborah St. Martin, Oak Valley Tax Jim Walling Chamber Staff Executive Director Sheri Bogh Office Assistant Cathy Hlebasko Marketing/Membership Melina Heath Volunteers Anita Davis Donna Franco Melody Seewoster Charla Sparks Darlene Welch Anita Worthen Ambassador Team Dwight Addleman, LifeSpring Christian Church Randy Harris, Mr. Real Estate Steven Leach, ING Financial Partners Marilyn Taylor, The Bountiful Basket Anita Worthen, VFW Coordinator 2 BEAUMONT NOW | MAY 2013 Published by the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce and Image Up Advertising & Design Beaumont Chamber of Commerce 726 Beaumont Ave • Beaumont, CA 92223 951-845-9541 • Fax 951-769-9080 director@beaumontcachamber • assistant@beaumontcachamber marketing@beaumontcachamber.com • www.beaumontcachamber.com City Of beaumont, california Beaumont Civic Center • 550 E. 6th St., Beaumont, CA 92223 951-769-8520 • Fax 951-769-8526 Email: cityhall@ci.beaumont.ca.us • www.BeaumontCares.com To advertise in Beaumont Now Contact Courtney Taylor at Image Up Advertising & Design 909-797-3647 • Fax 909-797-3645 • imageup1@verizon.net Government contacts Beaumont City Council Roger Berg, Mayor • David Castaldo, Mayor Pro-Tem Council Members: Brian De Forge, Jeff Fox, Brenda Knight Beaumont Planning commission Sean Balingit, Richard Bennecke, Nathan Smith, Nick Wirick, Robert Tinker County of Riverside 5th District Supervisor Marion Ashley, 4080 Lemon St., 5th floor, Riverside, CA 92502 951-955-1050 • Fax 951-955-9030 • Email: mashley@rcbos.org State Representatives Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-65th District 73-710 Fred Waring Dr., Ste. #116 • Palm Desert, CA 92260 760-674-0164 • Fax 760-674-0184 Capitol Office: State Capitol, Room 4139, Sacramento, CA 95814 916-319-2042 • Fax 916-319-2142 Senator Bill Emmerson, R-23th District 8577 Haven Avenue, Suite 210 • Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 909-466-4180 • Fax 909-466-4185 Content provided by Cigna, submitted by Robin L. Knight, 20132014 President Beaumont Community Chamber of Commerce; Hayward Tilton Rolapp Insurance; 1-760-404-1530m xt. 1532, robink@htrinsure.com There's a saying among educators: "Measure what you treasure." For example, if you're a fourth-grade teacher and you value math skills, then assess and measure how well your students have mastered those skills. But how does this apply to the business world? Even outside the classroom, the "measure what you treasure" adage is still relevant. For instance, workforce productivity is one of the most critical issues facing employers. Productivity is treasured, so it should be measured - even if it's not as simple as giving kids a math test. If you produce goods or services, you can measure how many widgets your factory produces per employee, or you can measure how much output you derive from your employees for every dollar of pay. You can also measure some of the impediments to productivity, such as absences for illness and disability. Statistics about the amount of time that your employees aren't working should be readily available to you. But what about presenteeism, when employees are physically at work but not performing at peak productivity? That's not tangible, like the number of widgets created or the number of days missed due to illness, so how can you measure it? One way is with a health risk assessment (HRA). An HRA asks questions about biometrics and behavior that can help employers understand the overall health characteristics and health risks of its employee population; for example, questions about weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, diet, health screenings and physical activity. But HRAs also ask your employees questions that can help you understand presenteeism and productivity. For example, "During the past four weeks how much did your health problems affect your productivity while you were working?" Sophisticated HRAs include questions about sleep, stress and other behavioral factors that can affect productivity; and they also ask employees to rate their job performance, which can be a leading indicator of productivity. These types of questions may not give you an exact measure of how much productivity is lost through presenteeism, but they're a good proxy and their accuracy has been scientifically validated. Information gleaned from an HRA is confidential and protected by HIPAA. However, aggregate data is available to employers and it can be a valuable tool that can offer clues about what's happening in the workplace. Are your workers stressed? Are they satisfied with their jobs? Are they getting enough sleep? These can all be measured through a health assessment — and armed with this information employers can tailor wellness and other programs to address what might be lowering productivity. Programs that help workers make positive behavior changes can lead to healthier lifestyles. Healthier employees lose fewer days to illness and disability, and experience less lost time from presenteeism, which means improved productivity and a healthier bottom-line. United States Representatives U.S. Congress: 36th Congressional District: Raul Ruiz District Office: 777 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite 338 Palm Springs, CA 92262 U.S. Senate: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) District Office: 750 B St., Ste. 1030, San Diego, CA 92101 619-231-9712 • Fax 619-231-1108 • Email: senator@feinstein.senate.gov Senator Barbara Boxer (D) District Office: 3403 10th Street, Ste. 704 • Riverside, CA 92501 951-684-4849 • Fax 202-228-3868 • Email: senator@boxer.senate.gov On the cover: Veteran stands at attention at Beaumont's Memorial Day event. Photo by Rigo Pena for the City of Beaumont. BEAUMONT NOW | MAY 2013 3

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