BENEFITS OF PRE-EMPLOYMENT MEDICALS
AN EMPLOYER’S SMART INVESTMENT
Pre-employment medicals are a series of medical examinations and tests that places and maintains employees in an occupational environment adapted to their physiological and psychological capacities.
The goal of the pre-employment examination is to determine whether an individual is fit to perform his or her job without risk to himself or others.
Over the years, pre-employment medical testing has often been viewed as a nice extra, not a strategic imperative. However, newer evidence tells a different story.
According to the Harvard Business Review, “since 1995, the percentage of Johnson & Johnson employees who have high blood pressure has declined—by more than half, this remarkable improvement was attributed to quality of their periodic pre-employment testing”.
Research has also shown that, pre-employment tests reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), lost workdays, and employee turnover by over 40%.
That’s great, obviously, but should it matter to you as a company(employer)?
Well, it turns out that a comprehensive, strategically designed investment in employees’ health pays off.
Johnson & Johnson’s leaders estimate that pre-employment medicals and other strategic workplace health programs have cumulatively saved the company $250 million (N102,700,000,000) on healthcare costs over the past decade; from 2002 to 2008, the return was $2.71 (N1, 195.11) for every dollar spent.
A 2003 study by Littleton also found that there is a cost savings of $18 (N7, 398) for every $1(N441) spent on workers pre-employment screening.
Apart from the cost saving benefit, pre-employment testing also confers other benefits.
Some of these benefits include:
- Maintaining Safety at Workplace
New employees should be free of medical conditions that could harm colleagues or customers, especially in health and safety sensitive jobs such as driving, piloting, heavy duty jobs etc. These conditions can be identified during screening and managed over time.
- Health Record Compilation
Screening provides baseline health data which the future health status of an employee can be compared with. It identifies existing medical conditions, including lifestyle and contagious diseases which could get adversely affected by occupational exposure.
- Ascertain Productivity and Efficiency
A healthy employee generates healthy results (productivity) for the company.
- Reduces Expense Reimbursement
An employee who suffers from a long-term illness which may require frequent hospitalization and absenteeism from work may cost the employer a lot of money.
- Higher Morale.
Often overlooked is the potential to strengthen an organization’s culture and to build employee pride, trust, and commitment. The inherent nature of pre-employment screening and other workplace wellness—a partnership between employee and employer—requires trust. Because personal health is such an intimate issue, investment in staff health can create deep bonds and improve staff morale.
- Saves Lives
Certain subtle but morbid health conditions such as hypertension can be identified during pre-employment screenings. This condition if identified early, can be managed properly with an individual’s life saved in the long run.
In summary, here are reasons why you should carry out pre-employment screening and Executive Health Checks for your employees:
- To ensure that the prospective employees are physically capable of performing the jobs assigned to them.
- Helps to identify any existing health conditions of employees, especially those that require long term care & management.
- To ascertain the suitability of any employee before a transfer or when he/she is promoted to another position with different work conditions.
- As a statutory requirement of regulatory organizations and bodies (depending on industry).
Pre-employment Screening? WE CAN HELP YOU!
We are not just another clinic that can run diagnostic tests! No, we are a healthcare that understands how the health of individuals affects a company’s results. Ambulance NG is focused on building a healthy workforce in a healthy workspace to generate a healthy bottom line for your company.
Ambulance NG is a Pan-African healthcare company with core services in Occupational Health & pre-hospital care (Land, Air, Water) services.
From recruitment to exit, Ambulance NG has your staff wellness covered.
Some workplace services we offer includes:
- Pre-employment & Preplacement Medicals
- On-going employment Medical Screening
- Return to Work Evaluation
- Functional Capacity Evaluation
- Drug and Alcohol Screening
- Offshore Medical Certification
- Diving Medicals
- NIMASA Seafarer Certification
- Food Handler’s Test
- Respiratory Fit Testing
- OGUK (former UKOOA)
Get in touch: http://www.ambulance.ng/contact/
services@ambulance.ng; 08100368345, 07044007947, 08034773692
Written by: Dr Babajide Johnson & Fikunola Orafidiya