Fran Melmed

Fran Melmed is an award-winning HR communications consultant specializing in workplace wellness and health care consumerism. Prior to founding context communication consulting llc context communication, Fran worked at Hewitt Associates in their Talent and Organizational Change and Communication practices in the U.S. and U.K. Contact her at fran@contextcommunication.com, and follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/femelmed.

IBM’s Eat-to-Earn System Rewards Employees For Eating Right

Fran MelmedJanuary 6, 2012

Around the same time you were pondering a resolution to eat better in the new year, IBM was patenting an idea that might make that easier. Long known for … Read more

How Are You Handling Smoking Cessation in Your Workplace?

Fran MelmedNovember 21, 2011

This being the month of the Great American Smokeout, I’m focused on tobacco cessation. The bottom line seems to be this: the public supports tobacco-free … Read more

5 Assumptions About Work-Life Flexibility That Are Absolutely Wrong

Fran MelmedNovember 11, 2011

Employers may not know as much about work-life flexibility as they think, according to a report from the Families and Work Institute and the Society for … Read more

Does Walmart’s Benefits Reversal Signal the Future of Health Care Benefits?

Fran MelmedOctober 26, 2011

Walmart reversed an earlier decision last week and announced it would no longer cover spouses or provide health benefits to future part-time employees. At … Read more

Study Digs Into Business Investment and The ROI of Healthy Employees

Fran MelmedOctober 14, 2011

We know employers want employees and their families to make healthier choices. We now know that as employees and consumers we want businesses to do more to … Read more

8 Principles For Communicating to Employees About Open Enrollment

Fran MelmedSeptember 15, 2011

Annual enrollment can be a crazy time, particularly if you come to the planning process late. When advising clients, here are the 8 guiding principles I … Read more

Your Company’s Wellness Message: It Pays to Not Try and Spin Employees

Fran MelmedSeptember 7, 2011

When it comes to communicating about workplace wellness, there’s some debate about what the company’s message should be. Some say a company should never … Read more

Do Benefits Have an Impact on Employee Loyalty?

Fran MelmedAugust 12, 2011

Last month, CoHealth welcomed Ron Leopold, MetLife’s vice president, U.S. business, to our monthly tweet chat. We discussed MetLife’s 9th Annual Study of … Read more

Health Care Reform: It’s a Mistake to Dial Down the Messages to Employees

Fran MelmedAugust 1, 2011

This year’s been a quiet in terms of health care reform. There aren’t major changes as there were last year or as there will be in 2014. Because of that, … Read more

How a Game Can Educate Employees About High Deductible Health Plans

Fran MelmedJuly 8, 2011

I’m working with an employer who’ll offer only high-deductible health plans in 2013. They’ve been offering this type of plan with a health reimbursement … Read more