Health Enhancement Research Organization Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

HERO's activities are as follows: Think Tank members meet in February, May/June and in the Fall preceding the annual HERO Forum. Originally formed to seek answers to rising health care costs for companies, the Think Tank has continued its work in 2024 to also study Total Worker Health and the integregation of well-being and safety, the introduction of Lifestyle as Medicine as a model for improving employee health (a grant funded by Ardmore Institute of Health), the connection between brain health (cognitive resilience) and business performance, and how companies can integrate well-being into their social responsibility initiatives.HERO committees, comprised of Think Tank member company employees, aredeveloping guidance for employers in areas that include workforce mental health and well-being and the multi-dimensional strategies that serve to develop and support an organization's people and culture. The annual HERO Forum brings together industry thought leaders and business executives to share best practices, discuss innovation and research in the field, and build networks that support new partnerships and collaborations. In addition, HERO provides 1-2 complimentary webinars monthly for HERO members and the employer marketplace on topics of interest related to workplace health and well-being.The HERO Scorecard is a free, online tool that employers can use to benchmark their health and well-being efforts against a national database of all employers that have completed a Scorecard response. Companies also receive subscores for mental health, DEI, and social determinants of health. In 2024, a brain health subscore was developed and released to help organizations understand the best practices associated with supporting cognitive function and resilience of their employees. The Scorecard database includes large, midsize and small employers. Companies can purchase benchmark reports to compare against other organizations by size, region, and industry. For an annual license fee, HERO also offers the Scorecard Preferred Provider Program for organizations (e.g., benefits consultants, well-being vendors) that wish to receive regular reports on their clients' data. The HERO Scorecard in available in a U.S. version. The International version was updated in 2022, and is also available in Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish and Chinese.In 2022, HERO was awarded a sole-source contract from NIOSH through the Department of Health and Human Services to develop an open-source data clearinghouse for the NIOSH Worker Well-being Questionnaire (WellBQ). With completion of this project in 2024, researchers now have access to employee-level data to inform research studies on employee health, well-being and safety and the organizational best practices that support a healthy work environment. Employers have the added capability to easily administer the online survey to employees and receive a de-identified summary report of their data.HERO connects science and practice for employers and updates the research agenda annually to reflect areas of importance to demonstrate the value of a health and well-being employer ecosystem. When approved by HERO's research leadership, HERO will designate research funds to support a study to add to the evidence for health and well-being.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 58.5%; rating input score 58
• Program expense ratio: 50.7%; rating input score 51
• Fundraising efficiency: $0.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -15.4%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.9; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 14.4%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -4.6% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -3.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -11.6% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings