Understandably, when organizations invest money into wellness programs, they would probably like a bit of return on their investment. Standard ROI’s for employee wellness programs are increased employee engagement and higher retention numbers. But the key to seeing this type of ROI lies in participation. A well-developed and well-run employee wellness program would likely see participation levels at 75% or higher. For most wellness programs, however, participation rates usually average less than 50%. That’s because building a wellness program is harder than it seems. Not only do you have to build the wellness program, but you have to build a wellness program your team wants to participate in.
Benefits Of Wellness Programs
Effective wellness programs can lead to positive outcomes for both the organization and the employee. At their core, wellness programs encourage employees to make healthier lifestyle choices, ultimately resulting in fewer sick days and fewer insurance claims. But the benefits of wellness programs don’t end there.
Additional benefits of wellness programs include
- Reduced absenteeism
- Higher levels of engagement
- Lower healthcare costs for the organization
- Increased productivity and morale
- Reduced worker’s compensation and disability-related clients
While wellness programs have many potential benefits, not all wellness programs are created equally. Every organization differs in planning and implementation. So, while some companies successfully reap the benefits of a well-run wellness program, others continue to fall short year after year.
4 Reasons Why Wellness Programs Fail
While the lack of employee participation is the number one reason most employee wellness programs fail, there are a few more reasons for their failure to launch.
Poor Planning And Design
Many organizations tend to take a one-size-fits-all approach to employee wellness programs. The problem here is that people are different; their healthcare concerns are different, so their needs are different. And while generic wellness programs may appeal to some folks on your staff, you’ll never reach the participation levels you’d like because most of your team will be left out in the cold.
Privacy Concerns
Most employee wellness programs require the collection of private information to screen for health conditions. Understandably, this can be quite concerning for most employees. First, most folks believe that their participation in a wellness program will allow their employer unfettered access to their medical records. Second, employees often worry about how a medical condition will impact their employment, their health benefits, or that it could lead to other repercussions in the workplace.
Limited Accessibility
Employees spend about one-third of their day at work. So, at the end of the (work) day, a wellness program that eats more time out of their day or requires them to be somewhere other than their homes is a hard sell.
Poor Management Participation
Unfortunately, when many organizations roll out wellness programs, upper management rolls it out to the employees, but they fail to participate in it themselves. More often than not, when the C-Suite is nowhere to be found, it sends a message to the employees that the wellness program it’s for “ye,” not for “me.” It creates an “us and them” dynamic that will ultimately lead your wellness program to fail.
Employees are far more likely to participate in wellness programs if they know the company executives are on board. The fact is management must lead by example in all aspects of their employee’s professional life, including participation in wellness programs.
How To Build A Successful Wellness Program
Now that we have a better understanding of why wellness programs fail. Here are some tips for building one that your team wants to participate in.
Meet Your Team Where They’re At
Wellness programs often tend to focus on things like smoking cessation, nutrition, and fitness.
But industry trends indicate that the need and demand for mental health programs are on the uptick. To build a successful wellness program, you must give the people what they want.
To that end, an anonymous survey can go a long way toward taking the pulse of your team. Once you figure out what they want and what they need, you can go on to develop a program with solid participation numbers.
It’s also worth noting that wellness programs should be pretty fluid. Yesterdays’s wellness initiatives were focused on biometric screenings, health fairs, and stocked kitchens. Post pandemic, however, burnout and mental health are top of mind for most employees. Clearly, the wellness programs that worked in 2019 will probably fall terribly short today.
This might even be a strong argument for using a third-party vendor to help you develop a wellness program that works. Vendors like Goomi Group make it a point to stay abreast of current industry trends. Moreover, wellness is their business. That means they have the tools and resources to stay fluid and keep your programs relevant and working.
Address Privacy Concerns
While it’s important to build a wellness program that provides transparency, the success of your program lies in how you communicate those policies. It’s vital that your employees understand what data will be collected and how that data will be used.
If you’re using a third-party vendor for your wellness program, be sure that everyone understands how that company handles confidential data.
Beyond clear communication, you may want to think about keeping waivers on file, indicating that all medical information is between the health provider and the employee only.
Make It Accessible
A good wellness program should come to your employees, not the other way around. Moreover, employees should have access to said wellness program anytime, day or night. Wellness programs that can be used during company time are far more likely to succeed than those that ask even more out of the employee than a standard workday.
Get The C-suite On Board
The fact is management must lead by example in all aspects of their employee’s professional life, including participation in wellness programs. Employees are far more likely to participate in wellness programs if they know the company executives are on board.
Beyond a visual presence that gives employees the green light to freely participate in wellness programs, executive participation in these programs also sends a strong message about company culture that can also be “make or break” for wellness programs.
Find The Right Incentives
Incentives are a proven way to increase engagement in wellness programs. While financial incentives such as contributions to Health Savings Accounts, cash, or gift cards are the most effective, there are plenty of other incentives that work too.
PTO probably ranks right up there with financial incentives for participation. It’s hard to imagine getting any pushback on this one.
Merchandise for wellness program participation is never a bad idea. The only caveat here is that you need to make it something worthwhile. Electronics, home goods, and food are always great motivators. (Think: coffee machines, smartphone accessories, gift cards to local restaurants, etc.)
Keep It Simple
The fastest way to make anyone lose interest in anything is to make it difficult. At the end of the day, employees will never participate in a wellness program that takes too much time and effort to understand. If you want your employee wellness program to succeed, keep it simple.
Wellness programs are an excellent way to help your employees and help your organization. But to reap the rewards of a wellness program, you need to build one that your team wants to participate in. Anonymous surveys are a great way to get a feel for what they want and need. Beyond that, be sure that your wellness program includes everyone at all levels of your organization, put some extra thought into the incentives you offer, and keep it simple.
If you’d like to implement a wellness program within your own company but don’t know where to start, Goomi Group can help. Whether you’re on-site or online, Goomi can meet you where you are with employee wellness solutions that work for everyone.
