More than one in four (27%) companies, however, do not measure the outcomes of these programs and 65% of companies have no measurable goals for their initiatives.
“Wellness programs are now a standard workplace benefit as employers recognize the need to invest in initiatives that help employees to better manage their health given that health care costs continue to soar,” said Sunit Patel, senior vice president of Fidelity’s Consulting Services business, which commissioned the study with NBGH. “However when it comes to measurement, wellness programs are in their infancy. Most employers need help establishing clear program goals and measuring the impact these programs have on the overall well being and productivity of their employees.”
“Offering wellness programs and encouraging employees to maintain healthy lifestyles can be enormously beneficial to any organization as well as to its workers,” said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health. “Employers, however, won’t see meaningful results from these programs unless they effectively communicate information about them to employees and provide incentives that will motivate employees to participate and focus on taking the necessary steps to improve their own health.”
Most Employers Unsure of ROI; Struggle with Employee Engagement
The study revealed that six out of 10 companies with health improvement programs do not know their return on investment across all their programs holistically. Companies ranked outcome measurement as their No. 1 challenge, followed by employee engagement and participation.
“Measuring health improvement programs as a suite of offerings, as opposed to individual initiatives, is essential to understanding the true impact of an employer's investment,” said Patel. “We work with many companies each year to ensure that their wellness programs are effective in driving stronger results through greater employee engagement across a range of programs.”
In order to encourage participation in wellness programs, more than half (57%) of companies surveyed said they use incentives that have a cash value. The most common incentives offered by an employer are to reduce the employee’s health care premium followed by cash and contributions to a health reimbursement arrangement or a health savings account. One out of five companies (20%) spends more than $400 per employee a year on incentives alone. Almost one third (29%) spend less than $100 per employee.
Companies Spend Balanced Amount on Prevention and Treatment of Existing Conditions
Companies are spending almost the same amount of money on programs aimed at prevention and lifestyle wellness (45%) as on programs that manage conditions after the onset of disease or illness (43%). The most prevalent programs in the prevention and lifestyle categories are on-site flu shots (90% of companies offer them), preventive-care reminders related to screenings or annual exams (68%), employee assistance programs (92%), stress management (68%) and smoking cessation (66%). The top condition-management programs in use are nurse hotlines where nurses are available to answer questions via telephone (79%), diabetes disease management (74%), coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure and asthma disease management (69%).
