The most common measure of “value” for a wellness program is ROI, but a recent survey found that companies are beginning to look beyond just ROI for additional metrics to help justify their programs.

The Alliance for Wellness ROI, Inc.'s (Alliance) 4th Annual Survey of Corporate Wellness Programs showed that such metrics include:

  • Wellness program utilization levels
  • Decrease in risk (measured by health risk appraisal (HRA) responses, decreased healthcare costs, and absenteeism)
  • Reduction in specific identified medical issues
  • Comparison of healthcare costs to benchmarks
  • Employee satisfaction
  • Employee biometric data
  • Actuarial analysis of participant vs. nonparticipant claims
  • Adherence to recommended diagnostic protocols

As many HR managers are finding it harder to convince CFOs of the worth of wellness, some of the metrics above may prove useful.

Alliance for Wellness ROI

Alliance, the organization that conducted the survey, is a nonprofit intercompany cooperative formed in January 2005.

The mission of Alliance is to promote corporate wellness programs by demonstrating, through an objective Return on Investment (ROI) measurement, that wellness programs are an investment rather than an expense to a company.

The following is a summary of the results of Alliance’s 4th Annual Survey. Readers should be aware that the target of the survey is larger companies—about half of respondents were with organizations of 10,000 or more employees.

Department Where Wellness Was Initiated

Department

Percent of respondents

Human Resources

38.5%

Benefits

23.1%

HR/Benefits

23.1%

Health Services

15.4%

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Senior Management Support

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being absolutely supportive), many survey respondents reported that their senior management is supportive of their wellness program:

Scale score

Percent of respondents

1-4

5.9%

5

5.9%

6

11.8%

7

17.6%

8

17.6%

9

17.6%

10

23.5%

Annual per Employee Cost

The per employee total wellness program cost for survey respondents varied from less than $50 to more than $400 annually. Almost 20% of the responding companies had annual average wellness program costs in excess of $400 per employee.

Alliance points out that these cost figures can be hard to interpret. For example, say a company offers a comprehensive physical outside of the medical plan to all employees and their spouses. Some companies may consider such a cost a healthcare cost and others may consider it a wellness program cost.

Per Employee Cost

Percent of respondents

Less than $50

33.3%

$50 - $99

16.7%

$100 - $149

33.3%

$150 - $199

0.0%

$200 - $249

0.0%

$250 - $399

0.0%

$400+

16.7%

 

Prevalence and Type of Wellness Program Offerings

All of the responding companies had some semblance of a wellness program, the majority of which were extremely robust (i.e., include more than five   Alliance’s standard wellness program components).

Program component

Percent of respondents offering

Work/life balance

95%

HRA

94%

Employee assistance programs (EAPs)

85%

Wellness educational materials

83%

Fitness programs

83%

Preventive care

80%

Disease management

72%

Weight management

72%

Smoking cessation

72%

Telephonic wellness services

66%

On-site medical

22%

Work/Life Balance Programs

Of the 95% of respondents that offered a work/life balance component, the most prevalent were service programs managed externally by separate vendors, with the exception of lactation support programs, which were primarily administered internally.

Program component

Percent of respondents offering

Legal

71%

Financial

53%

Concierge

47%

Subsidy for On-site Childcare

18%

Subsidy for Off-site Childcare

0%

Lactation Support

59%

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Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Eighty-three percent of survey respondents offered an EAP, typically through plan providers separate from their medical plans.

Program component

Percent of respondents offering

Call Line

100%

Critical Incident Services

80%

Stress Management

53%


Weight Management

Weight management was a common offering.  In some instances, to receive coverage, the participants must meet certain requirements such as a body mass index above a predefined level.

Program component

Percent of respondents offering

Coverage or Discounts for Weight Loss

85%

Weight Loss Surgery

69%

Weight Loss Medications

31%

Nutritional Counseling

54%

Healthy Cafeteria Choices

92%

Financial Incentives for Weight Loss

8%

Wellness Education/Communication

Most survey respondents offered at least one type of wellness education and communication program component.   

Program component

Percent of respondents offering

Online Communications

93%

Print Communications

87%

Audio/Visual Communications

27%

Self-care Guide

27%

Pre-natal Program

67%

In tomorrow's Advisor, we'll cover survey responses on HRAs, disease management, and smoking cessation, and we'll take a look at a unique guide that will help you in setting up and administering your wellness program.

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