Employers have a lot of questions when deciding to implement an employee wellness program. One of the biggest concerns – at least for those in the C-suite – is how to ensure that the wellness program is improving employee health and, eventually, positively impacting the organization’s bottom line.
With this in mind, some employers are turning to what are known as outcome-based programs. Outcome-based programs have not been used as much historically, but are gaining traction since executives want to see the return on investment from employee wellness program implementation. Outcome-based programs are good for this because the premise is that an employee receives a reward if they achieve a specific health goal. This more closely ties employee wellness program costs to improved employee health outcomes.
Metrics for employee wellness programs
How can progress and results of an employee wellness program be measured? How can the costs be tracked? Here are some metrics to use in employee wellness programs:
- Number of biometric screening participants. This helps to create an average for some of the future results. The total number of participants is also required in order to know whether the aggregate results should be shared. Aggregate results should not be shared with too few participants because individual results may easily be deduced.
- Aggregated weight and weight lost. This is the starting weight and weight lost after 12 months or at the conclusion of each milestone within the program.
- Biometric screening results. This can be as simple as testing the basics. It does involve a cost, however. (It is probably the largest item in a wellness program budget in the absence of monetary rewards for outcomes). Here are some basic biometric screening examples: BMI, waist circumference, glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure, height, and weight.
“This is a very strong baseline where many disease indicators are housed. So this allows us to keep the cost contained when it comes to biometric screening . . . while still allowing us to use this information to identify any ‘red flag’ areas within an individual’s health.” Emily York Richards explained in a recent CER webinar.
- Program participation details. This might include the average number of times an individual exercised per week, the number of activities the individual is participating in, the use of the program’s virtual platform or smartphone platform, or the individual’s average daily caloric intake, for example.
- Average general stress level, satisfaction in workplace, and connectivity in the workplace (each measured on a numeric scale). These are measured based on employee surveys. The surveys are conducted at three points: 1) at the start of the program to establish a base to measure against, 2) mid-way through the program to check effectiveness, and 3) at the conclusion of the program. These answers help employers to see whether the program has impacted employee satisfaction.
- Retention rate and number of sick days taken (absenteeism). Internal HR usually figures these separate from the wellness program. These should, over time, improve.
- Cost of insurance claims and cost of workers’ compensation claims year-over-year. This can only be measured if provided by the insurance carrier. If you aren’t receiving aggregated information about these costs, ask your insurance provider—most have it and create reports with the data. These reports can help to monitor changes and identify red flag areas. (Having a lot of unhealthy individuals can mean that the average workers’ compensation claim cost is much higher than it would be otherwise.)
The above information is excerpted from the webinar “Employee Wellness: Making Sure Your Program Is Effective and Legally Sound Under the New Rule.” To register for a future webinar, visit CER webinars.
Emily Richards, founder and CEO of Sade Wellness, oversees business development, directs creative initiatives, and formulates the strategy for Sade’s client base. As a fitness and nutrition enthusiast, Ms. Richards embraces the importance of a life balance in body, mind, and spirit.