How to Measure & Evaluate Impact of Employee Wellness Programs

According to the Workplace Research Foundation, employees who are highly engaged with their company are 38% more likely to have above-average productivity. The purpose of an employee wellness program is to lower financial burden, improve employee morale and enhance employees’ overall quality of life. One enormous benefit of employee wellness programs is that they can lead to employees feeling appreciated, improving their overall job satisfaction. The perks of these programs can range from traditional benefits like health insurance to more modern approaches like gym memberships or even chefs in the office. It can be difficult to tell, however, if these investments are paying off and to know if they’re actually making an impact. Increasingly, the debate on ROI vs. VOI of Employee Wellness Programmes has thus gained momentum. Below mentioned are a few ways to identify if your employee wellness programs are worth, what you’re putting into them: 1. ROI and VOI- ROI (Return Of Investment) can determine if employees have managed to reduce health care costs and reduce the number of sick days. VOI (Value On Investment) enables companies to have a more complete picture of the benefits of their employee wellness programs. In addition to calculating the financial return on an investment, VOI also factors intangible values such as employee morale, retention, and productivity into its analysis. This approach can help employers better understand the culture that they are creating around employee wellness and determine how this contributes to the overall goals of their workplace. 2. Productivity / Work output- Productivity of an employee is directly proportional to physical and mental well-being. If the wellness program you’ve implemented is one that your employees truly love, it can show in improved revenue and increased profits. 3. Reduced Absenteeism- Since employee wellness programs are focused on wellness, it makes sense that your employees’ health should improve once these programs are implemented. As employees are healthy, there will be a significant reduction in absenteeism, which will ultimately increase the efficiency too. 4. Employee Engagement- Generally, employees do not wish to participate in other company activities unless an incentive is provided. If you see a big increase in employee participation,that's a great sign as to the wellness program working out for your employees. 5. Employee satisfaction- When employees are healthy, they are naturally happier. Employee wellness programmes assist with professional help for psychological issues, employees can be stress-free and therefore, the work environment becomes positive. Employee health and wellness programs are financial investments, and while they often provide a financial return, ROI doesn’t always measure their full worth. More and more, companies are using VOI as a more holistic metric to evaluate workplace culture and employee wellness. It's essential to establish best practices for measuring the success of a wellbeing program right from the beginning. A flexible framework provides room to grow and accommodates changing health needs in your company. It’s important to look beyond the numbers and consider the real, human impact of your corporate wellbeing program. Behind every medical claim or absence is a real person. Improving health outcomes for your people should always be a driving force behind your wellbeing strategy and measurement. The goal is to create a supportive, inclusive workplace so that employees are able to remain productive and even excel in their outcomes.