How-To Choose the Right Corporate Wellness Partners
Today’s dynamic business landscape prioritizes the well-being of employees as an imperative for a successful and thriving company. Corporate wellness programs have evolved beyond a nice-to-have — they are recognized as strategic investments that result in healthier, more engaged workforces. So, how do you select the perfect corporate wellness partner? This article guides you through the key factors to consider when choosing your ideal partner, empowering your organization to make an informed decision that can propel you to new heights.
Boost Employee Well-Being with Corporate Wellness Partners
In this post:
1. Identify Wellness Goals & Objectives
2. Consider Available Resources
3. Research Potential Corporate Wellness Partners
a. Evaluate Experience & Expertise
d. Assess Technology & Support
4. Evaluate Wellness Program Offerings and Services
5. Strive Corporate Wellness Partners & Engagement Consultants
Identify Wellness Goals & Objectives
Defining the organization’s wellness goals and objectives lays the foundation for a successful partnership that aligns with your unique needs and aspirations. For example: improving employee morale, reducing absenteeism, stress management, or lowering healthcare costs. One necessary factor is understanding the specific health and wellness challenges your employees face. Workplace wellness assessments can be accomplished through channels such as surveys, interviews, health assessments, etc. This data reveals the current state of the workforce and serves as an ongoing measurement tool of wellness initiatives and their contribution to the organization’s culture of health.
Tip: Defining wellness goals and objectives should always involve key stakeholders and be closely tied to the organization’s big picture mission.
To encourage curiosity and engagement from the outset, administer an employee needs and interests survey to give them a voice in the decision-making process. Knowing what your employees’ individual wellness goals are and what they’re likely to participate in helps narrow the selection of corporate wellness partners based on their offerings. It’s also crucial to understand the logistics and constraints of your workforce to gauge how flexible or adaptable your partner needs to be to advance wellness goals. For example, a warehouse setting may require 24/7 availability, or a postal service might need virtual options for employees in the field.
When you work with Strive, we provide a complimentary employee needs and interests survey, analyze the data, and make programmatic recommendations to cut down on your internal team’s administrative time.
Consider Available Resources
Possessing an understanding of your available resources helps match you with a corporate wellness partner whose offerings align with your capabilities.
Internal Team
Wellness initiatives require an internal manager or owner to push them forward. Do you have in-house wellness experts, or is the organization interested in bringing on a full-time wellness coordinator? Do you have, or plan to have a wellness committee to bolster awareness and engagement, or would it be beneficial to have a partner that provides marketing communications as part of their delivery model?
Learn more about Coordinating a Wellness Program Internally vs. Hiring a Wellness Coordinator.
In addition to the daily operations of a wellness program, organizations must take legal compliance and safety and risk management into account. These are critical aspects of implementing wellness initiatives, and many clients utilize a corporate wellness partner to indemnify themselves of any risk associated with the wellness program. Otherwise, it is the organization’s responsibility to manage liability. Several organizations have approached Strive to rectify their system after an incident occurs. We encourage potential clients to have a plan in place from the start.
Another resource to consider is payroll. How simple or complicated is the pricing structure? Are there additional fees? Some corporate wellness partners provide one-off services throughout the year, necessitating multiple invoices for marginal amounts. Strive employs a fully-burdened pricing structure — our clients typically provide us with an annual budget and we invoice you one time. This not only saves your internal team time processing invoices, it:
- Enables program planning & administration to be unaffected by competing priorities that come up throughout the year
- Encourages the consistency necessary for employees to experience long-lasting behavior change
- Demonstrates your organization’s commitment to wellness
Financial Resources
Your financial resources inform the modality of the wellness initiative, as well as the frequency and duration of programming available to you. Determining a budget from the beginning makes your search for the ideal corporate wellness partner that much easier. In addition to internal funding, it’s important to explore if your health plan provides wellness dollars to your organization, as many do.
If you’re having trouble persuading key stakeholders to allocate a satisfactory budget for the wellness program, help them understand the Value of Investment (VOI):
Reduced healthcare costs
Increased engagement & productivity
Stress reduction
Improved employee retention
Improved job satisfaction
Improved morale
Discover more on How to Get Senior Leadership Buy-In for a Corporate Wellness Program.
Research Potential Corporate Wellness Partners
With goals and objectives defined, it’s time to bypass the seemingly most popular option and instead begin evaluating which corporate wellness partner best aligns with your organization.
Evaluate Experience & Expertise
When it comes to the wellness space, experience is a huge benefit. The industry has evolved over the years, and corporate wellness partners that continue to implement successful wellness programs have proven to adapt and elevate their approach. Additionally, many who are not familiar with the wellness industry are unaware of crucial subtleties, like the handling of liability waivers or the importance of marketing the program internally.
Selecting a corporate wellness partner with solid experience also comes with invaluable expertise. How familiar are they with wellness compliance? What is their safety track record? In addition to practical expertise, a seasoned partner like Strive is creative in their approach, serving as a knowledgeable consultant and sharing their ethos for wellness to ensure your wellness program is sustainable and engaging.
Review Client Testimonials
Reviewing client testimonials about a prospective partner provides valuable insights into their program effectiveness and the overall experience of working with them. Wellness programs can be administratively taxing — were their clients properly supported? What types of clients have they served?
Client testimonials can address or introduce obstacles relevant to your workforce. For example, Blue Shield of California, a Strive client, provided the following review specifically praising our flexibility and openness to try new things. This testimonial may speak to an organization that is currently limited in program offerings or anticipating unique needs for their employees.
“Our new virtual offerings from Strive changed the game for us and opened up a world of possibilities for our employees. Not being met with a ‘No’ or ‘We can’t do that’ has been really beneficial for our wellness program. If we want to put new classes in, if we want to do something new, Strive always finds an instructor, they always say, ‘We can do that.’” — Jasmine U., Blue Shield of California
Compare Program Offerings
As you hone in on potential corporate wellness partners, book discovery calls or request detailed information to learn more about their offerings and programs. There are various types of wellness program providers, fitness center services, health coaches, etc. to explore. It’s important to have a thorough understanding of each vendor’s menu offerings, onsite and virtual capabilities, and delivery models.
Find out what their team is like and how they operate. Do you have an internal team dedicated to implementing and ongoing management of wellness initiatives, or is HR heading the endeavor and requiring administrative support from your prospective partner? Do they assist with program planning? Do they provide data reporting and programmatic recommendations? These are some items to consider when interfacing with corporate wellness vendors. If your organization does not have a full-time wellness staff, you benefit greatly from vendors like Strive that include program managers and engagement specialists in our delivery model.
Assess Technology & Support
It’s vital to be aware of the different types of technology solutions available. One piece of advice before you begin — don’t get distracted by flashiness; instead, focus on practicality and the initial goals and objectives you set for the program. This way, you don’t invest too much in a complex solution that requires a lot of time from your team or isn’t engaging your employees.
For example, technology apps and wearable devices became popular a few years ago. While they work for some, the per-employee-per-month (PEPM) pay model is expensive for the average organization, and still requires internal management from your team. They are also geared toward individual fitness goals, and most clients want to build a culture of health and camaraderie with offerings their employees can participate in together.
Tip: Ditch the quick-fix solutions that check the boxes — choose corporate wellness partners that emphasize long-term strategies for sustainable wellness programs.
Strive leverages a technology platform for streamlined registration, liability waiver management, and data collection. This solution enables us to utilize technology-enabled systems and processes while delivering live, interactive wellness offerings and an intuitive user experience for employees. Employees can register from computers, smart phones or TVs, tablets, etc. and if they sign up for a virtual class, they receive a Zoom link they can add to their calendar. We also provide monthly engagement data reporting for our clients.
Tip: The person(s) internally managing the wellness program can use our data collection and analysis to focus on culture-building with initiatives such as wellness challenges or recognition programs.
Evaluate Wellness Program Offerings and Services
Once you’ve found a corporate wellness partner that’s a good match for your organization, it’s crucial to carefully evaluate the program offerings and services. A comprehensive, well-tailored program caters to the specific health needs of your employees while aligning with your organization’s wellness objectives. Their programming should be well-rounded, addressing all aspects of employee well-being (physical, nutrition, mental/emotional, etc.).
A successful program requires detailed planning and execution. Ensure your potential partner is experienced in designing long-term, effective wellness initiatives and program building. Are their wellness offerings limited or expansive? Do they have the creative freedom to adapt as the organization’s needs evolve? Can they accommodate custom requests?
A huge benefit of leveraging a corporate wellness partner is their industry expertise in quality assurance and liability processes. They should inspire confidence that every specialist provided has up-to-date certifications, has been screened, and is professional. Strive has team members dedicated to QA/QC for our clients. Your partner’s liability waiver management should be streamlined to fully indemnify your organization of any risk associated with providing wellness offerings.
Lastly, does your potential corporate wellness partner cater to a diverse range of clientele, or do they specialize in a specific area? For example, an organization that wants a few one-off yoga classes throughout the year may utilize a local studio owner. The down sides? Liability waiver management must be done manually by the client, and one-off events don’t build healthy habits, a culture of health, or consistent social connections. Strive’s wraparound delivery model stems from our ethos for wellness — a comprehensive approach that includes education, continuous classes, and fun events mapped out in advance for the year.
Strive Corporate Wellness Partners & Engagement Consultants
Strive’s expertise, adaptability, and comprehensive menu of offerings establish a cohesive partnership focused on making wellness easy for your organization to adopt, implement, and embrace. In addition to built-in program managers for our workplace wellness programs, Strive has engagement consultants and wellness coordinators available to guide and serve your team.
Our technology platform sets us apart. It simplifies systems and processes without sacrificing the live, interactive, and social elements of our wellness offerings. Book a discovery call to explore how Strive’s capabilities can help your organization take steps towards a thriving future as you prioritize employee well-being.
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