HR leaders are tasked with solving big problems like burnout, turnover, and disengagement, often with limited resources and rising expectations. You know a strong wellness strategy helps, but getting the buy-in you need comes down to one thing — proof. If you’re ready to champion a wellness initiative but need to demonstrate its ROI, this step-by-step guide helps you build a business case that speaks your leadership team’s language‌.

How to Prove ROI and Gain Leadership Buy-In

In this post:

1. Why Wellness Programs Are a Strategic Investment

2. What Leadership Needs to Hear

3. Building the Business Case — Step by Step

4. Final Pitch Tips for Gaining Buy-In

5. Strive Wellness Programs

Why Wellness Programs Are a Strategic Investment

Decision-makers understandably get stuck on immediate costs — help them see the bigger picture by directly tying employee well-being to your organization’s most important business priorities (i.e. productivity, retention, engagement). A thoughtfully-planned wellness program tackles specific employee needs with real, measurable outcomes.

Burned-out employees kill production, disengaged teams increase turnover rates, and chronic stress drives up absenteeism and health claims. Stats show that 71% of Americans aged 20 and over are overweight or obese, and 7% of people 18–39 years old have moderate to severe depressive symptoms. This results in almost $5,000 more in an organization’s direct annual health costs, and an estimated $23 billion in lost productivity nationwide.

Reducing stress, supporting mental/emotional health, and encouraging movement are more than feel-good benefits — they’re a business investment that impacts both internal healthcare savings and long-term community health.

What Leadership Needs to Hear

When bringing a wellness proposal to the table, it’s not enough to say, “This will help our people.” Executives need to know how it helps the business — the more specific, the better. That means speaking their language‌ with ‌metrics, outcomes, risk mitigation, and financial efficiency.

Every organization has unique pain points, whether it’s turnover, morale, chronic diseases, etc. Explain how a wellness program directly addresses those challenges, identifying key KPIs to track (healthcare savings, fewer sick days, engagement scores, etc.).

Here’s how you might frame a retention solution:

“Our current turnover rate is 18%, with burnout cited as a primary reason for exit. Replacing one employee costs the company approximately 1.5–2x their salary. By implementing a targeted wellness program‌ — ‌focused on mental health support, stress management, and flexible recovery resources‌ — ‌we aim to reduce voluntary turnover by 5% over the next 12 months.

That reduction could save us an estimated $300,000 in hiring and training costs alone, while also improving team morale and engagement.”

Illustrate how the wellness program solves real issues, and remember to highlight the cost of doing nothing versus the expected return.

Learn more: How Do Employee Wellness Programs Benefit Employers?

Building the Business Case — Step by Step

HR teams wear a lot of hats — ‌and even the most passionate advocates for employee well-being can feel overwhelmed by the idea of leading a wellness initiative. Here’s a breakdown to help build a proposal grounded in data, aligned with business goals, and easy for leadership to get on board with.

Assess Your Workforce Needs

Gain a thorough understanding of employee needs.

• Start with data: Look at absenteeism trends, turnover rates, healthcare claims (if available), and EAP usage.
  
• Ask your people: Use anonymous surveys or pulse check-ins to learn what’s impacting their well-being.
  
• Look for themes: Are employees stressed? Struggling with work-life balance? Managing chronic health issues?

Define Clear Goals & Metrics

Define the outcomes you want to achieve.

• Tie wellness goals to business outcomes, like:
  
  • Reduce burnout-related sick days by 10%
  • Improve retention in high-stress departments by 8%
  • Increase employee satisfaction scores by 15%
• Decide what you’ll measure: Absenteeism, engagement scores, turnover, claims data, or participation rates.

Choose Evidence-Based Solutions

Research wellness vendors and program offerings.

• Onsite and virtual options
• Holistic approach:
  
  • Stress management, mental health, fitness, nutrition, sleep, etc.
• Education
  
• Instructor-led classes
• Special events (i.e. chair massage, healthy cooking demos)
  
• Coaching
• Bonus features: registration & liability waiver management, participation data, flexible programming

Estimate ROI and VOI (Value on Investment)

You don’t need to be a data scientist to demonstrate value.

• Use simple ROI estimates or industry benchmarks (e.g., $3 saved for every $1 spent on wellness)
• Focus heavily on Value of Investment (VOI): improvements in morale, engagement, culture, satisfaction, etc.

Build a Budget with Value Framing

Help leadership see wellness not only as a cost, but a cost-saver.

• Create an annual programming framework with costs.
• Map those against projected benefits (savings from fewer sick days, lower insurance claims, etc.).

Create a Presentation or Brief for Leadership

Pull it all together into a compelling, concise package.

• Use visuals: Charts, infographics, or brief case studies help drive your point home.
  
• Highlight the problem, solution, and expected results.
  
• Keep it outcome-focused: What the company gains, not just what it spends.

As an HR leader, you’re in a unique position to bridge employee needs with business outcomes. You understand the human side and the organizational impact.

Final Pitch Tips for Gaining Buy-In

A strong pitch shows you’re championing a smarter, more sustainable way to do business. Check out some final tips to move you from proposal to approval.

Be Prepared for Common Concerns

The questions are coming! Are you ready?

• Will employees actually use the program?
  • Share pulse survey results and survey interest trends.
• Can we afford it?
  • Cite options for pilot programs or phased rollouts.
• How will we know it’s working?
  • Show a simple success measurement plan with clear metrics.

Confidently navigating questions shows you’re thinking like a business partner.

Learn more: What to Look for in a Scalable, Cost-Effective Wellness Program

Make the ROI/VOI Easy to Grasp

It doesn’t have to be fancy — just provide a clear sense of how the investment pays off. Simplify using a story, visuals, or quick stats such as:

• “Estimated $250,000 in annual savings by reducing turnover by 5%”
• “$3 returned for every $1 invested”

Offer a Low-Risk Launch

While results take time, let employees get their feet wet with a pilot or limited rollout to demonstrate value:

• A quarterly stress management series
• A pilot wellness coaching program
• Targeted support for a high-turnover department or upcoming internal goal

Strive Wellness Programs

Wellness programs require some upfront work, but with the right partner, HR teams can streamline the rollout and deliver long-term value to the organization. Strive helps you clarify your program’s goals and objectives and will gladly join your leadership conversations to help secure buy-in.

Our wide range of programming is customizable to your group, and our systems are designed to reduce the administrative burden on your teams. Book a discovery call to map out your ideal wellness strategy with Strive.