Reviving Your Employee Wellbeing Program

Wellbeing’s moment has arrived, so give yourself a high-five if you’re already offering an employee wellness program. But investing in resources is only the first step; driving value from them through employee engagement with them is the next.

Did you know that organizations who have evolved their wellbeing program to deliver personal, relevant programs are more likely to meet employee expectations, drive higher employee engagement and employee satisfaction? If you’re not seeing the engagement in the resources you’ve invested it, it might be time to take action.

Pulse Check: Has your program flatlined?

You’ve put in the blood, sweat and tears to get your employee wellbeing program up and running, but are you still hearing statements like, “Where can I find information on my current health insurance benefits?” or “I had no idea we even had that resource available!”? That’s because over 80% of employees told us they don’t know where to find benefits available to them. It’s no longer enough to simply offer programs, you have to lead your employees to them and make it easy for them to engage. 

A thriving employee wellbeing program engages and activates employees to achieve their highest form of wellbeing. When these programs lose momentum, neither employees nor their employers see the true benefit. If your wellbeing program isn’t satisfying your expectations, it’s time to revive your current wellbeing strategy.

Get a Partner Who Gives You More High-Fives Than Headaches

This is what Virgin Pulse is passionate about – providing individuals the personalized total wellbeing support they need and helping our clients see value from the programs and resources they’ve invested in. To give your program the reset it needs, we’re sharing tips from our clients, so your program doesn’t miss a beat. 

Spotlight on Spectrum Brands

Like many employers, Spectrum Brands had an existing employee wellness program in place, but “good enough” wasn’t going to cut it. They wanted to increase engagement across their entire population, not just the employees who were already invested in their health. They revived their program with Virgin Pulse’s Total Wellbeing Solution and have seen engagement rates of up to 85%. Here are some of their tips for success:

  • View your wellbeing vendor as an extension of your HR team. After all, they’re there to do the heavy lifting and make your lives easier. Make this criteria a “must have” when creating your checklist.
  • Channel your inner Jeff Bezos and leverage data to offer employees Amazon-style “recommended for you” programs. By leveraging Virgin Pulse’s SDOH data and predictive analytics, Spectrum Brands made wellbeing relevant with programs employees could – and wanted to – act on. With this personalized approach, they saw a ~30% increase in engagement in the first few months alone.
  • Don’t underestimate the power of incentives. Optimizing your total rewards program requires going beyond offering a gift card for completing a one-off health challenge. It takes a smart mix of rewards to motivate and engage employees for the long-term.
  • Make it easy for employees, especially new hires, to engage. Spectrum Brands prioritized employee engagement among new hires by putting all their resources in one place and empowering employees to get answers to critical benefits questions when they need them.

Client Takeaways

Virgin Pulse supports employers in all types of industries. Here are a few additional takeaways from our work supporting employee wellbeing….

  • Stay focused on what’s important to you when choosing a wellbeing partner. When searching for a new vendor, identify what is important for your employees and the company. Then stay true to these goals and choose a partner that will be able to help you achieve them now and in the future.
  • Make it easy for your employees to use the resources you’ve invested in. Boost engagement and utilization by putting all resources in a single place, so they always know where to go to find your benefits programs.
  • Employees will have questions about privacy and security. Proactively address these types of concerns upfront and know that the longer a program is in place, the more comfortable employees will get.
  • Meet employees where they are. Some employees are looking for financial support, others are looking for mental support. Likewise, employees have differing preferred methods of communication. Utilize a multi-channel communications strategy to keep employee’s needs and preferences top of mind.
  • Again – incentives work! Much like Spectrum Brands, our clients have seen great success increasing employee engagement by offering incentives. Remember, it’s easier to rule with a carrot than a stick.

Feeling Fatigued?

It’s time to sit back and let us do the heavy lifting. With over 50 million transactions under our belt, employers nationwide have trusted to us to activate their employees in meaningful ways. We’re ready to revive your employee wellbeing program – are you? Let’s talk!