More than two-thirds of companies plan to expand wellness initiatives over the next three to five years. In addition, because “wellness” actually encompasses more than just physical health, many of these programs will incorporate mental health, relationship advice, time management tools, financial awareness and more.
But with so many options to consider, how should a company select the right mix of wellness plan elements? The answer is quite simple: data.
In other words, when it comes to wellness, don’t guess.
Right now, 84% of employees say their company offers a one-size-fits-all program, which is a real problem when you consider that 56% also say they are getting “irrelevant support.” No company wants over half of their efforts to be considered irrelevant.
Fortunately, it’s not hard to tailor programs to your own employees, and there’s no reason to settle for an off-the-shelf wellness solution. In short, you need to understand your employees’ pain points, and care gaps, before choosing what initiatives might solve them. This data-driven decision making is definitely worth the effort too. The same survey referenced above reveals that 80% of employees say they would be more likely to participate in wellness programs if they were more personalized. For example, if your employees have a longer than average commute, perhaps time-saving programs like in-office deliveries or meal planning might be particularly well received. If your staff age trends young and unmarried, you would select very different wellness benefits than if your staff is older, married and with kids. Or, biometrics may reveal that diabetes prevention and weight loss could be more impactful.
The truth is that nearly every proposed wellness effort comes with inherent benefits and seems a “nice-to-do” for your employees. That’s why it’s important to replace gray areas and guesswork with real data, which is exactly why MJ offers a population health and wellness solution powered by APERTURE, our proprietary analytics tool. It’s a straightforward way to identify at-risk employee populations or behaviors so you can then plan tailored wellness programs that can make a real difference—for both you and your employees.
Whenever you’re ready to learn more about MJ’s approach to data, our website is a great place to start. Of course, you can reach out to any of your MJ team members to help get things started as well. Let’s dive into the data and see where it leads!
