Corporate Wellness Programs Cost Breakdown

If you’re here, you’re probably looking to introduce a corporate wellness program for your employees. One of the most essential factors to consider is the available budget.

But how much do corporate wellness programs cost? And what should be the expected return on investment (ROI)? 

These are pertinent questions when shopping for a corporate wellness program. 

Otherwise, you risk implementing unsustainable wellness initiatives in the long term. This article provides an in-depth review of corporate wellness program expenses, including factors that influence cost and how to track ROI.

Let’s get started!

TL;DR - Corporate Wellness Programs Cost

Corporate wellness programs are priced differently based on their components, duration, personalization, and number of employees. As such, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to calculating the expected costs.

Instead, corporate wellness program costs depend on:

• Wellness features
• Monthly expenses
• Incentives
• Pricing models
• Health plan-sponsored wellness funds

We recommend reading the whole article for a detailed overview of how to determine corporate wellness program costs.

What Is a Company Wellness Program?

A company wellness program is simply an initiative by an organization designed to help its employees achieve their desired work-life balance. It can consist of medical screenings, health and fitness, and mental health support to boost employees' holistic well-being.

Corporate wellness programs have recently been expanded to account for employees' financial health and social needs. For example, you could implement a wellness program focused on helping employees improve their credit scores and plan for retirement.

Why Are Wellness Programs Important for Businesses?

Initially, many companies were reluctant to implement corporate wellness programs because of the associated expenses. However, organizations now appreciate the financial and non-monetary incentives of implementing health and wellness programs for their employees. The anticipated benefits include:

• Physical Wellness: Corporate wellness programs help incentivize healthy behaviors to reduce employees' risk of injuries or manage lifestyle diseases. This helps employees keep fit while also reducing your company's medical-related expenses.
• Mental Wellness: Simple wellness interventions like yoga and guided meditation help your employees deal with anxiety and stress.
• Social Wellness: Corporate wellness programs have become essential, especially in this age of remote and hybrid workers. Unlike traditional setups, employees have limited interactions with their colleagues, leading to isolation and loneliness. Corporate wellness programs provide opportunities for employees to interact, enhancing teamwork and camaraderie.
• Increased Job Satisfaction: Wellness programs show your employees that you care about their well-being, boosting their job satisfaction. Also, they will likely stay at the organization longer, reducing your turnover rate.
• Improved Workplace Performance: Health and wellness programs help keep your employees fit and mentally focused, increasing their productivity. Additionally, they will likely take fewer sick leaves, improving task completion rates.

Work with a wellness broker or corporate wellness solutions provider to help you maximize your health wellness dollars.

At SoHookd, we have nearly 10 years of experience helping organizations implement corporate wellness programs that align with their employees’ needs, while still remaining within budget. Also, we provide regular reports to help you track your corporate wellness program’s ROI.

Book a free, one-on-one consultation to learn how to best use your wellness dollars to improve your employees’ productivity and job satisfaction!

Key Factors Influencing the Cost of Corporate Wellness Programs

As with any other program, the cost of implementing health and wellness interventions is not static. For example, the scope of the wellness program and the number of employees will affect the implementation costs.

Let's discuss the factors in detail below:

• Program Components: The scope of your health and wellness program, including the integrated activities, is arguably the biggest factor when preparing a wellness budget. Activities that require expert facilitation, such as counseling, coaching sessions, and guided fitness classes, are often more expensive than self-guided activities like step tracking.
• Program Duration: Longer programs often require more resources and time commitment from wellness coordinators, leading to higher prices. This also applies to the frequency of the health and wellness sessions— organizing a corporate wellness webinar every month vs. quarterly.
• Personalization: Customizing a wellness program to align with your employees' unique lifestyle goals often requires more resources than implementing a one-size-fits-all intervention.
• Company Size: Large organizations likely require huge health and wellness facilities to accommodate their workforce, increasing the associated expenses. However, they may benefit from economies of scale and negotiate for price discounts, resulting in a lower cost per employee than small and mid-sized organizations.
• Ongoing Support: Health and wellness programs that require a dedicated account manager or regular program monitoring often come at a higher cost than initiatives that require limited support.

How Much Do Wellness Programs Cost for Businesses?

As discussed above, multiple factors influence the final cost of health and wellness programs. This section provides a detailed breakdown of general expenses when budgeting for a corporate wellness initiative.

Program Features

A program’s core components are the main determinants of its overall cost. As such, the wellness program cost increases with each feature you introduce. Here’s a simple illustration of how our wellness packages cost based on program features:

Community Connect

This is our basic and most affordable wellness package. It is the preferred option for small businesses with a limited wellness budget of up to $6,000.

The package’s core features include:

• 12 webinars delivered monthly
• Expert-led sessions
• Quarterly themed
  
  

SoHookd Essentials

This is the go-to package for companies looking to introduce wellness initiatives into the workplace. 

The wellness package costs $10,000 and comprises the following components:

• Quarterly on-demand webinars.
• Two engagement-focused wellness challenges.
• $4,000 rewards budget to boost engagement.

SoHookd Advantage

Get our SoHookd Advantage package if you already have a wellness program and want to build on it (add more wellness components).

The package costs $25,000 and doesn’t limit how many employees you can onboard. Other essential elements include:

• 12 on-demand wellness webinars.
• 4 wellness challenges that complement the wellness webinar topics.
• $10,000 worth of wellness incentives. 
  
  

SoHookd Premier

Our SoHookd Premier package offers the ultimate wellness solution when looking to implement holistic wellness initiatives for your employees. The package is expertly curated to cover essential wellness aspects, including self-care, mental health, movement, and nutrition.

Its core components include:

• 12 on-demand wellness webinars with quarterly themes.
• 4 engagement-focused wellness challenges.
• $35,000 rewards budget to keep employees engaged.

Side Note: All our wellness programs are big on incentives. Download our free eBook to learn how wellness incentives boost employee engagement and drive meaningful results!

Monthly Expenses (Recurrent Costs)

Some wellness programs have recurrent monthly expenses even after paying the initial fee. For example, a step tracker app might charge a $3.99 monthly subscription, amounting to $50 annually.

Similarly, you might incur monthly expenses in the form of rent if you leased additional space to set up an on-site gym.

Incentives

A good corporate wellness program should include a reward system to stimulate employee enrollment and participation. However, the incentives influence the overall wellness program costs.

For example, financial rewards such as bonuses or gift cards directly impact cost and should be accounted for during budgeting. Incentives like additional leave days have an indirect impact because while the company does not incur costs, it loses out on potential earnings tied to an employee's input.

Given the expansive nature of wellness program incentives, it is unrealistic to provide a fixed figure. However, for estimation purposes, you can start at $20 for gift cards to $500 for bonuses.

Pricing Models

There are various corporate wellness programs pricing models that you can use to estimate the expected costs or control your expenses. Let's discuss them below:

• Usage-Based Model: This model allows you to pay only for participating employees. Suppose you offer gym memberships to promote your employees’ health and fitness. The gym could bill you monthly based on the number of employees who used the facilities during that period.
• Program Tier Model: Most health and wellness programs come in basic, standard, and premium packages, with each upgrade at a cost. 
• Bundled Model: This model helps small companies manage their health and wellness costs without impacting their cash flow. Usually, companies subscribe to a wellness package that employees can access until the bundle is exhausted. For example, you could load your corporate card with $1,000 that employees could use to purchase healthy snacks at work. However, employees must foot the costs once the allocated amount is used.

Health Plan-Sponsored Wellness Funds

Some medical insurance providers allocate wellness funds to support employee health and wellness initiatives. The funds could fully cover your company’s wellness programs or subsidize the costs.

Suppose your corporate wellness program costs $15,000 and your health insurance provider grants $5,000 to employee wellness. This reduces your wellness program costs, as you have only to foot the balance— $10,000.

Are you struggling to determine the best-fit budget for your health and wellness programs?

Wellness brokers can help you set a budget to implement comprehensive wellness programs without hurting your cash flow. Also, they’ll help you align the program with your employees’ lifestyle goals to ensure your health wellness dollars support your overall organizational goals.

At SoHookd, we offer corporate wellness solutions to help companies address low employee engagement, high turnover rates, and underutilized wellness benefits. Our wellness product packages are customizable and ready-to-implement, saving you the cost of developing wellness initiatives from scratch.

Schedule a demo for a hands-on experience with our corporate wellness programs.

How to Measure Wellness Program ROI Accurately

Determining the return on investment of health and wellness programs is often complex. For example, it might not be possible to convert the change in your employees' job satisfaction into dollars.

However, we have provided a simple way to help you quantify the financial and non-financial outcomes of your health and wellness programs:

1. Record Baseline Data: Collect relevant pre-implementation data, including health care costs, productivity, employee turnover rates, and job satisfaction levels. This provides a reference point for post-implementation comparisons to determine ROI.
2. Track Key Costs: Record all expenses related to the health and wellness program, including vendor fees, program incentives, equipment and software, and expert facilitation fees.
3. Track Changes in Wellness: Measure the tangible and intangible benefits that can be tied to the health and wellness program. For example, you could determine changes in medical expenses before and after the program, including reduced hospital visits and lowered Insurance claims. Additionally, conduct a survey to determine changes in workplace culture and employees' job satisfaction.
4. Calculate ROI: Determine the corporate wellness program's ROI as a percentage of the incurred expenses. Use the formula below:
   ROI = (Total Benefits Gained – Total Program Costs) / Total Program Costs X 100
5. Continuous Evaluation: Regularly review and adjust the program based on performance metrics to align with your employees' health and wellness goals. This increases employees' participation and completion rates, improving the corporate wellness program's ROI.

Proven Strategies to Maximize ROI for Wellness Programs

Organizations and human resource teams often ask, "How can we maximize ROI for our wellness programs to ensure long-term sustainability?"

Well, here are proven methods to help you get the most out of your corporate health and wellness programs:

• Tie Wellness Goals to Business Objectives: Health and wellness programs fail because they do not match organizational goals. You can address this by aligning your wellness goals with your business objectives and key metrics. Suppose your organization is experiencing high employee turnover rates. You could introduce wellness initiatives that boost job satisfaction and give employees a sense of belonging.
• Target High-Impact Issues: Your health and wellness programs should prioritize employee wellness challenges like stress, psychological distress, and lifestyle diseases, which directly affect their well-being. For example, introducing fitness programs helps employees manage chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension, reducing your medical-related expenses.
• Boost Employee Engagement: Encourage your employees to sign up and actively participate in the health and wellness initiatives. You can achieve this through communicating the benefits of the wellness programs. Also, secure executive leadership buy-in to motivate employees to enroll in the programs.
• Prioritize Flexible Programs: Customizable wellness programs let you personalize the features to each employee's unique needs. This helps boost employee engagement and saves resources otherwise spent on one-size-fits-all programs. For example, you do not want to incur the cost of providing a meditation room that can handle 100 employees if only five are interested in yoga.
• Introduce a Reward System: Unfortunately, some health and wellness programs underestimate the impact of incentives on employee engagement and the overall ROI. Simple incentives like free gym memberships, paid time off, and shopping vouchers encourage employees to complete their wellness challenges, helping you achieve the desired ROI.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

Below are answers to common inquiries we receive about corporate wellness program costs.

What Are the Most Cost-Effective Corporate Wellness Strategies?

The most cost-effective corporate wellness strategies include:

• Allowing flexible hours so employees can plan their schedules for better work-life balance.
• Encouraging employees to participate in community service programs.
• Walking or steps challenge to encourage daily workouts.
• Provide office snacks to promote healthy eating.
• Introduce free or subsidized health screening to empower employees to manage lifestyle or chronic conditions.
  
  

How Long Does It Take to See ROI From a Wellness Program?

There’s no specific answer to how long it takes to see ROI from a wellness program. It depends on the type of program and desired outcomes.

Suppose you implement a physical fitness wellness program to help employees manage their weight. Employees will likely report lower BMIs after six to 12 months. However, it might take up to 2 years to notice significant changes in medical expenses.

How to Choose the Best Corporate Wellness Program for Your Budget?

Here’s a simple guide to help you choose the best corporate wellness program for your budget:

1. Assess employees’ wellness goals.
2. Align the wellness program goals with your organizational objectives.
3. Assess your organizational resources and ability to support wellness programs.
4. Prioritize high-impact, low-cost wellness needs.
5. Use customer reviews and case studies to identify potential wellness programs.
6. Evaluate whether the offered programs can be personalized to your employees’ needs.
7. Request demos for hands-on experience with the wellness programs.
8. Settle for your preferred wellness program.
   
   

Can Small Businesses Afford Corporate Wellness Programs?

Yes. Small businesses can afford corporate wellness programs. However, we recommend working with a corporate wellness company that provides pre-built solutions that can be customized to meet your organizations’ needs. 

Conclusion

Now that you know how to budget for your corporate wellness program, it’s time to introduce wellness initiatives that match your employees’ lifestyle goals.

SoHookd is your go-to wellness partner when looking to implement budget-friendly health and wellness initiatives that drive real impact for your organization. We have nearly 10 years of experience providing pre-built and custom wellness programs personalized to your employees’ lifestyle goals.

Boost employee engagement. Start with a discovery call!