Corporate Wellness ROI: Fact or Fiction?

Employee Health Promotion Initiatives … do they offer a strong return on investment? This is a question that we are sure goes through ever corporation’s mind. HR Magazine addresses the corporate wellness ROI topic in their June 2008 issue.

Corporate Wellness ROI: The Bottom Line

According to the article, titled “Finding Wellness’ Return on Investment,” determining Corporate Wellness ROI is not an easy thing to do for businesses because it involves a lot of different variables and time.

However, the businesses that have taken the time to determine the Corporate Wellness ROI of their Employee Health Promotion Initiatives have found that it is quite significant. Not to mention, the Employee Health Promotion program’s effect on the improvement of staff member health and the slowing of the rate of their staff member healthcare costs.

Corporate Wellness ROI Alliance

Corporate Wellness ROI is such an important part of today’s corporate culture, that several large businesses have come together to form the Alliance for Wellness ROI, Inc. According to the HR Magazine article, The Alliance for Wellness ROI was specifically created to address the lack of consistency in proving the value of Employee Health Promotion Initiatives.

The alliance, formed by BMW of North America, Henry Ford Health System, Kraft Foods Global, MasterCard Worldwide and Schlumberger Limited, strongly believes in showing the value of Employee Health Promotion Initiatives and want to develop a standard for how Employee Health Promotion Initiatives are measured.

Employee Health Promotion Initiatives Components

According the alliance, the following components should make up an corporate-provided staff member Employee Health Promotion Program:

Disease Management Initiatives
Employee assistance Initiatives
Fitness and exercise Initiatives
Health risk assessments
On-Site healthcare Initiatives
Individual wellness profiles
Preventive health screenings and immunizations
Tobacco-cessation Initiatives
Telephone based wellness Initiatives
Weight loss and weight management Initiatives
Wellness educational opportunities and information
Self-Care Initiatives.