For an employer to implement a successful wellness strategy at their workplace, they need to thoroughly think through the design and management of the services they’ll offer. Typically, c-suite executives outsource the planning and implementation of their wellness program and partner with a vendor. Here are some questions to ask prior yourself and your prospective partner:

10 Questions To Ask Before Choosing A Wellness Partner

1. Ask yourself: What is the state of your current wellness strategy?

What are you currently doing for wellness at your workplace? What could you be doing more of? Conduct internal research and assess the areas of opportunity and service offerings you think your employees would benefit from. Then, ask your employees directly what they want from a wellness benefit offering. Narrow down the commonalities across their feedback and use it to guide your priorities and give you a starting point during interviewing possible partners. 

2. Ask yourself: What are your expectations for wellness partners?

What are you looking for out of a wellness partner? Do you want a hands-on or hands-off approach? Start by researching different possible offerings to help better understand what kind of solution you need. Understanding what you want from a partner will help you navigate through the various wellness companies. 

3. Ask yourself: Does the list of services offered by the vendor match what your organization is looking for? 

If you’re new to workplace wellness, you may not know what services would best fit your employee population. If you’re thinking of switching to a new vendor, you may not want to make the same mistakes you’ve previously made. Start by researching the service offerings of possible vendors, and narrowing down what you think could work for your organization. Going into an initial meeting with a partner with preexisting knowledge can help speed up the process and give them a better understanding of what you’re looking for.

4. How will you measure the success of the program vendor? 

Implementing an onsite clinic and wellness program is a good first step employers can take, but ensuring the clinic and program is utilized and making a true impact is what makes the investment great. How will you measure the success of your program implementation and vendor partnership? Will it be through hard data and statistics? Will it be through strong participant testimonials? Ensure you’re setting up metrics to measure the success of your program.

5. How customizable and flexible is this wellness solution? How do you personalize your program?

Your vendor partner should want to implement customized wellness solutions that work for your employee population. Personalizing healthcare is necessary to ensure employees get the best possible convenient, affordable, and comfortable care. One size fits all wellness does not interest participants, with 60% of employees feeling like companies offer everyone the same resources, and 62% saying their company provides irrelevant resources. Ask your vendor what strategies they have in place to customize and personalize the program. 

6. How will you measure engagement in the program? 

A wellness program is only worthwhile if it’s being used. Ask your possible partners how they encourage participation in their programs, and how they’ll stay innovative and adapt to what employees are needing. What strategies do they have in place to measure participation and report back to you? Do they encourage employer-sponsored incentives? When they introduce new wellness challenges to your population, how will they make sure they’re utilized?

7. Can you show us results or program participant testimonials? 

It’s self-evident, but important for executives to know that a program they’ve invested in, is driving results and making their employee population healthier. Ask your prospective partner how frequently they ask for and share results and positive testimonials. When they receive negative feedback, how do they modify their offerings? 

8. How do you continue to adapt and modify your program to keep up with what employees are looking for?

The right wellness vendors should be trying to stay competitive in the space, constantly trying to provide new ways to implement and measure wellness. It’s important that you select a vendor that refuses to stay stagnant; who’s constantly trying to upgrade their service offerings, how they deliver care, and how they measure results. Make sure to ask what each company does to stay relevant and in front of their client’s employees to maximize efficacy.

9. How do you show return on investments? 

Wellness programs are big investments, and it’s important to senior leadership to try and maximize the ROI. Ask possible partners the ways in which they statistically measure the success of their programs, and how frequently they report back to their clients. It may be helpful to see a snapshot of the reporting used.

10. What type of communication do you offer to participants? 

Finally, the most important part of the wellness program implementation is that the employees are using it and becoming healthier. Don’t forget to ask questions about how the partner communicates health and wellness related information back to the participants. Ask probing questions to ensure that they have an understanding of your organization and the methods of delivering messaging.