Evaluating Your Worksite Wellness Program: ROI or VOI?

An important step in the development of each worksite wellness program is setting goals and determining how you will measure results. This will help you determine whether your program is meeting your objectives and will provide insight about changes you can make to improve results.

Organizations can use two methods to evaluate the investment in their health and wellness programs. The first, return on investment (ROI), evaluates the amount of money a company spends on wellness compared to the amount of money it saves on healthcare costs. This form of evaluation is focused on the tangible return – money – and a measurable outcome that directly relates with the original investment. When evaluating a program using ROI, it’s clear whether the return or the investment is of greater value.

The second evaluation tool, value on investment (VOI), measures the overall value received on the financial investment while also including the abstract value received from the investment. Because VOI is not as tangible a measure, the types of outcomes may differ from the initial investment and can sometimes be difficult to compare.  When using VOI, it can be a challenge to determine whether the value or the investment is of greater value. Despite this challenge many organizations have started to use VOI to evaluate their wellness programs because it includes the invaluable benefits of employee health – increased morale, reduced sick days, decreased turnover and higher productivity as well as the financial savings on healthcare costs.

In deciding which evaluation measure to rely on, take a look at your corporate culture, your wellness program goals, and the size and style of your program. Your program goals can help  you determine how success should be defined. Does your program have a “people” focus, a “productivity” focus or another type of focus that lends itself to using either ROI or VOI? Next, define the size of your wellness program. Smaller programs are slightly more difficult to measure because a large sample is not available to accurately demonstrate financial comparisons. Lastly, take a look at your wellness program style. Is the focus on overall employee wellbeing or only on physical health? Is it activity or education based? The answers to these questions can help you determine whether a ROI or a VOI evaluation makes the most sense for your organization.

Whether taken together or independently, ROI and VOI are important tools that can help you evaluate the success of your worksite wellness program. Wellness Workdays helps clients evaluate each and every program we implement. If you are looking for additional insight or need help evaluating your initiative, contact us.

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Wellness Programs Shift to a Whole Health Focus

Wellness programs have evolved from simple gym reimbursements and health screenings to comprehensive well-being programs. Employers have the opportunity to enhance their employees’ lives in different ways – from emotional and mental health to physical and spiritual well-being. With this in mind, many employers are shifting from solely focusing on the physical health of their employees to bettering their employees’ lives in other areas.

The essential component for employers looking to broaden their wellness program is to focus on multiple areas that are important to their employees. To assess what issues concern your employees, survey them on their needs and interests and then address these areas. You’ll find that the problems that are significant now will change over time. As an employer, you’ll want to develop new initiatives to address new areas of concern. This will help your wellness program stay fresh and relevant; it will also drive engagement.

Currently, financial wellness continues to grow in importance for employees – and a small program can have a really big impact. Mental and emotional stress are also areas where employees feel they need help and there are a number of steps employers can take to help employees reduce their anxiety. Other areas of growing interest include sleep and elder care.

With so many concerns affecting an employee’s ability to perform at a high level, it’s critical for employers to embrace the changing face of workplace wellness. Ultimately, it will lead to a healthier and more productive workforce.

At the recent WorldatWork Total Rewards conference in San Diego, Lauren Benz, clinical account manager at MVP Health Care, noted that wellness is shifting dramatically in the workplace. “We’re moving from return on investment to value on investment.” She added “At the end of the day, good health is good business.”

Organizations are operating in an enormous global market. To remain competitive they need a healthy workforce. Wellness Workdays helps clients develop and implement comprehensive wellness programs that target multiple areas of concern. We customize each program to address the specific needs of each organization. Contact us to find out how we can help your wellness program evolve into an overall well-being initiative.

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Beyond ROI -- Employers Use VOI to Measure Wellness Program Success

A new report from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans finds employers are measuring wellness program success using Value on Investment (VOI) in addition to Return on Investment (ROI). More than one-quarter of organizations are measuring their wellness program success with traditional ROI while half are using at least one VOI measure to track success. VOI measures include employee engagement, turnover, absenteeism, productivity and recruitment/referral rates.

The report compared organizations achieving positive wellness VOI with the average organization that only offered wellness initiatives. It found that organizations with positive wellness VOI provide a wider range of wellness offerings than other organizations. These offerings include fitness and nutrition programs, screening and treatment options, social and community events, stress and mental health guidance, and purpose and growth plans. Positive VOI wellness programs are also more likely to use a wide variety of wellness communication channels to reach employees such as seminars, speakers, testimonials, books, brochures, health fairs, peer groups, mentors and social media.

The study found that employers with a strong VOI approach wellness more holistically than traditional ROI focused wellness programs and offer initiatives including flexible work hours, stress-management programs, staff outings and charity drives.

When companies measure ROI, they fail to capture the larger effect employee health initiatives have on the business as a whole, but VOI allows companies to assess how their wellness strategy affects goals such as engagement, productivity and absenteeism.

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Visit Wellness Workdays for more information about our worksite wellness programs. Check out our News & Events page to learn about our June 7 webinar and check back frequently for additional webinars, including a session on VOI. Dates to be released soon.

3 Steps to Achieve a Culture of Health

Organizations with a culture of wellness are better able to recruit and retain top talent and, according to new research, are more profitable. Engaging your employees is crucial to sustaining a strong wellness program and developing this culture. And while wellness programs were originally developed to reduce health care costs other priorities have emerged, including boosting productivity, reducing stress, increasing financial wellness, improving employee loyalty and attracting talent.

C-level Commitment and Participation
To develop a strong wellness culture, a top down approach is needed. Company leadership must be involved and visible, and executives and managers need to set the stage for health and well-being. Upper level management should make time to participate in wellness activities and encourage their employees do the same. A successful corporate wellness programs relies heavily on corporate leadership and participation – and the ones who do it well are able to create robust programs that get results.

Measure the Value on Investment (VOI)
With management involved and participating, you are well on your way to developing a successful program. But how will you measure success? Interestingly, many companies have begun to measure a wellness program’s VOI instead of relying solely on the traditional ROI. VOI may focus on improving morale, attracting or retaining talent, reducing accidents or improving job satisfaction. Attention to VOI can, over time, increase ROI.  The industry standard for ROI is for every dollar invested in a corporate wellness program, you should receive three dollars in return over a three to five year period. However, companies are finding that by increasing VOI, ROI will also increase – and in a shorter period of time.

Outcomes-Based Programs
When creating your program, keep in mind that the most successful wellness programs are outcomes-based programs. Employees who participate in an outcomes-based program are more likely to have strong lifestyle changes. The biggest and most successful wellness outcome employers are experiencing is weight loss. Weight loss and weight management are the biggest part of the value on investment employers cite in their success.




The Wellness Workdays team works with companies across the country to develop and implement customized programs that utilize best practices for developing a culture of health. Contact us to find out how we can help your company improve the health and well-being of your most valuable asset.

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Visit Wellness Workdays for more information about our worksite wellness programs