How to convince your CEO and CFO you need a wellness program

By Liz Sheffield

It’s no secret that workplace wellness programs are rapidly moving from an extra to an essential for growing businesses. As an industry, wellness is expected to continue growing exponentially in the next several years, surpassing other common benefits such as professional and career development, flexible work schedules, retirement, and family-friendly policies. As wellness programs become more common, employees are seeking employers who offer them as a benefit.

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​If you’re considering implementing a wellness program for your company, it’s important to gain early and consistent support from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and CFO (Chief Financial Officer) to ensure long-term success for your program. Executive leaders don’t just “sign the dotted line” to get a wellness program started, they’re also influential as champions of the program. You need to get their support to:

• Demonstrate an investment in employee health
• Empower other workplace leaders to share the vision
• Encourage employees to participate

Motivational messaging from executives makes an enormous difference in engagement. Top-down reinforcement of wellness goals will give the program a greater chance of success.


What information to share

CEOs and CFOs want to see the rationale behind any program their organization offers to employees. They also require data and financial figures that support making a financial investment. When you're sharing information with the executive team, emphasize that in a leadership position, they’re not only able to improve the health of their workforce but can also have a positive impact on company culture, productivity, and the potential to recruit top talent.

Find data that illustrates the cost of an unhealthy workforce, highlights the competitive advantage a wellness program brings to talent acquisition, and demonstrates the positive impact wellness programs have on employee engagement.

These data points are a great place to start:

• Point 1: Wellness programs help employers reduce the rate at which their health care costs increase.

Companies with wellness programs have an average annual health care cost increase of 1-2%. That is significantly less than the national average increase of 7%. A Health Affairs study found that medical costs fall by $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs, and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73.

• Point 2: Many companies already have wellness programs. To remain competitive, we need to look at how to implement a wellness program that helps recruit top talent.

Small firms (58%) and large firms (85%) offering health benefits have at least one of three types of wellness programs (smoking cessation, weight loss, or other lifestyle/behavioral coaching program). According to the U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study, 61% of employees are more likely to accept a job with an employer who offers health and well-being benefits.

• Point 3: Wellness programs that help employees establish positive health behaviors can have a positive impact on productivity.

Employers with wellness programs report improvements in company-wide absenteeism (78% of employers) and increases in productivity (80% of employers). An engaged, healthy, happy workforce is a productive workforce, and reduced absenteeism and turnover impacts businesses in positive ways.

Don’t just share data as a way to gain executive buy-in; communicate how you’ll gather data once the program is launched to evaluate and demonstrate return on investment and value added to your employee population. As part of your program creation, make sure you find wellness providers that include easy-to-use tools that will help you track data and share insights about the positive impact your program has on your workforce.


How to get support

While numbers speak volumes to the executive team, make sure you augment the data with some narrative to support your case. You’ll want to engage with employees to let them share why wellness matters to them and how they would make use of the program. Gather employee input via online survey, focus group, or roundtable discussion with company leaders, and find out if your competitors are offering wellness options to their employees.

If you’re having trouble convincing the executive team, or if you want some insight that’s specific to your organization, consider launching a pilot program first. A pilot offering helps demonstrate the value while also reducing the initial financial investment required. Create a quick and easy program with select participants to gather feedback and determine what will work for your organization. A pilot can be an important first step to help you build and launch a successful program for all employees.

To save time and money, consider partnering with a software provider like MeYou Health that offers a turn-key option for small and midsize businesses. When cost-effectiveness, automation, and getting up and running quickly are the goals, software is often the solution. Find a digital wellness program that falls within your budget and use the software to implement and track the impact of your wellness program.

Once you convince your CEO and CFO that your organization needs a wellness program, the work has just begun! Spend the necessary time and energy developing a program that makes employees healthier and delivers results for the business. Use the executive team to motivate and inspire employees to participate, communicate about the program as often as possible, and ensure employee wellness remains a top priority for your business.​