How Flexibility, Choice, and Social Determinants of Health are Driving Employer Wellness Programs - Courtney Schroeder

Healthcare on the Rocks - Employee Benefits with a Twist

Here in the middle of the “Great Resignation,” wellness programs play a huge role in attracting and retaining top employees. Courtney Schroeder, Well-being Strategy Consultant at WellRight, says the top question used to be “What is my bonus structure?” Now there’s been a shift back to “What is the culture?”

Standards are higher for perks and benefits, and people expect greater flexibility than ever before. Choice has become a primary factor in wellness programs: choice in incentives, activities that employees can join, and the ways they can interact with programs, such as websites, text messages, and video calls.

With 300 pre-built wellness challenges and more than 400 unique wellness activities in WellRight’s stable of offerings, Schroder’s role could be extraordinarily difficult. But she boils it down to understanding what is most important to the employer, asking questions such as:

• What point solutions do they have?
• What role does financial well-being play?
• What kinds of in-person vs. virtual options are needed?
• How do you use social determinants of health to select programs and benefits?

Schroeder says data analytics, like those from Springbuk, help drive the direction of wellness programs, especially when considering how to use social determinants of health. She advises to start small - and gives tips on how to do that - so employers can gain some quick experience and direction.

Used effectively, data analytics can inform the strategy and dictate when a change is needed by setting benchmarks and monitoring the progress toward them.

• Connect with Courtney on LinkedIn
• Visit WellRight
• Learn more about the Springbuk Health Intelligence platform

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Produced by David Pittman

Theme music: "Overboard" by Stay Outside