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Deloitte Insights predicts that approximately two-thirds of health expenditures will shift toward well-being and prevention efforts by 2040.1 For many, healthcare has focused on reactive solutions, but in the wake of rising costs and overburdened health systems, we are beginning to embrace a preventive perspective.
For employers, this takes the form of corporate wellness programs. These programs, layered within employee benefits packages, extend beyond primary coverage, addressing areas like physical and mental health, work-life balance, preventive screenings and other well-being factors. These holistic, proactive, personalized solutions can be strategically utilized to further critical personnel initiatives, like reducing burnout, turnover and long-term healthcare costs.
Corporate wellness programs are valuable additions, but attaining highly impactful results requires more than simply launching a new program. True ROI will depend on an optimized approach, including targeted implementation, high employee engagement and continuous maintenance to ensure effectiveness, all driven by data.
Importance of data-backed benefits programs
Data is at the heart of making informed decisions. It establishes what is needed, what is working and, perhaps most importantly, what needs to be adjusted for better results.
Introducing white-label health testing for employee wellness programs provides employees with critical access to personalized health data, guiding more effective use of benefits packages to target pain points. This route to optimized health can power significant results across the company, including:
- Recruitment: In today’s talent wars, top candidates are screening companies for their full compensation package, including health perks. Employment benefits represent a corporate commitment to employee well-being — a critical advantage in the job market, as 73% of prospects will only apply to companies prioritizing employee well-being, and 79% say benefits are required to gain their loyalty.2
- Retention: Wellness programs are proving their worth when it comes to employee engagement, satisfaction and retention. One study found that effective wellness programs resulted in lower voluntary attrition rates,3 while a separate report stated that 80% of employers with supplemental benefit offerings experience increased retention.4
- Costs: Employee benefit programs are in place to support better health and wellness; an effective program will have a trickle-down effect on overall costs as employees no longer put off health maintenance until it reaches a critical (and expensive) level. Preventive health measures are vital in reducing employer health costs, particularly in relation to costly chronic conditions.5 For example, U.S. employers lose an estimated $36.4 billion annually to chronic condition-related absences.6 However, many of these conditions are preventable or manageable with the help of biometrics screenings, regular check-ins with providers and other lifestyle management guidance.
- Productivity: An employee wellness program can enhance productivity levels in several different ways. For one, healthier employees require less sick leave; research shows that employees with healthier habits — which can be supported through proactive care and targeted resources — have 27% lower absenteeism rates.7 These plans also reduce presenteeism, a reduced rate of productivity estimated to cost employers 2.3 times more than other medical or pharmacy costs.8
White-label health testing and data analysis
Implementing a white-label health testing platform as part of a corporate wellness program can connect the dots between employee health pursuits, program adoption and the resulting benefits plan usage and costs.
With imaware's solution, employers can begin by customizing test panels, choosing from an extensive selection of biomarkers to suit the specific needs of their employee base. No matter how complex the panel and back-end technology, the testing experience is designed to be user-friendly. Our digital health platform guides employees with step-by-step instructions, tips for quick and painless sample collection and other test-taking resources in an online portal. The ease of the at-home test kit may also increase engagement by addressing critical time limitations and accessibility issues that otherwise limit an employee's ability to complete a test.
Beyond the kit, the platform addresses the end-to-end health journey with easy-to-understand results, telehealth capabilities to facilitate treatments and additional support as needed. Health result consultations can be as important as the data itself, contributing to higher adherence rates and reducing costly readmissions.910
These platform capabilities do not just bolster employee benefits. Organizations also gain critical insights into their program, such as employee participation, enabling them to tailor their wellness approach for better results.
Leverage data for employee wellness
Wellness testing programs for employees are not one-off health data generators. Incorporating testing as a continuous part of their well-being journey creates fresh opportunities to leverage health data for better outcomes. Here are the three primary opportunities for strategic health data collection and analysis:
1. Establishing a baseline
Biometric screenings can establish a vital baseline understanding of employee health. Businesses can customize panels to address general health queries, workforce-specific demographic factors associated with certain health risks, and public health announcements like seasonal flu or emerging outbreaks. With platform-enabled at-home test kits, the size of the employee base is no longer a limitation, as employees do not have to take time out of their workday to visit a lab or wait for medical personnel availability.
A standard employee screening test also bolsters important preventive health efforts. Preventive screenings help identify health issues before they progress, presenting opportunities for early intervention that are invaluable to long-term health and limiting the need for extensive, expensive treatments. Proactive tests flag risks, raise health awareness and empower employees to be more involved in their health and wellness journey.
Alongside baseline screening tests, employers can set KPIs targets they hope to achieve through the implementation of employee benefit programs. Without this starting point, it is difficult for organizations to calculate the actual return on their investment in employee benefit programs and as a result, these programs will likely be undervalued and underutilized.
2. Tailoring the solution
With a white-label testing platform to facilitate the consolidation and analysis of workforce health data, benefits programs can be adapted to employee health trends. From these results, employers can better allocate resources within benefits plans toward their most high-risk or high-cost health conditions.
For example, a white-label at-home heart health testing kit assesses critical indicators like cholesterol or blood sugar levels of two of the most common (and costly) chronic conditions in the United States — cardiovascular disease and diabetes.11 With early identification, people can typically reduce their risk of both conditions with the help of a healthcare professional and by making subsequent lifestyle changes. In the case of high cardiovascular risk among employees, a tailored benefits program may include more frequent cardiovascular screening tests or heart health-specific lifestyle plans, like physical activity stipends and nutrition guidance.
Biometric test results will also provide insights into which health metrics to monitor with additional custom, at-home health testing solutions moving forward.
3. Adapting for better results
Encouraging regular biomarker testing will ensure a continuous stream of up-to-date health data is fed into the platform. Subsequent testing provides employees with critical progress indicators, as the data will highlight any changes or milestones achieved since baseline screenings.
Companies and benefits managers will also gain insights into how their existing program may be addressing employee needs and hitting KPIs established during program introduction. The effects on employee health may be identified by comparing metrics such as continuous program participation rates against decreased sick days, lower healthcare expenditures or improved productivity. This data, plus employee feedback, can drive changes for improved results, such as adding adjustable coverage levels, optional screening tests, benefit add-ons, educational resources and more in the next iteration of the benefits program.
Ongoing monitoring not only helps employers understand the program’s effectiveness but also provides organizations with the insights needed to continuously refine their employee benefits packages to maximize the return of a healthy, productive workforce. Whether expanding health coverage, offering new tests, or supplying additional resources, data-driven benefits programs better target employee needs to drive engagement and foster a stronger culture of well-being.
Summary: Don’t miss out on the data
A data-driven approach to wellness, facilitated by private-label health testing, offers invaluable insights into employee health, enabling employers to optimize benefit plan performance. The importance of harnessing such data cannot be overstated, as it can impact pivotal areas like recruiting, retention, cost management and productivity.
By leveraging biomarker tests and a sophisticated platform for data analysis, employers can establish baseline health metrics, create targeted corporate wellness programs, adapt wellness strategies to employee needs and track KPIs. This proactive approach ultimately benefits employees and employers alike.
Explore the transformative potential of integrating data-driven health solutions into corporate wellness initiatives with imaware's white-label biomarker testing platform.
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