A whopping 90 per cent of employers believe their corporate wellbeing programmes fall short of their mark and are in need of improvements.
That’s the damning verdict of a recent People Management Insights report, based on a survey of the UK’s HR leaders.
The research, conducted earlier this year, also reveals that – in the companies surveyed – fewer than 20 per cent of employees were enrolled in any of the physical wellbeing offerings organised by their employers.
Even more disappointing for companies investing in wellbeing programmes is that 74 per cent of staff are not engaging with them – even if they had initially enrolled in them.
The results are somewhat surprising, considering that the pandemic has made many employers re-examine the wellbeing support they provide their employees – and make positive changes as a result. There is also plenty of evidence that people, in general, have become more conscious of the importance of health and wellbeing as a result of the pandemic.
So what’s gone wrong? Why are employers unhappy with the programmes they offer? And why aren’t employees engaging with them?
It seems to be a complex picture.
On one hand, there were positives to take from the survey by People Management Insights. For example, employers are now being more reactive than proactive when it comes to corporate wellbeing. This is seen in the way many employers now provide policies in response to life events, such as pregnancy and moving house (77.6 per cent) and offering counselling and mental health services (61.8 per cent).
On the other hand, 84.7% of employers admitted their wellbeing culture was ‘average’ or ‘below average’. No wonder that engagement rates within staff are low.
So while employers are much more aware of the value of corporate wellness plans than prior to the pandemic, it is clear that they are still unable to implement the initiatives in a way that engages employees.
Personalise this
One of the potential solutions to improve wellbeing programmes is to offer a more personalised approach. Personalising workouts as part of a fitness programme, for example, can often result in significantly higher engagement by employees.
Data from Gympass – which specialises in corporate wellness – shows that having personalised fitness and wellness goals improves attendance, with gym check-ins increasing by 22 per cent in the ensuing 90 days. What’s more, employees who were previously inactive complete an average of 36 workouts in the following 90 days when paired with a trainer.
So, how to set up a personalised programme that both engages and motivates?
A great way to achieve it is 3D body scanning, which can provide a wide range of analytics and real-time insight into a person’s health and fitness – and provide the framework for the fitness journey of those looking for a holistic approach to fitness.
Take Styku, which uses artificial intelligence to measure body fat. Styku can show people their risks of obesity related disease and how those risks are changing.
Thanks to its advanced capabilities, Styku can also provide reports on visceral fat and bone mass, which will help employees not only understand their body better – but also identify areas of improvement.
A body scanner like Styku can become a central part of a personalised, corporate health and fitness journey that engages from the start. By offering regular scans, employers – or their corporate fitness partners (be it a health club, gym or medical institution) – can accurately evaluate an employee’s full body shape and body composition and then track progress with a trainer, coach or physical therapist.
Styku will also help keep employees engaged with their journey, as the technology can be used to demonstrate where fat is being lost by digitally measuring their waist and other essential body data. This means that, whether the employees goal is fat-loss or a drop in calorie consumption, Styku can provide detailed graphs of the person’s changes and improvements over time in a visual way.
If personalisation is the answer for a successful corporate wellness programme, then those offering the programmes should look no further than 3D body scanning. With technology such as Styku, they will be able to create highly-personalised fitness goals which will meet employees’ needs.
