Increase Your Workplace Programs

Employers value productivity and employees value convenience

Top companies know what it takes to attract and retain top talent. Employees want more than just a paycheck, they want to connect with others in their organization and seek work-life integration. Convenience is one of the top factors that employees value from workplace programs. More so, employees are willing to pay out of pocket for these conveniences regardless of how much a company is subsidizing their workplace programs. And $70 seems to be the average amount that an employee is willing to pay for the convenience of fitness, wellness and lifestyle programs at their work.
 

Espresa’s employee programs research found that regardless of whether a company chooses to offer allowances for employee programs, subsidizes certain programs or offers on campus programs with no subsidies, employees were willing to pay for the convenience of having workplace programs on campus.
 
The average employee pays $65 - $70 per month on workplace programs for companies that offer no subsidies or subsidize a selection of programs like fitness and wellness. The most popular example of programs employees will pay for out of pocket are massages on campus. Not only are employees willing to pay their own money for these services, but massage timeslots will book up fully within 30 minutes of posting the schedule.
 
The amount that an employee pays from their own wallet depends on whether or not a company subsidizes their programs. What is most surprising is that the average out of pocket expenses are relatively similar between those companies that offer subsidized programs and those that offer unsubsidized workplace programs. Companies that offer workplace programs, but do not subsidize their programs saw an average spend of $69. Those that subsidized popular fitness and wellness programs such as yoga, pilates, boot camp or meditation saw employees spend an additional $65 per month on top of the average $35 per employee per month that they spend on subsidies.
 
Companies that offer subsidies see exponentially more participation over those that offer unsubsidized workplace programs despite a similar employee spend. Those who subsidize fitness and wellness programs see employees schedule programs at a rate that is nearly double that of the unsubsidized companies. Subsidies also affect more than just usage, they influence more of the employee population. Those companies that subsidize workplace programs see an average employee participation rate of 37%. This means that companies that subsidize programs see an employee participation rate that is 3X more than companies that offer no subsidies.
 
For those companies that can offer generous allowances, they’ll see the highest participation rates of 95% and employees will still spend an average of $25 per employee per month over the allowance to participate in more programs. Companies that offer allowances will tend to spend between $100-$200 per employee per month to use on fitness and wellness initiatives or the lifestyle convenience programs of their choice. It should come as no surprise that those companies that provide an employee wallet of $100 per month see an average enrollment of 3 programs per month.

Employees also have preferences as to when they participate in programs, for example, the most popular times to run fitness and wellness programs are around lunchtime, late afternoon or early in the evening. This makes sense as many meetings are scheduled in the morning and employees can only participate when they have a break in their schedule.The best days for employee participation are Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
 
While convenience is a big factor, it’s important to have a wide variety of programs including health, wellness, fitness, lifestyle conveniences, and employee groups. How often programs are scheduled is an important factor for increasing employee participation. Companies that offer subsidies for their fitness and wellness programs see an average employee participation rate of 37% when they schedule at least two fitness or wellness programs per week.
 
The rising cost of healthcare has caused many HR departments to tighten their budget. It’s a relief to know that you don't need to offer subsidies or allowances to get employees to participate, but if your goal is to have more than and 11% engagement rate, consider a variety of programs and subsidies to help reach your goals.
 
Regardless of how you fund your workplace programs, employees want convenience, so be sure to schedule multiple programs per week and a variety of clubs, events, and lifestyle conveniences services. Providing a variety of programs and events consistently is the key to employee participation and leads to increased employee engagement and retention.