So how long does it generally take to yield hard wellness program ROI?  3 years, according to a new study by OptumHealth in Minnesota.  This tells us that it will take a pretty committed effort on the employer’s part, which means although you’re unlikely to see much hard ROI at the beginning, these programs, if executed properly, can yield some pretty big returns over the long term.  However, in the very short term, with programs that are fun and engaging, you will still likely reap significant “soft” ROI with your employees in the form of a boost to your company culture, employee morale, and potentially, employee retention.  The following is a noteworthy passage from the study:

To determine ROI, Serxner and his colleagues examined wellness program participation and medical claims data for close to 50,000 employees of a large financial services corporation. They used innovative analytical techniques to compare net medical and prescription claims paid by the company for people who participated in one or more of the HPM services with those who did not participate at all. After accounting for the costs to implement the wellness program, their analysis revealed a loss in year 1 with net savings in years 2 and 3. The company’s overall return on investment (ROI) during the three-year study period was 2.45:1.

The bottom line here?  You must build a solid employee wellness program and stay with it.  Do not fall prey to the instant gratification mantra that ails so much of our culture these days.  Your peoples’ and organization’s health (financially and otherwise) may just depend on it.

Go here to read the whole article.