The Benefits Gap: Why Wellness Dollars Aren't Reaching Employees

Wellness dollars are intended to give workers access to valuable benefits, but too often they go unused. How can organizations make sure those dollars actually reach workers and deliver value?

During a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s September virtual conference, Tray Ross, VP of growth at Corporate Traditions, an employee recognition and gifting company, shared how companies can help their employees know about these benefits and how to use them to their advantage. 

“We have leaders telling us they have wellness credits built into the plan, but half the team doesn’t even know they exist,” said Ross. Beyond workers not knowing wellness credits exist, companies report that wellness apps often see low adoption and redemption catalogs don’t always offer what people want. 

As a result, the wellness dollars expire unused, employees get another login they don’t want, and there tends to be a catalog that employees don’t peruse or simply don’t want the items.

How to Get Wellness Rewards to Employees

These unused benefits come with real costs, from delayed recognition to paying for duplicate benefits without getting full credit for what HR provides. But there are ways to close the gap. Organizations can close the gap by making rewards easy to access: no app required, meaningful choice in what workers receive, and rewards delivered as soon as the activity is completed.

It’s also important to ensure that the carrier-administered wellness funds go through a single-step redemption process and get the rewards in the hands of employees as soon as possible, says Ross. This can be accomplished by having the employees record their activities and progress and submit them for rewards close to when they earn it.

Closing the Unused Benefits Gap

Organizations can take four steps to close the gap: identify expiring rewards, tie rewards directly to activities and distribute them soon after, offer a wide range of choices, and use a single platform for accessing wellness rewards.

“With Corporate Traditions, the access that they have is one link or one code to be able to copy and redeem,” said Ross. “They can access the catalogs, whether it’s on their phone, their tablet, or their computer and they've got millions of options.”

Even if organizations would rather not give away gift cards, Corporate Traditions partners with online retailers to offer expansive options to individuals wanting to use their wellness rewards. “Employees can get the specific item they want from their favorite vendor and have it shipped directly to them with the same warranties; it shows up in the same box as if they were to buy it off of their favorite online platform themselves,” said Ross. “And by employees getting physical, tangible items, it qualifies as a de minimis fringe benefit.”

However organizations choose to offer wellness rewards, it’s important that workers receive notice of their reward right away and can redeem it quickly and easily. Delays or a complicated redemption process can lead to rewards going unused, leaving wellness dollars on the table. Ross also encouraged organizational leaders to talk with their carriers about available wellness benefits, particularly if they haven’t used them before. Some companies may not even know these benefits exist or what they include.

When rewards are earned and redeemed soon after, companies can put their wellness dollars to work while ensuring workers actually receive the benefits.

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Corporate Traditions, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. 

Kristen Kwiatkowski is a professional freelance writer covering a wide array of industries, with a focus on food and beverage and business. Her work has been featured in the Bucks County Herald, Eater Philly, Edible Lehigh Valley, Cider Culture, and The Town Dish.

(Photo by Viorel Kurnosov/iStock)