May 20, 2025

Relying on Data to Define and Refine Well-being Programs

Employers are leveraging data to measure the effectiveness of their well-being initiatives and determine if they are meeting organizational goals. As shown in Figure 8.1, employers are leveraging data for many purposes: 50% of employers heavily rely on data to hold vendors accountable, 49% use data extensively to assess the impact of well-being programs across global operations and 43% apply data substantially to design and refine initiatives.

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I need a partner who will be strategic with us: who will look at our workforce, analyze the data of what they’re seeing, and come to the table with initiatives for us to consider how to navigate and implement.

Jerry Wallace, Straumann Group

Employers Strive to Reduce Health Risks and Manage Health Care Costs

Employers prioritize reducing health risks and managing health care costs when designing their well-being strategies. Reducing health risks is the top objective for 45% of employers, while managing health care costs follows closely, identified as the top objective by 27% of employers. Aligning with corporate culture and enhancing employee engagement are secondary to risks and costs, but still significant priorities (Figure 8.2).

Well-being Dashboards Critical to Tracking and Demonstrating Program Effectiveness

Employers are adopting well-being dashboards to summarize metrics needed to monitor and evaluate well-being initiatives. As Figure 8.3 highlights, dashboard adoption is expected to increase significantly, from 47% in 2025 to 80% in 2026. Dashboards are primarily used to provide leadership updates (89%), track long-term trends in employee health (79%), secure leadership buy-in through demonstrations of program impact and pinpointing unmet health needs (64% and 61%, respectively).

Senior Leaders Most Commonly Held Accountable for Well-being Outcomes

Accountability is essential in well-being strategies. About 60% of employers hold someone internally accountable for the success of well-being programs via performance standards. Commonly, the accountability rests with senior leaders (45%) but also well-being champions (25%) and managers or team leads (24%) (Figure 8.4).

Leadership Committees Strengthen Organizational Commitment to Well-being

In addition to dashboards and accountability, senior leaders are also sometimes involved in executive sponsorship of a well-being program. The establishment of executive sponsorship or leadership committees can put many employers’ well-being programs on the right path to cultivating champions at the top. Figure 8.5 shows that nearly 39% of employers have implemented such committees, and another 23% are considering doing so, underscoring the growing recognition of structured leadership oversight as key to well-being strategy effectiveness.

More Topics

Resource Data & Measurement Vendor Management & Accountability