4 ways digital health tools can enhance your employee wellness program

Adoption of digital health tools has quickly passed from phenomenon to commonly accepted practice. Whether it’s the widespread use of wearable health monitoring devices or the 250 new health apps added to app stores daily, people have become increasingly comfortable using technology to supplement—and often replace—traditional healthcare behaviors. 

If your corporate health and wellness program doesn’t include a digital health component, you may be missing an important opportunity to increase participation rates, improve outcomes and enhance overall program performance. Here’s how.

4 ways digital health tools can enhance your wellness program 

1. Expanded access and convenience

With the rise of hybrid and remote work, including a digital component in your corporate wellness program is an excellent way to reach and engage diverse and distributed workforces. Digital health tools remove barriers to participation, allowing employees to access resources and participate in programs from anywhere, at the time of day that works best for them, on the device of their choosing. 

This flexibility benefits geographically distributed employees and provides remote and hybrid employees the same accessibility as their in-office counterparts. 

2. Personalized experiences to increase engagement

Technology has brought a level of personalization into our daily experiences, including how we care for our health and well-being. Thanks to powerful, data-driven decision engines, digital health tools offer experiences that are unique to the individual, resulting in greater engagement and real change over time. 

Interactive online platforms allow employees to:

• Complete assessments
• Set goal
• Define preferences 
• Integrate health data from other sources

The result is a personalized health journey that delivers tailored resources at the right time, supports goal tracking, recognizes progress and tees up next steps in a way that’s unique and engaging. 

Because digital health platforms can support a wide variety of content formats, these tools also cater to differences in learning styles. While one participant may prefer to read articles or complete self-paced courses, another may prefer viewing videos, joining webinars or connecting with a health coach. The variety of available options makes for a more personal and engaging experience.

3. Integration with corporate benefits offerings

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employee benefits account for almost 30% of employer costs—and the cost of offering a compelling benefits package continues to skyrocket. Yet many employee benefits go unused. 

Integrating a digital health platform into your corporate wellness program may help employees better understand and use their company benefits, improving the return on this significant investment. For example, an employee who indicates a desire to quit smoking on a health assessment can be provided information about the tobacco cessation program their company offers. 

Similarly, an employee who signs up for a fitness challenge might be reminded about the company’s fitness reimbursement program or discounted gym membership offering. By connecting company benefits to employee preferences, health profiles and goals, employees can see how their employer is investing in their health and well-being—and employers can maximize their sizable investment in benefits via a healthier, more productive and more engaged workforce. 

4. Actionable data to drive decision-making

Many benefits leaders express frustration at not having ready access to data to help them assess and optimize wellness program performance. The data generated by a digital health platform can fill in the blanks. 

By understanding employee preferences and engagement rates, companies can optimize corporate wellness initiatives and evaluate overall benefits offerings to better align with the needs and desires of their workforce. Additionally, a population-level view of employee wellness can help employers understand and monitor health trends and patterns, shifting resources or staging interventions to address the biggest drivers of employer costs and employee turnover.