Workplace Wellness : Health Promotion Program Budgets.

Trying to do more with less money? Here are three proven ways to align the dollars and cents of a wellness program in your budget.

Common thread -  the way you prepare - and control - your budget for a health promotion program is vital to its success.

1. Top-down wellness budget

Depending on the size of your organization and wellness program, you could have full budget responsibility or might need to work with a C-level who’s budgeting professionalise.

Regardless of the arrangement, you’re likely to face one of two distinct challenges -  a top-down budget or a zero-based budget.

A top-down budget is when you’re given a finite dollar amount and told to run the wellness program within the limit. When that’s the case, here are three vital questions to ask -

• Does this limit include money set aside for staff member incentives and future programs?

• Should we keep long-tenured health promotion programs that keep going up in price, and

• Does Benefits/HR have to deliver all education about the wellness program, or is there additional funding to hire staff?

2.  Zero-based wellness budgeting

In zero-based funding, you submit to upper-level management an itemized list of the wellness programs/features you want and the cost of each. Best practices -

• Rank health promotion programs by priority (health-risk assessments should be at or near the top)

• Indicate which expenditures are fixed and which are variable, and

• List ways to incorporate existing resources (like an EAP program) for a better return on investment.

3. Estimating wellness ROI

On average, health promotion programs normally take at least 18 months to break even. After three years, you should see savings.

If not, it’s time to take a fresh look at the health promotion program design.