Business of Well-being

Education Picks up When ROI Fails - A Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

What offers a steady hand in times of volatility no matter which market or business sector you are in?

Education and integrity.

Whether you work as a human resources professional, wellness manager, insurance broker or corporate suite executive, it is the wisdom of education and the integrity of being transparent that will enable you to thrive anywhere, anytime. These two principals will empower the industry and its inhabitants to grow in a healthy direction.

Part of that empowerment includes understanding where return on investment (ROI) rests in today's environment. The Corporate Health & Wellness Association's interviews with top wellness experts within the health and wellness industry show that ROI is dying if the ROI calculations continue to be conducted without more attention to all of the necessary factors for a credible measure. Yet if companies truly awaken to the real requirements for calculating a credible ROI, ROI will not fall away to other measuring sticks such as value on investment (VOI) and care on investment (COI).

Unfortunately, no canaries are available to test the coal mines of wellness programs to see if they work until they are in place. For this reason-and because perfect ROI is illusive- solid education becomes a strategic weapon to offset the perspective that a wellness program is a futile effort.


Proven reputable statistics show a healthier workforce translates to a healthier bottom line, and educated leaders are the ones who know how to move a workforce forward if the initial payoff is too small.

Educated leaders within the wellness marketplace who operate with transparency and accountability also will be the ones to succeed.

Transparency will remain a strong contender toward future success within corporate wellness; care of personal information will also require delicate handling of all those involved. A recent data breach from hackers looking to commit warranty fraud compromised personal data of Fitbit device users.


And while security investigation analysts believe that this was not a breach at Fitbit, but rather the normal problem of companies having to deal with user account takeovers that stem from password re-use and user PC compromises. However, the data breach for Fitbit users raises questions about the liability employers-as well as Fitbit's liability and lack of accountability in its response to the problem-have in this scenario.

Questions about data security and privacy will continue to be raised and the roles employers play will be in the forefront. With data breaches on the rise, keeping precious information secure will be of utmost importance-especially when wearable technology is integrated within a wellness program. These raise additional privacy and security issues. Also of utmost importance is to follow the developments of the laws as they evolve as more regulation is likely coming.

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