Americans work harder, are more productive and miss fewer days of work as a result of wellness benefit programs, according to the latest Principal Financial Well-Being Index(SM). Forty-one percent of workers agree that having a wellness program encourages them to work harder and perform better at work.
As I mentioned in a previous blog, many people are starting to take personal responsibility for their physical well-being due to the escalating costs of health care, especially in traditional systems. As employees, these people are beginning to look for employers who foster a culture of wellness in their environments.
Employers can benefit from wellness programs through costs-savings, as well as healthier and more engaged employees. These employees have more energy and expect to have a greater chance of living a longer, healthier life with reduced stress.
The top four wellness benefits workers would most like to see employers offer are fitness center discounts (25 percent), on-site preventive screenings (22 percent), access to wellness experts such as nutritionists (21 percent), and on-site fitness facilities (19 percent). Interestingly, access to wellness experts was only available to 11 percent of those surveyed in the Principal study.
This is where your health club can reach out to a corporate client and fill a huge void. Many employers who are unwilling or unable to provide wellness experts on-site can, and should, be referring workers to the experts at our clubs. The question is, do you have these experts?
If we assume that you have a nutritionist/wellness consultant, and perhaps a health coach, what are some of the ways that you can market their services to corporate members? I like to take the direct approach and offer the companies a short lunchtime presentation on easy weight-loss strategies. This would be a value-added benefit to the fitness center discount and something everyone likes to hear.
I recommend you take this strategy one step further and use it as a way to get in front of prospects that are on the fence about joining. Often, this benefit could put you way ahead of the competition who may not be offering any wellness expertise. It is important to remember that 87 percent of all people who do join health clubs cite weight loss or weight maintenance as their primary reason for joining.
Put that statistic together with the fact that 80 percent of changing body composition comes from changes in nutrition and you have the “perfect storm” for having weight loss and nutrition education programs in your club. And by all means, put your nutrition services right up front in the membership sales process and make it an integral part of your message.
Judith Samuels, M.A. is a certified nutrition and wellness consultant and master personal trainer at Sport&Health Clubs in the Washington D.C. Metro Area. She can be reached via e-mail at judi@judisamuels.com.
