10 Reasons Why Wellness Programs Fail
We see the same sad story repeat itself. A wellness program is launched with a bang, then it slowly (sometimes quickly) fizzles out.
If you are a employer or landlord looking to offer wellness amenities (either in-person or virtually), keep an eye out for these common pitfalls:
1. Overly Concerned About “Space”
The biggest concern I hear when first talking to companies is, “we don’t have space for onsite classes.” With about 5 minutes onsite, I can usually see that there is space; you just sometimes have to get creative. Lobbies, rooftop decks, patios, parking lots, nearby parks, conference rooms, that empty corner office… all potentially great options for programming. When space restrictions truly do exist, put your wellness program operator in touch with the building owner or property manager. We can often find a creative solution.
Another option is virtual programming. Especially for hybrid or distributed teams, this is a fantastic option when space is limited or gathering people into the same space just isn’t plausible. Since the pandemic hit in 2020 people are very familiar with (and some even prefer) joining group fitness, yoga, or meditation classes from the comfort of their living room or home office. There are many live-streaming class options to explore that increase accessibility and convenience for the audience you seek to support.
Summary: There are always more ‘location’ options available than you may think.
2. No Clear “Program Owner”
Clear accountability leads to results. Every manager knows this. Your wellness program may not have a clear owner.
At organizations, the responsibility can sometimes fall to HR executives, Office Managers, Admin Assistants, Culture Champions, Benefits Managers, or (more often) just a random employee that happens to be a big advocate of yoga, meditation, or other group fitness class. But, let’s be honest, most of these people aren’t getting paid for their ability to coordinate fitness instructors, make new quarterly wellness themes, write promotional emails, design compelling classes, troubleshoot Zoom yoga sessions, and run surveys to measure class effectiveness. If it’s not their priority, it will not be prioritized and the quality of programming tends to suffer.
At multi-family properties, the responsibility often falls on the Property Managers, who are constantly putting out fires (sometimes literally!). They manage vendors, collect rent, build operating budgets, and so much more. Running a well-oiled resident wellness program typically requires more bandwidth than the average property manager has available. The same goes at office properties.
At coworking spaces, it often falls on the Community Manager or General Manager. When your member wellness amenities are just one of the many responsibilities on your plate, it’s not likely to get the attention that it needs.
Outsourcing your wellness programming management can free your internal resources up, so they can focus on their strategic initiatives. It also means you will probably have a more detail-oriented and impactful wellness program.
Summary: Wellness programs struggle to succeed without a clear person accountable... who also has direct experience with program management.
3. Wrong Class Styles
When wellness programs are created, they are often a reflection of the interest of one individual… the person setting up the classes. Joe from Accounting assumes that because he likes a rare form of Korean martial arts, that everyone else will, too. Sometimes that might be the case… but often, not. Closely monitoring participation trends and conducting regular surveys to your audience can help guide onsite program offerings.
Summary: We can’t please everyone all the time; but we can aim to support the largest percentage of the population with the amenities we offer.
4. Wrong Instructors
Finding the right instructor for your group is kind of like dating. The person needs to have real expertise, or else you’ll have mediocre classes and no one shows up. Instructors have to command the respect of the students and be a good cultural fit. Like it or not, they reflect on your brand and you want someone that best represents that. Depending on what kinds of classes you offer, instructors should probably be background checked, licensed, and insured for legal reasons. Once you find the right instructor, you have to find the right substitute, in case they get sick. And the dating cycle starts again. It’s definitely doable. It does take time.
Summary: Instructors can make or break the experience for participants, and support (or detract from) your brand in the process. Don’t cut corners here.
5. Wrong Schedule
When your employer funds group classes, they should be designed for ultimate convenience and maximum participation. Onsite classes are easy to attend… just walk down the hall of your office, and your class is there. Same with classes offered by your apartment complex… just head to the common area and your neighbors and favorite yoga instructor awaits you. Virtual classes also provide a low barrier to entry… just click the Zoom link and you’re in the class.
And yet… if these classes are not offered on the right days and at the right times, no one shows up. Every company has a different culture around work hours. Arrival time, lunch hour, and departure time from the office all influence optimal class schedules. Every property has their own ebb-and-flow of people concentration during the day. This is why a one-size-fits all approach to wellness programming doesn’t typically work. We recommend a customized program, designed to meet your population where they are.
Summary: Convenience is critical to program success.
6. Classes Are Too Long
In a corporate setting, most people want to “get in, and get out.” They are there to work. This makes long classes inaccessible. Keep corporate classes to 30 minutes (preferred), or 45/50 minutes (max). People only feel comfortable eating into to their workday by 30 minutes. So, if everybody leaves the office by 5 PM and you want to run an evening class, the earliest I would recommend an evening class is 4:30pm.
When offering group classes in apartment communities, we see the same… longer isn’t better. If you are a serious yogi that wants a fully immersive 90-minute yoga class with chanting, you will probably seek that our at your neighborhood studio. We find it’s better to view these property-funded wellness amenities as an inclusive, welcoming way to dip your toes in the water and extend healthy perks to the general population.
Summary: Shorter is usually better.
7. People Don’t Know What’s Available
The old marketing “Rule of 7” states that people need to “hear” your message at least 7 times before they’ll take action. That takes a lot of work, and that’s why marketers make the big bucks. Just like any initiative, your wellness program needs promotion for people to know about it, and consider utilizing it. Awareness drives participation, and participation drives success.
Summary: All wellness programs need to be regularly promoted to have any chance of success.
8. Your ‘Yoga Friend’ Will Teach Classes For Free
I hear this all the time: “My neighbor’s/girlfriend/spouse/cousin is a yoga teacher and they’ll come in and teach our classes for super cheap. Or free!” To that I say… “Awesome! Enjoy that and save some cash. Let’s talk in a month to see how it goes.”
Without fail, this is how it goes:
Class #1: ‘Yoga Friend’ shows up right on time, and everything is chaos. There’s no way to register online, so class is too crowded. The ‘Yoga Friend’ is wearing a sports bra and booty shorts, which is wildly inappropriate for the culture and brand of the company. HR is on edge. Sanskrit chanting music blares during class, which freaks out the yoga first-timers. It was marketed as a class for “all-levels” but ‘Yoga Friend’ begins with an advanced sequence that few people can follow. Some people leave injured, some people leave uncomfortable, and there’s no clear path to provide feedback.
Class #2: The awkward first impressions from Class #1 cause participation to plummet to 50% of the last class . ‘Yoga Friend’ arrives late because they came from another gig that actually pays. The folks waiting feel rising stress levels as they wait for ‘Yoga Friend’ to get class started. They came to this class for less stress, not more. No feedback was gathered after Class #1, so ‘Yoga Friend’ doesn’t know how to adjust, and the same mistakes happen. The music was polarizing and they had no way to know.
Class #3: ‘Yoga Friend’ tells you they are sick with 3 hours until class start. You scramble to find a substitute and fail. You have to cancel class last minute and send an email out to employees. It takes a long time to build trust, and seconds to destroy it. Those that were still interested in attending lose confidence, and adjust their routine. Some don’t see the email in time and show up anyway, waiting for a class that never happens. You are the one answering emails, apologizing on the instructor’s behalf, etc.
Class #4: We never made a specific person responsible for class promotion… so no email reminders were sent. No flyers hung, no slack notifications pushed. The few people that do know about it and still want to attend, don’t have confidence that the class is going to happen, because of their last experience. So no one shows up. ‘Yoga Friend’ is there, waiting to teach the class. You still have to pay them. They’d rather teach classes with strong participation and where they are fairly compensated for their time… so they will probably give notice after this.
Let me be clear… ‘Yoga Friend’ is a very talented instructor. And a very kind, good person. I love this person and trust they are doing their absolute best.
They are just not set up for success. When there isn’t a clear program owner, dedicated promotion, a feedback loop established, and skilled program management, it’s hard to run dazzling programming. You can cut corners to get a fitness or yoga instructor to show up for a low rate, but that’s not the same as running a wellness program (and you will get what you pay for). Many think it’d be a good way to ‘test employee interest’ or ‘see if residents come, then we will know if we should invest’… but you’re unlikely to have reliable data from this ‘test’, not to mention any sustained momentum or quality programming.
Summary: Well-trained and well-compensated instructors with clear performance incentives, set your program up for success.
9. Lack of Frequency
You know that working out once a quarter doesn’t give you 6-pack abs. Or doing 1 yoga class per month doesn’t make you flexible. In order to see real results (just like anything), you need to commit. Offer daily or weekly classes for meaningful results. Regularly offered classes give you the right to put a checkmark next to the “wellness” box.
Summary: Any habit needs to be consistent, for it to become a habit.
10. Can’t See The Bigger Vision
A wellness program has the potential to be more than just a weekly yoga or fitness class.
For companies, it can support team building, cross department pollination, and employee experience. Think holistically about the program and it’s potential impact, and you’ll find it’s easier to get budget secured and management support.
For buildings, it can be a way to boost your amenities offering, foster connections between neighbors, get higher utilization of common areas, and differentiate your properties.
Summary: Fold these classes into your company DNA for maximum ROI.
The above reasons are just a few of the reasons why I started Zest.
Working in the corporate world, I had experience seeing employee wellness programs run as an afterthought. I thought to myself… “These programs could have a much larger ROI and impact on the company’s team and bottom line if they were better managed.” After running wellness programs for companies and properties since 2018, the Zest team knows well what needs to happen to ensure successful program rollout, adoption, and evolution. And we are accountable for making it happen.
If you are a landlord or property manager looking to up your amenity packages and attract tenants, consider sponsoring group wellness classes. Zest can help.
If you are an employer looking to follow-through on your commitment to employee wellness and team-building activities, consider investing in employee yoga, meditation and fitness classes. Zest can help.