Every workforce is unique, and so are their well-being needs. This is why the most effective workplace well-being programs are personalized. At WebMD Health Services, we move beyond one-size-fits-all programs to offer an experience that meets the unique health needs of each participant. How do we do this? I asked a few members of my Client Success Team to share some stories and practical strategies we use to bring personalized workplace well-being experiences to life for our clients.
How easy is it to personalize a population’s well-being program experience?
Answer: Very easy! A key part of a personalizing a workplace well-being program is understanding the people who make up the organization. Information about different employee groups, such as role, department, location and health plan enrollment status all serve as the building blocks of personalization. We call this segmentation, and it is part of the WebMD ONE platform implementation. Our segmentation capabilities are baked into the system architecture, allowing clients to personalize the experience based on the needs of each participant. As participants engage in their journeys, noting personal health interests, health risks, personal goals and more, we’re able to further personalize the experience, increasing participant engagement and behavior change over time.
Can you walk me through a scenario of what a personalized experience looks like for a client’s well-being program?
Answer: Of course, let’s use a complex health system as an example. A health system has a variety of population groups with different benefits and well-being needs: physicians, nurses, administrative, janitorial and more. It makes sense that not everyone at the hospital should receive the same generic message and program. Rather, we want the messages to be specific and relevant to each participant, so they can take action immediately.
Let’s take an example of a registered nurse. We can call her Lisa. She’s 50 years old and lives in Chicago. To ensure that Lisa gets the information she needs, we set up her program this way:
As a nurse, the ability to cope with stress is important, so Lisa will receive suggestions to manage stress and increase resilience. She’ll also receive preventive care reminders based on her age. And, since she let us know she’d like help with menopause, we’ll send her information on coaching classes and community connections she can take advantage of. Our health coaches can further personalize Lisa’s experience by letting her know about programs offered by the hospital outside the WebMD ONE platform, such as nutrition programs, running clubs and more.
Can you share a story of a client you’ve worked with that has done personalization well?
Answer: Yes! We have a leading global fintech client with about 50,000 employees worldwide that wanted to create a unified, impactful and personalized well-being experience. This client has a strong commitment to employee health and engagement and was keen on launching a program that could give employees relevant, localized and meaningful well-being resources.
We set up the program so that employees and spouses saw only relevant programs and rewards, ensuring a tailored experience. We also developed personalized resources, incentives and associate challenges. And finally, we used a multi-channel communications approach with translated emails, regional newsletters and community forums.
This client was a lot of fun to work with, and by leveraging WebMD ONE’s sophisticated segmentation and personalized engagement capabilities, this global company successfully enhanced its well-being program. The improvements resulted in higher employee participation, deeper global connections and a more personalized well-being experience for its employees worldwide.
What do you say to a client that doesn’t see the value in personalization?
Answer: Actually, we don’t often have that problem. In fact, personalized well-being is more important than ever before, and most employers offer a wide range of benefits to enable a more personalized experience. Employees expect this integrated experience, real-time support and a program that is personalized to their life. They are looking for their employer to provide solutions and support that can help them achieve more than steps or reminders for care. They are looking for support that can help them have more energy, more high-quality years, better balance and real support for when life really happens. Employees want to know that their employer truly cares and is committed to their well-being.
What is the most important thing to consider when launching a personalized workplace well-being program?
Answer: What’s most important is to take in all the data we have about a participant and combine that with their personal health risks, areas of interest and readiness to change to create a custom experience that guides them to the programs and benefits that will be most impactful to their health. We must respect that people’s lifestyles, workloads, stressors and family situations all have an impact on how a person can, or is willing to, engage with a program and reflect that in what we offer. At WebMD Health Services, we try to offer well-being solutions that work the way life works—connected, personalized and human.
Beyond segmentation, what other ways can you make an organization’s well-being program truly their own?
Answer: First, I would say that well-being needs to be interwoven into the fabric of the organization’s culture. What does this look like? Leaders verbally support well-being and lead by example, grassroots initiatives (such as a well-being champion network) are supported, and team members feel the organization cares about their well-being. Managers also play a critical role in personalizing well-being by checking in on the mental health of their team, offering flexibility and regular recognition. Employees are encouraged to weave well-being into the workday, rather than feeling it’s something they must “do” after hours. All of this helps to create a true culture of well-being that impacts employee engagement and retention—a true driver of business performance.
Create personalized employee well-being experiences with WebMD Health Services.
I hope this Q&A was helpful in offering insight into how we personalize our clients’ well-being programs. At WebMD Health Services our mission has always been to empower well-being in everyone. And we do that by partnering with organizations to help them move beyond fragmented tools, siloed data and surface-level perks toward a fully integrated well-being strategy designed for real life.
There’s no better time to create meaningful, relevant well-being experiences that are tailored to your business and your people. With an average tenure of 10 years, our Account Management team brings consistency and a deep level of well-being program and industry knowledge. If you’d like to explore how we can help you make the most out of your well-being program, request a demo today.
