In and around the wellness industry, people's heads arespinning. There's a constant flow of information and differentfindings as to the successes and failures of various wellnessprograms. So it's no wonder employers feel lost as they look for apartner to the foundation of their workplace wellnessinitiatives.

With hundreds of wellness companies out there, how can they evenbegin to decide who they should entrust the health of theiremployees to? Do you ask for recommendations from other companies?Rely on the word of your broker? Google wellness programs and seewhat shows up?

While each of these has some level of merit, each also containssome level of risk. These approaches are unlikely to work toidentify what you’re searching for because… you likely don't knowwhat you’re searching for. For this reason, let's examine sevenquestions you must understand of yourself and your organization soyou can decide what wellness programs to offer and who to workwith.

1) What is your state of wellnessmaturation?

You might be looking to start a wellness program for the firsttime, looking to change providers or just looking for somethingfresh and new. Understanding where you are in starting this processis an important first step in figuring out where you’ll end it.

2) What are your goals?

There's a big difference between reducing medical trend andincreasing employee morale as the primary objectives of a wellnessprogram. These only represent two of many reasons a company willimplement a program. These goals aren't mutually exclusive, but ifyou have more than one, be sure to understand which are mostimportant. Rank them (yes, actually write them down) before makingany decisions, and be sure to have input from all decisionmakers.

3) What motivational tactics do you plan onemploying?

The question of incentive use and what will be the determiningfactor in earning incentives is likely to be one of the mostpolarizing questions that you will face. The answer to this shouldalign seamlessly with your organizational culture and goals. Besure to have a consensus on this or your program is destined tofail.

4) What's your priority?

Unless you have an unlimited budget, you likely will have toprioritize either low risk maintenance (keeping your healthyemployees from getting sick) or high risk intervention (engagingyour unhealthy employees with high touch, high cost programs).You’ll want to have some portion of your program that reaches each,but if pressed, which is a higher priority? Having baselinebiometric screening, health risk assessment and/or claims data canmake this decision easier.

5) What message will you convey to youremployees?

The answer to this question likely will align closely with yourprogram goals. If cost containment is the most important goal foryour organization, a similar message needs to be communicated tothe employee base. The employees should know beyond “what” thewellness program is, “why” it is being implemented and “how” thissupports the strategic corporate objectives.

What are you looking for in a partner?

This question can be answered in many different ways, but it'snot something that can be easily prescribed by anyone outside ofthe organization. In many cases this comes down to a feel. It maycome down to a decision of whether you choose a partner withinnovative technology or a strong research background. It can feellike comparing apples to oranges, but it's important to know whatwill drive your decision.

Do you have a supportive foundation?

There are several published research studies that providecomponents of a supportive environment for wellness programs. Thesecomponents can go a long way in determining the level of successachieved by your program. Included in this list are components suchas written goals, a comprehensive communication strategy andmeasurement and evaluation of programs. It's worth evaluating thesecomponents to determine whether effort should be split to achievesome of these benchmarks.

You might notice this list is devoid of some very basic buyingquestions: What program components and modalities are we lookingfor? What is our budget? Will this program work for our employeedemographics? These are clearly very important considerations, butrepresent a more classic and obvious approach.

Try considering the questions above before asking any of thesequestions and you are likely to find out far more about yourself,your needs and subsequently, find a far more compatiblepartner.