More and more Australian companies, both large and small, are seeing the importance of workplace wellness programs. This means that the demand for programs is ever-increasing, however it also means that there is more and more corporate wellness providers coming onto the scene.

Interestingly, some recent American research highlighted that nearly half of employers that used corporate wellness services were unhappy with their current wellness provider. This is quite alarming given the financial investment that companies make in their staff’s health and the importance of having successful outcomes of such programs.

From our experience, many companies are not satisfied with their wellness program for a number of reasons, the most common being:

• Lack of time and attention by the wellness provider - many providers are too thinly stretched and therefore not offering a comprehensive program;
• The program doesn’t suit the organisation’s needs - many providers offer generic programs and hope that ‘one size fits all’;
• The program does not correctly target the type of staff participating - for example, a different approach needs to be taken with office staff compared to field officers;
• The program is not based on sound scientific principles;
• The program outcomes are not meeting the organisation’s needs - the provider does not clearly understand what the organisation hopes to achieve with the program.

The list goes on. But in summary this highlights that corporate wellness providers have to get better at meeting the needs of organisations wanting to implement wellness programs.

As the corporate wellness provider, FitSense feels that many providers do not give their clients adequate time and attention to run a customised and effective wellness program. Our philosophy is that we would prefer to work with a small number of clients and ensure we meet their needs and have effective program outcomes.