Maximizing ROI with Wellhub: The Future of Corporate Wellbeing

Introduction

When we started Wellhub (then Gympass) 12 years ago, our goal was to make physical activity more accessible. By 2014, as we shifted to a B2B model, we saw an even larger impact: 60-70% of our corporate subscribers visited a gym or studio for the first time in a month or more.

Over the years, we realized we were making a broader impact than we first expected, improving employee wellbeing in three key areas: reducing healthcare costs, improving employee retention, and reducing the financial burden for employees wanting to improve their wellness. While it was clear that active employees generally had lower healthcare costs, proving and quantifying this impact was challenging. Our clients also noticed that Wellhub users tended to stay with their companies longer, and we needed to confirm this wasn’t just anecdotal. Lastly, we knew our subscribers were saving on gym memberships, but we had to analyze these savings across millions of users with different usage patterns.

Quantifying these impacts took time, as we needed the right data, infrastructure, and partnerships. The work culminated in what we believe is the most comprehensive study on the ROI of corporate wellbeing available today.

At a Glance: Wellhub’s Return on Investment 

Overall, investing in wellbeing offers fantastic returns. On average, our clients see a 3.3x ROI, with about half experiencing returns of 2x or more annually. Even with less than a 10% enrollment rate, clients experience a positive ROI. This represents a low bar, as the average enrollment rate for Wellhub is currently over 25%.

When we translate this into dollars, Wellhub drove over $540 million in value to clients and users in 2023. This includes:  

• $200 million in reductions in healthcare costs for all clients
• $50 million in saved recruiting costs due to reduced turnover
• $290 million in total savings for our users on annual gym subscription costs

These ROI results are consistent across regions, with Brazil, the US, and Spain showing the highest returns. Large clients (5,000 or more employees) generally experience higher ROIs than smaller companies while sectors such as government, associations, and professional services achieve the highest ROIs across all industries, approaching 5x.

These figures highlight Wellhub as a solid investment across different geographies, company sizes, and industries.

Healthcare Cost Savings

The Wellhub Effect

In our three-year study, healthcare costs for Wellhub subscribers who check in at least five times a month dropped by 21% after just 12 months of exercise, while costs for non-Wellhub subscribers increased by 14%. This represents a total healthcare cost savings of 35% or more.

How We Measured Our Impact

Evaluating how physical activity affects healthcare costs was the most challenging part of the Wellbeing ROI analysis.

First, we addressed concerns about not having a randomized trial. Since true randomized studies aren’t practical in the corporate world, we aimed for a representative sample by tracking the same group of people before they joined Wellhub (for 6 months) and then for 12 months after they started using it. We also compared these results with a similar control group. Over a 3-year period, we collected data from 15 different cohorts, each covering 24 months (6 months before Wellhub, 12 months with Wellhub, and 6 months after).

To ensure data privacy, we hired a third-party health tech company to handle and anonymize data from both Wellhub and health insurers, so neither party could access individual data from the other.

We also considered factors affecting healthcare costs beyond physical activity. To keep our results accurate, we excluded outliers related to labor, neonatal care, oncology, home care, transplants, and dialysis.

To avoid bias, we studied various industries (e.g., retail, finance, tech) and company sizes (under 5,000 employees, 5,000-10,000, and over 10,000), analyzing data from over 50,000 people in Brazil.

The results were compelling. In our largest case study ever, healthcare costs for Wellhub users with 5 or more check-ins per month dropped by 21% a year after implementation, while costs for non-Wellhub users rose by 14%, leading to overall savings of over 35%. This reduction in costs came from increased preventive care and lower acute treatment costs associated.

These independent studies reinforce our results, showing the significant impact of physical activity on reducing healthcare costs in just 12 months.

Employee Retention Savings

The Wellhub Effect

Overall, 88% of clients in our study had a lower turnover rate among employees subscribed and actively using the platform compared to those who didn’t subscribe. On a per-employee basis, those using Wellhub were 30% less likely to leave their jobs than non-subscribers.

How We Measured Our Impact

Our clients often mentioned a positive ‘side effect’ of our services: employees engaged with Wellhub tended to stay with their companies longer. Fortunately, our client engagement programs allowed us to test this hypothesis. Each month, we receive an updated eligibility list from our clients, allowing us to track which employees left the company, how long they stayed, and how much they used Wellhub. By comparing active Wellhub users with non-active subscribers, we can see changes in churn rates.

For our analysis, we looked at data from March 1, 2021, to February 28, 2022, and compared three groups of employees:

• Active subscribers: Users with more than 1 gym check-in per month during the study period.
• Non-active subscribers: Users with fewer than 1 gym check-in per month during the study period.
• Non-subscribers: Employees who didn’t use Wellhub services.

Overall, 88% of the companies in the study saw a lower turnover rate among the “Subscribed and Active” group compared to the “Non-Subscribed” group. On average, active subscribers had a 30% lower turnover rate than non-subscribers, while inactive subscribers had turnover rates similar to non-subscribers, as expected.

By linking turnover with the cost of hiring a new employee (which is usually about one month's salary), we estimated the total savings from higher retention and then calculated the $50M return on investment.

Employee Wellness Savings

The Wellhub Effect

Employees who use Wellhub save about 50% on wellness memberships, such as gyms, classes, and apps.

How We Measured Our Impact

A big selling point of Wellhub for employees is the lower cost of accessing gyms and studios, thanks to subsidies from their employers. We see this as a key part of Wellbeing ROI, as the savings users experience are 'indirect benefits' that are part of their overall employee package, similar to other non-salary perks.

To estimate employee savings, we first determined the market price for each Wellhub partner in our network, including gyms and studios. This market price is what a user would pay to use these services without Wellhub. We then summed the prices of all partners a user visited, adjusting for frequency so we didn't overestimate users who just tried out a facility once.

Next, we matched the actual check-ins of each Wellhub subscriber with the corresponding partner costs. This gave us the real savings for each user. Finally, we grouped all the subscribers from a particular company together to estimate the total savings for that client.

On average, we found that our users saved about 50% of the market value by using Wellhub. In the US, this translated to an average annual savings of $924 per employee.

The Bottom Line

Investing in Wellhub yields exceptional returns, with an average ROI of 3.3x. In 2023 alone, Wellhub generated over $500 million in value, including $200 million in reduced healthcare costs, $50 million in saved recruiting costs due to reduced turnover, and $290 million in savings on gym/studio memberships for subscribers.  This high ROI is consistent across different regions, company sizes, and industries, highlighting Wellhub’s effectiveness in enhancing both financial and employee wellness outcomes.