Eighty-one percent of large companies offered a wellness program in 2021, as did about half of small companies. One study found that the total budget allocated toward wellness increased from $50 to $150 per employee to $238 per employee from 2015 to 2021.

What’s more, the percentage of employees who felt their employer cared about their well-being nearly doubled by May 2020 — jumping from 25% to 49% compared to 2014. However, it seems to have been a fleeting trend. Those numbers have declined again, with only 24% of employees believing their employer cares about their well-being in 2022.

So what gives? Why are those dollars not adding up to employees feeling supported? There are a few potential missteps to consider, and a few pivots could help your team boost engagement and get through to employees in a more meaningful way.

1. Leadership isn’t creating a culture of permission.

Leadership has to walk the walk when it comes to wellness; it’s no different than leading by example on work-related projects. “While they don’t have to demonstrate wellness daily, there needs to be a really intentional way they engage with their teammates,” says Ashley Banek, director of global operations at Exos. “Creating a culture of permission is key.”

Employees might be hesitant to take an hour break for a group exercise class if they think it will make them seem less dedicated. Working through lunch to get ahead on a project. may have earned people promotions in the past. But in today’s corporate landscape, happy and engaged talent thrive with managers who want them to prioritize their mental and physical health. In fact, employees across all generations rank it as one of the top three factors they look for in an employer.

Lesson learned: Show; don’t just tell. Do more than offer a corporate wellness program. Aim to embed wellness in your culture.

2. The program isn’t inclusive of various employee health needs.

Health and fitness has traditionally been about weight loss, and it’s often still limited to this vision. But as Banek points out, it’s a linear way of thinking if you haven’t considered that employees have other health needs. Some may not be on a weight loss journey at all. Some may not even be interested in fitness. Their reason for movement may be driven by something else. “For many, it’s about moving better, feeling better, having less pain, and being able to do tasks with limited help,” she says.

With that in mind, programming has to be holistic and your wellness program needs many entry points. If someone isn’t interested in attending a cardio class, you might pique their interest with recovery and mobility or a workshop about meditation. The “in” for them could be an educational opportunity. If you focus too heavily on weight loss or fitness for the sake of fitness, you’re pushing the outcome rather than encouraging the journey. The former can be intimidating and limiting; the latter is uplifting.

Lesson learned: Reimagine how you define wellness to be more diverse, and assess how your program serves that definition.

3. You aren’t leveraging testimonials.

“Testimonials can be extremely powerful,” says Stuart Ambrose, a senior director of portfolio management at Exos who is responsible for testing and experimenting to see what works within corporate wellness. He predicts storytelling will become a crucial part of any successful program. “How do we tell an effective story to our users and ultimately affect their behavior and their health? That’s the key,” he says.

Banek compares it to shopping on Amazon. “When you look at a product, and there’s 25,000 reviews, that’s how we tend to make decisions,” she says. Similarly, you may find some really unique stories when you take the time to ask users to share their personal successes, stories you can share to attract others. Most importantly, consider how you can bring all types of people into the story you’re telling about wellness within your walls. It shouldn’t just be an image of fitness perfection.

Lesson learned: Reach out to your existing users to learn more about their unique journeys, and explore ways to use those stories to empower others.

4. Your spaces and coaches don’t create a feeling of inclusivity for first-timers.

If you have group exercise classes full of advanced fitness folks, great! Your program is getting engagement. However, you may be neglecting a whole other audience. “How do you get beyond your super users?” says Banek.

To do this, it’s important to consider what resonates with someone who’s on the fence about trying new wellness habits — and not just what resonates, but who resonates. “Exos’ coaches and people leaders are alway going to be the differentiator in building communities within our programs,” she says.

It’s important to have the right people with diverse experiences and fitness journeys representing your program. Again, bring storytelling into the marketing plan. How can you tell their stories to show first-timers that all coaches aren’t your typical super athlete? Finding ways to show relatability breaks down some barriers for people. “It creates a welcoming environment that says ‘we’re all on this wellness journey together and you’re OK here,’” says Ambrose.

Lesson learned: Use language and tell stories that appeal to an audience less interested in “crushing it” at the gym. Hire coaches your inactive community can relate to.

5. You’re missing the community element.

Someone may not be super amped about taking a weekly strength class just for the sake of fitness, but they might be attracted to the social aspect that comes with it. Don’t neglect the opportunity to design your programs around the desire for connection, especially coming out of a pandemic that forced us into isolation.

It’s why Ambrose and his team have been focused heavily on working with clients to create community-first fitness experiences, both on-site and digitally, as workplaces move into hybrid models. That has meant thinking through how to create lounge areas that facilitate connection before and after classes. It has involved giving employees with established interests — such as martial arts or hiking — a place to connect online and on-site.

“There’s more to the fitness experience than just the workout itself. It’s the people you’re with,” says Ambrose. How can your wellness program enable and build on those connections?

Lesson learned: Building a fitness center isn’t enough. Don’t discount how your wellness program can foster connections and build relationships, and even be a driving factor for some employees to participate.