POV: You launch a new wellness program.
Sign-ups spike. Engagement looks great for a week. Then the numbers drop. Sound familiar?
Most organizations measure the “success” of their employee health and wellness programs by how many people sign up. But participation alone doesn’t tell the full story, it’s what happens after the signup that really matters.
A well-run program isn’t about a one-time surge of excitement. It’s about sustained engagement; consistent, meaningful participation that builds healthy habits and delivers measurable outcomes over time.
At IncentFit, we’ve analyzed engagement data from hundreds of employers representing more than 200,000 employees. The results reveal a powerful insight:
Programs that track and incentivize long-term engagement (not just enrollment) deliver the highest ROI, strongest participation, and most predictable success.
In this article, we’ll unpack the hidden metrics that actually predict outcomes based wellness success and share proprietary IncentFit data that shows how to measure what truly matters.
Table of Contents
Participation measures interest. Engagement measures impact.
Most wellness platforms stop at participation rates or the number of employees who register for a program. But IncentFit’s data shows that what truly drives wellness outcomes, cost savings, and productivity is sustained engagement: how consistently employees interact with your program month after month.
Between 2022 and 2025, average registration across all IncentFit programs grew from 44% to over 55%, a 11% increase. But more importantly, the average participation rate held steady at over 60%, far exceeding the industry average of 30-35%.
That means people aren’t just joining, they’re staying active.
Wellness programs that maintain engagement across multiple quarters (not just one) see:
This is where most wellness platforms fail, they measure the wrong outcomes. The following metrics are how you can measure (and predict) real success.
Most HR leaders know participation and ROI. But the most predictive wellness metrics are the ones most programs don’t track and these are the very ones that determine long-term outcomes.
Let’s break them down:
The clearest predictor of outcomes based wellness success.
Definition: The percentage of employees who continue participating in wellness activities month over month or quarter over quarter.
Why it matters:
IncentFit Insight:
Programs that sustain engagement beyond the first 90 days have a 3x higher likelihood of producing measurable wellness outcomes, from reduced absenteeism to improved morale.
Wellness challenges are a data goldmine for understanding motivation.
Challenge participation on IncentFit has climbed steadily from 17% in 2022 to over 23% in 2025, with registrations up from 31% to 40%. Engagement peaks every Q3, aligning with “reset” periods when employees refocus after summer and before the holidays – a key indicator of predictable success.
Why it matters:
IncentFit Insight:
Companies that run quarterly or seasonal challenges see a 25-40% higher participation rate than those running year-round generic programs.
One of the most overlooked (and most valuable) wellness metrics.
Definition: The percentage of total available incentive dollars that employees actually earn and redeem.
Why it matters:
IncentFit Insight:
Across all programs, IncentFit clients see 25-50% financial utilization, with the most successful at 35-40% and over $91.6 million paid out in wellness rewards to date.
Wellness works best when it’s inclusive.
IncentFit data shows that over 60% of all logged activities happen outside the gym – walking, yoga, hydration, sleep tracking, and meditation lead the list. Additionally, 16% of personal goals set on the platform are mental health-related, showing that employees want comprehensive, whole-person well-being, not just fitness.
Why it matters:
Insight:
Programs that support multiple activity types (physical, emotional, and social) see a 20% higher retention rate over 12 months.
The way employees redeem rewards says more about motivation than anything else.
IncentFit’s top payout methods are Payroll and Direct Deposit, showing a preference for real financial incentives. The most redeemed categories include digital gift cards and wellness merchandise, confirming that employees value tangible, flexible rewards.
Why it matters:
IncentFit Insight:
Employees in incentive-based programs engage up to 2-3x more than those in non-rewarded programs. Incentives aren’t a perk, they’re the engine of sustained participation.
When we analyzed participation across hundreds of organizations using IncentFit, clear patterns emerged:
| Metric | 2022 | 2025 | Growth |
| Average Registration Rate | 44% | 55% | +25% |
| Challenge Participation | 17% | 23% | +35% |
| Challenge Registration | 31% | 40% | +29% |
| Avg. Financial Utilization | 25–30% | 35-40% | +10% |
| Activities Outside the Gym | 58% | 60.8% | +4.8% |
These numbers don’t just show engagement, they show predictable success. Programs that sustain or improve participation across quarters are more likely to deliver measurable ROI, better employee morale, and lower healthcare costs.
Most wellness platforms track surface-level participation metrics but stop there.
That’s like measuring a gym’s success by how many people sign up for memberships rather than who actually shows up.
Here’s what sets IncentFit apart:
| What Others Measure | What IncentFit Measures |
| One-time Participation | Sustained Engagement Over Time |
| Total Sign-ups | Active Users per Quarter |
| Points Earned | Financial Utilization Rate |
| Steps or Gym Check-ins | Cross Activity Participation across physical, mental and preventive |
| Basic ROI | Behavioral outcomes and measurable health engagement |
By tracking deeper engagement metrics, IncentFit gives HR leaders actionable insight, not just activity logs.
An outcomes based wellness program connects activity to reward, and reward to lasting change.
Here’s how HR teams can apply these hidden metrics to design a program that works:
Don’t just measure who joined, measure who’s still active after 30, 60, and 90 days.
Link rewards to activities that improve physical and mental health, not just step counts.
Include gym and non-gym activities to make participation more inclusive.
Use financial utilization as your health of engagement metric, the higher it is, the more your employees value the program.
Run seasonal challenges and reward progress, not just completion.
When organizations design employee health and wellness programs with these metrics in mind, success becomes predictable, measurable, and scalable.
Outcomes based wellness programs thrive when engagement is sustained, measurable, and incentivized.
IncentFit’s data proves it: consistent engagement over time (especially through diverse activities, meaningful rewards, and social connection) is the clearest predictor of long-term wellness success.
It’s time to move beyond participation and start predicting success.
IncentFit helps HR leaders design outcomes based wellness programs that sustain engagement, prove ROI, and genuinely improve employee well-being.
Schedule a demo to see how IncentFit helps track engagement, optimize incentives, and achieve predictable success.
Q: What makes an outcomes based wellness program different?
A: Outcomes based programs focus on sustained engagement and measurable behavior change, not just participation or completion rates. They use data to reward real progress.
Q: What metrics should HR leaders track?
A: Beyond participation, track sustained engagement, challenge participation, financial utilization, activity diversity, and reward redemption patterns – the most predictive wellness program engagement metrics.
Q: How can incentives improve wellness program results?
A: Incentives turn intention into action. IncentFit data shows that programs with meaningful rewards see 2-3x higher engagement than non-incentivized programs.
Q: How do I compare wellness platforms?
A: Look for platforms that track ongoing engagement, utilization rates, and activity diversity. Most systems only measure logins, IncentFit measures progress.
Q: What’s the biggest predictor of success?
A: Consistent participation. Sustained engagement across multiple quarters correlates directly with healthier employees and predictable success.
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