Corporate Gym Membership Programs

We recently polled our people and discovered that Fitness & Exercise tops the list when it comes to wellness goals.

I want to take this information and offer gym memberships to our team.

Does anyone offer gym memberships?  If so, do you pay 100% or part of the fee?  Do you hold them accountable for using the membership?

Any input would help....A lot.  

Thanks fellow HR gurus!

Jennifer

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  • Hi There!

    We offer a $25/month ($300/year) health club reimbursement. This is paid based upon "proof of purchase" and may be done monthly or annually. Every employee is eligible and we are pretty broad on "health club," allowing yoga classes, etc to qualify (not 5Ks or one-time events).  We do not require proof of use; the administration is pretty challenging.

    I'm aware of other organization who offer a similar dollar amount ($300-500/year) and they are more open to the purchase of running shoes and other athletic equipment that would encourage a healthy active lifestyle.  

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    • Ryan Mount
    • Employee Benefits Specialist
    • Ryan_Mount
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    My office also does a reimbursement for our local rec center (located across the street.)  It is not only inexpensive, but continues to build our relationship in our community.  As an organization, we reimburse every quarter for the membership with minor proof of usage.  

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  • Similar to Ryan, we too offer the $25/month reimbursement, but do not lock it down just to health club memberships.  Because there are some employees that cannot do a lot of physical activity that would rationalize the cost of a health club, we also accept health classes (yoga, meditation, etc.) attended that are not a part of a membership, nutrition classes with a certified professional (covers co-pays and other applicable fees), weight loss programs (either with their insurance or WeightWatcher like programs, etc.), and other health/wellness approved programs.  We also require proof of purchase (not attendance), like a receipt, credit card statement, etc.  The employee can also get points for that actual attendance this subsidy covers via our Annual Wellness Challenge - achieving a certain level by accumulating points for activity, prevention health checks and volunteering, employees can earn a discount on their monthly health premiums.

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    • Bobbie Sheff
    • Payroll / HR Manager
    • Bobbie_Sheff
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Good afternoon. We offer $40/mo. reimbursement for fitness activities. To be eligible the employee needs to submit proof of payment as well as proof of usage. At least 10 visits a month are required. Most are using a gym where their attendance is tracked and they get a print-out each month. Another employee is an avid runner, who submits copies of race registrations and a snapshot of their monthly training miles. Our wellness committee tracks the eligibility and sends payroll a recap spreadsheet of what everyone is owed. So far it has been working well. 

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  • We found a local gym network that has 11+ gyms, and we pay one flat corporate fee per month to the gym (comes out to less than $10 per employee).  This does limit the program to a specific gym (brand), but we roll this into wellness challenges and competitions because they can track participation for us.  Overall we have gotten a great response and have been doing this going on 4 years now. 

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  • We have a gym in the building that employees can use for $10/month. I know of a friend's company that has a partnership with a local gym and their program is structured so that it is free for employees if they go more than four times a month. If they go three, then the employee pays $10. If they go twice, $20. And once, $30. It incentivizes the employee to go more often, and the employees appreciate the accountability.

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  • And while on this topic, I would be remissed if I didn't mention the Better You, Better Ohio! health and wellness program offered by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, free to small employers (50 or fewer workers) in high-risk industries.

    https://www.bwc.ohio.gov/downloads/blankpdf/BetterYouBetterOhioPacket.pdf

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    • Jennifer Hunt
    • Human Resources Aficionado :)
    • Jennifer_Hunt
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Thank you everyone.  This is great feedback.

    Now to package and present to senior management.  😁

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