Hi Livia, we’re delighted to have you at HRTech Cube. Can you share with us your professional journey and what led you to your current role as Chief People Officer at Wellhub?
When I started my career, I was working in investment banking and management consulting. I was a Product Manager at Banco Santander for four years before moving to McKinsey & Company where I worked as an Associate and was later promoted to Engagement Manager.
After about four years at McKinsey, I began working as the Head of International Operations at Wellhub, then became the Chief Financial Officer for one year. I then finally transitioned into my current role as Chief People Officer six years ago. In my roles in Finance and International Operations, I had visibility into the entire company and recognized a potential growth area in the People function. This led me to take on the role of Chief People Officer, so I could leverage my skills and help align business and people strategy, driving employee wellbeing and business growth.

Wellhub recently hit 500 million check-ins and three million subscribers. How do these milestones shape your vision for employee wellbeing?
Yes, we’re really excited to have hit this milestone. It’s proof that wellness in the workplace continues to be a priority for employees globally. These milestones give us key insights into employee needs and wellness preferences, which helps us further refine and personalize what we offer on our platform. They also help drive how we continue to innovate and scale the wellness resources we offer to bring the utmost value to our users. Our vision at Wellhub is to make every company a wellness company and these milestones prove that what we’re offering to companies and employees is enhancing workplace wellness globally. Our mission also internally motivates our people and it’s been incredible to see the impact of their work so concretely through milestones like hitting 500 million check-ins.

Wellhub’s B2B model means that employees access the platform through their employers. How do you enhance your ability to tailor wellbeing services to meet the specific needs of corporate clients and their employees?
Understanding that no two wellbeing journeys are the same is the key to success. We both help our clients to find the best strategy to engage the maximum number of people but also we shape our product to embrace all pillars of wellbeing and therefore all possible journeys.

Employees then get to choose from nine different tiers of packages, enabling them to pick a subscription that best aligns with their own wellness goals. These plans range from a digital plan where users can access popular self-care, fitness and wellness apps, to a diamond plan that offers access to over 13,000 gyms and studios, over 40 wellness apps, virtual personal training sessions, and more. By providing our users with a variety of options we can ensure we meet the varying needs of our clients.

With nearly 60,000 wellness partners, how do you ensure these partnerships are mutually beneficial? Any plans for expansion?
We actually took a look at the impact of Wellhub on our customers and released a report that proved that when companies invest in wellbeing, it pays off. On average, our clients see a 3.3x ROI, with approximately half experiencing returns of 2x or more annually. Wellhub drove over $540 million in value to clients and users in 2023 including $200 million in reductions in healthcare costs for all clients, $50 million in saved recruiting costs due to reduced turnover and $290 million in total savings for our users on annual gym subscription costs. With these proof points, we’re able to show prospective partners our value to continue expanding the resources we offer through our platform.

Expanding our network of clients and users is also a key part of our strategy. As we bring more people into our ecosystem, we drive increased engagement and support for our wellness partners. This expansion helps our partners grow their businesses, creating a positive cycle where everyone wins.By growing our client and user base, we strengthen the entire wellness community, fostering a healthier, more dynamic environment where all our partners and their clients can thrive.

How do you think Wellhub’s platform has B2B impacted corporate culture, and what role do you see it playing in the future?
Wellhub positively impacts corporate culture by providing companies with a holistic, accessible, cost-effective wellness solution for their employees that also positively impacts their bottom line. Our data has seen an overall trend towards employees prioritizing their wellness with 77% of workers engaging in their wellness benefits in 2023, which is a 13% increase from 2022. The data also shows that companies who offer Wellhub double the number of employees engaged with wellness, which results in workforces that are 40% less likely to turnover. We’ve also seen that companies are saving up to 35% on healthcare costs. We’ve also seen that wellness drives productivity with 95% of workers reporting that their emotional wellness impacts their productivity and 93% stating that their physical wellbeing impacts productivity. Going forward, wellness will continue to be a necessary staple in corporate benefit programs and Wellhub is the perfect solution.

Leading through rapid growth requires a solid strategy. How do you balance growth while maintaining a strong company culture?
We make it a priority to maintain the strong company culture we’ve established at Wellhub. Our culture is part of every aspect of the organization from hiring practices to daily operations, ensuring consistency in everything we do, so that growth doesn’t dilute what we stand for.

The implementation of a strong wellness-focused culture starts from the top and our leaders are well aware of this. C-suite members treat wellness with the same importance they would a board meeting. They strongly believe that by living the wellness values, they will act as a strong example for our people at Wellhub to do the same. Additionally, all employees have Wellhub’s Gold membership for free, enabling them to utilize a variety of different wellness apps and services. We also implemented our “The Way We Work” policy, which allows our employees to maximize the benefits of remote and flexible work arrangements. These are a few examples of what we do, but guaranteeing consistency across policies, practices and role modeling is the key to having a strong culture.

Beyond the numbers, how do you measure the success of Wellhub’s initiatives in terms of employee impact and partner satisfaction?
We measure our success through qualitative feedback from our clients and partners, so we can make sure that while they’re helping us meet our goals and needs, we’re doing the same. For our clients, we constantly communicate with them to ensure that our initiatives are meeting their employees’ corporate wellness needs and that we’re delivering value across our network. We also consistently communicate with our partners to ensure our relationship with them is mutually beneficial and that we are actively promoting and encouraging our users to engage with them. We’re also always looking to expand our network of offerings. We recognize that our users’ wellness needs are constantly changing and to keep up with this, we have to keep expanding what we offer and add new partners that can address these needs.

As the corporate wellness landscape evolves, what innovations or trends do you think will shape the future of platforms like Wellhub?
Wellbeing is going to continue to be a priority for people in a way where it will no longer be a ‘nice to have’, but rather a necessity. Our 2024 State of Worklife Wellness report shows that employees are trending toward this mindset with 96% of respondents stating they’ll only consider a company that places a clear emphasis on wellbeing the next time they’re searching for a job. Further, 93% view wellbeing to be as important as their salary, and 87% would consider leaving a company that doesn’t focus on wellbeing.
Another trend I’ve noticed is the rise of flexible work models, which will also have an impact as we look for ways to offer even more flexible wellness solutions. For example, we offer a digital tier within our subscription offerings to address that many people are now seeking out virtual wellness offerings. These two trends are shaping our work at Wellhub as we continuously look to expand our services. We want to make sure we offer a robust set of wellness tools and resources so that our customers can feel confident that they’re offering their employees a holistic, wellness solution and we can meet the shifting needs of employees.

Every growth journey comes with challenges. Can you share a significant challenge you’ve faced at Wellhub and how it has shaped your leadership?
I’ve often recognized that people view work as something they need to try to balance with their life. However, we spend too much time at work to think this way. Rather than viewing work as separate, I lead my team knowing that these two things are intertwined, and I work to shift employees’ perspectives towards the worklife wellness mindset, where work and wellness go hand in hand. This mindset has helped me work better with my team and understand that there are factors outside of work that impact their work. It also encourages employees to prioritize their wellbeing and eliminates the unrealistic expectation of trying to perfectly balance work and wellness.

Finally, what thoughts would you like to share about the future of corporate wellness and Wellhub’s role in it?
The future of corporate wellness will increasingly trend towards a holistic approach that incorporates physical, mental, and emotional health. Wellhub already does this with our wide range of almost 60,000 wellness resources we offer. We’re well-positioned to continue to lead this evolution as we’re constantly finding ways to expand our offerings and forming new partnerships to meet the diverse needs of the workforce. Wellhub will continue to be at the forefront of corporate wellness trends and set new standards in the wellness space, empowering employees to meet their holistic wellness goals and helping to make every company a wellness company.