The research behind the numbers.
Every default in the ROI calculators is sourced from published research. Every input is editable, so buyers can tune the model to their own organization. This page documents each input, its default, its range, the formula that uses it, and the source.
← Back to calculatorCustomer ROI Calculator
Workforce-impact inputs used on /get-started/organization/impact.
Employee Memberships
- Default
- 500
- Range
- 25 – 5,000 (step 25)
- Source
- No research default — set to reflect your deployment
- Finding
- Headcount enrolled in the Equinox Corporate program. Drives every dollar figure proportionally.
Avg Annual Healthcare Cost per Employee
- Default
- $10,000
- Range
- $5,000 – $20,000 (step $500)
- Source
- Kaiser Family Foundation Employer Health Benefits Survey
- Finding
- Employer-sponsored single-coverage premiums averaged ~$8,400 and family coverage ~$25,500 in recent surveys; $10,000 is a reasonable blended per-employee default.
Healthcare Cost Reduction
- Default
- 20%
- Range
- 5% – 30% (step 1%)
- Source
- Baicker, Cutler, Song — Health Affairs 2010 ↗
- Finding
- Meta-analysis of 32 studies found ~$3.27 saved per $1 spent on wellness programs, averaging roughly 25% reduction in medical costs. 20% is a conservative anchor.
Baseline Voluntary Turnover Rate
- Default
- 13%
- Range
- 5% – 40% (step 1%)
- Source
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — JOLTS Annual Separation Rates ↗
- Finding
- U.S. annual voluntary quit rate has averaged ~13% in the 2024–25 JOLTS reports. Industry-specific rates range from 8% (finance) to 25%+ (hospitality, retail).
Retention Improvement
- Default
- 10%
- Range
- 1% – 25% (step 1%)
- Source
- Gallup — State of the American Workplace ↗
- Finding
- Organizations with engaged workforces and strong wellness programs report up to 50% lower turnover. A 10% reduction is a conservative mid-range anchor.
Avg Cost to Replace an Employee
- Default
- $65,000
- Range
- $10,000 – $150,000 (step $5,000)
- Source
- SHRM + Gallup benchmarks ↗
- Finding
- SHRM estimates replacement cost at 50–200% of annual salary depending on role. Six to nine months of compensation is typical for professional roles; $65,000 reflects a ~9-month anchor against a $100K salary.
Productivity Gain
- Default
- 10%
- Range
- 1% – 20% (step 1%)
- Source
- Harvard Business School (Goetzel et al.) — Employee Wellbeing, Productivity, and Firm Performance ↗
- Finding
- HBS working paper reports 10–11% productivity gain for employees whose health improved under structured wellness programs. Applied as a percent of compensation in dollar terms.
Average Employee Salary
- Default
- $100,000
- Range
- $40,000 – $250,000 (step $5,000)
- Source
- Organization-specific — set to match your actual compensation
- Finding
- Used only to translate productivity gain (%) into productivity dollars. Set to your blended average including fully-loaded compensation where possible.
Monthly Rate per Employee Partnership
- Default
- $275
- Range
- $150 – $600 (step $25)
- Source
- Set to your proposed monthly rate per employee partnership
- Finding
- Represents the monthly per-partnership charge for corporate Equinox access. Annual Investment is computed as Partnerships × Monthly Rate × 12.
Customer ROI Formulas
Healthcare Savings
Memberships × HealthCost × (HealthReduction / 100)
Annual medical spend reduction attributable to the program, across the full enrolled population.
Retention Savings
Memberships × (TurnoverRate / 100) × (RetentionImprovement / 100) × ReplacementCost
Number of replacements avoided × cost per replacement. Only the marginal improvement counts — existing baseline turnover is not counted as savings.
Productivity Gains
Memberships × AvgSalary × (ProductivityGain / 100)
Productivity lift monetized as a percent of compensation. Assumes linear mapping between reported productivity and dollar output.
Total Annual ROI
HealthcareSavings + RetentionSavings + ProductivityGains
Sum of the three return categories. Intentionally excludes brand, recruiting, and engagement benefits that resist clean quantification.
ROI Multiple
TotalAnnualROI ÷ AnnualInvestment
Shown inside the drill-down. Unchanged by the Impact at Scale / Per Employee toggle because it's a ratio.
Limitations & Caveats
ROI from wellness programs varies significantly by industry, company culture, enrollment rate, and program design. The defaults shown are industry averages and should be tuned to reflect your organization's specific context.
The model assumes linear relationships between inputs and outputs (e.g., doubling memberships doubles savings). Real-world returns often exhibit threshold effects and diminishing marginal returns above certain participation levels.
Productivity gains are monetized as a percent of compensation, which is a useful shorthand but imperfect — not all salary-dollars translate directly to output, and knowledge-work productivity is difficult to measure at the individual level.
Retention savings count only the marginal improvement over your baseline turnover rate. The model does not claim credit for turnover that would have remained at baseline without the program.
Sources
- Baicker, K., Cutler, D., & Song, Z. “Workplace Wellness Programs Can Generate Savings.” Health Affairs 29(2), 2010. healthaffairs.org ↗
- Harvard Business School — Goetzel et al., “Employee Wellbeing, Productivity, and Firm Performance.” hbs.edu ↗
- Harvard Business Review — “How to Gauge the Effectiveness of Employee Wellness Programs.” hbr.org ↗
- SHRM — “Employers See Wellness Link to Productivity, Performance.” shrm.org ↗
- Mercer — “Taking the Pulse of Employee Wellness Programs.” mercer.com ↗
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — JOLTS Annual Separation Rates. bls.gov ↗
- Grand View Research — Corporate Wellness Market Report. grandviewresearch.com ↗
- Health & Fitness Association — Corporate Wellness Profitability Report. healthandfitness.org ↗
- Wellhub — Corporate Wellness Report 2025 (referenced in industry literature)