Case Study: Baird achieves 90%+ employee well-being participation and stronger engagement with WebMD Health Services

How Baird, a large financial services firm, proves that even fast-paced environments can develop a successful Culture of Health

Baird, a large financial services firm of 4,700+ associates, faced underwhelming participation in its long-running well-being program (about 45% early on) and wanted to redesign benefits and engagement to better support associates’ physical, emotional, social, environmental and financial health. To strengthen that Culture of Health, Baird partnered with benchmarking firm HealthNEXT and engaged WebMD Health Services to modernize and scale its well-being experience.

WebMD Health Services rolled out WebMD ONE—a personalized platform with consolidated Total Rewards access, wellness challenges, free health coaching, stress-management support, Daily Habits Plans and rich content—complementing Baird’s leadership buy-in and 105 local Well‑Being Champions. The combined approach produced sustained, measurable results: Well‑Being Credit participation for associates rose to 93% (2020) and remained 91% (2021), associates + spouses/partners were 91% (2020) and 89% (2021); HSA-contribution participation was 90% (2020) and 89% (2021) for associates, demonstrating high engagement even during the pandemic and after onsite screenings were removed.

Baird