Increased workforce effectiveness (a more productive workforce) is the ultimate goal of all employee wellness programmes. Leading New Zealand companies are increasingly recognising the value of their human capital and seeking innovative ways to enhance employee leadership and engagement. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, was recently quoted as saying that "if you take the top 20 employees away from Microsoft, our company is worth nothing".

One of the most widely accepted measures of workforce effectiveness is employee engagement. Engagement is the emotional and rational commitment employees have to their employer. At its simplest it can be seen as motivation. Engagement influences productivity via increasing the discretionary effort and retention of key employees. Engagement is largely influenced by employees' perception of the workplace. Having an effective employee wellness programme will signal to employees that you value them as individuals. This contributes very strongly to the perception of your company being a "good place to work".