40+ RFP Questions That Get Real Answers from Wellness Vendors

Choosing a wellness vendor shouldn’t be a guessing game. On the surface, every provider claims to offer the same features: activity challenges, mental health tools, incentives, wearable integrations, dashboards, and engagement strategies.
However, the operational reality varies dramatically across vendors.

Most vendors can articulate their capabilities well. Fewer can demonstrate real outcomes, seamless execution, or the capacity to support your workforce at scale. RFPs exist to evaluate vendor performance beyond marketing claims.

The problem?

Most RFP templates ask generic questions that any vendor can answer confidently, even if they can’t deliver. This results in poor differentiation and higher implementation risk.

Before diving into the 40 questions, it’s important to understand the different types of wellness vendors and how their offerings vary. This context will help evaluate providers more accurately and compare them to the right dimensions.

What Is a Wellness Vendor RFP?

A wellness vendor RFP is a structured evaluation tool HR teams use to compare wellness platforms across functionality, engagement ability, data integrity, security standards, integrations, pricing models, and service quality.

A strong RFP does one thing exceptionally well:

It forces vendors to demonstrate capability instead of promising it.

When Should You Use a Wellness Vendor RFP?

Organizations turn to RFPs when:

• Replacing outdated wellness or EAP systems

• Running multi-activity or multi-region wellness programs

• Consolidating mental, physical, and financial well-being solutions

• Upgrading outdated dashboards, reporting, or incentives systems

• Switching from manual step challenges to scalable platforms

• Needing proof of outcome, not just participation

• Evaluating wearable integrations across diverse devices

• Justifying investment to procurement, finance, or leadership

This matters because vendor selection is not just about features. It's about alignment with your culture, workforce behavior, and long-term engagement strategy. It defines your program’s scalability, data integrity, and employee adoption trajectory.

Vendor Types, Their Capabilities, and Key Evaluation Criteria

40+ Wellness RFP Questions to Ask Your Next Wellness Vendor

Here’s what you should be asking in your RFP to truly evaluate wellness vendors, whether it’s your first search, a re-evaluation, or a final shortlist round.

Wellness Features & Support

• How do you measure the clinical effectiveness of your mental health interventions, and what credentials do your providers hold?

• Do you provide 24/7 access to licensed mental health professionals, and what is their average response time?

• How do you support employees with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or obesity?

• Do you provide financial wellness education, such as budgeting and savings tools?

• How do you personalize nutrition guidance based on individual health conditions, dietary restrictions, and cultural preferences?

• What physical wellness activities are built in (fitness challenges, walking meetings, stretching reminders)?

• What specific qualifications do your health coaches have?

Engagement & Behavior Change Strategy

• How do you design challenges to address different motivation styles and personal health goals rather than one-size-fits-all competitions?

• Can you provide an engagement calendar of activities and campaigns for a full year?

• How do you measure authentic engagement versus passive participation, and what are your benchmarks?

• What strategies do you use to re-engage employees who have dropped off from wellness activities?

• How do you tailor incentive structures to different demographic groups and motivation preferences?

Technology & Integration Capabilities

• Which wearables and health apps do you integrate with (Fitbit, Apple Health, Google Fit, Samsung Health and others)?

• What APIs do you provide for custom integrations with HRIS, payroll, or benefits systems, and what technical support comes with implementation?

• How do you handle data discrepancies when employees use multiple tracking devices?

• How does your single sign-on (SSO) integration work with different identity providers (Active Directory, Okta, etc.)?

• How do you ensure tracking accuracy across different devices, and what data variance thresholds do you guarantee?

Data Security & Privacy Compliance

• How quickly do you close critical, high, and medium risks once identified?

• Do you enforce multi-factor authentication for remote access to personal or sensitive data?

• What is your process for securely deleting all employee data at the end of a contract?

• Which compliance standards do you adhere to (ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, NIST)?

Analytics, ROI & Outcomes Measurement

• What specific health and productivity metrics do you track to demonstrate ROI beyond participation rates?

• What predictive analytics do you provide to identify at-risk employees or predict program success?

• How customizable are your reports for leadership or compliance requirements?

• How do you measure the ROI of your wellness initiatives?

• How do you maintain data audit trails and ensure transparency in how metrics are calculated?

Implementation & Ongoing Support

• What is your detailed implementation timeline with specific milestones and client responsibilities?

• How accessible is your member support team to employees?

• How do you support change management and cultural adoption beyond basic communication templates?

• What specific training programs do you provide for administrators, HR teams, and employee champions?

Innovation & Future-Proofing

• How many major platform updates do you release annually, and how do you communicate changes to clients?

• What is your technology refresh cycle, and how do you ensure platform stability during upgrades?

• Can your platform scale to global, multilingual workforces, and which languages are currently supported?

• What emerging wellness technologies (AI coaching, virtual reality, genetic testing) are you piloting or planning to integrate?

Vendor Stability & Partnership Approach

• Can you provide detailed case studies from organizations like ours, including challenges faced and solutions implemented?

• What is your Client retention rate?

• What is your approach to contract flexibility and scalability as our organization grows or changes?

Pricing Transparency & Value Delivery

• What is your complete pricing structure including any setup fees, integration costs, or additional service charges?

• How do you price additional services like health coaching, mental health support, or custom integrations?

• What services and support levels are included in your base package versus premium tiers?

• How do you handle pricing changes and contract renewals?

• What payment models do you offer (annual, multi-year, usage-based)?

Next Steps

The right RFP questions shift vendor evaluation from a feature comparison exercise to a strategic partnership assessment. By asking these deeper questions, you'll identify vendors who can truly drive employee wellness outcomes and deliver measurable ROI.

Now that you have the right questions, let us show you the right answers. Book a demo with Vantage Fit and see how we deliver on every one of your RFP requirements. Our platform is built to demonstrate—not promise—every capability outlined in this guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What questions should HR ask a wellness vendor?

HR should focus on engagement strategy, data accuracy, security compliance, scalability, integrations, and proof of outcomes.

2. What metrics matter most in a wellness RFP?

Engagement, participation depth (active vs passive), retention rate, activity diversity, challenges completed, reward redemption, and outcome-based metrics.

3. How do you evaluate the ROI of a wellness vendor?

Review participation trends, behavior change indicators, productivity lifts, retention patterns, and correlate these metrics with absenteeism, productivity indicators, and healthcare cost trends.

4. Should wellness RFP questions differ for onsite vs remote workers?

Yes. Remote teams require device flexibility, content breadth, cultural adaptability, and asynchronous engagement support.

5. What questions uncover whether a vendor can scale globally?

Ask about localization, multi-currency rewards, time-zone support, multilingual content, and regional compliance.

6. How do you compare wellness vendors during shortlisting?

Use a structured scoring matrix: features, engagement, outcomes, cultural fit, support, and TCO (total cost of ownership).