Britain’s Healthiest Company 2014: how to top the list
PruHealth, Mercer & The Telegraph have joined forces once again to survey companies nationwide and assess how healthy they and their employees are in Britain’s Healthiest Company competition. This year over 23,000 employees participated (which is more than double those involved in the 2013 survey) making this year’s survey results a more accurate reflection of employees’ views. Unsurprisingly, many of the results mirror those from the 2013 survey but there are also some other companies that topped the list this year.
There is a trend amongst the leaders to implement schemes and incentives which encourage their employees to get fit and remain so. Furthermore, these companies provide on-site exercise and healthcare facilities for their employees making it both cheaper and more convenient to stay fit and healthy. For example, Gilead Sciences Ltd regularly host wellness days for their employees which provide them with the opportunity to learn about and discuss various ways of keeping fit and eating healthily. The wellness days also allow employees to have their BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and glucose levels to be measured on site. Likewise, Adidas provides its employees at is Manchester based Wellness consultancy with on-site access to various doctors, physicians and psychologists who help to assess physical and mental health. Like Adidas, Sweaty Betty also featured at the top of the survey’s results for a second year running and they also provide access to an on-site gym and workout classes.
So, how can your company top the list next year?
Although many of the competition winners have had years of experience in ensuring their employees are healthy and their workplaces encourage excellent health, the steps to similar success are rather simple:
1. Implement an effective absence management system like Engage
An absence management system which clearly records reasons for and levels of absence helps companies identify what health issues are behind absenteeism. This will provide a detailed insight as to what health related facilities would be most useful to employees.
2. Survey your employees
Compose a survey like that of Britain’s Healthiest Company asking employees a variety of confidential questions regarding health and what facilities, schemes and incentives they feel would be beneficial to their health both inside and outside of work. This way companies can source specific information from their employees rather than simply copying pre-exisiting successful examples. SurveyMonkey provides an easy-to-use online platform to create and distribute surveys. Its convenience and cross-platform accessibility means employees are more likely to fill out the survey.
3. Educate employees
It is essential to educate employees on the personal benefits of well-being and good health as well as the benefits it can bring to the company and the workplace. This will in turn encourage them to get involved and help invoke a sense of cross-company mission. Consequently, everyone is likely to get on board with the schemes and incentives set to be implemented.
4. Implement Schemes and Incentives
Building on relevant examples and ideas gained from surveys, a company should begin implementing schemes and incentives. Schemes can be anything from a Cycle to Work scheme to the on-site introduction of gym facilities and healthcare professionals. You could even have teams prepare for and take part in marathons or a Spartan Race. Incentivize employees to utilise these by offering discounts and rewards for healthy habits like Gilead Sciences Ltd do. Mercer can provide top quality expertise and advice for this, ensuring any implementations bring an ROI and are cost effective.
5. Encourage healthy behaviour
Consistently encouraging employees to get involved and educating them of the benefits will help alter their personal attitudes towards fitness and work while also helping to tweak the work culture to one which promotes a healthy body and mind. Forrester Research ( Winner of the Healthiest Employees Award for Small Businesses) actively encourages employees to use ping-pong and foosball tables during work breaks and participate in regular ping-pong tournaments.
Of course, these are just advisory steps and every company can increase their healthiness in unique and differing ways. It may seem a daunting process at first but professional help is always available. Honeydew Health can give your company all the advice you need in starting your own company wellness scheme.