It’s that time of year again. – Summer’s just on the horizon. Holiday’s are being penciled into the diary, and it’s pretty likely that health kicks and lifestyle overhauls have been the subject of many discussions in your workplace!
Fad diets and beach bodies aside though, when was the last time that you took a moment to consider how you’re promoting health and wellbeing to your employees?
It’s something that can have huge benefits for your business (from reduced staff absence to boosted morale and productivity), but it can also seem a bit wishy-washy on the surface. Of course you want to do all you can to make sure your staff are happy and well, but what practical steps can you actually take to facilitate this?
One option is to partner with local businesses to bring an exciting agenda of positive health and fitness messages, education, and initiatives into your workplace.
How this works is pretty simple. You pinpoint companies operating in your local area, and get in touch to invite them to share taster sessions with your members of staff, for mutual benefit. They get to increase the awareness of their services and build connections with those who are interested in what they have to offer, and you get the opportunity to create an exciting programme of events.
Of course you need to get some strong foundations in place if you want to make sure that it’s a success. Here, we’ll talk you through a few key things to consider.
Do your due diligence when it comes to choosing who to work with
You want experts who know their stuff sharing their advice with your employees. It’s really important therefore that you choose only businesses with sensible philosophies. Messages around moderation, eating real, whole foods, moving more, and making sustainable long-term lifestyle changes are the ones that you should gravitate towards. Businesses that promote crash diets or living on packaged shakes should be avoided.
Make it clear that ‘hard sell’ isn’t appropriate
Your employees won’t appreciate it if you arrange for them to be stuck in a room for an hour with someone who’s going to try to force them into spending a fortune to take part in their latest programme. Avoid this by having a frank conversation from the beginning with the businesses you’re working with. Whilst it’s fine for them to mention that they have certain solutions available, your staff shouldn’t feel like they’re sitting through a sales pitch. The focus should be on providing useful information. Savvy business owners will know that this can organically lead to potentially lucrative relationships, but they won’t have to force it.
Keep your eye on the bigger picture
Running this type of initiative can be a great kick-start if you’re looking to put health and wellbeing on the agenda. Remember though that it isn’t a solution in its own right, and it isn’t a band-aid. For the best results, think about your wider policies and procedures, and the overall workplace culture. It might be the case that there are big issues at play that you need to tackle, such as a trend amongst your managers for requiring staff to work long shifts without a break away from their desks. You can’t fix everything at once, but you do need to take a holistic approach.
Partnering with local businesses can be a win-win solution when it comes to promoting wellbeing, and as you can see, it’s something that’s manageable for organisations of any size.
Is this something that you’re interested to pursue? And when will you be taking action? Call me to discuss more options for your business to promote a healthy, happy and productive workforce!
