BITC believes wellbeing reporting brings competitive advantage from an employer brand point of view. Yet, while league tables, such as those compiled by Best Companies or Top Employers, all have wellbeing as part of their evaluation processes, there has not been a dedicated kite mark recognising best practice in health and wellbeing. Until now that is. Two months ago, accrediting body Investors in People launched its Health and Wellbeing Award - the first to assess great health and wellbeing initiatives. So is this the new standard firms must flock to have?
"How companies lead and manage their people also affects their wellbeing," says Elizabeth Tudball, head of strategic communications and policy, IiP, who says the mark is 40% new criteria. Some 400 organisations piloted the new standard last year and the first 42 to achieve it were announced in March this year. According to Tudball, accreditors assess whether companies have a tough health and wellbeing plan, whether they implement it, and review its results. She is keen to stress this accreditation is not something companies can 'add on' simply by undergoing the normal IiP assessment. "IiP is all about the culture of an organisation; the health agenda is a natural extension of this," she says.
How do you measure up? IiP has also launched an online health and wellbeing questionnaire designed to give companies a snap-shot of how their current wellbeing policies stand. Go to: www.investorsinpeople.co.uk.
CLARIDGE'S PASSES THE WELLBEING TEST
One of the first companies to receive the IiP award is the renowned Claridge's Hotel, London. The five-star hotel employs 500 people, most of whom are shift workers who keep the hotel running 24 hours a day. "We demand a lot of our staff when they work - not because of long hours, but because we have such high standards for how we cater for guests," says HRD Sally Lloyd. The hotel already had IiP status, but in 2008 (when it was up for renewal) Lloyd was approached to see if she wanted to pilot the health and wellbeing assessment too. A year later, it was fully assessed and passed. "By then we were already running a lot of wellbeing initiatives," she says, ranging from an employee assistance phone line; monthly financial education packages; a chiropodist (many are on their feet all day); return to work programmes for staff on short-term sickness absence; occupational doctors; and training on personal appearance. "The benefit of the assessment was that it gave me a structure to analyse what we offer, and how we can offer more that staff want," says Lloyd, who is planning to add Cycle2Work, for example. Although the recession has been a factor, she says staff turnover reduced by 11% to 17% last year, and long-term illness has been totally eradicated.
