The Bank of Ireland won the Health and Wellbeing Award – Larger Employers, sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group, at the Personnel Today Awards 2023.
The bank wowed our judges with a comprehensive suite of interventions that clearly showed tangible benefits. Judges were particularly impressed with the way some interventions were tailored for specific roles to help with mental wellbeing. We take a look at their entry and celebrate the work of our other finalists.
WINNER
Bank of Ireland
The Bank of Ireland encourages employees to take time to switch off and recharge during the working day.
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After a colleague survey found that stress was a challenge for one in four people, with workload identified as the number one cause of stress, it launched a managing stress campaign. It offers individual workplace assessments with a personalised report on wellbeing, support via an employee assistance programme (EAP), one-to-one consultations with a psychologist, access to mindfulness and meditation apps, and educational and awareness-building videos, podcasts and written interview communications.
Further training has been tailored to each employee group; for example, people managers received bespoke training on burnout prevention while customer-facing staff received specialist sessions on handling customers under stress.
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It aims to support and celebrate various health stages in women’s lives through interactive webinars on topics like fertility and menopause. It also offers one-to-one fertility and menopause consultations, and an EAP with an option to choose support from female health specialists.
One of its offices has a state-of-the-art wellbeing gym and studio, and colleagues are encouraged to take part in a “desk-to-5K” fitness programme.
The latest colleague survey showed a seven-point reduction in stress and strain. The bank has seen high levels of engagement with the desk-to-5K programme, wellbeing assessments and the women and family series.
RUNNERS-UP
Central Co-op
Central Co-op trades across 21 counties and has 7,700 employees. It aims to be the UK’s best consumer co-operative by making a difference to its colleagues’ lives and the communities they live in.
In 2022 it launched a “Difference Makers’ Hub” containing a range of resources including a wellbeing centre highlighting messages from its Wellbeing Champions as well as promoting benefits such as free health checks, a virtual GP service, and an EAP. Colleagues are also invited to webinars on topics ranging from financial wellbeing to imposter syndrome, and links to helpful external resources are often shared.
It has more than 45 wellbeing champions, most of whom are trained in mental health first aid.
This year it began offering enhanced health and medical benefits, including the launch of the DigiCare+ app through a partnership with Aviva. Colleagues can order an annual health check kit to check for 20 different health markers, including diabetes risk, liver health, and cholesterol.
Recognising that the cost-of-living crisis has led to increased incidents of assault on shop workers, it has put colleague safety at the heart of its operations, installing bodycams in many of its stores.
Central Co-op has seen a significant reduction in its absence rate, which has fallen to 4.2% from 5.2% in 2022. Its staff turnover rate has also improved.
Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway faced issues including absenteeism and low employee satisfaction. To improve morale, it implemented a series of initiatives promoting employee health, fitness and wellbeing to reduce stress and improve work-life balance.
It has more than 100 mental health first aiders, an EAP, and workshops to help managers proactively reduce sickness absence and stress-related health issues. This helped it reduce its absence rate from 2036 days in a four-week period to 146 days.
Its flexible working policy enables operational colleagues to apply for shifts that suit them, with many benefiting from flexible and job-share arrangements.
To support physical health GWR offers gym memberships, healthy eating programmes, and a cash plan for massages, physiotherapy and dental appointments. An in-house physiotherapy service has helped reduce musculoskeletal-related absences from 1453 days in a four-week period to 80 days.
Its occupational health team attends senior safety meetings and holds weekly briefings with depot managers to aid them in supporting colleagues on sick leave. A mobile OH service helps the team reach staff in remote locations as well as nightshift workers.
Its last two surveys revealed that 70% of colleagues felt GWR supported employee health and wellbeing. Engagement, motivation and productivity have improved, leading to improved business performance.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions in partnership with Kamwell
Risk intelligence firm LexisNexis Risk Solutions worked with employee wellbeing company Kamwell to ensure its ‘Living Well’ programme reached 10,000 employees across 24 countries while it was navigating a merger.
Together the parties developed and rolled out a two-day mental health first responders course, and have delivered mental health awareness training to 2,500 managers and 6,500 employees. A bespoke online mental health training platform has also been introduced worldwide.
The company has a dedicated menopause employee resource group, a bespoke menopause mentor programme, and a tailored menopause manager training course. Living Well also promotes awareness around often neglected topics including domestic abuse and sexual wellness in a variety of formats.
It utilises a global network of 70 Living Well champions to promote messages alongside employee resource groups, occupational health, people managers and business leaders. Two of its C-suite serve as mental health advocates.
Its 2022 Living Well survey showed that 90% of employees rated Living Well positively, 78% agreed they were in good physical health and 81% said their work environment was pleasant and comfortable. Employee satisfaction, engagement and motivation have all increased.
South Western Railway
South Western Railway, which employs more than 5,000 people in south-west London, southern England and the Isle of Wight, set out to increase its employee empowerment score, reduce staff turnover and reduce sickness absence. To help it achieve this, it wanted to ensure rapid access to mental health support, increase the number of mental health first aiders, and increase awareness of drug and alcohol policies.
It aims to train all of its people on policies and routes to help for drug and alcohol dependence. It has held awareness days that have focused on Christmas and ‘dry January’, and all depots have posters and information with QR codes directing users to confidential support.
SWR has trained an additional 30 volunteer mental health first aiders, including the HR director, taking the total number of volunteers to 170. These individuals all receive an additional day’s leave.
Other initiatives include pop-up mobile health checks, wellbeing and memorial gardens at stations, lunchtime walking challenges, the opening of an additional occupational health centre, an online mental health hub and specific support back-to-work support for people with long Covid.
Its employee empowerment score has risen to 59%, up from 52% previously and exceeding its 55% target. Employee turnover and sickness absence have both decreased, and EAP usage has risen.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
A global biotechnology company with 4,400 employees, Vertex Pharmaceuticals employs 700 people in the UK. It says wellbeing sits at the heart of its employee proposition, and it operates a global wellbeing programme called Thrive.
In 2022, all employees were offered a summer and winter wellbeing week, where all staff had a paid week off to rest and recharge at the same time, allowing them to truly disconnect. It was a hit with its people, and employees shared photos and stories about how and where they spent their wellbeing week.
Data from its employee assistance programme showed a 10% reduction in stress-related cases after the summer wellbeing week, and this lower-level of EAP usage continued into the winter.
Its annual pulse survey in January 2023 showed the wellbeing weeks were the most valued employee benefit at Vertex. It said the benefit sets Vertex apart from its competitors, helping it to secure a steady talent pipeline.
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