Health and Wellbeing Award


WINNER Royal College of Nursing


FINALISTS


• American Express Services Europe


• Virgin Trains (West Coast)


ith growing uncertainty in the public sector, nurses are turning to unions such as Royal College of Nursing (RCN)


for support. This has led to an increase in calls from its 400,000 members, which in turn is testing the anxiety levels of staff internally at the world’s largest not for profit organisation of nurses and healthcare support workers. The RCN noticed this internal problem


when the numbers of calls to its employee assistance programme increased by 40%. Having measured absence, the RCN realised 60% of all sickness absence was long term. Faced with the challenge – and the pressure


to modernise systems – the RCN launched its health and wellbeing action plan. It compiled clear metrics for sickness absence and stress- related absence. It launched 10 flexible working options for


staff, stress workshops, a cycle-to-work scheme, smoke-free policy, reflexology and optional lunchtime wellbeing sessions. The


hrmagazine.co.uk


organisation trained 19 staff to become health and wellbeing advocates, in a bid to communicate with their colleagues about the benefits of health and wellbeing in the RCN. Communication also came in the form of a


health calendar, which encourages staff to participate in the initiatives it holds through- out the year. These included ‘healthy living week’ in January to encourage employees to make healthy new year’s resolutions and ‘know your numbers week’, where staff measure blood pressure and BMI. The results speak for themselves. A year on


and absence has been reduced to 2.1% (down from 3.6% prior to the launch of the action plan) and long-term absence has also dropped by 16%, saving the organisation £68,000. Overall, the RCN has measured total cost savings of £450,000 directly attributable to its wellbeing initiatives. Judges were taken by the entry and the


variety of initiatives the union has put in place to deal with the issue of absence. In particular, the judging panel was


impressed with the coordinated and holistic approach to well-being, as well as the results- driven strategy.


July 2011 HR Excellence Awards 27


Highly Commended


Centrica Energy firm Centrica’s mantra for health is ‘well, flourishing people for a well, flourishing organisation’ and in 2010 it launched a health and wellbeing strategy alongside its health and safety strategy. Its goals were to ensure employees


could be well, get well and stay well. It launched ‘well, flourishing people’


events – endorsed by leaders – focusing on mental health, musculo-skeletal disorders, obesity and late-age working. As a result, it reduced absence by 10%


and boosted engagement from 58% in 2009 to 64% in 2010. Judges noted a “sensible, multi-dimensional strategy”.


Sponsored by


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40