Most organisations have a business strategy that relies on the skills and capabilities of their people to be realised, but do they have a health and wellbeing strategy in place? If people are our greatest asset, supporting their health and wellbeing is an investment in the success of the company.
If we want to reach our goals as a business, we need to create a healthy culture that enables success. In this article, we will help you get started on developing your own health and wellbeing strategy with these 6 tips:
Your business strategy is your roadmap, and it is your people who will get you to your destination. Should you have a business model that relies on high levels of innovation, building a health and wellbeing strategy that supports belonging and building strong relationships is key. If customer experience is the priority, quality of hires, customer service training and performance tracking will be key. Your health and wellbeing strategy then should be developed to match the needs of the business as it strives to reach its objectives.
What kind of healthy culture do you want to create? What programmes, policies and frameworks will support the business in reaching its goals? The responses to these questions should inform your health and wellbeing strategy, and which in turn should support your overarching business strategy. Draw on leadership perspectives or employee survey data to identify the key areas you will focus on. Examples could include mental resilience, purpose, connections and other areas which contribute to the employee experience and company success. Work to develop tangible actions rather than ideals.
A good strategy should involve measurements of success. Should your people strategy involve internal communication, you will want to ensure you are tracking the reach of your messaging. If development is a priority, you will need to establish meaningful performance metrics.
Remember, while we want to support our people, we also need a return on our investment for the strategy to be sustainable. Measuring the efficacy of your initiatives ensures the business and its employees are truly benefiting from the resources available.
In an organisation with a healthy culture, employees are more likely to offer genuine, constructive feedback. Create avenues for employees to offer insights on your proposed strategy. This could involve surveys, focus groups or 1:1’s, just ensure you gather a broad range of perspectives.Feedback from the people at the centre of the strategy can help identify potential issues or inclusions which could enhance your programmes. Seeking feedback early also ensures staff will feel they have played an active part in shaping the strategy and will be more likely to engage with it.
Whatever strategy you determine, you will need to develop an internal communication plan to share it with the group. Rather than simply relay the components of your health and wellbeing strategy, take efforts to include explanations for each element. An informed workforce is an engaged workforce. Create visuals that illustrate your strategy and give an informative presentation at an upcoming town hall. You can also utilise videos, your newsletter or any other widely used communication tool. The more channels you communicate through, the more visible your strategy is.
Because you have been tracking the progress of your people strategy pillars, you will be able to gauge what is and isn’t working. You can also return to your feedback channels with your data to gather perspectives on the potential causes and remedies for the issues.
The need to reconsider and change a strategy doesn’t imply failure, a willingness to learn and adapt is what will contribute to the success of your business. Set a time where you will review the progress of your strategy and be honest about what is and isn’t benefiting the organisation.
Looking for a tried and tested measure to get to the heart of your employee’s experiences? We are here to help. Our Healthy Place Survey can provide you with deep insight and our team can help your organisation translate your new knowledge into bottom-line improvements.
Manon Morelli
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