A strategy for a healthier workforce

Citation

Aspden, P. (2011), "A strategy for a healthier workforce", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 10 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2011.37210aab.002

A strategy for a healthier workforce

Article Type: Rewards From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 10, Issue 1

Short case studies and research papers that demonstrate best practice in rewards

Helena Partnerships is a British housing association based in Merseyside in the UK. It provides social housing and services across neighbourhoods in St Helens near Liverpool. It was formerly known as Helena Housing, a well-respected social landlord with 13,000 homes in St Helens. The organisation has always viewed itself as more than just a housing company. It creates places where people choose to live, work and enjoy themselves and makes a real difference on housing estates across St Helens and beyond.

Helena Partnerships has more than 660 employees, with roles ranging from office-based staff to electricians and plumbers. It understands that its employees are its biggest asset and without them would not achieve any of its corporate objectives. The company’s organisational development objectives centre on:

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  creating a positive working environment;

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  showing that the company is committed to developing and maximising the abilities and motivations of staff;

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  encouraging staff to take care of their own health, and minimising lost time and reduced performance; and

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  providing popular benefits that reach all staff and attract the best people to the organisation.

In 2007, Helena Partnerships reviewed its organisational development strategy to include a bigger emphasis on health and wellbeing. It wanted to ensure that the company was not only minimising absences, but also contributing to the high performance and motivation of staff.

The company started by thoroughly researching the healthcare benefits market. It wanted to find a health solution that supported individuals’ lifestyles and contributed to their overall wellbeing, but also offered a new dimension that encouraged them to look after their own health. It was important to find a package that met its needs and helped to attract new people to the organisation, while remaining affordable. After conducting its research, Helena Partnerships chose to provide a company-paid cash plan to staff.

The company thought very carefully before investing in a health cash plan due to the size of the investment, which staff would expect to continue year on year. The senior team was persuaded to go ahead by the business case; healthy staff ensure a healthy organisation and this benefit encourages staff to look after themselves and have a better life. This complemented the other benefits that were already in place, including its final salary pension scheme, flexible holidays, learning and development opportunities and generous sick pay benefits.

After deciding to introduce a cash plan it was important for Helena Partnerships to find a company that would provide a high level of customer service, not only for staff, but also for the company. It wanted a successful long-term relationship to develop, so it would not have to switch providers early on and undermine the benefit to staff. Having a simple process of claiming back healthcare costs was also important, as it did not want to provide something new to staff that was too complicated to use. After approaching a number of different cash plan providers the company chose Simplyhealth because it met all its objectives within the healthcare budget. It focuses on inspiring people to look after their health, which fitted in perfectly with the objectives of Helena Partnerships’ health and wellbeing strategy.

A comprehensive health plan

In October 2007, a tailor-made cash plan was introduced that enables staff to claim back 100 per cent of their everyday healthcare costs, up to an annual limit. The plan covers trips to the dentist, optician and physiotherapist, plus complementary therapies such as acupuncture and homeopathy. This encourages staff to keep their health appointments, because they know they will be able to claim the cost back. Other benefits of the cash plan include a free 24-hour helpline for health, wellbeing and counselling issues, and an employee assistance program, which means staff can claim for up to six face-to-face counselling sessions and access a 24-hour free legal helpline.

The cash plan was rolled out to all new starters via an induction program. A Simplyhealth representative met employees and talked through how the plan worked, which was a good chance for them to ask any questions face-to-face. Simplyhealth also offered a tailor-made communications package to encourage staff to use the benefit. This included an implementation plan, a dedicated intranet page, posters, desk drops and managers’ briefing documentation. This package was supported by the HR team at Helena Partnerships, which helped to raise awareness of Simplyhealth through its key meetings with employees and managers.

Three years on, feedback from employees has shown that the cash plan is highly valued. Many have benefited from support with dental and optical visits and appointments for complementary therapies. A number of employees have also used the specialist consultation benefit, where they can claim money back for consultations and scans.

Building a health and wellbeing culture

Helena Partnerships has not relied solely on the benefits of the cash plan. To complement the plan it has built up a culture of health and wellbeing within the company. It plays host to sports events, such as its annual dragon boat race, and staff are encouraged to live a healthy lifestyle, either by going on organised lunchtime walks or taking part in sports, such as football, netball or golf. They can even try tai chi. This, along with providing free fruit to staff, shows that the company is concerned about their health and creates a positive working environment.

The health and wellbeing program is also having a positive impact on how staff perceive their own health. More than 100 people have taken the opportunity to have a health check during the past two years, and a third of those have been referred to their GP for further advice. This demonstrates that employees are being proactive in looking after their own health and in some cases they are following up and accessing other services, which can potentially reduce any serious problems developing further down the line.

The cash plan, plus the health and wellbeing events, have helped to create an environment where people are motivated to attend work. They also have a much higher opinion of Helena Partnerships as an employer. Staff are able to find out useful information about their health during work time and if they do have health problems they know they can get early intervention. Staff really appreciate the fact that the company finances this benefit and supports them in looking after their health. It all helps to make them feel genuinely valued.

Supporting business strategy

Managers at Helena Partnerships are also using the cash plan as an absence management tool. They discuss how the plan can support staff in sickness review meetings and return to work interviews, which helps to proactively manage many health-related issues. Introducing the cash plan has also helped to retain staff. Turnover is low, and absence rates are below 3.8 percent. The cash plan contributes to making Helena a great place to work and and there is a very high level of job satisfaction. In the last staff survey in April 2010, 93 per cent of employees said they were proud to work for the organisation. Helena Partnerships also undertook the Health and Safety Executive stress survey in 2009 and was ranked within the top 20 per cent of companies.

The health benefits that Helena Partnerships has introduced complement the learning and development element of its organisational development strategy. The organisation is proud to be an accredited centre for the delivery of Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) programs as well as accredited to the Investors in People standard. It now provides a well-rounded package of benefits that go beyond monetary terms. By bringing together a culture for learning and continuing development, plus significant health and wellbeing benefits, Helena Partnerships has forged a strong, committed and healthy workforce.

Penny AspdenBased at Helena Partnerships.

About the author

Penny Aspden’s HR and leadership career has spanned the retail, manufacturing and not-for-profit sector. She has been Head of Organisation Development at Helena Partnerships since 2003. During that time, she has set up the HR and OD functions, facilitated many organisational change programs, achieved Investors in People accreditation and helped the organisation win work-life balance awards. She is passionate about developing a vibrant culture where people can grow and develop themselves and the business. Penny Aspden can be contacted at: penny.aspden@helenapartnerships.co.uk