Boost worker wellbeing

A recent report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) indicated that fewer than one in ten (8 per cent) of UK organisations have a standalone well-being strategy that supports wider business goals. Reducing absence and employee turnover, whilst at the same time increasing performance and productivity is essential to any successful business. 

Julius Rutherfoord is focused on making our head office a model for healthy workplace innovation and we have also introduced a number of measures to improve cleaning operative well-being.

Our first step was to implement the ‘Julius Rutherfoord Healthy Workplace Initiative’ in 2012, with the support of Kimberly Clark Professional. We implemented a number of steps to reduce risk from germ hotspots. Actions included swab testing for germs, introducing specially formulated mobile phone cleaning wipes and running staff workshops where tips to help reduce the spread of bacteria were shared.

Since then we’ve developed our healthy workplace strategy, implementing a significant number of additional measures.

Here are our top tips for other businesses looking to do the same:

Well-being champions

Appoint a Health and Well-being Champion, or champions, to ensure that initiatives are communicated throughout the business and to encourage healthy workplace thinking. 

In our business, every new employee receives a healthy workplace induction to ensure they understand the benefits of hygiene and well-being. Activities are regularly communicated via the staff newsletter and company intranet.

Office environment

Well-being starts with the physical environment – noise, light, space, temperature, ventilation and cleanliness all make a big difference to staff morale. By adding adjustable height desks to allow staff to both stand and sit, we’ve helped to address the health implications of sitting for prolonged periods. 

As well as ensuring these fundamental working conditions are in place, take extra measures to boost employee well-being. Actions like providing fresh fruit, water dispensers for hydration, adding cycle racks to encourage staff to cycle to work and offering flexible working can create a healthy working culture.

Desks can harbour many germs, so we’ve introduced healthy workplace kits, including tissues, sanitising hand gel and keyboard wipes to encourage staff to keep their desks and tech clean.

We display handwashing awareness posters and have installed hygiene handles on washroom doors to dispense hand sanitising gel when people exit the washroom, so there’s less chance of germs spreading.

Training 

Training will help ensure accidents are avoided. Make sure equipment has good ergonomic characteristics to avoid cleaning operatives working with awkward postures. Re-train staff every six months on key issues, including health and safety, site specific requirements and new and existing cleaning methods. 

Fair pay 

Unfortunately, cleaning operatives are often poorly paid, poorly trained, and undervalued. We have committed to paying the London Living Wage to all our direct employees, as well as actively encouraging all clients to adopt this rate for the cleaning operatives on their contracts. Reduced staff turnover, lower levels of staff sickness and increased productivity, resulting from a fairer wage, can more than cancel out increased cost.

Measure the impact 

Whilst there are many unmeasurable benefits of a workplace well-being programme, there is a strong quantifiable impact. Over a three-year period, from 2013-2015, my organisation has been measuring the impact of steps introduced to improve workplace well-being. We have seen the total number of staff sick days reduce by 26%, during a time when six additional people joined the company. Average sick days per head office person has reduced from 2.8 in 2013 to 1.85 in 2015 (against a UK average of 4.4). There has been a significant improvement in desk cleanliness with swab testing of bacteria levels showing a reduction of up to 91%.

By introducing a healthy workplace strategy, companies can do a vast amount to improve the well-being of their employees and their business. 

Julius Rutherfoord was the winner of the ‘healthy workplace’ category for the second time running in the Kimberly-Clark Professional Golden Service Awards 2015