In order to explore how sustainability can be incorporated into a wider wellbeing strategy, financial services organisation Investec is testing the waters with an employer-paid cycling scheme.
Investec, which has 3,200 employees across 16 operating sites in the UK, is looking to roll out an organisation-wide, employer-paid cycling scheme in February 2019 as part of its wellbeing activation month. It trialled the initiative among its 100 Leeds-based staff, starting on 10 December 2018.
Jo Munday, head of HR service delivery at Investec, explains: “[The trial] was to test out interest, how the [communications] were understood and just allow us to test it out within a small group, so then, when we include it in our wellbeing activation month, we know how to tailor these things.”
The cycling scheme enables employees to select and use a bike for both commuting and personal travel. They must commit to cycling a set number of miles per month in order to avoid contributing to the cost of the bike, which is paid for by the employer at 20p for every mile cycled, subject to a cap. On average, this equates to around £20 each month.
This ties in with Investec’s interest in air pollution awareness and reducing its carbon emissions as an organisation.
February’s wellbeing theme will feature a range of activities centred around four pillars: be healthy, be connected, be you and be present. This will include a ‘know your numbers’ session, on-site clinical psychologists, mindfulness taster sessions, yoga classes, sessions delivered by Investec’s pension scheme provider and access to mortgage advisers.
A newly built wellbeing portal, containing information about the events as well as videos, tips and details on existing benefits, will also be launched in February 2019.
“The idea is looking at wellbeing holistically, be that physical, mental [or] financial, [as well as] engagement as a whole and having lots of events where people can pick and choose what to do,” Munday says.
The ‘be connected’ week will align particularly well with Investec’s sustainability ambitions, by promoting volunteering opportunities and showcasing the partnerships that the organisation already has in place. Munday herself participated in a tree planting programme in December 2018.
She says: “We have lots of partnerships where we get actively involved in the community, which is run by our [corporate social responsibility (CSR)] team. Part of the activation month is just making people more aware of that.
“Our reason is to make sure that employees feel supported both inside and outside of the work environment. It’s just part of our employee experience and looking to always improve that.”