Over the last five years, Telegraph Media Group (TMG) has developed a health and wellbeing strategy that has delivered measurable outcomes.
Its key results include a significant fall in the number of sickness absence days taken; increases in gym usage; and sizeable reductions in private medical insurance premiums, due to its work with PMI Health Group. TMG believes its health strategy has played a part in ensuring its turnover, operating profit and balance sheet net assets have all improved over the past three years.
Key to its success has been a holistic and integrated approach. Its health and wellbeing committee brings together all the stakeholders – HR, health and safety, employee assistance programme (EAP) and healthcare providers, physiotherapist, nutritionist, GPs and gym manager – to share information, develop ideas and discuss cases.
TMG’s package includes twice-a-year ‘know-your-numbers’ sessions with GPs, nurses, physiologists and physiotherapists measuring BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol and lung capacity.
The strategy acknowledges the importance of staff engagement. It now offers salsa classes, for example, recognising that people’s ‘fitness motivations’ will vary, and dancing can improve heart and lung capacity just as well as a gym workout.
Richard Morgan, head of human resources, says: “We have worked to create an environment where health, wellbeing and safety are at the forefront of employees’ minds. Because of this, we have high levels of employee engagement and this translates to measurable benefits for the business.”
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