Much has been made this week in the press about the new NICE recommendations relating to smoking cessation in the workplace. In particular, many people seem to be debating whether or not it is appropriate to allow those employees who smoke to have time off during working hours in order to seek smoking cessation treatment, given the potential resentment that this may cause amongst non-smoking employees.
However, allowing those smokers amongst your staff to seek professional assistance for their habit, preferably with the direct support of your organisation, makes sense in a number of ways. On average, smokers take twice as much sick leave as non-smokers. Consequently, the likelihood is that those non-smokers within your organisation are already having to work harder and longer in order to compensate for their smoking colleagues. If you add to this the fact that the average smoker takes 40 minutes per day in unofficial smoking breaks, in real terms that equates to around a month less each year that a smoker is actually present in the workplace compared to his or her non-smoking colleagues. On top of all this, there were an estimated 617 deaths in the UK last year which were attributed to secondary smoking in the workplace.
So when you start to add up the bugbears that smoking already causes amongst the non-smoking employees within your organisation, any potential detrimental effects involved in allowing smokers to attend treatment during working hours seem negligible. Indeed, you could argue that by introducing a smoking cessation programme within your organisation, you are actually demonstrating a supportive attitude to the welfare of all your employees.
When you consider the associated business benefits of introducing an effective workplace programme, such as improved corporate image, reduced absenteeism and increased productivity and profitability, then the ultimate decision seems like a no-brainer (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/smoking-cessation/ for further details).
Thursday, 26 April 2007
Friday, 20 April 2007
The importance of staff retention
The advantages of staff retention are fairly clear. Most importantly perhaps, key skills, ideas, knowledge and experience remain within your organisation. Client relationships and networks are also preserved in conjunction with all the income that these areas generate.
Conversely, losing your key employees lays open the possibility that these people will then assume roles with your direct competitors. As a result, those invaluable skills, ideas, knowledge, experience, relationships and networks are all transferred to another organisation.
On top of all this, there are also direct costs involved in losing key employees. The cost of replacing such an individual includes advertising, recruitment agency fees and the time spent conducting the actual interview process. Furthermore, it is also worth considering the time and expense spent on the induction of new employees and lost revenue during the recruitment and bedding in processes.
Although an element of employee churn is both inevitable and healthy (particularly amongst the lowest performing employees), it is nevertheless clear that retention brings substantial benefits to your organisation, whilst attrition involves significant direct and indirect financial costs (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/staff-recruitment-retention/ for further details).
Conversely, losing your key employees lays open the possibility that these people will then assume roles with your direct competitors. As a result, those invaluable skills, ideas, knowledge, experience, relationships and networks are all transferred to another organisation.
On top of all this, there are also direct costs involved in losing key employees. The cost of replacing such an individual includes advertising, recruitment agency fees and the time spent conducting the actual interview process. Furthermore, it is also worth considering the time and expense spent on the induction of new employees and lost revenue during the recruitment and bedding in processes.
Although an element of employee churn is both inevitable and healthy (particularly amongst the lowest performing employees), it is nevertheless clear that retention brings substantial benefits to your organisation, whilst attrition involves significant direct and indirect financial costs (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/staff-recruitment-retention/ for further details).
Friday, 13 April 2007
Workplace counselling for SMEs
Many larger companies (over 10, 000 employees) now employ their own occupational health specialists in order to deal with stress related issues within the workplace. However, that still leaves the majority of organisations (SMEs with less than 250 employees) without formal cover.
However, research undertaken by Highley-Marchington and Cooper (1998) advocated that:
"...the employer pays an external counselling provider to supply them with their own dedicated counsellor. This counsellor regularly visits the employer and gets to know its culture, policies and proceedings. However, the clinical responsibility is held by the external provider, thereby ensuring confidentiality and quality...One of the key aspects of this type of service would be the ability of the counsellor to give effective feedback to the organisation on key issues which may need addressing."
By employing an external stress specialist as opposed to an in-house or of-site occupational health agency, you can avoid the risk of your occupational health agency being detrimentally affected by in-house influences or an over-clinical approach.
Moreover, by allowing an external practitioner to work closely with your organisation, you can facilitate a 'special relationship'. Hence, the remit of the role could be extended to include not only one-to-one employee counselling, but also stress awareness training and mentoring, policy design and implementation, and proactive interventions, such mediation and risk assessment (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/counselling-coaching/ for further details).
However, research undertaken by Highley-Marchington and Cooper (1998) advocated that:
"...the employer pays an external counselling provider to supply them with their own dedicated counsellor. This counsellor regularly visits the employer and gets to know its culture, policies and proceedings. However, the clinical responsibility is held by the external provider, thereby ensuring confidentiality and quality...One of the key aspects of this type of service would be the ability of the counsellor to give effective feedback to the organisation on key issues which may need addressing."
By employing an external stress specialist as opposed to an in-house or of-site occupational health agency, you can avoid the risk of your occupational health agency being detrimentally affected by in-house influences or an over-clinical approach.
Moreover, by allowing an external practitioner to work closely with your organisation, you can facilitate a 'special relationship'. Hence, the remit of the role could be extended to include not only one-to-one employee counselling, but also stress awareness training and mentoring, policy design and implementation, and proactive interventions, such mediation and risk assessment (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/counselling-coaching/ for further details).
Thursday, 5 April 2007
Gaining employee engagement in workplace wellbeing
Gaining the active engagement of your staff is imperative if you are to ensure that any wellbeing policies that you might introduce are to meet their ultimate needs. The most comprehensive health and wellbeing strategy in the world will not work unless employees know about it and are willing to actively engage with it.
The mistake which a lot of organisations make is that they provide a lot of health-related services, such as gym membership, as an employee benefit. Whilst this is fine, more often than not, it tends to be those employees who would attend the gym anyway who join the company scheme.
As with your external clients, implementing an effective marketing strategy can often hold the key to achieving "buy-in" to an idea or concept. Promoting the strategy and available benefits is essential if your staff are to understand just what you have been working to provide. Giving your staff access to an extranet, using internal emails, posters and events are all strategies which can help to promote the importance of looking after health and wellbeing to staff.
Health fayres can serve to promote employee engagement because staff are likely to go along, perhaps during a lunchbreak, to find out what is on offer. At these events, employers usually get a representative from each of their healthcare providers to take a stand in a company common area and introduce the benefits to employees. A company's occupational health service might also be on hand to do simple health checks, while stop smoking or weight management programmes might also be promoted.
Health and wellbeing is not just about putting perks in place. Although this obviously has its advantages, in order to gain maximum effectiveness, a programme should also represent an intrinsic part of HR policy and practice (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/staff-recruitment-retention/ for further details).
The mistake which a lot of organisations make is that they provide a lot of health-related services, such as gym membership, as an employee benefit. Whilst this is fine, more often than not, it tends to be those employees who would attend the gym anyway who join the company scheme.
As with your external clients, implementing an effective marketing strategy can often hold the key to achieving "buy-in" to an idea or concept. Promoting the strategy and available benefits is essential if your staff are to understand just what you have been working to provide. Giving your staff access to an extranet, using internal emails, posters and events are all strategies which can help to promote the importance of looking after health and wellbeing to staff.
Health fayres can serve to promote employee engagement because staff are likely to go along, perhaps during a lunchbreak, to find out what is on offer. At these events, employers usually get a representative from each of their healthcare providers to take a stand in a company common area and introduce the benefits to employees. A company's occupational health service might also be on hand to do simple health checks, while stop smoking or weight management programmes might also be promoted.
Health and wellbeing is not just about putting perks in place. Although this obviously has its advantages, in order to gain maximum effectiveness, a programme should also represent an intrinsic part of HR policy and practice (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/staff-recruitment-retention/ for further details).
Thursday, 29 March 2007
The vital role of workplace mediation
Creating a workplace environment that enables your staff to thrive is vital. If disputes are allowed to escalate into conflict, this inevitably impacts upon the efficient running of your operations, not only in terms of immediate productivity levels, but also in terms of levels of absenteeism and staff turnover. On top of all this, there is also the distinct possibility that any form of workplace conflict may lead to litigation and adverse publicity for your business.
Unresolved conflicts or interpersonal disagreements can often fester just below the surface in your work environment; and it is not only the those directly involved who are likely to be affected. Everyone in your office and every employee with whom the conflicting employees interact, may be affected by the stress. In such situations, colleagues frequently feel as though they are walking on egg shells in the presence of the antagonists. This contributes to the creation of a hostile work environment for other employees. In worst case scenarios, your employees may take sides and hence your company becomes divided.
However, the use of structured and timely mediation can often help to diffuse a situation of conflict without the need to apportion blame to any one individual or group within the company. As a consequence, the chance of re-introducing a cohesive working environment is greatly increased (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/conflict-resolution/ for further details).
Unresolved conflicts or interpersonal disagreements can often fester just below the surface in your work environment; and it is not only the those directly involved who are likely to be affected. Everyone in your office and every employee with whom the conflicting employees interact, may be affected by the stress. In such situations, colleagues frequently feel as though they are walking on egg shells in the presence of the antagonists. This contributes to the creation of a hostile work environment for other employees. In worst case scenarios, your employees may take sides and hence your company becomes divided.
However, the use of structured and timely mediation can often help to diffuse a situation of conflict without the need to apportion blame to any one individual or group within the company. As a consequence, the chance of re-introducing a cohesive working environment is greatly increased (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/conflict-resolution/ for further details).
Tuesday, 20 March 2007
Successful Absenteeism Management
Recent events at British Airways have clearly highlighted some of the pitfalls of trying to implement an Absenteeism policy within the workplace.
In an effort to reduce its running costs and to compete more effectively with the so-called "budget" airlines, British Airways introduced a new policy aimed at promoting better work attendance amongst its staff. However, after strike action by employees, British Airways has been forced to seriously re-think its policy.
In particular, both the absence of an appropriate level of consultation with employees prior to implementation, and a lack of effective training for HR staff and Line Managers, meant that the new policy was often viewed by employees as being heavy handed and over-zealously enforced. This not only led to resentment amongst employees, but also prompted the emergence of a serious problem of presenteeism, whereby employees who were medically or psychologically unfit to attend work felt pressurised to do so. As a consequence, morale, productivity and staff turnover rates were drastically affected.
However, the good news is that it is actually very simple to manage absenteeism and the benefits can be both immediate and enduring. By following a few fundamental steps, such as consulting with staff prior to drafting the policy and then providing suitable training and realistic timescales to implement, monitor and review the policy, an industrial dispute could have been readily avoided (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/absenteeism-reduction/ for further details).
In an effort to reduce its running costs and to compete more effectively with the so-called "budget" airlines, British Airways introduced a new policy aimed at promoting better work attendance amongst its staff. However, after strike action by employees, British Airways has been forced to seriously re-think its policy.
In particular, both the absence of an appropriate level of consultation with employees prior to implementation, and a lack of effective training for HR staff and Line Managers, meant that the new policy was often viewed by employees as being heavy handed and over-zealously enforced. This not only led to resentment amongst employees, but also prompted the emergence of a serious problem of presenteeism, whereby employees who were medically or psychologically unfit to attend work felt pressurised to do so. As a consequence, morale, productivity and staff turnover rates were drastically affected.
However, the good news is that it is actually very simple to manage absenteeism and the benefits can be both immediate and enduring. By following a few fundamental steps, such as consulting with staff prior to drafting the policy and then providing suitable training and realistic timescales to implement, monitor and review the policy, an industrial dispute could have been readily avoided (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/absenteeism-reduction/ for further details).
Monday, 12 March 2007
The importance of addressing Work related Stress
While work can help to provide self-worth, purpose, structure and fulfilment, it can also be the cause of anxiety, worry and stress. It is estimated that about half a million people in the UK experience work-related stress at a level they believe is making them ill, and up to five million feel very or extremely stressed by their work.
This increase in stress and pressure for others can create a vicious circle, leading to further ill health or the eventual resignation of valuable members of staff. There is also a very real danger that organisations that do not consider the effects of workplace stress can leave themselves open to the threat of compensation claims. With stress having a clear impact on companies of all sizes and industries, it is becoming a necessity to develop a healthier business environment, including appropriate and robust products, processes and frameworks.
An increasing number of organisations are adopting employee assistance programmes (EAPs), embracing flexible-working policies and introducing wellbeing initiatives to help prevent work-related absence.
A healthcare cash plan is another cost effective, accessible and relevant employee benefit that can help reduce stress in the workplace. These are increasingly being sought by a variety of businesses across all industries, ranging from larger organisations to small and medium-sized enterprises. Starting at very low costs and often including EAP facilities, cash plans can also help organisations proactively address Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidelines and their duty of care obligations.
Clearly, workplace stress is something all organisations should look to manage and with the right strategy, both the employer and its employees can be protected (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/stress-management-prevention/ for further details).
This increase in stress and pressure for others can create a vicious circle, leading to further ill health or the eventual resignation of valuable members of staff. There is also a very real danger that organisations that do not consider the effects of workplace stress can leave themselves open to the threat of compensation claims. With stress having a clear impact on companies of all sizes and industries, it is becoming a necessity to develop a healthier business environment, including appropriate and robust products, processes and frameworks.
An increasing number of organisations are adopting employee assistance programmes (EAPs), embracing flexible-working policies and introducing wellbeing initiatives to help prevent work-related absence.
A healthcare cash plan is another cost effective, accessible and relevant employee benefit that can help reduce stress in the workplace. These are increasingly being sought by a variety of businesses across all industries, ranging from larger organisations to small and medium-sized enterprises. Starting at very low costs and often including EAP facilities, cash plans can also help organisations proactively address Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidelines and their duty of care obligations.
Clearly, workplace stress is something all organisations should look to manage and with the right strategy, both the employer and its employees can be protected (see http://www.pinnacleproactive.com/stress-management-prevention/ for further details).
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