You don’t need to be an expert to make an impact.
You just need to leverage the people who are.
Getting workplace health and wellbeing right is bloody hard.
There are so many variables and moving parts and consequences and opinions and HR teams have been thrown right into the thick of it and expected to be experts in it overnight.
This is obviously not reasonable to expect but it is nevertheless the reality.
For this reason, dedicated workplace wellbeing specialists have been growing in popularity in recent years.
A dedicated workplace wellbeing specialist is someone who is engaged by a company on a regular basis (usually weekly, fortnightly or monthly) to help design and deliver all aspects of a workplace health and wellbeing program.
This provides an instant source of expertise and resources that HR teams can utilise to ensure their program is being delivered effectively.
This is not costly (for less than the cost of turning over one employee you can engage a specialist for an entire year) and will become the norm for companies over the next 3-5 years.
A couple of weeks ago we looked at what a workplace wellbeing specialist actually does (you can check that out here) and now we’ll dive into the benefits you get when you engage one.
In a nutshell, a workplace wellbeing specialist:
– Engages staff in one-on-one health consultations, meaning every interaction is individualised and each staff member gets exactly what they need.
– Is an expert in the design and implementation of workplace health and wellbeing programs and works with you every step of the way to get yours right.
– Gives expert advice on all matters relating to health and wellbeing.
– Provides skilled facilitation of your program.
– Discovers and mitigates health and wellbeing risks in real time, both on an individual and organisational level.
– Turns your health and wellbeing vision (let’s face it, you probably have some wild ideas you want to try out) into a practical reality.
– Takes the burden of managing wellbeing off your HR team.
– Gives your HR team an expert point of contact for any and all issues related to health and wellbeing.
– Provides staff with a skilled and committed but separate and confidential point of contact to go to regarding any and all health and wellbeing concerns, particularly ones they don’t feel comfortable sharing with their boss or HR team.
– Provides immediate, onsite treatment for injuries and health concerns.
– Lowers the barriers for help seeking to almost zero, ensuring staff don’t procrastinate on getting help when (or even before) they need it.
– Is the conduit between employees and management when it comes to wellbeing and how it’s being affected by policies and practices in real time.
– Is a definitive sign that shows staff you’re serious about their wellbeing.
– Constantly researches the latest health and wellbeing info so you know what you’re presenting is up to date.
– Provides ongoing reports on overall staff health so you can see how they’re doing in real time.
– Improves company goodwill amongst all stakeholders; staff, customers, suppliers, investors and the community.
– Adds a crucial element to a robust Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policy.
– Greatly enhances your Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
– Helps attract and retain the best and most discerning employees to your company.
Dedicated health and wellbeing specialists are not a new thing – it’s what I’ve been doing for dozens of companies since 2012 – but they’re just now starting to come into their own as the wider market realises how great a benefit can be achieved from such a simple intervention.
This is a great thing for all as it means employees get their health and wellbeing provided for and HR teams get the support they need from the experts in the field.
It’s a literal win-win.
To chat through what engaging a workplace wellbeing specialist could look like for your company, book in for a chat here or send us an email at [email protected] to get the info straight to your inbox.
