Last week we attended the Better Health at Work Awards to celebrate and recognise the efforts of employers from across the region who are addressing health issues within workplaces, and what a fantastic night it was.
Wellbeing is at the forefront of life at Tritility – it’s the reason we signed up for the award almost three years ago. And on Thursday night, the hard work of our wellbeing committee was recognised as we were awarded the Better Health Silver Accreditation.
Over time, we have continued to improve our health and wellbeing offerings by hosting a variety of health campaigns. From helping our employees cope and reduce their stress levels, to offering financial advice or raising awareness of gambling addiction.
In addition to hearing from guest speakers Susanne Nichol, BHAWA Programme Coordinator and Gerry Taylor, Director of Health, Housing and Communities for Sunderland Council, our very own health advocates, Rebecca and Maddy, were invited to the stage to share Tritility’s success and experience of the award.
As part of the interview, Rebecca shared with the room what advice she would give to other businesses on the award.
“Try to make your campaign as exciting and interactive as possible to help engage with your employees. Often, these can be branded as ‘difficult’ or ‘dull’ topics for people to talk about or engage in, but finding exciting ways to present them will make it easier and encourage people to take an interest.”
When asked about what barriers the team faced over time, Maddy explained.
“Our health advocates already work a full-time job at Tritility, meaning we rely on them taking time out of their role for the award. Having the support of our directors is what makes it possible, we even have several managers on our health advocate team. We couldn’t do what we do without this type of support.”
Of course, we weren’t going to stop at Silver. Our health advocates have been working hard toward achieving our Gold Award since September. As well as creating engaging and interactive health campaigns for the office, we are expanding our work into the local community through the recent HAF programme.
If you’re an employer who is considering ways to improve your employee wellbeing, you too can sign up to the Better Health at Work scheme. More information can be found on their website.