Leading Country with Workplace Initiatives

31 August 2007
News release

Southern Cross Leads the Country in Innovative Workplace Initiatives

Southern Cross Healthcare has won the National EEO Trust Work & Life Awards, presented last night.

“As a leader in the healthcare industry we wanted to demonstrate that we ‘walk the talk’ when it comes to wellness in the workplace,” said Southern Cross Healthcare Group Chief Executive, Dr Ian McPherson.

Southern Cross won the Mānaki Tangata Innovation Award for its three year staff health and wellness programme, called Switch2well, which is available to all of Southern Cross Medical Care Society’s 550 permanent staff.

“To date, 94% of staff have attended or participated in some form of Switch2well activity and 80% underwent the health check,” said Dr McPherson. “Nearly 70% signed up to take on a team walking challenge and health seminars have been full.”

Switch2well includes reward vouchers for various health and wellbeing practitioners such as nutrition consultations and personal trainer, as well time off work provided for subsidised Weight Watchers meetings, free GP consultations and subsidised smoking cessation meetings - all held on site.

Some of the successes Southern Cross has enjoyed in the months since implementing the programme include:
 27 employees have given up smoking.
 A combined weight loss of 355kg (the equivalent to 710 blocks of butter) by 71 WeightWatchers participating staff.
 57 staff have earned wellness leave.

Staff satisfaction and motivation have both improved and absenteeism was down by nearly three per cent. This equates to a significant saving for Southern Cross – over three times its investment in the programme.

“In most businesses if a piece of machinery only operated at 70% capacity, chances are, action would be taken in an attempt to increase that capacity,” said Dr McPherson. “Given that people often makes up one of, if not the largest proportion of an organisation’s running costs, it make sense to invest in their health and wellness to optimise their work performance.”

Progressive organisations are seizing wellness programmes as an opportunity to differentiate themselves in a tight labour market.

“You’ve got to have employees who are engaged, who are feeling good and who want to come to work. The alternative is to have highly stressed, underproductive people. It makes business sense and it also makes employee sense.”

Not only can workplace wellness help position an organisation as a caring employer but it helps attract staff that place a similar value on health, wellness and peak performance.

“It has also been suggested that fitter, energetic staff are more likely to be more productive and exude a positive attitude – not just in the workplace, but also in the wider community by becoming ‘brand champions’ of an organisation”, said Dr McPherson.

“We are very proud of what the organisation and its staff have achieved.”

ENDS

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