Integrate the wellbeing of employees into the business strategy

The desire to have happy employees is not just a social endeavour that is highly praiseworthy. Employee wellbeing also has to be promoted proactively from an economic point of view because:

• Happy employees develop an emotional bond with the company.
• Happy employees are more productive.
• Happy employees are not ill as often.

Counteract the shortage of skilled workers

Every HR employee is familiar with the challenge of finding qualified specialists. Depending on the position, qualified applicants are literally spoiled with choices between different job vacancies. Benefits and evaluation portals such as Kununu can play a decisive role here.

Satisfied employees represent a company positively towards the outside world. Corporations such as Google also rely heavily on the emotional connection of employees with the company because few things are more valuable than qualified employees with the appropriate corporate knowledge. Company commitment and loyalty should be a goal when defining an employee wellbeing programme.

Productive, efficient, satisfied

Since the industrial revolution, workers have been fighting for fair working conditions. Fortunately, today almost all companies are aware that motivation has an impact on productivity and efficiency. However, this motivation cannot be sustainably achieved through threats or rewards, but only with sincere measures to strengthen employee satisfaction in the long term. In the end, satisfied employees are not only more productive and efficient; they are also more resilient.

Wellbeing as a tool to reduce costs

Chronic headaches, depression, burnout. Sick employees quickly cost companies a lot of money. The fact that investments in occupational health and safety pay off is confirmed by a study commissioned by the German Social Accident Insurance in 2013: A Return on Prevention (ROP) was determined similar to the familiar Return on Investment. It was concluded that two euros could be saved for every euro invested. The comprehensive report on the study can be found here.

The employee wellbeing programme

Now that we have established why employee satisfaction is so important to a company, the question arises as to how we can ensure that satisfaction. Many companies are introducing an employee wellbeing programme.

Feeling good with an employee wellbeing programme

With the introduction of an employee well-being program, the company recognises the importance of the topic. This kind of programme can be integrated well into the business strategy of the company. The programme is designed to analyse risks and problems, establish goals and expectations, set limits and define actions.

The introduction of an employee wellbeing programme should also define how the programme’s performance is measured. Some indicators can be:

• Participation of employees
• Employee survey dealing with the programme or well-being
• Lowering costs, for example through less illness
• Higher productivity

Which KPIs make sense depends on the goals, expectations and measures.

How do I increase the well-being of employees?

How employee satisfaction can be increased depends heavily on the existing corporate culture. Sustainable satisfaction is not achieved with short-term solutions. Some starting points are presented below:

• Remove uncertainty: Employees often feel stressed by uncertainty. This can be prevented by optimised internal communication. The management level of a company must be able to make consistent statements about where the company is coming from, where it wants to go, and why certain measures are being taken. Every employee should also know what his or her role in the company is and how he or she contributes to its success.
• Living the corporate culture: Wellbeing can be strengthened by a defined corporate culture, which is actively lived and attracts employees. Flat hierarchies, a sense of belongingness and trust in employees can be the basis for a pleasant corporate culture.
• Regular appreciation: Fresh fruits or good coffee every day can leave a positive feeling. But beware: While employees have a positive impression of such things, it is also important to be consistent. If the fruit basket is taken away unannounced after a few weeks, or the coffee maker starts accumulating limescale, the well-intentioned gesture will have a negative effect.
• Voluntary: These benefits can be advertised but have to be voluntary. Every employee should be valued as an individual. That is why the employee wellbeing programme needs to address different people: While one employee might want to have a regular work routine, another employee appreciates flexible working hours and a blended work-life balance. A carefully implemented programme satisfies both employees.

HR Campus understands one thing: Happy Employee, Happy Company

HR departments and management should proactively promote the wellbeing and happiness of each individual employee. This assignment can be implemented and monitored with an employee well-being programme. At HR Campus, we are already testing a variety of softwares that can help businesses with this mission, and we look forward to working with our customers to develop and implement custom programmes.