“The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.”
– Harvey Firestone
“Leadership is not just about giving energy … it’s unleashing other people’s energy.”
– Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever
Unleashing the Energy in Your Organisation
Work is a huge part of life and is a source of learning, challenge, creativity, social connection, identity and satisfaction. We get paid for our work, but we get so much more than money.
We get skills, experience, relationships and more, all of which contribute to our growth as a person.
However, work can also be a huge source of worry and chronic stress. Technological innovation has disrupted industry after industry, creating new opportunities, empowering customers, providing 24/7 service and increasing productivity.
For many people, this has resulted in reduced resources, increased workloads, conflict and mistrust, costing employees their health: increased anxiety, overwhelm and burnout, and costing the business a fortune in lost talent, recruitment fees and management distraction.
It doesn’t have to be like this.
Having worked in leadership positions in corporate cultures for many years, I have learnt that there are two ways to get things done:
-
The unkind way that leads to resentment, negativity and misery, Or:
-
The kind way. Where you can deliver a tough message in a nice way. Where people can bring their whole self to work
Imagine for a second an organisation that only works in The Kind Way.
-
A place where people could talk about their ideas and passions openly
-
Where employees could feel empowered and in control of their workload
-
Feeling able to collaborate with like-minded peers across departments and borders, leveraging the collective talents of many people
-
Voicing concerns and dealing with issues without drama…
Whilst these work environments aren’t for everyone, they are key enablers of innovation, revenue growth, customer and shareholder value.
Workplace Wellbeing Programmes
It’s tempting to think of corporate wellbeing programmes as a modern phenomenon. The concept isn’t actually new at all. It dates back to the 17th century in the UK cotton industry! More recently, The Johnson & Johnson’s Live for Life program, started in 1979, is generally regarded as the model for big corporate worksite wellness programs, with research throughout the 80’s and 90’s helping to educate managers to the benefits and positive impact of employee wellbeing. Since 2000, workplace wellness programmes have moved their focus to supporting the whole employee, providing interventions for the physical and mental health and wellbeing of an increasingly pressurised workforce As a health enthusiast, a coach, and a corporate leader, I realised that I could join the dots and coach a whole organisation to better health at the start of 2014. That was the year that I became passionate about creating healthier workplaces, and that passion led to a journey of discovery, learning and delivery which resulted in a successful corporate wellbeing programme that positively impacted the lives of thousands of people, and led to a healthier and more energetic organisation. For corporate wellbeing strategies, programmes and interventions to be sustainable, they need to serve the needs of both employees and the business, ie: healthier employees who have more energy, which they use to be more creative and more productive, which benefits the business performance overall.
How Raw Energy Can Help
Through our partnership network, Raw Energy’s goal is to help you create a healthier and more resilient workplace and culture that positively impacts your employees and your business. A culture where your people are engaged in their work and the business. Where they become loyal advocates, whose enthusiasm helps attract new talent to the organisation, taking the pain out of recruitment. Our workplace wellbeing system doesn’t just look at physical health and energy, but acknowledges the critical role that mental heath, time energy and money energy play in our lives. The system is underpinned by our wellbeing framework that can be adapted to suit your organisation.
The Raw Energy Framework
Within this framework, we will work with you to deliver value to your employees within three areas:
-
Education which includes talks and training on topics ranging from mindfulness to eating on a budget
-
Community – workplaces are really communities of people working together towards a common vision and goal. RBI Living Well created events and environments to bring people together to sample free food
-
Personal health insights which made it easy for employees to get a glimpse of their key indicators via blood testing, leveraging modern technology and expert guidance from health coaches and nutritionists
Underpinning the whole programme is a multi-channel engagement programme which leverages email, facebook, leaders, wellbeing champions to spread the message and get engagement across all of your offices around the world.
Start where you are
‘The best time to plant an acorn was 20 years ago. The next best time is now’
Sometimes the mountain can seem just too high, too overwhelming, too many issues to tackle that it’s difficult to know where to start.
So start where you are and find out how healthy your culture is right now.
Contact us to find out more
