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Successful Corporate Healthy Eating Programmes How to create a dynamic, energised and engaged workforce and boost business results
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Successful corporate healthy eating programmes guide

Jul 03, 2015

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The Healthy Employee Guide to Successful Corporate Healthy Eating Solutions.
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Page 1: Successful corporate healthy eating programmes guide

Successful Corporate

Healthy Eating Programmes

How to create a dynamic, energised and

engaged workforce and boost business

results

Page 2: Successful corporate healthy eating programmes guide

An effective corporate healthy eating

programme will change the atmosphere of

your workplace dramatically

This special guide will explain how healthy

eating solutions will improve employee health,

staff morale and personal effectiveness,

providing a substantial return on investment

Successful Corporate

Healthy Eating Programmes

Page 3: Successful corporate healthy eating programmes guide
Page 4: Successful corporate healthy eating programmes guide

Contents

1 Introduction

2 How Healthy Staff Can Lead to a Healthy Bottom Line

4 THE Approach to Corporate Healthy Eating Programmes

5 How will a Healthy Eating Programme Benefit my

Business?

8 The Business End of Healthy Eating Programmes

9 How to Justify Spending on Corporate Wellbeing when

Money is Tight

11 What to Look For in a Healthy Eating Solutions Provider

12 Our Solutions

13 Conclusion

14 Successful Corporate Healthy Eating Programmes

Page 5: Successful corporate healthy eating programmes guide
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The Healthy Employee

1

Introduction

As anyone who has ever felt under pressure to perform at work will know, it is all too easy to put work first and slip into bad habits with regards to looking after our personal wellbeing. Though we may feel tired, stressed or sluggish, many of us struggle to make changes to our lifestyle.

The demands of work can have a considerable impact on employees’ eating habits. Many people will skip breakfast or lunch because of a long commute or time constraints at work and will feel sluggish later in the day as a result. Similarly, drinking excessive amounts of caffeine and indulging in the usual office snacks of cake, chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks is very common to boost energy, but often leads to lethargy and is detrimental to performance.

A lack of energy, focus and concentration is often blamed on many things. However, our performance is only as good as our last meal or snack. This is where a corporate healthy eating solutions company can make a real difference. Whether is involves helping staff to eat an energised breakfast, encouraging them to choose healthy snacks, educating them in brain boosting lunches or showing them how to fit healthy eating into their busy work schedule; our healthy eating initiatives will reassure your staff that making positive lifestyle changes is simple and easy to do. We demystify healthy eating and educate people in the practical ‘how-to’, to fit healthy eating seamlessly with their busy working day and family life.

Unfortunately ill health is a threat to individuals and has a negative impact on your business. Research proves that healthy eating reduces the risk of ill health and absenteeism. The health of the business is the sum of the health of the employees – healthy employees inspire healthy profits.

A successful healthy eating programme will be informative, engaging, enjoyable, sustainable, and above all – will achieve tangible results for you in your business.

Healthy eating solutions provide the ideal opportunity to make a difference to individuals on both a personal and professional level, and our unique guide will explain the positive impact that healthy eating initiatives have both for employees and for the organisation as a whole.

In the following pages we will look at everything from how low energy, a lack of motivation and not getting enough sleep can impact negatively on efficiency in the office, to how healthy eating initiatives can change company culture and increase the attractiveness of your business to prospective employees.

By the time you finish, you will be left in no doubt that investing in healthy eating solutions will not only dramatically improve your employees’ health, happiness, engagement, energy and motivation, but that it also represents and inspired business decision.

Regards,

The Healthy Employee Team

How Healthy Staff Can Lead A Healthy Bottom Line

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When you walk into an office, you can sense whether it is a positive, healthy environment in minutes.

Within a healthy workplace environment you can judge the energy and vibrancy from the people that is generated within the room. You can see and feel how people interact with one another, the team working together, the positive mental attitude towards each other and the business.

Whereas an unhealthy workplace always had a tangible heaviness, a feeling of deflation, it can be sluggish, lethargic and tense.

So why should this matter?

The fact is that it does matter. More than ever, businesses are feeling the repercussions of unhealthy staff on their bottom line, with low levels of engagement and high absenteeism among the most common consequences.

Is an unhealthy workforce really a problem?

The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) claims that the average level of sickness absence for 2012 was 6.8 working days per employee, per year, and that the cost to employers is approximately £600 per employee, per year.

Louise Bennett OBE, Chief Executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and a leader of the Coventry Health Improvement Programme, the Work and Health Project, which brings different aspects of health, had this to say about Making a Case for Healthy Eating –

People who do not eat breakfast are less productive than those who do

Healthy employees are up to 3 times more productive…

The average cost of sickness per employee is £78 per day

Providing employees with easier access to a healthy lifestyle makes them feel valued… The health and profitability of the business can be improved and therefore an improvement in business prospects too

In brief, the less healthy your employees, the more likely they are to be absent from work, costing you money and piling the pressure on other employees who are left to cope with an increased workload.

Although is isn’t possible to stop people getting sick from time to time, it is possible to have a positive impact on the bottom line of the business by providing a healthy culture, a healthy environment and a healthy eating education thereby helping you to benefit and your employees to benefit too - a win, win situation.

A massive proportion of absenteeism can be attributed to bad diets and can be avoided by providing a healthy eating education.

According to the Aviva Health of the Nation Index Report 2013, GP’s are expecting to treat 20% more patients with diabetes and almost 15 % more patients with obesity over the coming year.

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There are a number of ways to address this depending upon the exact needs of your company. Whatever your business, healthy eating programmes can make a positive impact. The key is not to ignore the issue but to address it and improve the business bottom line.

So where do you begin?

THE Approach to Corporate Healthy Eating Programmes

We focus on helping employees get the best out of themselves, improve their energy, improve their sleep, improve their feeling of wellbeing, improve self confidence and self

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esteem, improve team playing and engagement. We create an environment where we focus our attention on educating and motivating individuals so that they are willing and want to change their eating habits.

Whether people want to make serious health improvements or perhaps they eat healthily but know they would benefit from further knowledge, people who want to lose or even gain weight or people who wish to integrate healthy eating into their family life. No matter the challenge we make healthy eating simple and easy whether at work, rest or play.

“I thought that feeling sluggish, lifeless and hungry was just the way it is. Now I feel incredible, I feel like I have a new lease of life, I feel positive and motivated, just like I did 20 years ago, brilliant. I have made changes and I shall never look back.” – Diana

Healthy Eating

Food is fuel. For example you would not put two-stroke into a Ferrari and expect it to get to the end of the road! However, we frequently ask ourselves to run on inappropriate fuel or indeed on empty.

At The Healthy Employee we recognise that an individual is only as good as their last meal or snack. As an employer you need your employees to be as productive in the afternoon as they are in the morning, to remain energised throughout the day, to perform well in meetings, to stay alert behind the wheel, to engage with the business and with each other.

Our Online Programmes, Buzz Sessions (workshops) and One to One Coaching Programmes focus on giving advice that makes a real, practical difference to employees with busy schedules. Instead of talking about dieting or following specific food plans, we work with people to design a routine that works for them and that gets the results they are looking for, whether that be increased energy, better focus or improved weight management.

With our help, not only will employees have their questions answered by a professional, they will also understand the importance of eating well and be motivated to make a positive change – something that will benefit them both at work and in their personal lives.

How will a Healthy Eating Programme Benefit my Business?

Improving employees’ eating habits has an undeniably positive impact on a business.

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Imagine your organisation full of people bursting with energy, ideas, motivation and enthusiasm. The benefits of implementing an effective healthy eating programme are immense.

Keith Mythen, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Standards for SCC says

“The healthy eating Buzz Sessions and Programmes struck a chord with most people. And we’ve found the benefits go far beyond giving people a practical way to address their eating, fitness and weight issues. Those taking part in the programme are so much more motivated at work, with a buoyant and positive attitude. There is nothing faddy here. They are empowered to make changes through understanding how different foods affect them physically and mentally. They are eating well and finding it works – being able to achieve whatever they want to in terms of becoming fitter, having more energy, losing weight, or even gaining a few pounds. The atmosphere is lighter and brighter too with enhanced team spirit as the group shares food tips and ideas and support each other.”

Morale

A lack of engagement is one of the most common reasons why people underperform in the workplace. Quite simply, if you aren’t in the right frame of mind, you aren’t going to perform to the best of your abilities.

Healthy eating initiatives can play a large part in tackling this problem. Our healthy eating programmes are designed to inspire employees to make positive and lasting changes to their eating habits. By choosing a healthier lifestyle individuals very quickly begin to feel a real improvement in their health and wellbeing. Their morale will improve dramatically and they begin to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of leading a healthier life, boosting their self-confidence and beginning to realise their potential.

Teamwork

Many workplaces are competitive, and healthy eating programmes can provide the perfect platform for positive teambuilding and engagement. As well as becoming a positive talking point around the office, a healthy eating programme is able to unite people in a common cause – improving their day-to-day performance and state of mind.

Creating a great place to work

Many companies now recognise the benefit of having employees who are healthy and engaged. In the past, the most common way in which businesses encouraged their staff to lead healthier lives was by offering them health insurance or subsidised gym memberships. Whilst these initiatives appeal to some, they won’t necessarily appeal to all current or prospective employees.

With this in mind, the aim of any corporate healthy eating programme should be to establish a flexible range of initiatives so there is something for everyone. Not only will this improve the job satisfaction of current employees, reducing the likelihood of your staff wanting to leave, it will also appeal to prospective employees and enhance public perception of your brand, sending out the message that your business really cares about its employees, not just as members of staff or cogs in the wheel, but as individuals.

Understanding and addressing staff concerns

Don’t bury your head in the sand. Never underestimate how important it is for people to feel good at work. It is vital for people to have wellbeing and contentment - for people to

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feel energised and full of beans not sluggish, lethargic and tired. Often these benefits can be found by making a healthy diet part of your lifestyle and employees are regularly confused by good and bad food and the right and wrong foods to eat. When they are offered healthy eating education they know they will be on the right track to making the right dietary decisions.

Long-term benefits

Though everyone can benefit from living a healthier lifestyle, healthy eating can fluctuate as a priority for individuals over time. With this in mind, it’s important to help employees establish a simple plan that works under all circumstances.

Whatever schedule your healthy eating programme follows, whether the emphasis falls on Online Programmes, Buzz Sessions (workshops) or 1-2-1 coaching. We provide the education to help people make practical, healthy and sustainable changes to their diet - changes that they can implement now and for the rest of their lives.

“I am just as busy with work, nothing has changed there. However, I no longer feel like my eyes are out on stalks and tired all the time. I now sleep very well, remain alert in meetings and find coping with long days much easier. I have gained 10lbs, which was my goal, I eat regularly and I feel great.” - Brian

Education

Education is key to motivating people to make changes to their diets. By making healthy eating interesting and inspirational, we ensure employees will enjoy learning and look forward to participating in healthy eating initiatives.

Nowadays, whether it’s via magazines, websites, television or word of mouth, it is virtually impossible to avoid encountering healthy eating information. However, much of this information is either incorrect or incomplete and can lead to people developing bad habits.

By providing your staff with a source of knowledge in the form of a strategic healthy eating programme, not only can previously unresolved issues be fixed, but the tone of office conversations will become much more positive. Rather than simply sharing how tired or ill or demotivated they feel, employees will look to share and compare their new found healthy eating knowledge and will be able to offer each other constructive advice.

Focus on the Individual

Everyone’s attitude towards healthy eating is different. Because of this, in order to help employees bring about lasting change, it is important to understand their challenges and offer the appropriate solution.

The greatest return on investment doesn’t come from offering broad incentives, but from targeting specific ideas at the right people. The best healthy eating initiatives, therefore,

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are those that help employees develop a workable and effective healthy eating plan of their own.

A tailored healthy eating programme is about encouraging active engagement that in turn, supports a healthy culture in the office. Employees will then take responsibility for their own healthy eating and their approach to dealing with everyday challenges.

“I feel amazing, energised and full of life. I no longer suffer from bloating and I have lost 28lbs over the course of my programme.” – Tom

Accountability

By establishing strong relationships with staff during 1-2-1 programmes we are able to ensure individuals succeed in reaching their goals. In a supportive way, we are able to hold them accountable in order to help them make the transition to eating a healthy diet and improving their overall health and wellbeing challenges.

Change your Culture Completely

Healthy eating initiatives are flexible and democratic. They appeal to staff at every level of a business, primarily because everyone has a vested interest in feeling good.

Senior executives don’t usually have a problem engaging with their professional roles – after all, they’ve spent a lot of time working themselves into those positions – but what they do care about is their effectiveness. They want to be as efficient as they can be in order to move onto the next level of their career. Target this group with healthy eating initiatives that demonstrate how to manage energy better, stay focused, exercise effectively, sleep better and eat well in the midst of a busy week or a hectic travel routine and they’ll seize this opportunity with both hands.

On a wider scale, for many businesses, the challenge is getting people to turn up for work and give the job their full attention while they are there. Again, healthy eating initiatives can provide an attractive solution to this problem.

Arranging bite-size Buzz Sessions (workshops) on key themes such as eating well in the office or how to fit breakfast into your busy schedule, how to improve sleep by eating healthily, what snacks to eat whilst between meetings, how to boost energy, will provide staff with information they can act upon while at work and can also use to benefit their home life. Providing staff with something they weren’t expecting from work but which can enhance all aspects of their lives is a brilliant way to engender loyalty.

The Business End of Healthy Eating Programmes

Let’s be clear on this:

Workplace healthy eating initiatives are viable business solutions

Healthy eating initiatives help staff give the job their full attention while they are at work

Employers who enable staff to optimise their health and wellbeing are delivering a great incentive that helps to retain good people and attract top talent

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Make no mistake, healthy eating initiatives can be used in a variety of ways across all levels of a business to engage and motivate the whole workforce.

Engagement

When you’ve exhausted traditional methods of engaging staff, and employees have become immune to all the latest exciting initiatives you’ve introduced to help raise performance, healthy eating solutions can breathe new life into your organisation. Effective healthy eating solutions can encourage an inspiring atmosphere of health and high performance and equip staff with the tools necessary for them to perform to the best of their abilities.

So how can healthy eating best help businesses achieve the ultimate dream of healthy, positive, motivated, engaged staff in every department?

Do something for staff they wouldn’t do for themselves

An office that arranges healthy eating education not only gives the staff a great perk but will also benefit from the positive action staff will take to improve their health and performance.

Providing the opportunity for staff to consult with a healthy eating expert has been shown to increase participation in some programmes fivefold. Once again, it’s unlikely that individuals will seek out this resource in their own time, but if they know there will be a healthy eating programme provided by the business they will jump at the chance.

Return on Investment

Given the impressive statistics surrounding the effectiveness of wellbeing solutions, justifying your investment is easy.

20% increase in revenue per employee

57% higher shareholder value

28% less sick leave and 26% less health care costs *(Ceridian)

You will put money in the bank for your business and a smile on the face of your employees.

How to Justify Spending on Corporate Wellbeing When Money is Tight

Whatever the financial climate, there is always competition for budgets within any organisation. When pitching healthy eating initiatives to stakeholders you need to be clear on why it’s a vital investment – a ‘must have’ rather than a ‘nice to have’. Here’s what you’re up against…

1) Surely wellbeing isn’t a priority right now?

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Make no mistake, there is no better time to look after your employees than when the pressure is on and demands on them are at their greatest. If you’re working with teams who’ve had their numbers cut, they need to be engaged and motivated to focus on the job and not on insecurities around them. If your initiatives are properly designed, they will have an immediate impact throughout the business and get great results. A downturn is when your people need support the most.

2) How do we ensure the wellbeing message is received positively?

Be strategic with your healthy eating programme. You need to know why you’re doing it and communicate the right information to your staff. If you’re making the effort to create a positive and energetic culture within your organisation, tell everyone concerned. If you’re doing it to ease the increased stress and burden staff may be feeling, tell them.

3) Wouldn’t staff just prefer extra cash at the end of the month?

The reason most businesses don’t simply offer more money is that extra pay can be a very short-lived incentive. Conversely, the right healthy eating initiatives provide staff with resources that generate personal benefits way beyond a few extra pounds each month. This is money well spent on building engagement, retention and loyalty as well as providing added value for employees.

4) How do we justify the extra spend internally and externally?

If you’re concerned that the money you’re planning to invest in wellbeing will come under scrutiny from your staff or from sources outside the business, particularly the media, make sure that everyone knows the full story. Be transparent about the positive intentions the company has for its culture and its people. Sell the benefits.

Make it clear to staff that you’ve done your research and you’re responding to what you know will improve happiness, motivation and performance levels within your business.

If you need to justify the initiative externally, explain how every pound you’re planning to invest in this area is designed to generate many more pounds when it comes to increasing productivity and morale, and reducing absence, turnover and recruitment costs.

5) Is a healthy eating initiative the right place to be spending money?

Yes, if well planned. If you’ve done your homework, you will be in a position to roll out a programme that doesn’t break the bank while ensuring that it is so well targeted to your employees’ needs that each initiative generates a tangible return on investment.

6) How do I make the right decision about what to spend the money on?

Fancy initiatives that cost a fortune are no substitute for targeted healthy eating initiatives that make a real difference. Bear in mind the following guidelines:

Use initiatives that get people excited and involved.

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Recognise and reward those who take part. This needn’t mean extra expense, but cost-effective tokens of appreciation or even simply publicly acknowledged success stories that get staff engaged and create a brilliant buzz around your office.

Communicate, be flexible, judge by results and modify your approach as necessary to ensure you always achieve value for money.

What to Look For in a Healthy Eating Solutions Provider

It goes without saying that I am slightly biased, as I know that our approach works for many organisations. But looking at this objectively, you may have a specific agenda, so whatever you want to achieve, whether we can help or not, here’s what you need to look for in a prospective healthy eating solutions partner…

Do they ask questions? If you’re going to get the most from your healthy eating solutions company, it is best to look for a team that will take the time to ask questions. The best healthy eating solutions companies will first look to uncover which initiatives apply to you and your organisation and will benefit your workforce most effectively.

Are they experienced? When it comes to healthy eating solutions, some people look for reasons not to make changes to their current diet, so the team you engage needs to be

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professional, confident and convincing. They need to have practical experience of delivering healthy eating solutions in a variety of organisations. Do they get results? Do they give the impression that they will be able to motivate your employees with sound practical ‘how-to’ advice? Ease and simplicity is key to the success of healthy eating initiatives, especially if they are to benefit your business in the long term. It is therefore essential to choose a healthy eating solutions company that you think will be able to understand the personality of your business and inspire your entire audience.

Our Solutions Healthy eating is key to employee performance, enhancing the bottom line of the business. We offer three healthy eating solutions of Online programmes with six programmes to choose from there is a programme that is the right fit for everyone. Buzz Sessions (workshops), these vary in length from our 30 minute bite-sized lunch ‘n ‘ learn session to a full day of healthy eating education. We tailor make these sessions, no matter which length of time, to suit your business requirements exactly. 1-2-1 coaching programmes, vary in length from 6 weeks to 12 weeks depending upon the needs of the individual. These programmes provide the most personal level of coaching and supportive accountability.

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1. Online Programmes

The most cost effective healthy eating education for your employees.

Available to them and at their fingertips 24/7 for three months.

Online by video and PDF, to help your people be the best they can be as quickly and as easily as possible.

With a choice of six different programmes there is something for everyone:

Fit and Healthy Man

Fit and Healthy Woman

Weight Loss

Weight Gain

Eating for Energy

Family Health

2. Buzz Sessions (Workshops)

From 30 minute bite sized lunch ‘n’ learn sessions, to full day sessions. Providing a healthy eating education that suits your business requirements.

3. 1-2-1 Programmes

One to one coaching conducted by telephone, email and text message. Personal healthy eating education that fits with the individual’s requirements exactly. We have six different programmes that vary from 6 weeks to 12 weeks.

Fit and Healthy Man

Fit and Healthy Woman

Weight Loss

Weight Gain

Eating for Energy

Family Health

Conclusion

I hope you have found this guide interesting and that I’ve helped reinforce the many benefits that healthy eating solutions can bring to your business.

By employing the services of a healthy eating solutions company to help you implement this, not only are you providing your employees with a unique opportunity to engage with an aspect of their lives that they may have been neglecting (something they will relish), but by helping them to live healthier lives, you are also making an inspired business decision.

We would love to help you achieve your corporate health goals!

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At The Healthy Employee, we are passionate about helping people feel great. If you’re looking for a positive way to make a real difference to your organisational culture, we are able to provide your business with the perfect solution.

Having worked with businesses of all sizes and helped thousands of employees over the last 5 years, we know just how rewarding healthy eating initiatives can be both for businesses and individuals, and are experts at motivating staff members to make positive dietary changes to their lifestyles.

We’ll work with you and your staff to establish a bespoke healthy eating solution in order to ensure you have initiatives that are perfectly suited to your business needs and requirements.

What’s more, we’ll make sure that you invest wisely in a healthy eating programme that provides you and your business with dramatic results over the short, medium and long term.

For more information, just visit our website...

www.thehealthyemployee.co.uk

Thank you for taking the time to read our expert guide to healthy eating solutions. If you

would like to speak to a member of our team please call 0845 533 5302

Successful Corporate Healthy Eating Programmes

As we’re currently in the grip of a double dip recession and, if you pay attention to some commentators, on the verge of a triple dip recession, this guide has been written with this tougher climate in mind and takes into account the crucial issue of how to justify spending on corporate wellbeing when money is tight. The Healthy Employee enables companies to improve the health, energy and productivity of their people and provide a highly valued benefit in kind in a cost effective way. Food is the most powerful drug that most of us will ever take on a regular basis. Understanding how our body deals with food enables us to avoid the post-lunch, ‘graveyard shift' slump and keep alert and energised throughout the day. That's the Healthy Employee message for everyone in the workplace. Working with individuals and groups, we show them how to manage their physical health, emotional wellbeing and weight by creating their own

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personal eating and exercise blueprint. Whether they spend most of their working day behind a desk, on the road, or in the boardroom. 1. Our Online Programmes are the most cost effective healthy eating education for your employees. Available to them and at their fingertips 24/7 for three months. By choosing to provide a real, practical, and supportive intervention, companies gain healthier, happier employees – fit and motivated to perform better and achieve more. 2. We have a range of innovative lunch & learn sessions and buzz sessions to raise awareness, give simple, straightforward advice and provide takeaway action plans so that people can take control and start to make beneficial changes straightaway. 3. And we have tailored 1-2-1 programmes to enable individuals to address specific issues with the personal support of a Healthy Employee coach by telephone, text, and email. We show exactly how to create new, healthy habits that easily fit in with work and individual lifestyle.

By the time you finish reading our guide you will be left in no doubt that investing in the services of a healthy eating solutions company will not only dramatically improve your employees’ health and happiness, but that it also represents an inspired business decision.

www.thehealthyemployee.co.uk

To speak with a member of our team call 0845 533 5302