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3 minutes reading time | 7th May 2020
Against the backdrop of unparalleled mental health challenges presented by the ongoing global pandemic, FGH Security is proud to announce having achieved Gold Award status in the 2019/20 Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index. We are immensely proud to be the first security company in the UK to ever receive this award and it shows the unparalleled commitment we have in making FGH Security one of the leading teams in the UK to be part of. The Gold Award is given to employers who have successfully embedded mental health into their policies and practices, demonstrating a long-term and in-depth commitment to staff mental health. As well as ourselves EON and the Environment Agency were part of only 21 companies to receive this award. Well done to the other companies who featured on the index, including; American Express, Football Association, EDF, M&S Bank, Nationwide, BAE Systems, Network Rail, and the Metropolitan Police Service.
Whereas there is a growing public awareness of the importance of good workplace mental health and wellbeing, it can be a contentious subject for employers. Employee engagement and a focus on mental health support does not generate revenue and can be viewed as a ‘nice to have’ – but there is a business case for improving it. The financial cost of poor mental health to employers is unequivocally evident through the sickness absence of employees. Employee absence, however, is not the only cost associated with poor mental health. The less tangible financial impact for employers includes the loss in productivity which occurs when employees are present but not engaged – known as ‘presenteeism’ – and the turnover costs of replacing employees lost through poorly managed mental health. The financial impact to employers resulting from staff not being engaged and enthusiastic unquestionably extends beyond presenteeism. Whilst the cost to business of mental ill-health appears difficult to define, it was recently calculated by the Centre for Mental Health at circa £35 billion per annum for the UK economy. That is £1,300 for every employee in the UK – a sobering thought. This staggering calculation attributed around 10 per cent being due to the cost of replacing staff, 30 percent due to sickness absence, and 60 per cent due to reduced productivity at work.
Acknowledging this cost to business paves the way for effective actions to be implemented, keeping employees engaged and productive for longer, thus protecting revenue. However, the lack of precision around measuring the cost of mental health to employers also impacts on the ability to measure savings and benefits accruing from workplace wellbeing programmes. The lack of clear return on investment benefits for engagement and wellbeing provisions continues to be a key challenge to the adoption of good practise interventions and initiatives.
As a people-centric organisation, FGH Security acknowledges and embraces the value of employee engagement not only in facilitating our number one value to Look After Our Team, but as a tangible business case for protecting the investment we have made in the team. Having achieved a Silver Award in the 2018/19 Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index, we have built upon this foundation in the last year to go on to achieve a Gold Award in the 2019/20 index, partnered with employee engagement specialists Centralus to provide a wealth of benefits and resources to look after the health and wellbeing of our team.
An employer can buy an employees’ physical presence, their skills and their time…but their enthusiasm and loyalty – differentiating factors between performance and excellence – must be earned and nurtured. The benefits outweigh the costs – physically, mentally and financially.
