Health Care for Small to Medium Businesses

While it's obviously important for organisations to look after their staff in as many ways as they can - including Employee Assistance Programmes, private medical insurance for employees, occupational health services, and so on - building a 'culture of health' into the organisation is also imprtant, ensuring that people are aware of healthy lifestyles, and how they can help individuals as well as the places they work.

Many workplaces encourage physical activity - with facilities for people who have cycled into work, then there's also the opportunity to offer healthy food through the staff canteen, and so on. And of course there's an entire calendar full of events that people can take part in for charity such as 5k runs. 

But one thing that should always be on the health agenda is information on health and wellbeing. It could be done using posters, emails, intranet or by getting health professionals in to talk to staff, or by holding events to promote your organisation's health values.

It's also worthwhile making sure people have a list of healthy links that they can visit while they're surfing the web after work or at lunchtime. It could be something as simple as a list of useful sites detailing health and safety, or pointing people in the direction of NHS pages for seasonal illnesses such as influenza. Another good health information practice would be to set up and manage a health blog for the company or for employees - with space for people o discuss the latest news and events within the company. A health blog list could also be produced showing a number of sites with regularly updated health information.

Over at Personnel Today there's an interesting story about the lack of suitably skilled graduates to fill roles that graduate recruiters are actively seeking to help people into.

There could be numerous reasons for this, and there are also a few plausible theories - one being that because of the current job market, graduates are feeling the pressure and spending less time on their applications. One other interesting theory is that graduates may be looking for roles that "allow them a better work-life balance" and as such aren't applying in the same amount of numbers as previous years.

Of course, these are unusual times - and with unusual times often come unpredictable results. One story in HR magazine really stands out - that of Jaguar land Rover, who have reported a 61% increase in graduate applications since 2011 - attributable, believes their HR director, to the positive perception of thri organisation.

For SMEs the picture is in most cases a little different, since while graduaties apply for positions within SMEs, most aren't of  asize where they're able to do the 'milk round' or offfer the same scale of graduate schemes as bigger firms. It could be though that the graduate scene is changing, with SMEs currently benefiting from the amount of graduates and the types of role they're seeking.

The office Christmas party... it's something that's discussed quite a lot in blogs and newspaper sites around this time of year - providing employees and their employers alike with tips on how to get the most from the work party.

Some news reports earlier this month carried an interesting statistic - that almost half (48%) of companies aren't holding an office party this year - while reports elsewhere say that themajority of office parties will be themed. Whether it's an official party or an informal get-together of employees, however, wellbeing should play a part alongside the fun.

From making sure that people have adequate transport home to making sure people are aware of some party basics such as making sure there's anough food and non-alcoholic drinks available - this interesting blog post from the Sydney Morning Herald provides some good advice to help make sure everyone has a great time. Although there's something that we in the northern hemisphere might also need to think about - making sure we're wrapped up warm enough for the journey home!

In terms of looking after employees and minimising sickness absence, there's more to a Christmas party thanmeets the eye - and a lot of it is simply about organising things in a way that maximises the fun but keeps an eye on people's wellbeing.

We might not celebrate it in the UK, but happy thanksgiving to our American readers!

And to help pay tribute to the festivities, HR magazine today published a new report on the lives of working mothers in the US. Have you read it?

We sure did, and were keen to get on here to quickly round up our thought's on the differences and similarities of working parents across the UK and in America.

The US Working Mother Research Institute published the poll results, which asked working parents 'What Moms Choose' - and it seems many of the issues faced by American mothers are simlar to some of the things experienced by people in the UK.

We were most surprised by the figures on pay cuts, with American women reporting that there is often a drop in salary after returning to work to have children - with those with more responsibility taking the biggest cuts. The example given by HR magazine is that female MBA's see their annual earnings drop 41% compared to the male rate. Is this the case in the UK?

It was also not surprising to read that many working mothers feel they don't get enough personal time to take care of their own wellbeing - which we imagine is a similar case the world over. What American employers are doing to help reduce this is to introduce on-site facilities where mothers can get things done - such as dentist or the gym. Is this something that UK companies are or should be doing?

As you might expect, the whole working mothers report can be read at HR Magazine.

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Just over a third of people admit to accepting a new job without even considering the companies pension package - and a quarter say they didn't investigate it until starting the job.

The survey from the National Association of Pension Trusts found that many aren't sure

So how can you help your employees stay in the know? Well, a pension package is an employee benefit and should be sold alongside benefits that corporate medical insurance or good holiday allowance.

It might not seem as appealing to discuss at first contact with potential new employees - but with a recent poll finding that 81% of workers saying they would be more likely to apply for a job if it offered good pension options, it might encourage more high quality candidates to apply for roles within your company.

Pensions also offer long-term security, so attracting employees who want stability may mean they will be more likely to stay with the company long-term. And in an uncertain financial climate, the availability of a good pension package could help ensure staff are less stressed - and stay happy, healthy and productive in the workplace. Does your company advertise pensions as a benefit?

Employers will now be able to offer potential new employees the chance to put themselves forward for a job by clicking the 'apply with LinkedIn' button - after  a new feature was introduced by the social networking site.

Thw esbite claims that this feature could attract increased interest in advertised roles for employers, as potential applicants will no longer be disencouraged if they have not recently updated their CV.

Updating a CV properly can often be a lengthy process, so anything that encourages more people to apply for a job is bound to be seen as a good thing by both employers and job hunters - but there could also be a chance that employers will be met with an influx of applicant who haven't properly considered themselves for the role.

However, it does offer a cheap and quick way to encourage more applicants, so small to medium sized business owners are likely to find it useful when used properly.

What do you think of LinkedIn's new feature?

Hi all - just a quick post today, with some links to SME pages that I find useful and that I hope you will too.

First up we have the Imdependent newspaper, with the SME section of their Business Extra area. Always worth a look, this one. 

http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/ is always worth checking out, too - quite a wide range of subjects covered and handy if you're looking for a quick business read.

Not exclusively an SME focussed site, Personnel Today is an interesting mix of articles from an HR perspective but always firmly business focussed. 

For the health and safety side of work - two blogs to look at are health and safety blog, which takes a look at the rules & regulations side of working life, and also Healthy Business, which looks at absence management, workplace wellbeing, and related topics.

Small business is one of the most exciting and dynamic areas of the UK business world as whole right now, with an amazing set of things happening. Whether you own a plumbing business, a software firm, or are yet to find your milieu within the SME world, you're sure to find plenty of knowledge and inspiration on the web. 

Gone are the days were social media was considered a fad; nowadays companies embrace social media across different departments and human resources are no exception to the rule.

One area where HR is using social media extensively is on the promotion of employee health benefits. By using social media to push information about the company healthcare policies, employees are reminded regularly about the benefits of these policies. This has the advantage of being able to push the message in a cost effective manner; moreover social media helps to connect workers with similar interests whether that is playing sports, going for walks or following a particular diet.

Talking about company health insurance plans may seem like a tedious task; however social media outlets help to give personality to what essentially is a faceless subject.

It's coming to that time of year again, when we all start getting coughs and colds and blaming the winter weather. But should these complaints lead to something more than a sniffle, there could well be high levels of sickness absence in your workplace.

This possibility is something that worries most employers every winter, but should we be promoting the flu jab amongst staff as a way to keep sickness absence levels down?

The seasonal flu jab is offered to 'at risk' groups on the NHS, and pregnant woman, eldery people or those with conditions such as diabetes or severe asthma are recommended to get it done every year to help stay safe. Promotion of this in the workplace may be useful to both employers looking to reduce sickness absence levels and staff in the 'at risk' category' who will want to stay fit and healthy throughout the winter.

However, those not on the NHS can still arrange to have the flu jab done privately, so employers with historically high sickness absence levels in the winter months may find that offering the vaccination to staff as part of a employee health insurance plan may help.

Other ways to help keep sickness absence levels down when it comes to avoiding winter illness, is to encouage employees to come forward when they are feeling unwell, so anyone with seemingly contagious symptoms can be sent home to rest before passing it on to other staff.

How does your company keep absence due to flu and winter illnesses down?

Work life balance is something that is often discussed in the media, but how can it help your business? Well, if done properly, it can lead to a happier, healthier workforce - who are more motivated and ready to work than ever. The phrase "work to live, don't live to work" springs to mind, but in this case it's more relevant than ever. If your staff feel all they do is work and have no time to see friends and family or spend time on personal pursuits their health and motivation levels can detiriorate.

Here are some of the benfits of promoting a good work/life balance amongst your employees:

Less stressed: If your staff aren't able to switch off at night, it's unlikely that they can relax between jobs, which can lead to high levels of stress. Sickness absence continues to increase as more and more people take time off for stress, and although it might seem that the last person in the office is the most dedicated, their efforts will go unnoticed if they continually need to take days off because they are under too much pressure. Encouraging everyone to keep late nights at the office to essential projects only could help reduce stress.

Fitter staff: Staff who don't feel tied to the office are more likely to be out and about being active, meaning they have more chance of staying fit and taking less time off work. Long hours in the office can often lead to unhealthy eating habits too, as people rely more and more on fast food in their busy lifestyle. If people have time to spend shopping and cooking at home, there's more chance that they will make healthy choices.

Happier staff: Happier people are proven to be healthier, and if your staff get time to spend with their family and friends their more likely to be in a good mood and ready to work after a weekend off!