FNB banks on the health and wellness of its employees
22 October, 2012: The HEALTHY WORKPLACE PROJECT* is an innovative programme designed to show employers how taking a few simple steps can help reduce the risk of the spread of harmful germs from the office environment, cut absenteeism and raise both staff satisfaction and productivity levels.
Head of Employee Engagement at First National Bank (FNB), Eloise Boezak, points out that employee wellness is an integral part of business success. "We are constantly looking to innovate in every part of our business; including our people, and it became prevalent through our research that we had to create greater awareness around hygiene and basic issues related to the work environment. We were lucky to find a partner such as Kimberly Clark Professional*, which is able to bring clear and concise thinking and understanding into our environment, while developing a strategy moving forward."
Boezak notes that through the HEALTHY WORKPLACE PROJECT*, FNB aims to achieve not only an improved awareness around basic health in the work environment, but also a reduction in absenteeism from common diseases in the workplace such as colds, flu and other communicable viruses. "We also want our employees to see the company they work for differently, and understand how important their health and contribution is to the overall business," she continues.
According to Boezak, FNB strives to ensure that it takes care of its employees holistically. "Rather than simply taking care of the work environment, we endeavour to take care of our employees as highly valued individuals. I believe that the HEALTHY WORKPLACE PROJECT* provides us with an interesting innovation within the workplace, and it also provides us with a tangible method of showing our employees just much we care about their wellbeing on a daily basis."
Having achieved unprecedented success internationally through the HEALTHY WORKPLACE PROJECT*, Kimberly Clark Professional* South Africa end-user manager Nthato Malope is confident of obtaining similar success on a local level. “The financial impact of illness, both through absenteeism and working while sick, adds up to serious losses for employers. The good news is that the HEALTHY WORKPLACE PROJECT* can help employers review their current budget to make it work more effectively, and invest it on an effective programme that reduces the spread of germs, reduces the risk of absenteeism, and increases employee engagement ,” he explains.
The HEALTHY WORKPLACE PROJECT* is designed to educate and encourage employers to help their staff reduce the risk of cross contamination of germs in typical office hot spots such as desks, boardrooms, reception canteens and other high traffic areas, through a simple wash, wipe and sanitise protocol that enhances hand hygiene in the workplace. In order to enforce this simple protocol, the HEALTHY WORKPLACE PROJECT comprises a simple three step process, namely;
1. Workplace Site Assessment:
Businesses who sign up to the HEALTHY WORKPLACE PROJECT* will be offered the opportunity to receive a comprehensive assessment of their whole working environment, from reception desks to individual workstations. Following this visit, Kimberly-Clark Professional* will make tailored recommendations on where to place products such as hand sanitisers and desk wipes.
2. Installing Kleenex Branded Hygiene Products:
With advice and practical support, the Kimberly Clark Professional* team will help customers to install the best possible hygiene systems around the workplace and, most importantly, inspire staff to use them regularly – steps that could help prevent the spread of germs that cause a range of illnesses.
3. An Interactive Communication Campaign:
In addition, companies who take advantage of the assessment will receive an engagement activation pack comprising posters, stickers and other internal communication material, all carrying information and messages about workplace hygiene. The materials in the pack have been carefully designed to attract the attention of employees, and persuade them to use the hygiene products made available by their employer, helping to achieve a long-term positive change in their behaviour.
Malope points out that the three step process is easy to implement, and is designed to create a more hygiene-conscious, motivated and engaged workforce. “Creating a healthier workplace does not stop at the restroom. As part of the programme, a wide range of hand sanitisers are placed in high-traffic areas of the workplace, where germs can easily be transmitted. In addition, disinfectant hand and surface wipes are provided to ensure that the germs on keyboards, desks and other surfaces are eliminated,” he continues.
Looking to the future, Boezak highlights the fact that FNB plans to roll out the HEALTHY WORKPLACE PROJECT* across the entire group in stages. "We are starting with our biggest precinct, which is FNB Bank City in the Johannesburg CBD. From there, we plan to roll the initiative out across Gauteng, before implementing it across our entire network of branches in South Africa."
Boezak believes that the implementation of the HEALTHY WORKPLACE PROJECT* will not only benefit FNB employees, but also its thousands of clients. "FNB has a strong focus on customer services, and creating a healthier workplace allows us to further ensure that our employees are at their optimum best to serve our clients. When a query is lodged or a certain service needs to be performed, it often requires a chain of FNB people to serve the client; from the person at the front desk that initially assists the client, to various internal staff in different departments, before ultimately coming back around to the client. We therefore need to ensure that our people are as healthy as possible, and able to perform at the levels of service and dedication that our clients have come to expect from us," she concludes.
Kimberly-Clark Professional* South Africa is a subsidiary of the US-based Kimberly Clark Corporation, which employs more than 57 000 staff members in 36 countries. With more than 140 years of industry expertise and a total of US $20,8-billion in worldwide sales in 2011, Kimberly Clark’s extensive range of leading brands are sold in more than 175 countries worldwide. These include; Kleenex, Huggies, Babysoft, Carlton, Kotex, Scott, Kleenguard and Wypall.
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Notes to the Editor
There are numerous photographs specific to this press release. Please visit http://media.ngage.co.za and click the Kimberly Clark link.
About Kimberly Clark Professional*
For more than a century Kimberly-Clark has been transforming insights and technologies into innovative products and services for nearly a quarter of the world's population. We're a global team of more than 55 000 people who share a passion for finding new ways to improve the health, hygiene and well-being of people's lives every day. We're committed to innovation, leadership, sustaining our world and strengthening our communities. Our products are sold in more than 150 countries. We maintain administrative, manufacturing facilities, operating and geographic headquarters in 37 countries.
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