Reap the rewards of investing in your staff and community

Small and medium enterprises have much to gain from holistic solutions

The economy of any area and its community’s health directly influence each other. Given the fact that this province’s unemployment rate increased 3.9% year-on-year¹, the onus is on every company in Limpopo to grow their business’s wealth and employees’ health, thereby swelling the prosperity of the region.

This is because employers contribute to the wellbeing of the community through providing employment, according to behavioural psychologist Dr Jacqui Joubert, Director of Agility Channel. “Where a company’s competitiveness and profitability is threatened, job security is jeopardised and this can have significant fallout for the socio-economic health of communities with an increased likelihood of social ills, such as crime and substance abuse.”

“A second contributing factor is that small and medium enterprises feel the burden of employees on sick leave, or who are not giving their all, more acutely than large corporations do and this can have significant consequences for a company’s bottom line. Conversely, employees who feel valued and engaged tend not only to have better productivity levels, but frequently demonstrate a more proactive and innovative approach to their work, which can have untold benefits for their employers and the community as a whole.

In order to remain competitive smaller businesses, which contribute significantly to employment in the region, must maintain a dedicated, inspired and productive workforce. With ever-increasing competition, however, employers are seeking solutions to keep their businesses sustainable.

“When we look at some of the main factors affecting the productivity of individual workers, themes of ill health and poor management of chronic disease; substance abuse and emotional problems, including financial stress, are recurrent problems. Another key aspect often stems from employees feeling undervalued, and they may – either consciously or unconsciously – respond with lacklustre job performance.”

According to Dr Joubert, there are numerous ways that employers, particularly those in small and medium enterprises, can demonstrate that their workers are valued. “One simple means of conveying this is through recognising productivity and individual contributions to organisational goals.”

In smaller businesses, even one employee who is not pulling their weight can put the business model under strain. “Where it is suspected that an employee is not giving of their best, it is important that the employer engages with them to explain what is expected of them and then establish what barriers are standing in the way of this. Often this in itself will be enough to resolve the problem, and may even result in the employee bringing an operational problem to their employer’s attention.”

Illness and chronic disease in a workforce can also erode a company’s bottom line as members of staff burdened with physical infirmities compromise productivity, either through excessive sick leave or because the person is unable to perform optimally.

“Many smaller enterprises are under the misapprehension that they are ‘too small’ to be in a position to provide medical cover for their workers. The benefits in terms of meaningful productivity that can be achieved through investing in the health of staff members, thereby demonstrating employer commitment to them, can far outweigh the monetary costs.”

Debbie Valentini, General Manager: Marketing and Communications, Loyalty and Rewards, says that Agility Corporate offers a unique integrated solution to fit any company’s health, wellbeing and financial services needs – irrespective of the size of an organisation or which industry it falls under. “Agility Corporate also understands the need for flexibility, and can offer bouquets of services to cater for the particular needs of the employer,” she notes.

“Agility Corporate provides the full spectrum of your workforce, from blue collar to executives, access to a network of healthcare providers at exceptionally affordable rates. Key components of our StaffCare programme include advanced chronic illness management programme, dentistry, optometry, as well as emotional and financial wellbeing services.”

At nominal additional cost, income replacement, disability and funeral cover benefits are also available.

“This cohesive risk management approach has the effect of meaningfully reducing absenteeism, increasing productivity and improving employee wellbeing with ultimate benefits for your company’s bottom line and growth potential,” Valentini concluded.

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