Aon Consulting pilots innovative wellness programme

Aon Consulting, a pensions, benefits and HR consultancy firm, has launched an innovative six month wellness programme in its 50-strong benefits solutions office in Farnborough. The programme has been designed to bolster the teamsí mental and physical capabilities as well as help showcase to its clients the benefits of an integrated wellness strategy.

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Launched on the 24th April, there are five key strands to the Aon wellness pilot: Hydration, Fitness, Education, Relaxation and Nutrition. Aon has joined up with a number of partners such as BUPA and CloudNine to successfully deliver the programme:

Hydration: It is recommended that people should drink between 1.5 and 2 litres of water per day. Being just 1-2% dehydrated can reportedly reduce performance by 10-20%. To help hydrate the workforce, readily available water, hydration bottles and regular communication is being provided.

Fitness: NASA research shows that exercise has been seen to improve staff productivity by 12.5%. Employees are being offered a 3-month employer funded trial with the local leisure centre. In association with BUPA, employees have access to pedometers and online fitness measurement tools to monitor their exercise, energy usage, dietary intake and cardiovascular improvement. Employees will also have access to new software that will help measure participantsí health improvements.

Relaxation: Through use of CloudNine, a combination of massages and individual relaxation techniques are being offered.

Nutrition: The nutritional element is being covered in a number of ways such as fresh fruit and nutritional seminars, as well as one-to-one meetings.

Education: This is being delivered through the BUPA Positive Health website, with its extensive reading material that can be accessed.

Although the programme is entirely voluntary, launch has been extremely positive with all employees participating in elements of the plan from day one.

There is a growing body of empirical evidence that can demonstrate the link between a fit and healthy workforce and increased productivity and performance. A recent study by Harvard Medical School found that there was an 18% difference in work performance between so called unhealthy employees and the more health conscious. It also estimated that the likely annual return on investment from health programmes is at least 3.73 for every 1 spent. With British industry losing over 13.5billion a year to absence, plus work-related stress and health problems a growing concern, wellness plans are becoming a valuable solution for UK businesses to counter these issues and retain its talent.

Colin Barnes, operational head of Aon Consultingís benefits solutions team in Farnborough said: ìThis is an exciting project and I am pleased with the positive response from the team. Whilst this is only a pilot, we hope to demonstrate that a properly integrated wellness programme can successfully increase productivity and employee engagement. Our long term aim is to look at rolling this out across the business.î

Bryan Taylor, senior consultant in Aon Consulting said: ìI really enjoyed taking part in the launch activities. Although I consider myself fairly active, the sessions have really shown me how I could be even healthier by making only small changes to my daily routines. As a health and wellness consultant, it is also great to experience first-hand such a comprehensive wellness scheme and I am looking forward to sharing these experiences with clients.î