On the 8th December, 2016 the CyHRMA Christmas Business Breakfast was held in Nicosia at the University of Cyprus premises, presented by Mr. George Ioannou, Managing Director of Dearest Wellness Ltd.The main topic of the presentation was “Corporate Health & Wellness” with the objective of passing on first messages on an industry which even though is now a standard practice abroad, it is absent from Cyprus. By investing professionally in corporate wellness, the employer can add value to the quality of life of its employees and achieve a distinct competitive advantage to the business.
At the beginning there was reference on the size and main players of the industry globally and then moved on to a brief reflection on the development stages this industry has undergone historically. Later, with references to world class consultancy firms, specific performance indices and results on Return On Investment (ROI) for various strategies were shown. The presentation went on to explain the business logic of corporate wellness, followed by a first approach on the tasks of actual strategy and applications, as well as on the benefits to the employees and the business.
In the discussion that followed, there was reference to the excellent manner that an investment in corporate wellness ties in and completely compliments both the latest trends in human resources management and adoption of “Investors in People” and “Corporate Social Responsibility”. With a growth rate at 5% and a size of $8bn worldwide, corporate wellness exists to serve core business objectives. Indeed, in the very heart of our work is human capital performance, management and promotion of the market brand, direct understanding of the corporate principles and values, management and retention of talent, increase in individual and corporate productivity, management of business relations, the reduction of absenteeism and the increase of presenteeism, the creation of more mature and competent business teams.
The next steps for a business who wishes to engage in corporate wellness is to estimate the necessary resources and the workload required for the implementation of such strategy, to ascertain and assess the current position on matters of health as well as the employees’, set the targets and ensure that it is following a professional model with a concise methodology, scope and objectives. Also very important is the financial evaluation of this strategy with various indices and other numbers, a necessary ingredient in any strategy.
Finally, it is important to mention the social character of the Association’s Christmas Business Breakfast. Instead of a participation fee, the participants offered food and other day to day necessities that were collected on behalf of Vagoni Agapis, a non – profit organization that helps people who live in poverty or in the margins of society.
Business Breakfast: Corporate Health and Wellness Presentation
