Pharmaceutical organizations named Britain's healthiest companies

Two pharmaceutical companies — Quintiles and Gilead Sciences — have scooped up awards in this year’s Britain’s Healthiest Company Awards.

Quintiles walked away with second place in the overall 2014 awards, as well as winning the Healthiest Workplace (both in the large-sized organisation category).

Gilead Sciences also received multiple accolades snapping up first place in the overall 2014 awards in the small-sized organisation category, as well as winning the Healthiest Workplace award and being highly commended for having the healthiest employees. 

Britain’s Healthiest Company was launched by PruHealth with Vitality and Mercer. It is the biggest survey of workplace wellness in the UK having looked at the health of over 25,000 employees and the health and wellness facilities and measures provided by 82 companies. 

Britain’s Healthiest Company surveyed employers and employees at organisations around the country with over 50 employees. It is designed to give companies a better understanding of the health and lifestyle of their employees and what proactive steps can be taken to improve employee health.

Britain's Healthiest Company comprehensively evaluated the health of both the workplace and workforce. It looked at a number of lifestyle, behavioural, environmental and clinical risk factors across the employee population, together with a broad view of corporate policies, practices and facilities that could directly affect employee health. The overall award for Britain’s Healthiest Company was based on the highest combined scores from the Healthiest Workplace and Healthiest Employee awards, to holistically determine Britain’s Healthiest Company. 

The research was undertaken by the University of Cambridge and RAND Europe, which collaborate on health research through the Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research. 

Neville Koopowitz, CEO at PruHealth with Vitality said: “This is the biggest and most comprehensive research programme in the UK looking at employee health. Britain’s Healthiest Company celebrates the country’s most outstanding organisations demonstrating best practice and innovative approaches to looking after the health and wellbeing of their staff. 

“There are a number of strategic business drivers which are increasingly becoming boardroom issues. The business case demonstrating the tangible benefits from ensuring employee health is becoming increasingly clear, from the financial cost and impact on the bottom line, the organisational profile and being an employer of choice to minimising litigation by ensuring due diligence. Today’s winning organisations are fantastic examples of those that have had the foresight to create a culture that aligns wellness with a business’ overall goals and missions and we congratulate them on these well-deserved awards.” 

The root of Quintiles’ wellness programme is known as Healthy U, Healthy Q and the key to its success is its variety, as no one thing is going to please everybody.  Examples of some of the initiatives it runs include quarterly incentivised challenges, on-site health clinics and allowing staff to claim up to £360 a year for taking part in physical activities, gym membership or towards the purchase of sports and exercise equipment.  There is also a follow-the-leader challenge in which managers share their success stories and permeate the health living culture from the top of the organisation down. 

Gilead Sciences believes that excelling in its business operations is heavily reliant on the continued employment, health and wellbeing of its staff. Consequently, it has put the PruHealth with Vitality scheme at the heart of its wellness programme for employees. It provides rewards to its employees for understanding how healthy they are and for taking steps to do healthy things such as getting active and eating well.  These incentives are designed to help its employees focus on personal goals such as stopping smoking and help them track their progress and make healthy choices for their own futures that they can maintain. 

Chris Bailey, Partner at Mercer Marsh Benefits, commented: “In recent times employee engagement and the demonstrable value that it brings an organisation has become accepted wisdom within the business community. However, taking an active interest in the health of employees has taken longer to embrace. There seems to be an artificial barrier within corporate Britain where the health of the workforce is deemed the individuals’ responsibility, or perhaps simply people believe it’s an area in which it is too difficult to make an impact. 

“Fortunately, we’re finding that more and more clients are challenging this view and are looking to review their current rewards, benefits and working practices to positively impact upon the health or their people. It just makes good business sense.” 

The trophies were presented by Sebastian Coe, chair of the British Olympic Association, double Olympic gold medalist and PruHealth Vitality Ambassador and Dame Carol Black, chair of the Public Health Responsibility Deal’s Health at Work Network.