Case Study: Nestlé UK
Employee Wellness Programme
Nestlé UK's mission is to be the world's foremost food,
nutrition, health and wellness company. To achieve this, it needs
a workforce that is healthy, knowledgeable about nutrition and
engaged, therefore its over-arching approach is transforming
well-being into an organisation-wide initiative.
The three strands of activity are:
- Increased physical activity
- Nutrition
- Mental resilience
A governance structure was created, which is led by Nestlé's
Head of Employee Wellness, and supported by three Executive
Board members – the HR, Wellness and Corporate Affairs
directors.
An External Advisory Group, which is made up of external
experts on nutrition and exercise plus a National Union Officer,
has been established to challenge, support and advise the
ongoing programme.
In the first year of the programme, attention has been focused
on the Increased Physical Activity and Nutrition pillars Nestlé
wanted to make exercise easier for employees, and the solution
was participation in the Global Corporate Challenge (GCC),
a unique walking scheme, which helps employees become
more active by encouraging them to walk a target of 10,000
steps per day.
In 2008, 1,176 (22%) of Nestlé UK's employees
participated and all walked over 12,000 steps daily – 350%
more than previously.
On the nutrition side, Nestlé reviewed its catering contracts and
stipulated minimum nutrition standards. It is also revitalising inhouse
catering to offer employees tasty, nutritionally balanced
meals and snacks, and is empowering employees to make better nutritional
choices
through the provision of nutrition
information in the form of GDAs.
The company has also provided employees with access to an
external health screening service run by the Nuffield Healthcare
Group, and is funding 50% of the costs. Employees' families
also have access to the service at a discounted rate.
Nestlé had 21 teams in the top 1% of global teams in the GCC
competition, and its top team was third place in the global
ranking, each averaging 28,000 steps a day.
Evidence from the in-house restaurants suggests that
employees are increasingly opting for the healthy choices on
offer and are also actively using GDA information to make
healthier choices.
Nestlé is winner of the BBC Challenge Award 2006 for the most
improved employer, was short-listed for the Health Work and
Well Being category of the National Business Awards, and is
a signatory of the Business in the Community commitment to
board-level reporting on Employee Wellness.
More Information
This case study is featured in our booklet Workplace Wellbeing: The Food Industry in Action (pdf, 1.2Mb) . Nestlé UK is a member of FDF's Workplace Wellbeing Group.
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Last reviewed: 29 Jun 2009