Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards (2021)
Best Covid-19 Company Response
Supporting colleagues to have the best employee experience and wellbeing at work is crucial to ensuring our teams can deliver the best possible patient care.
We are delighted that our hard work in this area has been recognised with a shortlisting in the Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards for 2021 in the category of best Covid-19 company response.
Sciensus’ 1,700-strong team delivers complex clinical care and medicines to over 200,000 patients across the UK and Europe. When the Covid-19 pandemic began, the company introduced a number of new initiatives to support wellbeing for staff. Some were temporary and very specific to the pressures of the pandemic; others will remain in place permanently.
The new initiatives covered a range of areas to support wellbeing, for example:
- To help reduce any feelings of loneliness and isolation, some very well received online events were offered for colleagues and their families, such as bingo and race nights.
- The Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Team held a weekly virtual ‘Town Hall’ event, to help colleagues navigate the ever-changing landscape and the potential impact on their roles, workload, and day-to-day lives. They were also able to ask questions in confidence.
- Colleagues had four opportunities throughout 2020 to complete an anonymous wellbeing survey to help inform future plans.
- The wellbeing surveys and general feedback revealed that although Sciensus didn’t utilise furlough, many family members had experienced this and colleagues had concerns around their finances. A Sciensus Benevolent Fund was launched for colleagues to apply for a number of financial support options.
- 100 Chromebooks were purchased by Sciensus and offered to colleagues with children studying at home. When their children returned to school, these colleagues were given the opportunity to purchase them at a significantly reduced price. The remaining Chromebooks (20) were donated to local schools nominated by colleagues.
Jackie Reeves, Human Resources Director said: “Our services remained crucial to our patients throughout the pandemic, as in turn did the wellbeing of our colleagues. As we begin to operate in a new version of normality, our wellbeing support will be updated to reflect this. We are delighted to see our work so far recognised and look forward to the awards night.”
The Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards aim to reward and recognise those that have made the transition to a more serious approach to mental health at work. The awards will be presented on 2 March 2022.