Frequently Asked Questions

How as a company can we benefit from FFB?

How long does it take to achieve recognition?

How much time is required?

How is the scheme monitored?

What is included in the sign up kit? How will this help?

What support / guidance does membership provide?

What is included in the training?

How will Fit For Business help to engage employees who are not interested in making changes?

What is the reason for yearly re-validation?

Will any time be required outside of work hours?

Is there a limit as to how many staff members within each company can get involved?

How much does it cost?

What do you look for in a work place champion?

Do we get an opportunity to network with other companies in the area who are also involved in the scheme?

What opportunities are there for local and national publicity?

How do we sign up?

What other companies are taking part?

Evidence from the Carter Report 2005, has shown that an active workplace may;

Enhance productivity
Improve staff loyalty
Reduce staff absenteeism
Create a healthier, more alert workforce
Create a happier work environment
Produce a transfer of team ethic

It will take as long as you want it to take - dependent on the rate of speed you want to travel. Recognition is achievable within a year; membership is renewable on a yearly basis; and you will need to re-apply for recognition each year.

It is up to each organisation as to how much time you give your staff to take part in the interventions but we suggest that the ‘workplace champion’ will require a minimum of 1 day per month to develop the interventions within your company.

Each organisation will be asked to maintain a portfolio to demonstrate what has been accomplished in each of the health promotion categories. When you are ready to submit your application for recognition you will need to make this portfolio available to the Fit for Business Team to assess against the specified scheme criteria. An on-site visit will be arranged to discuss your portfolio.

To supplement your portfolio we encourage the collection of baseline data at the start of the project and will provide help with this. Throughout the project we would recommend that you actively seek feedback from staff. Evaluation against the baseline at the end of the project will help you move forward into the following year.

Creating Excellence has been licensed to use The British Heart Foundation ‘Think Fit’ toolkit. This is a document set that supports workplace health from an initial needs assessment and action planning through to promoting interventions and creating a workplace physical activity policy. This toolkit is supplemented with a website that contains further information promoting physical activity and health in the workplace.

The toolkit is currently under development to expand on the health promotion categories it covers; in the interim a Fit For Business toolkit will provide supplementary information with intervention ideas which you can access.

Joining the Fit For Business membership programme immediately entitles you to a range of support services, including:

Members only access to the website resources which includes downloadable support tools
Access to our dedicated support team via telephone and email - the team are there to help with any questions if you have you been unable to answer your questions via the Fit for Business website
Monthly members newsletters packed full of intervention ideas
Regular progress checks along the way

Workplace Champion Training:

Group Introductory Training is available with other organisations in your region
On-site Introductory training can be organised for up to 12 members of your team
Interim training throughout the Year

One of the key aims of Fit For Business is to enable your project to become self sustaining. Our team will work with you to establish links with the support services of health professionals such as smoking cessation advisers, fitness instructors, healthy walks leaders etc. in your local area.

Introductory workplace champion training sets the scene for workplace health and provides champions with a toolkit to enable them to take action.

Interim training focuses on the challenges that organisations have to overcome to establish a worthwhile workplace health programme.

All training days are interactive and practical.

The Fit For Business team are frequently asked this question - the answer is simple - by providing workplace champions with the support to help identify something that is of interest to everyone. And this doesn't mean one activity that fits all, it means taking the time to find interventions ideas that appeal to individuals, when they are ready to engage.

The team's enthusiasm for Workplace Health is infectious but it's a very positive epidemic that we are trying to spread - one of health and activity!

At the end of the first year all participating organisations should have a range of interventions in place and your workplace champion will have gained a good underlying knowledge of health promotion activity and what type of interventions are successful for the company.Why stop there? Annual reviews do not mean having to continually come up with new ideas, although that would be great for keep staff interested, you will be asked to revisit your interventions and to move them forward where appropriate.

This will be dependant upon the interventions chosen by your organisation and employees. For example, if you chose to support your employees by offering them subsidised membership of the local leisure centre outside of working hours then they will need to access this in their own time. However, other interventions such as lunchtime walks can easily be incorporated into the working day.

No. We actually encourage as many of your employees to get involved as possible by offering a range of different interventions. Remember that different employees will have different interests and may not wish to get involved in specific activity.

The basic cost of the scheme is based on the number of employees within your organisation. The minimum cost (up to 100 employees) is £1,000.

Cost is also dependent on the level of support required - this means that we can tailor services to meet any budget.

In addition to this each organisation will need to allocate some time for workplace champion(s), and to encourage participation of your employees it may be worth allocating a small amount budget to be spent on the introduction of interventions. This is of course completely optional and if this is not possible the Fit For Business team will be able to to provide endless ideas for activities that won't cost anything. .

Identifying the correct champion will be key to making the project a success for your company.

The champion does not need to be from the senior management team and does not necessarily need to be ‘sport or health mad’.

The champion does need however to be someone who is respected by their peers and who is able to take on and follow through a task to completion. It would be beneficial if the champion had an understanding and interest in health and physical activity.

Yes. You will receive a regular e-zine newsletter outlining what other companies are up to and what is happening nationally. Later in the year we will start organising network events to bring work place champions together to support each other with ideas and interventions.

The health of our nation is a very topical issue so the opportunities for publicity are endless. Through this scheme you could be identified as a leading employer with a cutting edge vision of how to motivate and retain your staff in order to achieve increased productivity and bottom line.

The Fit For Business Team are continually looking for PR opportunities.

Please call us on 01245 327242 - or e-mail ffb@creatingexcellence.co.uk

The range of organisations signing up to Fit For Business is very varied and new organisations are signing up all the time. Please call the Fit For Business Team for a full list of members.

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