Going for gold: UMi celebrates Silver Better Health at Work milestone
The employee-owned business has achieved the Silver Better Health at Work Award less than a year after securing its Bronze Award.
UMi makes it easier for businesses across the UK to do more and go further by finding and packaging the best information, expertise and finance to help them make better business decisions, more quickly. Some call it the sat nav for business.
Two key measures of success for UMi are to be the best example of an employee-owned business in its sector by being a workplace where talented people thrive, and by making a positive difference to the local communities in which it works.
The Better Health at Work Award recognises the efforts of employers in the North East and Cumbria in addressing health issues within the workplace.
Like many other organisations who join the scheme, the UMi team was already doing a lot of work to promote healthy lifestyles. The scheme gives recognition for these efforts and the structured framework and dedicated Workplace Health Lead helps with ideas and tracking for further improvements.
There are five levels to the Award – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Continuing Excellence and Maintaining Excellence.
UMi’s achievement of the Silver Award recognises its company-wide initiatives, which has included appointing six health advocates, who share responsibility for planning, initiating and evaluating the company’s health promotion strategies.
Bethany Ward, HR and Office Assistant at UMi is one of the company’s health advocates and a real driving force behind UMi’s achievements. She said: “The award has been amazing! It has really given us that push to think outside of the box when it comes to health and wellbeing.”
Since engaging with the Better Health at Work Award scheme, UMi has offered a wide range of information and training opportunities to team members. And as it works towards the Gold Award, the company will expand the work it currently does through the UMi Community Foundation to promote health beyond its team.
Nicki Clark, Chief Executive of UMi, added: “We know that businesses are more than just bricks and mortar or numbers on a spreadsheet; they are powered by people, just like our own. We firmly believe that by taking care of each other as a team we will ensure that as a business we achieve our ambitions.
“Achieving the Silver Award in such a short time is testimony to the dedication and energy right across the team but it’s really important to recognise the phenomenal leaderships our health advocates provide and in particular Beth, who from starting out as an Apprentice with UMi a few years ago, has been a force to be reckoned with when it comes to business improvement and team spirit.”