Get workers fit and boost your competitive edge

August 2009 8:39am

From exercises in the park to gruelling, Survivor-style workshops on a tropical island, a major Australian employer is boosting staff morale - and its "competitive advantage" - by investing heavily in the fitness of its workers.

"Healthy people outside of work translate to healthy, happy and productive people in the workplace," Raymond Lee, marketing manager at mechanical and energy services giant AE Smith told HR Daily.

"We are using sport to engender the types of behaviour that allow us to stay ahead of the pack."

According to Lee, it all began three years ago when CEO Andrew Permezel championed a "talent-awareness" workshop on Curtis Island, off the coast of Queensland.

"It could have been the next instalment of reality television show Survivor," Lee says.

Some 56 employees from a number of AE Smith teams jumped off a boat in open water and swam 200 metres to the island, before embarking on four days of group dialogue, open discussion and physical activity.

Participating in the workshop made many employees realise how unfit they were, which "sparked a desire to improve themselves", Lee says. This led to the implementation of a host of employee fitness initiatives - including a team-fitness program at the Melbourne office, where staff finish work early on Thursday and go to the park with a physical trainer - and regular participation in corporate sports events.

"The pinnacle of the journey," he says, will be participating at next month's ITU Triathlon World Championships on the Gold Coast, at which AE Smith will have the largest corporate entry.

"That's something we're really, really proud of," Lee says. "I suspect our customers are proud of it too."

Return on investment

Lee says that while after-hours fitness or sport programs are often expensive (AE Smith will spend thousands of dollars sending teams to the Gold Coast triathlon), the benefits of investing heavily in employee wellbeing are indisputable.

The general manager of each AE Smith office has "very strong discretionary spend", and is encouraged to use it.

"While exact ROI is difficult to measure, taking a positive interest in external activities shows staff that AE Smith cares," Lee says.

Over the last three years, he says, the company has seen:

* A boost in morale and inter- and intra-office camaraderie;

* Improved inter- and intra-office communications, and a "healthy rivalry" between units across the country;

* A drop in absenteeism;

* A hike in retention and attraction; and

* Improved creative problem solving.

At AE Smith's Melbourne office, Lee notes, nearly 50 per cent of employees participate in the team-fitness program.

But that doesn't mean the other 50 per cent are leading sedentary lives, he says. So many staff talk about good they feel that "awareness grows and percolates through the office", prompting others to pursue their own fitness initiatives.

Switching off after work

Organisational psychologist Professor Sabine Sonnentag, of Konstanz University in Germany, says that physical activity outside of work "helps employees to mentally switch off and recover from job stress".

Sonnentag told delegates at the recent Industrial and Organisational Psychology Conference in Sydney that many employees take work home or worry about their high workload for the next day.

To "mentally switch off from work", she says, employees must:

* Leave work at work, or set a time limit - and stick to it - if it is necessary to work at home;

* Find an activity that helps them forget about work and relax;

* Exercise in the morning or during lunch before energy levels deplete; and

* Make appointments to exercise with others, and exercise on regular days to avoid having to make a decision.

While participating in an exhausting triathlon is probably not exactly what Sonnentag means by "switching off", Garth Prowd of USM Events (which is organising the Gold Coast event), assures HR Daily that a triathlon is "only as demanding as you want it to be".

Prowd, who has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his services to Australian sport, says people of all fitness levels and physical abilities participate in the corporate event, and that those who are unable to compete can become involved as a member of their company's cheer squad.

"Getting employees to interact outside of work, or to get as fit as possible, makes for a more enjoyable workplace," he says.

"People transferring from a sedentary to active lifestyle tend to show their satisfaction at work. These sorts of things are often mentioned as reasons employees enjoy their jobs."

Source: HR Daily