Kaitlyn Orred
Supporting your employees’ health and wellbeing is an essential quality in any effective business leader. And now more than ever, it’s critical to check in on your employees to help you maintain a safe and healthy workplace and ensure your employees are happy too.
Many employers focus on health benefits initiatives, such as providing discounted gym memberships or healthy snacks in the office when it comes to employee wellbeing. But checking in on your employees can be a direct and straightforward way to ensure their health is a priority.
With the global pandemic showing signs of easing, many businesses are adapting to their new future of work. From returning to the office environment to adopting permanent home or hybrid working solutions, there are challenges ahead for employees with a more dispersed workforce.
SMS wellness checks could be an ideal solution to navigating these challenging times, helping you touch base with your employees, identify issues, and help maintain a safe work environment.
Learn more about the ways that SMS wellness checks can benefit your business.
Future challenges for business post-COVID
Even before the global pandemic, business
were shifting their focus towards improving employee wellbeing. ‘Workplace burnout’ became a recognized and accepted condition, and mental health started to become less of a taboo topic, being discussed much more widely in the public domain.
However, the global pandemic brought about a whole new host of challenges. From employees being unable to work to employees dispersed while working from home, businesses faced difficulties communicating with their employees and ensuring their wellbeing. This is in addition to the obvious health concerns around COVID-19.
Now that people are returning to the workplace, employers will need to consider ways to check in with their employees, which can be difficult with employees engaged in hybrid working. Wellness checks can ask questions about possible COVID symptoms, providing guidance to employees should they feel unwell at this time.
Wellness checks can also monitor the mental wellbeing of employees, who may feel isolated working at home, or have been affected by the drastic changes to their lives over the past 18 months.
Managing a dispersed workforce
Wellness checks are more important than ever, thanks to the increase in remote working. An SMS text solution allows employees to answer more freely than they would in the office or even over email, helping employers get a sense of people’s health, their mental state, and other issues they might be facing.
The ease of communications through mass texting services helps you keep your employees up to date about current issues and developments while also providing the opportunity to pose questions based on the answers provided.
Providing a duty of care to your employees
Wellness checks show that you honor your commitment to providing a duty of care at a most basic level. In a world where company loyalty is declining, demonstrating practices like wellness checks can help employees feel safe and protected, something that sets your business apart from others.
The pandemic has proven to be an uncertain time, something that can cause internal communications to suffer within businesses. A simple SMS wellness check would help monitor which employees are working, their current location, and their physical and mental health checks.
Simple, effective communications for employers and employees
SMS services can also help you alert your employees to possible changes or risks that need communication. SMS can reach a large volume of people quickly, ensuring those who aren’t logged on or able to access their emails receive the information they need in a simple format.
The concept of SMS wellness checks is simple. Employees receive a text message asking questions about their wellbeing, with either a ‘yes/no’ or a number-based set of responses. If an employee responds to say that they are unwell or are struggling with their mental health, follow-up questions can be asked to record symptoms and then provide advice. Using this safe space, employees could be more willing to share personal details than they would otherwise, allowing them to open up without being faced with a one-to-one situation.
SMS wellness checks have their benefits. They’re an affordable and easy way of communicating messages, ensuring no other software or training is required. However, there is an assumption that employees would use their personal devices to receive these communications, something not all employees would be comfortable with.
SMS wellbeing texts are also very cost-effective, allowing you to reach all of your employers easily without inflating your budget.
Are SMS wellness checks right for your business?
No matter the size of your business, SMS wellness checks have their benefits. Providing a safe space to detail how they’re feeling could be one of the easiest ways to maintain contact with your employees.
Text-Em-All provides a service that can help you enjoy effective mass texting services at an affordable rate. The benefits of using the service will benefit businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and are adaptable to meet changing business needs as things progress and new ways of working are established.
As an excellent step for businesses’ welling programs, SMS wellness checks have benefits worth exploring. No matter the size or age of your company, SMS wellbeing checks will be easy to navigate and can help you become more informed about your employees’ moods and any challenges they might be facing. SMS checks can also work as a sign that your business is doing well if employee feedback is positive.
If you’re interested in seeing how Text-Em-All can work for you, get in touch with us today. We cover a wide range of areas within different industries, with experienced advisors who are ready to take your call. Check out our full range of solutions that can be used to help your business and your employees too.
