MCE Employee Wellbeing News

Recently featured in an article on BBC Asia was the Boteli Valve Group based in China. The Group have a monthly output of $5 million (£3 million), but the company’s director is more worried about the faith of his workers than the profit of his company.

Although the employees work under the customary symbols of the aetheist Chinese communist state, every Monday morning the senior managers get together and pray about the business. Once a week, members of staff are encouraged to attend an on-site Christian fellowship meeting, where they read the Bible and pray for each other.

Company director Weng-Jen Wau believes that as a result the attitudes of the workforce have been transformed.

Far from being a one-off, there are a growing number of businesses run by Christian entrepreneurs in one of China’s key enterprise zones. Their success is now being studied by the Chinese government. Professor Zhuo Xinping, Director of the Institute of World Religions, tells the BBC journalist that Chinese researchers are considering whether in Western history there is a link between economic prosperity and Protestant Christianity – and they are questioning what that might mean for today’s China.

Christian faith may sound like an unlikely component in China’s future economic success.

But the notion that newfound faith can inspire a workforce to increased levels of productivity is being taken seriously not only by Christian businessmen, but by China’s Communist – and officially atheist – leaders.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10942954

The Bank of England has fuelled anxiety over UK recovery hopes after warning of a squeeze on households from slowing growth and high inflation, as well as uncertain international prospects.

Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King said there was “great uncertainty” over the outlook for the US as well as the eurozone – the UK’s biggest trading partner – hampering efforts to build an export-led recovery.

The Bank of England in its quarterly report painted a grim picture of disposable incomes hit by the deficit-tackling measures, with some firms facing lower public sector demand following the cuts. This gloom comes after recent surveys showed a sharp slowdown in high-street sales, falling house prices and consumer confidence at its lowest for more than a year.

However, the forecast is not all gloom. The department store John Lewis has today agreed to advise public sector bodies on how to improve by involving their staff in their management.

Charlie Mayfield is quoted in today’s Daily Telegraph saying; “Whilst not a guaranteed solution to today’s challenges, the strengths of an employee-led model – such as an empowered and informed workforce and a close alignment of motivation between managers and employees – has helped us create a strong culture of trust, innovation and customer service.”.

An initial 12 “Pathfinder” projects have been announced by Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister. These include local mental health and children’s services.

Conflict is to be welcomed at times. It can reveal truth. It can lead to progress.

Conflict occurs when there is a clash of interests, there is the outward cause of the dispute, and under the surface the inward emotions it produces.

Sam Goldwyn put it like this, ‘ To every complex question there is always a simple answer and it’s always wrong!’

Dunn identifies the traditional responses to conflict, ’Fight or Flight’. He also asks is the conflict capable of resolution?

Humility is not a fashionable quality, but might lead an honest individual to ask the question ’to what extent am I responsible for the problem?’

If we’re prepared to ask that question it’s possible we can make progress. Begin by finding a good time to reflect, when you are at your best. Get things into context. Stand back. Ask someone who can help. This should be a person who you trust, but is not always going to say what you want to hear! As you seek to work through the conflict check out your mindset. Do you react ? Should you change that habit and become more responsive, more empathetic?

If you can begin to work on this process you may need to take stock of your emotions. Is fear impacting your reaction?

How can you be creative in this situation? Are there new solutions, ideas that could make a positive difference and break the cycle of conflict?

We have all seen the immense difference to results when a team is together pulling in the same direction compared to one that is not. We’ve seen this throughout the World Cup 2010 with France, Italy and sadly England.

It seems that regardless of how much Fabio Capello screamed from the touchline, the England players still gave lacklustre performances. Time and time again we have heard that the English squad has not been a happy camp. Were they bored in the training camp? Could they understand their manager? Was it a frustrated backlash against their manager’s refusal to let them play how they wanted to?

Regardless of how good the individual players are meant to be, individuals cannot win the World Cup on their own. The same applies to business. Businesses are formed of teams and the most successful businesses are often the ones who work best and communicate together.

Is your company winning as you would like? Is communication a problem? Or are frustrations and misunderstandings affecting performance?

Various surveys have often revealed that when employees were asked to sum up the key goals their employer was looking for from them, the answers given were considerably different to those given by the employers. A reason for frustration! And not hitting GOALS!

Over recent months the MCE business development manager Michael Cook has been finalising further marketing material for MCE. The idea and knowledge of a chaplaincy service in the UK is perhaps not as well known as in the USA. Our aim is to provide a service to any business that encompasses the need to support their staff. Being in a multi cultural and religious society in the UK, in some instances the term ‘Chaplain’ can be an obstacle in the development of business relationships. Over recent years, the government and various notable research organisations, reporting on staff in the workplace are recommending emphasis is placed on the wellness of staff. This additional material highlights the greater need for participation in a programme such as ours. Although MCE continues very much as it always has, 2010 has brought around a significant change in the way the company presents itself to the business world.

MCE now has a new logo and tagline. Enhancing lives, enhancing business was thought up in order to promote exactly in a nutshell what MCE has done for over 25 years.

There is a much more detailed set of pages now on our website which explain more fully the journey which MCE is undertaking with clients.

Finally there is the new MCE E-newsletter which is being sent out on a monthly basis. May’s edition can be viewed here at http://www.mchap.co.uk/newsletter/may10

Please enjoy,
The MCE Marketing Team

With the new coalition government nearing two weeks in office there are still mixed feelings about how the change in the political world will affect those in the economic world. Despite Germany announcing today that it would fund a rescue package to help sustain the Euro, the FTSE 100 share index fell to it’s lowest since last November.

Although all parties warned consistently throughout the election campaign off tough cuts being in the pipeline and much media attention being given to the £6 billion spending cuts to be announced in an emergency budget in 6 weeks time, it is still unknown how this will actually affect the shop floor.

MCE often highlighted last year that recession hit budgets did not mean that HR and Health & Wellbeing programmes were out of the window. Instead, there are still many reasons why HR is crucial at the heart of any business looking to succeed. With more cuts inevitable, companies have to focus still on producing the same results with smaller staff bases while at the same time retaining those employees who are key to making the business work.

This is where MCE have time and time again stood in to help. Rather than employees continually looking over their shoulders, the MCE Wellbeing Programme successfully helps to refocus staff so that they can continue to work efficiently and dynamically. Despite the whole of Europe moving into a period of much uncertainty, the one thing that companies can rely on is that our care teams will help to keep your employees on board.

MCE have now launched a new promotional short film. The film was shot during the end of last year and contains client testimonials as well as scenes from inside businesses employing MCE Care Teams.

Hard copies of the DVD are available and if you would like a copy, or have any questions about anything that you see in the film, we’d be glad to answer your calls on 0845 458 1600.

To view the film which lasts just over 3 minutes, visit the MCE Youtube page at http://www.youtube.com/mchapuk.

MCE.

It is a question that was asked time and time again of British Airways cabin staff. How is it that such well paid staff with such good benefits packages want to go on strike?

British Airways staff are reportedly better paid, have better employee benefits and are flying for an airline that has the reputation ten times as great as their cheaper rivals such as Easyjet and Ryanair. Last year MCE wrote an article in light of the Panorama investigation into Ryanair’s HR reputation last year. The HR department at British Airways has never been called into question before.

Although British Airways cabin crews believe that they are striking to preserve their benefits and salaries, the issue is a prime example of how employee perception is fundamental to getting good business results. Rather than the reality of the situation, it is rather the confidence that the employees have with their employers that is the issue.

This is precisely the kind of situation MCE are used to dealing with. By breaching the gap between employee and employer, MCE will help your profits by minimising the risk of disillusionment. Employers provide employees with the confidence that they are safe with their benefits and salaries. Even in the event of reduced pay or redundancy, MCE can also help create the atmosphere to administer these cuts.

By dealing with people, MCE manage the correct perception for your employees to work to their fullest.

“…A growing number of UK employers have recognised employee health and wellbeing as a strategic priority, particularly during challenging economic times. Proactive management of employees’ physical and mental health can produce a range of important business benefits including reduction of sickness absence; lost time due to accidents and associateed costs; greater staff engagement and productivity; reduced staff turnover recruitment and costs…”

The opening words of a 48 page Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace review documented by Dame Carol Black highlights just how high on the agenda employee wellbeing has become. There is also now a Government-led Health, Work and Well-being initiative to protect and improve the health and well-being of working age people.

The fact that there is such an emphasis being placed on health and wellbeing reinforces the most important aspect MCE’s work. People are the most important aspects of work and business.

Perhaps the key word in the opening words of the review by Dame Carol Black is ‘engagement’. It is that engagement between business leaders and their employees that leads to better results and in turn greater profit. If the employees of a company feel like they are listened to and they are actually making a difference by working, then they will not only be more likely to turn up to work on time. They will also be willing to go the extra mile to help make the company a success.

In short, as the review is titled, Healthy People = Healthy Profits.

MCHAP

A new Business Journal is now available for download. Under the title Journal of Positive Action in the Workplace, the portfolio includes various client testimonials about MCE and case studies of the Employee Wellbeing Service. There are also further details about the MCE Commitment to care and support staff, employees and employers in the workplace.

>> Download the Journal here.

MCHAP