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17 Oct 2018
by Daniella Brackpool

Wellbeing insights: Daniella Brackpool, benefits manager, Virgin Atlantic Airways

Daniella Brackpool, benefits manager Virgin Atlantic Airways, explains why wellbeing should be on executives' agenda and how Board support has underpinned Virgin Atlantic’s strategy.

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Wellbeing should be on the agenda at the highest level of every company. The links to productivity and high performance are clear when you have a happy, healthy and motivated workforce.

If you look after their wellbeing, then people will realise their full potential, professionally engage at work and lead a happy and fulfilled life outside of work. In supporting people to be at their best you are investing in your business’s greatest asset.

I was part of a team that won the inaugural award for Benefit Strategy at The Employee Wellbeing Awards 2018. For us it is really important to have a fully supportive executive sponsor for wellbeing for both Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays who leads by example. This helps to raise the profile of our wellbeing strategy and supporting benefits via various employee communications channels to increase engagement. It also ensures that wellbeing sits firmly at the heart of our business.

The close working relationship between myself as Benefits Manager and Josie Lazenby as Senior Manager of Occupational Health under our Head of Reward was key in enabling us to work strategically, define our three pillars of wellbeing - Physical, Mental and Financial - and our ‘Working Well, Living Better’ brand identity. We worked collaboratively and proactively to improve our overall wellbeing offering using our expertise to identify areas of health concern for various working groups and introducing benefits to support their needs.

I’m a juror for the 2019 Awards. I’ll be looking for entries that show a clear strategy, have success measures in place and a holistic approach to wellbeing. I’m particularly looking for evidence of those who have listened to their employees and are taking steps to put in place bespoke support for the specific needs of their people.  Innovation and creativity in reaching those goals and in communication will also be key.

It’s great to be able to celebrate all the initiatives that different companies in various sectors are embracing to really positively influence the lives of their people inside and outside of work.