It’s no surprise that a healthy and motivated workforce is also a productive and resilient workforce. The Confederation of British Industry estimates that every year sickness absence costs the economy £17 billion and that the annual costs associated with working-age ill health are over £100 billion.
However, evidence shows that a range of interventions can benefit both employers and employees and that by investing in these interventions employers can make a significant contribution to reducing levels of illness and disease.
With that in mind it is timely that Warrington & Co. are supporting a ‘Health in Business’ Summit on 29th January 2016.
The summit – that will be delivered by Warrington Borough Council Public Health team – is to be held from 9.30am – 3.30pm at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and will not only provide a good opportunity to network but aims to leave delegates with an understanding of a range of things that they can do make their businesses and employees working lives healthier, including:

• how to invest in effective health interventions
• how to assess the health profile of your workforce
• How to track key metrics about workforce health, such as levels of sickness absence, health and general well-being
• How to improve the quality of work and employee job satisfaction as well as more traditional workplace health interventions

Look out for further details and details as to how to register soon.

Moving on from a concept of employee health = business health to the health of our local economy…

I was delighted to attend The Growth Hub for Cheshire and Warrington that was launched earlier this week at Warrington’s Village Hotel, of which Warrington & Co. are a partner.

The Government-backed Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub has been established to drive business expansion across the region and will be a first stop for businesses of all kinds to easily access a wide range of advice, expertise and funding to accelerate their growth and with aid of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP’s) ambition to make Cheshire and Warrington a £35bn economy by 2030.

The Growth Hub also expects to provide grants to 250 businesses that show growth potential and an initial grant funding pot of £600,000 will be become available early next year.

The Growth Hub will support and advise businesses in areas including access to finance including grants and loan, skills, training and employment, exporting and new markets, growth mentoring and coaching and finding the right location.

What we now need is businesses to get in touch to discuss their advice needs and I strongly urge you to get in contact to find out how The Growth Hub can help assist you in find out from our advisors how to get the right support to enable you to unleash your business’s potential.

To find out more about the Growth Hub please call call 03300 245007 or email support@candwgrowthhub.co.uk.

Both of these fantastic initiatives – the Health Summit and the Growth Hub – can assist local businesses in improving their futures and in having a positive start to the New Year, so make sure that you sign up and find out how you and your business can benefit.