The Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE), in collaboration with Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), announced plans to organise the first ‘Sri Lanka Corporate Health and Productivity Awards’ to be held in February 2019.
“It is a globally accepted fact that people are the greatest asset in any organisation. Health and wellbeing are elements that need to be at the heart of corporate strategy as they involve the all important asset of people. A healthy, happy and committed workforce will always play a crucial role in the success of an organisation. Therefore, this means that improving the health and well-being of employees is a definite win-win scenario for all parties concerned and it is something all organisations should aspire to”. Chairman of COYLE Dinuk Hettiarachchi said at the press conference held in Colombo last week.
“Absenteeism, presenteeism and health issues have become main causes of workforce under-performance. Therefore, we consider assessing the status of corporate wellbeing in both the state and private sectors will provide direction to streamline the issues related to the workforce. The competition will be conducted under four categories small, medium, large and extra large where entities will be judged according to certain standards by a panel. As this is the very first time that awards of this nature are being given in the country we expect to address any future shortcomings based on our information gathered now ”, he said.
“In recent years, the highly competitive business situation in the global economy stresses many Sri Lankan employees. However, we know that excellent staff members cannot provide wonderful contributions for their company without good physical and mental health. Therefore, we believe that the management and executive officials should be responsible for corporate performance as well as for their employees’ health management”, Director Standards and Regulations Division, Intellectual Property and Innovation Department of JETRO Kei Kawano said,
“Japan has shifted its focus from business performance to workforce. The two organisations launched this new award to raise public recognition of enterprises engaging in health and productivity management and thereby further promote such management programs.
All activities are based on the ‘Health and Productivity Stock Selection’ program held in Japan by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). The project aims to promote the selected enterprises as an attractive investment option for investors who prioritise the improvement of corporate value from a long-term perspective, he said. Corporate Health Programs are critical for maximising performance, particularly in volatile economic times. Such programs are proven to improve engagement, retention, productivity and performance, all of which results in a healthier and positive thinking workforce providing higher product quality and customer service. Today’s challenging global economic landscape continues to place significant pressures on organisations to continuously boost productivity and performance. For some organisations, improvements are critical to staying in business and as such incorporating or continuing wellness programs are one such way they can sustain their competitive advantage.
All participant companies of the Sri Lanka Corporate Health and Productivity Awards will be categorised as extra large, large, medium and small, based on employee numbers.