Employee health initiatives are worth their weight in gold
As a responsible employer, the Kulmbach-based specialist in electric heating, cooling and ventilation implements a wide range of measures to continuously improve the health and well-being of its staff. Following its 2021 award, the Kulmbach-based company has once again been awarded the ‘Healthy Company’ Gold Certificate by AOK Bayern in recognition of its systematic and innovative commitment to workplace health management (BGM).
Glen Dimplex is the only company in the Kulmbach district to be certified
“Promoting employee health in the long term requires a continuous process. Glen Dimplex makes constant efforts to keep the improvement process going – and has done so since the start of our collaboration twenty years ago,” says AOK Director Klaus Knorr, praising the company’s commitment to its staff. Only 16 companies across the whole of Bavaria have been certified in total; in the Kulmbach district, Glen Dimplex is the first and, to date, the only employer to which AOK Bayern has awarded this distinction.
Michael Landgraf, Chief Human Resources Officer, refers to one of Glen Dimplex’s four core corporate values: “We care about people – which means that people are at the heart of what we do.” With this in mind, the company does everything it can to create a supportive working environment in which the health of its employees is the top priority. “This is a valuable corporate benefit that also helps us present ourselves as an attractive employer – thereby strengthening our company’s competitiveness and long-term success.”
Comprehensive audit identifies strengths and areas for improvement
The basis for this prestigious award is a comprehensive audit of Glen Dimplex’s Occupational Health Management system carried out by the AOK’s certification partner, the German Society for the Certification of Management Systems GmbH (DQS). This process identifies strengths and areas for improvement, as well as the current status of the Occupational Health Management system, in accordance with a nationwide, uniform quality standard. Particular attention was now paid to the areas for improvement identified during the initial certification.
Glen Dimplex supports the physical and mental health of its employees through a wide range of measures. These are coordinated by the four-member OHM team, comprising Helga Knopf (company social welfare officer and OHM manager), Laura Bauer (OHM student intern), Christoph Zimmermann (occupational health and safety specialist) and Manuela Lauterbach (OHM representative on the works council). The range of services extends from psychological counselling during personal crises, through physiotherapy and massages at the company’s own BGM centre, to numerous courses offered by around 20 company-wide advocates, such as active breaks, running and cycling groups, tennis, fitness classes, exercise and relaxation training, and much more.
Glen Dimplex recently demonstrated the importance it attaches to occupational safety during the installation of a new assembly line in production: using specialised analytical methods, every single work step was analysed and subsequently evaluated to assess the ergonomic strain on employees. By optimising work processes and procuring suitable production equipment, the ergonomic strain on staff on the new line was significantly reduced.
This is because Glen Dimplex regards occupational health management as a strategic task based on four pillars: occupational medicine, workplace health promotion, workplace integration management and health and safety at work. The company’s aim and commitment is to turn this into a holistic system and to firmly embed the concept of health in all areas and processes.