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FNB takes care of its employees

FNB’s Windhoek-based wellness team provides a support platform to bank employees that helps to promote holistic wellness. Its impact on the bank’s bottom line has long been realised.

FNB’s Windhoek-based wellness team provides a support platform to bank employees that helps to promote holistic wellness. Its impact on the bank’s bottom line has long been realised.

Implemented in 2008 to actively manage and provide preventative and supportive services to positively influence the emotional, physical and social environment for employees, FNB says its Employee Wellness Programme has had a positive impact on the performance and productivity of all its employees.
“Our employees are the most valuable assets and crucial to reach the goals and the mission of the bank. Not only do we do this to provide products and services of excellence to customers but also to secure growth of our human capital potential,” said Jaunita Slinger, the Wellness Coordinator at FNB.
According to Slinger, the FNB Employee Wellness Programme provides services such as regular screening of life style diseases, continues health-related awareness activities, an anonymous toll-free online service available to employees and their families which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and many other lesser support structures.
“The online service provides counselling and advice on physical, emotional, spiritual and financial management at no cost,” she said.
She pointed out that a key element of its success is the visible support of management, especially exco-members which reflects that they are serious about the health and wellness of the bank’s people. They also encourages active employee participation.
“The presence of the patron of our wellness programme, the Minister of Health and Social Service, Hon. Dr Richard Kamwi, at most of our wellness events further boost the effort of the wellness team. One of the FNB values is respect and we value the unique contributions that each one of us has to make to all spheres of life,” she added.
The programme is managed from a central point with wellness educators in the different branches and business units of the bank. These educators are passionate about what they are doing and provide assistance to colleagues through the bank’s wellness values which are Confidentiality, Accessibility, Respect, Empathy and Sensitivity.                                                                                                                                          Vicky Muranda, Communications Manager at FNB Namibia said recently that the bank is pro-actively assessing various products and services on a regular basis in order to ascertain the effectiveness of its Employee Wellness Programme.
“Not only do we do this for customer products and services, but also for our people as making sure that they are happy is priority for us. Our employee numbers have increased from 1433 in 2006 to 1837 by January 2013. One of our five values is “PASSION”- We believe in enjoying what we are doing and therefore we energetically and willingly nurture caring relationships with our stakeholders of which our  people are the core. When we talk about growing at FNB we just don’t talk about growing as a bank or customer base, we also talk about growing our human potential hence ensuring tailor-made training  opportunities for our people,” she said.
The FNB Employee Wellness Policy on which the programme is based, has been summarized in the form of a booklet for quick and easy reference and is distributed to all employees.
Muranda said, this hands-on information increased the awareness of services available and led to an increase in employee participation in the programme.
“Additional screening of lifestyle diseases are regularly explored and added to the normal blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index and diabetic screening which further increase participation in the programme,” she said.

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