The average person changes jobs 12 times throughout his or her professional career. Whereas past generations might have maintained a loyalty to one company throughout their lives, today's employee-driven job market is changing that reality. One way for companies to attract (and retain) top employee talent in order to stay competitive is through adding job perks. In fact, one recent study found that 51 percent of employers believed that using benefits to retain employees will become even more important in the next 3 to 5 years.
While many employees will certainly look for attractive 401k plans and quality employer health insurance, other benefits can also play a huge role in maintaining a motivated and dedicated workforce. A corporate fitness center might be just the perk your company needs to improve your employee talent and performance.
Why Should You Consider a Corporate Fitness Centre?
The cost of replacing an employee can range from one-half to two times the employee's annual salary. On the subject of how to retain employees with benefits, a corporate fitness center offers your employees an opportunity to achieve their fitness-related goals without having to invest in a separate gym membership. This important perk might be the difference between maintaining top employee talent and having to begin the hiring process once again.
Besides retaining employees, a corporate fitness center can also actually help to improve productivity levels for your company. Studies have shown that workday exercise can improve the wellbeing of your employees while also improving their efficiency in the workplace. In one such study, employees demonstrated a 72% improvement in time management and workload completed on days when they exercised.
While you obviously can’t force employees to go for an early morning jog before clocking in for work or on their breaks, an on-site corporate fitness facility increases the odds that your employees will get the exercise they need.
Designing Your Corporate Fitness Center
A corporate fitness centre can help you attract and retain top employee talent while improving the productivity levels of your employees. So how exactly should you go about designing such a center?
To begin the design of your center, it is important to understand what corporate fitness is. Rather than a full-on weight room or racquetball court, a quality corporate fitness center should focus on low-intensity aerobic exercise, as this type of exercise has been shown to be more effective than high-intensity exercise for improving productivity levels at work. Low-intensity aerobic exercises include jogging, swimming, step aerobics, rowing, and several forms of yoga, stretching, and pilates.
Essentially, you don’t want your employees to take a 30-minute break to engage in a high-intensity weight lifting regime that will leave them exhausted upon returning to work. Instead, stimulating low-intensity exercise can free up mental blocks, engage creativity levels, and actually boost energy levels.
Maximum effects on overall workplace wellness and the resulting increase in productivity can be achieved with a corporate fitness center as a part of a wider employee wellness program, such as those offered by Work-Fit.
These corporate programs should focus, at least in part, on employee fitness challenges and campaigns. They can also include the use of wearable fitness devices to help employees achieve their fitness-related goals. To help you get ideas of designs for useful and engaging on-site fitness facilities, check out these Pinterest images. Of course, the exact design of your corporate fitness center will depend on many considerations including budget, available space, and the amount of employees you have. Researching what other companies have done, finding photos of design elements that stand out to you, and working with a workplace wellness team will help significantly in creating the most cost-effective and usable fitness center for your employees.
Fitness Centers During COVID-19
Lastly, it is important to recognize that, at least in the short-term, your area’s regulations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic may continue to force corporate fitness center closures to minimize the risk of outbreaks.
Now more than ever, your employees’ fitness and wellbeing are crucial to your company’s survival. With most people taking far fewer steps and not leaving their homes or socializing as often, creating a healthy work-from-home or remote work space has become a requirement for sustainable work-life balance - granting access to virtual fitness classes and creating a culture of wellness may be just what your employees need to continue producing the quality work you expect from them.
One way to help your employees stay on track with their fitness goals even when your fitness center is closed is via at-home workout programs. Providing your employees with access to an on-demand, online fitness portal will allow your company to develop and maintain the benefits of a corporate fitness center without actually requiring a physical location.
Keep Your Workforce Fit With Work-Fit
Keeping your employees healthy and active with a corporate fitness center is a unique job perk that can help your company attract top employee talent and actually increase the productivity levels of your workforce. Work-Fit is the leading onsite injury prevention and management company for your workforce.
At Work-Fit, our wellness programs also offer fitness consultations, individual and group programming, and face-to-face interaction to help your employees develop wellness strategies to improve their health, avoid injuries, and increase productivity. Our health and fitness professionals can also help your company develop an “at-home” fitness program you can share with your employees! Contact the professionals at Work-Fit today to see how we can help you develop a functional corporate fitness center (whether brick-and-mortar, virtual, or both) to support the well-being of your entire workforce.
