Wellbeing Ambassador Programme

Due to a successful pilot study during COVID which helped many of our colleagues return to work we decided to launch a nationwide wellbeing ambassador programme.  In 2023 ,120 of our colleagues in the UK & I were trained and accredited as mental health and wellbeing ambassadors.  One of the key reasons this programme was initiated was to deliver proactive health management. 

These activities included:

• Surveillance of site-based colleagues on all activities dictated by HSE to monitor ongoing health in the workplace
• Ongoing support and training of managers on how to be more proactive with their colleagues health
• Proactive support for colleagues in the Health and Wellbeing space i.e. Menopause, Cancer Awareness, Diabetes etc.
• Leadership of the Positive Minds Programme and Mental Health and Wellbeing Ambassador (MHWA) Network to provide an extra level of colleague support
• Preventative action i.e. ergonomic assessment of lines and site activities in conjunction with the physio provision
• Introduction of specialist clinics i.e. long covid clinic’ to provide additional support in specific areas

In addition we trained ‘Nutritional Ambassadors’ from our Wellbeing Ambassadors HWA population, across all sites, to improve nutrition and healthy eating in and out of the workplace.  This will be the foundation of a pilot study to be conducted early in 2024 for the ‘MoreLife’ whole systems approach, to improve public health through food manufacturing sites in conjunction with the FDF.  The aim of this initiative will be to support the health and wellbeing of the pladis workforce and local surrounding communities, demonstrating the key role that we as a food manufacturer plays within the community i.e Launching healthy recipes on a budget.