Born from seeing the need for improved mental health and wellbeing support in the workplace pre-pandemic, Key Wellbeing is now entering its third year of business and is on a mission to help more organisations across the North East to create significant, positive changes where employees feel seen, heard and supported.
Co-founders, Marie Ranson and Melissa Armstrong launched Key Wellbeing with wideeyed excitement back in February 2020 with a simple plan to support the local Teesside region with the health and wellbeing of their employees.
With over 18 years of wellbeing experience between them in personal development training and several holistic therapies, as well as first-hand experience of workplace burnout and juggling busy lifestyles, the diligent duo set off on their earnest mission to initially deliver on-site training, lunch and learn sessions, in-house yoga, healthy living workshops and more.
Encouragingly, in just a few short weeks after launch, the business had interest from large sporting retailers, banks and local industry, until Coronavirus struck and the UK went into lockdown.
With a determination to make sure all employees, regardless of their gender, age or job role felt supported through these unprecedented times, the SME pivoted plans and instead, created a library of free, online wellbeing resources with expert trainers, therapists, and lifestyle coaches.
Encouraged by user data and the demand for such resources, led to reimagining their entire business model and adopting a complete digital approach, with the creation of an online platform that covers the full spectrum of employee wellbeing support; The Key Wellbeing Hub.
The Hub is now home to 1000+ hours of ondemand, easily accessible content including accredited e-learning courses, fitness classes, guided meditations, lifestyle savings, industry expert interviews, quick link helplines and more.
Fast-forward to 2023, and Key Wellbeing is a multi-award winning business with a talented team of four and an all-encompassing support offering under its belt.
Co-founder and Commercial Director, Marie Ranson, said: “We’re rolling with an everchanging world.
Pre-pandemic, wellbeing was thought of as a ‘fluffy, nice to have’. It was only when Covid hit and the rapid shift to remote working blurred work-life lines that employers really started to acknowledge the impact that poor mental health can have on their people and their bottom line, meaning they had to step up their support.
Nowadays, employees know what they want and deserve when it comes to wellbeing support in the workplace and are actively seeking organisations that evidently put their people first.
They’re overwhelmed, stressed and burning out, perhaps now more than ever before, with stats showing that over half of ALL working days lost in 2021/22 were due to work-related ill health. And given the current cost-of-living crisis, inflation, rising energy prices etc. we can hardly be surprised that people are feeling this way.
Employee wellbeing needs have and will continue to change, and we get that it can feel like an absolute minefield and at times, impossible to keep up for busy HR leaders and people managers that already wear so many hats.”
With that in mind, Key Wellbeing is determined to make it easier for every organisation to get wellbeing right, starting with a Company Culture Health Check.
Co-founder and Creative Director, Melissa Armstrong said: “It’s time for organisations to switch up their wellbeing game and find solutions that last. To do that, we reckon changes need to be made at a grassroots level.
That means putting the HUMAN back into HR, making the workplace a safe, non-judgemental space where employees dare to open up and be themselves.
And making sure people managers and leaders are equipped with the soft skills and knowledge needed to support staff properly is crucial.
It’s about recognising that wellbeing is so much more than just our mental or physical health and making sure the full spectrum is covered!”
Key Wellbeing can help organisations with the full shebang, including tailored culture consultancy support, accredited training courses, bespoke wellbeing strategy development and engaging wellbeing initiatives that break the typical ‘workplace wellbeing’ mould focussing on FUN, CONNECTION and finding genuine HAPPINESS at work.