The emotional wellbeing of people depends on many factors apart from their own selves, including the health and wellbeing of the people they value the most. Issues such as the illness of a loved one in the family, a financial crisis or a legal matter may trigger stress or anxiety, and subsequently affect the productivity and health of the person’s own self. The wellbeing of people, to an extent, is dependent on the people around them.
To address this factor, food delivery major, Swiggy, has come up with a curated wellness programme for all its employees. Called ‘Built around you’, the programme includes benefits for every cohort of the Swiggy family, including on-roll employees, off-roll employees who are supplied by third-party consultants the organisation has on board, kitchen staff who work under Swiggy Access and also its delivery partners. Focusing on the four pillars of physical, mental, financial and legal wellness, the programme is facilitated with the help of a mobile application. To make it truly exclusive, Swiggy has allowed employees to extend the benefits to three additional members, who may consist of their family members or anyone they hold near and dear to them.
Girish Menon
The uptake on the programme has been good, bringing on board almost one person every minute
Benefits provided by the organisation include unlimited telephonic or video consultation sessions with doctors, counsellors to look after their emotional wellness, psychologists, dieticians, as well as financial and legal experts.
Girish Menon, head-HR, Swiggy, says, “Apart from physical and mental health, there are many other factors which can lead to stress and emotional imbalance in a person. To include the full range of wellness, we have involved legal and financial experts who can advise employees on financial planning and offer legal advice, as and when required.”
The Company has included on-site wellness programmes as well, which includes health check-ups, wellness workshops and webinars. The platform has been designed to provide customised recommendations for employees. For instance, for employees looking to improve their health, there are sessions on weight reduction, on cutting addictions, such as smoking, as well as diabetes management for those who need them. It also includes maternity care sessions and marital counselling sessions provided by experts for employees willing to avail these facilities.
In addition to a discount on gym membership, the programme includes physiotherapy sessions, home nurse visits and at-home diagnosis facility for employees, their family members and friends.
To avail at-home facilities, such as nurse visits and physiotherapy sessions, employees will have to pay a subsidised fee to the vendor supplying the facilities, while on- call consultations and virtual sessions are completely free of cost.
To make it more engaging for the employees and their dependents who avail these facilities, the platform has been gamified. Users can participate in fitness tasks and challenges, and earn fitness coins. The programme will keep on suggesting additional programmes for the users to try out according to their history of use, much like on-demand streaming services that are commonly used.
While the programme provides a range of benefits, the availability of benefits has been customised for each cohort of employees. For instance, the delivery partners can avail a one-click helpline through which they can consult with a doctor, while the kitchen staff can seek out an on-demand counsellor for emotional wellbeing. Moreover, if delivery partners were to log in using their IDs, the interface and facilities accessible to them would differ from what would be available to employees in the corporate office.
The programme went live for the delivery partners from April 1 itself, and since initiation, it has seen more than 2000 signups and over 1000 consultations with on-call experts. For the rest of the employees in the organisation, Swiggy launched the programme on April 6, a day before World Health Day. “In about two hours after the launch, over 120 people signed up for the benefits and we have already witnessed over 150 consultations till now. The uptake on the programme has been good, bringing on board almost one person every minute,” says Menon.
“Building a great culture is all about truly nurturing a work environment where people thrive. Holistic development is imperative for building an enduring organisation, and wellness plays a key role in this. We at Swiggy understand that the wellness of every Swiggster also depends on the wellness of their dear ones. Hence, we’ve created a comprehensive programme that’s not just built for them, but built around them,” concludes Menon.
Fresh into the HR beat, Arindam began his writing career by volunteering as a student writer during his college days. A fan of almost all kinds of sweets, he enjoys light music. He hails from Assam and holds chai as the best beverage.
