Research grant awarded to prove energy and wellbeing coaching = less stress & increased performance
Local Gorleston based company Energise.Me* has been awarded a £21,000 research grant from Enabling Innovation Research to Application (EIRA) which is a collaborative network of seven universities and colleges funded by Research England.
Energise.Me is a digital health and productivity coaching platform that will work with research partner the Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia (UEA) to prove that individuals within businesses – who sign up to a the study program of coaching – will see improved energy levels and less stress in both their personal lives and life in the workplace.
The study will take up to 12 delegates at a time, from different businesses who need apply, through an immersive online experience of learning with support and measurement. The process includes one-to-one coaching, action centred learning, measurement of wellbeing, energy and productivity as well as support from others in the cohort with the objective to make lasting sustainable improvements including being healthier, happier, more productive and less stressed and tired. Each programme is purely online and lasts around 3 hours per week for 4 months.
The programme will commence this September, with subsequent groups starting in October through to February 2020, with findings to be published in March 2021.
The very first company to sign up to the programme is LSI Architects, which has offices in Norwich and London. LSI has great levels of staff engagement and has already implemented a number of wellbeing initiatives including training sessions with Mind, subsidised yoga and a mentoring system. The Practice recently retained its Gold “Achieving Excellence” accreditation in the Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index and Investors in People Gold accreditation.
Ben Goode, Director at LSI Architects, comments: “The Emergise.Me project is really exciting. Although we already offer our team members a number of different initiatives to support their wellbeing, we are always looking for more ways to do so and the deep supportive nature and comprehensive content of this programme really appealed to us. I had no hesitation in signing up and we are not short of willing volunteers to take part.”
Ian Hacon, is founder and chief energy officer at Energise.Me and well-known businessman as past president of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce. Twelve years ago, Hacon went on a journey that transformed his life. He discovered that by investing time in himself both physically and mentally had a massive positive impact both personally and professionally. This took him from couch potato to a Team GB Ironman triathlete. It took the company he was a CEO of at the time from Good to Great. Ian now describes himself as an energy coach and energises business leaders and their teams. His personal mission is to help energise 10 million people through Energise.Me’s online coaching platform.
Ian said: “We’ve been helping individuals in business to make long lasting improvements in their overall energy and wellbeing for five years but have previously been unable to demonstrate this through statistics, which this grant will enable us to prove this hypothesis in a robust manner. I truly believe that each successful applicant undertaking the Energise. Me programme will save their employers around £20,000. This is part of what we are trying to prove through the research project. He added: I’m absolutely delighted to be working with EIRA and research partner the Business School at UEA.
Professor Kevin Daniels, from the Norwich Business School at the UEA who specialises in wellbeing, health and safety in the workplace said: “It is well established in the scientific literature that wellbeing leads to a variety of other benefits – including enhanced workplace performance. What we need to know more about is the practical steps organisations can take to enhance wellbeing and productivity simultaneously. This research that sits alongside the Energise.Me work will contribute to providing that knowledge – and we very much look forward to working with Energise.Me.”
Project Ambassador Dr Andy Wood, CEO at Adnams and professor at Norwich Business School said: “This is really important and innovative work. I personally believe that there is a strong business case for great wellbeing programmes, but it is vital that employers can trust the claims made by providers about the outcomes. This project will see Energise.Me work with a variety of business and individuals to do just that. I am really pleased to support it.”.
The programme is open to all businesses across the UK and internationally. If you are interested in joining the research programme. which costs £1,100 per delegate, or to find out how to apply visit www.energise.me or email ian.hacon@energise.me
