As we approach the end of the financial year, Australian businesses are reviewing what is required for success in the year ahead. As discussions of budgets, overheads and profit margins are prioritised, leaders must prioritise investing in their people. 

We know that supporting your people is good for them and their business. People feeling their best, both in and out of work, perform better in their roles. Besides, those who feel supported by their company are more likely to build a sense of loyalty – happy people mean higher employee retention. 

But, when looking at your bottom line, deciding how to invest in your people might be daunting without breaking the bank.

Whether your business model is a startup, SME or national corporation, there are considerations in setting budgets for the year ahead.

Tips for budget setting

  1. Survey employees to identify problem areas. What’s working well? Where is there room for improvement? What are some potential solutions?
  2. Consider what you have. Take stock of the wellbeing initiatives you already have – while hybrid working is excellent. It is not enough as it is considered a minimum expectation. 
  3. Consider what initiatives can be run in-house. Is anyone in your team qualified in a skill outside of work that they could bring in to help colleagues? (i.e. yoga trainers, meditation etc.). Set aside appropriate time for them to run this alongside their workload. 
  4. Are you able to offer employees extra time to complete initiatives outside of the office? For example, volunteering days or mental health and wellbeing days in addition to annual leave. 
  5. Consider your BAU budget. What small things can you do to help reward employees regularly? This might be a wellness budget (i.e. discounts on local gyms, vouchers for wellbeing activities outside of work, learning sessions, weekly/monthly employee awards). 
  6. Where can you bring in partners to use their expertise? Consider wellness coaches, monthly massages, nutritionists, etc. 
  7. Consider partnering with an Employee Assistance Program. EAPs have a host of toolkits you can use, as well as counselling sessions for those that need support. The program is confidential, and sessions can be redistributed to those in need if your budget isn’t spent across the team. 

Regarding workplace wellbeing, culture is usually led from the top. You can implement any necessary actions, methods and initiatives as leaders to help drive good culture, but whatever your budget, investing in your people is always good for business. 

Siobhann Provost

Senior Writer, My Business

Siobhann has over 18 years human resources business partnering experience in large organisations. She more recently established and led a people advice team of senior workplace advisors before moving into content writing.