How and why Atradius won the Wellbeing Company of the Year award

Since the pandemic, employee wellbeing has been brought into sharper focus, with many companies stepping up their efforts to better support their teams. 

So, amid tight competition, I was particularly proud that Atradius UK was recently named the Wellbeing Company of the Year.

It’s a prestigious accolade, part of the Wales HR Awards 2025. For us, it reflects years of hard work to nurture a positive and inclusive workplace at Atradius. It also gives us extra reason to celebrate on what is Atradius’ 100th anniversary. 

One of the reasons our health and wellbeing strategy is so strong is its roots in employee engagement.  

After the pandemic, it had become clear that a work-life balance was at the forefront of employees' minds. Also, as flexible working took off and competition for the best employees grew, we knew that our wellbeing strategy could become a competitive advantage. 

Significant employee engagement would need to be at the heart of our new strategy - through surveys, screening and focus groups. We really wanted to speak to the individuals and understand what they would benefit from. The resulting strategy has employee voices at its centre.  

So, what did our team they tell us? That we needed to continue to focus our attention on mental, physical and financial health.

We implemented numerous measures, starting with the development of our wellbeing suite. This included upgrading our onsite gym, improving shower facilities, and introducing a wellbeing room. At the same time, we re-launched our Mental Health and Physical First Aiders Committee, ensuring that they all received refreshed training.  

Part of our approach to helping employees with their financial wellbeing included making cost-of-living payments, offering free car parking facilities and a subsidised staff restaurant in our Cardiff office. Financial wellbeing was also a key topic we wanted to focus on with employees following the pandemic. We were able to address key issues, through cost of living payments and financial wellbeing seminars held by experts within the field.

As with the employee engagement to create our wellbeing strategy, implementing our initiatives was only successful as so many people got involved. With employees across the business creating and managing initiatives. Taking on tasks such as managing budgets or leading project teams to help them further develop new skills. This even fed into employees personal development plans.  

Diverse cross-functional teams were assembled based on roles and expertise, to foster a sense of ownership and collaboration on projects.  

For instance, our Facilities department refreshed physical health first aider training and our Risk department organised run clubs for employees who were wanting to take part in 5k, 10k, and half marathons. Employees from HR, Facilities and Marketing worked together as part of a ‘100 days of Health and Wellbeing’ initiative to put on a range of events such as lunchtime walks and a mocktail making class. This initiative was in celebration of our 100^th anniversary and also included a scheme offering up to £50 to the first 100 employees who submitted applications for activities aimed at improving their wellbeing. Employees used their £50 payments for a range of things from new sports equipment, to charity donations, to adopting a new puppy.

The response from across Atradius to the roll-out of our wellbeing strategy has been incredible. We’ve seen improved employee engagement and satisfaction. People have stressed the value of a strong work-life balance at Atradius, and the difference some of these initiatives have made to their lives.  

Seen through a corporate lens, Atradius’ commitment to embedding wellbeing into our culture, whilst allowing employees to develop and succeed in the process, highlights what an organisation can achieve when people work together. 

Of course, it doesn’t stop there. We know there’s still more to be done.  Following on from the 100 days of wellbeing initiative, we're surveying colleagues for their views on how well it went, what events they liked and what they’d like to see next. 

It’s exciting to think what else we can achieve with so many of us working together in the coming months and years.  

For more information about Atradius’ commitment to employee wellbeing and inclusion, visit our careers page.