You don’t have to be a global brand like DHL to win awards but to be a top employer like them, you have to focus on employee wellbeing. I was fortunate to work with DHL this year on their wellbeing strategy and they are making great strides. Without sharing any top secret information from them specifically, I am going to outline some top tips for any size company that they can use to be an employer that focuses on wellbeing. The following 7 tips are just a few ideas but there are many many more to consider. This is just to get your creative juices flowing!
Top Tip 1 – Create a culture of openness around mental health. Be an employer that makes a point across all levels and at every opportunity to make it clear you show your commitment to mental health.
Top Tip 2 – Involve your employees – Of course your leaders need to be 100% behind this but be guided by your staff and involve them in any decisions. In fact, empower them to drive your wellbeing plan.
Top Tip 3 – Spot the signs of poor wellbeing – Are your staff experiencing any stress? Are others trained to spot the signs of mental ill health? Do managers keep in touch regularly? Do they know how to raise any concerns and what to say to employees who need help?
Top Tip 4 – Flexibility – Whilst this isn’t possible in every workplace, try and build it in where you can. Your employees should be encourage to be their whole selves. So a bit of flexibility if they need to drop their kids to school or finish early for a dental appointment or go to a family birthday party would be greatly appreciated. What is the point of your employee sitting in a traffic jam for an hour, when they could just work from home until the rush hour has passed? Then, they arrive to work refreshed, rather than frustrated by the drive.
Top Tip 5 – Mental Health First Aiders – By offering your staff the opportunity to become a first aider, not only will it improve their knowledge about mental health but it will also provide a team of people looking out for each other. Anyone can become a first aider with the accredited training from MHFA England. Wellbeing in Work are an accredited provider of the MHFA programmes. There are options ranging from a 1 hour presentation to a 2 day face to face or online course.
Top Tip 6 – Wellbeing and Health Benefits – Many employees have plans such as employee assistance programmes but don’t even know about them. This is the most common problem I come across when working with employees. So, get together all the information about whatever health related benefits are available and communicate it to employees. Make sure your Mental Health First Aiders and/or Wellbeing Champions know about these and encourage others to use them. All line managers should be fully up to speed with any employee benefits.
Top Tip 7 – Private spaces – In order to have an open conversation about an employee’s mental health, there needs to be options around where to have that conversation. Open plan offices have their advantages but make sure there are a range of choices to give people the options to speak privately. Give employees some training about how to communicate about mental health using video calls. It is quite different to face to face conversations but there are some techniques that make it easier and more effective.
Photo courtesy of DHL