34 . Glasgow Business May/June 2014


> Health lessons


Creating a mentally healthy workplace has all sorts of positive spin offs, including a reduction in absence. The organisation Healthy Working Lives provides free management training to help realise that aim. Alex Connor, Senior Health Improvement


Practitioner at Healthy Working Lives, said: “Line managers have a crucial role to play in the health and wellbeing of employees. They are key to identifying the factors that contribute to a mentally healthy workplace and our training gives them the confidence to deal with issues that can arise. “We focus on recognising the stigma


around mental health. The most common reason for people being off work is stress. Although stress is a state not an illness, it can lead to anxiety or depression which can result in long-term absence.” The popular Healthy Working Lives course, which runs every five weeks, covers areas such as the physical environment, healthy eating, physical activity, regular breaks and one to ones with staff which help contribute to a mentally healthy workplace. “Managers want to know more and they


want more support,” said Alex. “It’s vital they receive it since they are the ones who have a key influence on the success of their business.”


>Continued from page 33


work on effective manager training. She said: “My research with SMEs shows that managers are oſten ‘home grown’ people who have been with their firm for a while, and know how the firm works. Tey are oſten promoted to a management role, perhaps because of technical excellence. However, it’s essential that they also have the opportunity to acquire the necessary people leadership skills for their role.” One of the most obvious barriers to training is


cost – some formal training courses can be expensive. However, as well as the type of cost-effective courses run by the Chamber of Commerce (see facing page), Jill said that SMEs are adopting other interesting development approaches. “We’ve seen examples of companies


partnering with others to offer secondments. A large organisation may want to re-inject entrepreneurship into their operations, while a small organisation may want to develop leadership skills – a swap of senior leaders can see lessons learned both ways.” Jill also highlighted the idea of external


mentoring and external coaching, which gives managers the opportunity to consider different leadership perspectives as they develop their own leadership style. Research reveals the strong need for


succession planning in smaller organisations – managers shouldn’t simply be trained when they


are in post. Businesses should look at their staff, and ask ‘Who do we have that could take on a leadership role in the future and what kind of development can we offer them now?’ “A bad manager can lead to poor staff


engagement and people leaving the company,” said Jill. “If you don’t invest in good quality management training you could lose good quality staff. Offering development opportunities is good for business. It helps your employer brand, creates a good place to work and helps you retain your best people.” She advised on the need to take time to think


about who organises management learning within your business. Whether it’s the owner- founder, an office manager or a HR professional, someone needs to take responsibility for enabling effective management training. Jill also stressed the need to think about what


training is on offer and what you want as a business. For example, if you intend to hire an independent consultant it’s important to know they have the same values and understand your business culture. However, she said the advantages of training


are manifold. “If SMEs invest in management training, they will see payback. Tey’ll notice increased engagement and motivation, staff satisfaction and productivity – happier employees are more productive and more likely to go that extra mile. Ultimately, a good manager is worth his/her weight in gold to any business.”


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