Above: Panellists L-R: Marc Preston, Vertice Development Management Limited and New Foundation Counselling, Kris Kelly, ADT Workplace, Steve Hails, Tideway London and Joanne Pigram FCIM, Danaher & Walsh Group Ltd and chaired by Sam Downie, Mates in Mind
our welfare and wanted it to be truly transformational.” The panel illustrated how simple
changes that might not commonly be viewed as mental health or wellbeing have a significant impact on employee wellbeing. For instance, having all staff go through the same door to break down silos and building showers and facilities to a high standard to show workers are respected and considered. Panellists shared a range of
initiatives and their experiences providing mental health provision, from organisational changes to individual interventions. “You have to understand the
groups you’re trying to support and the environment they work in before putting any interventions in place,” said Kris Kelly, head of HSEQ and support services at ADT Workplace. “Don’t assume one solution fits
all and try to always have alternative options in place. If someone feels uncomfortable to speak to a mental health first-aider, they may appreciate an anonymous text service instead.” He added that for many
organisations, cost, energy and resources remain concerns, but demonstrated that the cost of mental wellbeing initiatives can be minimal and equally impactful. “We have a mental health lunch,
where employees bring a butty and chat. There are lots of free and low- cost initiatives, so businesses don’t have to fear it being a financial burden. Empowering your most
68
passionate employee advocates can be helpful to help drive change, too. For anyone who pays the CITB levy, there is also funding available through the employee network for mental health first-aid support.”
REAPING THE RESULTS Joanne Pigram FCIM, head of marketing and social value at Danaher & Walsh Group Ltd, shared her journey in improving the company’s mental wellbeing offering. “Soon after joining the business
I went to my first Mental Health Committee (MHC) meeting. I remember feeling quite frustrated with the typical bake-sale ideas. We have a very flat and direct structure, so I suggested to my director that I take over the MHC and they were delighted. There was already buy- in, but nobody to drive it. The first thing I did was join Mates in Mind. What really inspired me about Mates in Mind is that you do an assessment. That became the basis of our plan. It tells you where you are now and helps you get where you want to be, like a route map.” The road to improvement
involved several steps. “We sent out employee surveys to collect feedback anonymously and understand how people were feeling. We updated our policies, ran lots of comms, health and safety reporting, and ran different initiatives at speed. In our first survey, seven months later, 14% of the organisation said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the mental health provision.
By the second survey, that was down to 1%.” She acknowledged that while
some mental wellbeing initiatives have been successful, encouraging participation can be hard. It requires consistency, adaptability and creativity. “People like to be thanked, but sometimes forget to do the same for others, so we now run appreciation Fridays.”
INCLUSIVE APPROACHES Marc Preston, managing director of Vertice Development Management Limited and CEO of New Foundation Counselling, talked about inclusion as a key factor in mental wellbeing provision. “It’s important that people of various identities feel included and belong.” He spoke of the need for clear and supportive language as a sector with employees from a range of cultural identities and said the same considerations should apply to all different groups of people. “As an industry, we’re always
talking about getting more women into construction and engineering, so we need to cater to them in all areas of the business if we are really serious about women entering the workforce.” He cited the value of seemingly
small things that contribute to overall wellbeing, like ensuring menstrual hygiene products are available at work site toilets. Then he shared the value of lunchtime talks that
educate and support
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108
