Wellbeing - How employees feel about stress, pressure at work and life balance
The Wellbeing factor is closely linked with Fair Deal. If the scores for Fair Deal are low, the first place we’d recommend you look is Wellbeing.
If Wellbeing is also low, it may be that employees are being worked too hard and feel they are not being fairly remunerated for it.
The company understands that quality time is crucial to overall employee wellbeing, and ensures that all staff have their birthday off every year. It shows gratitude to one star performer weekly by awarding them an all-expenses paid break at a luxury barn in the Lake District, including paid leave and £100 spending money.
To ensure that the company informs its colleagues, improvements, developments, and successes both big and small are communicated. It has an open-door policy and adopts a non-hierarchal approach to feedback. Is leadership team alternates weekly ‘Tea Trolley’ duties, providing opportunities to share ideas/feedback whilst delivering yummy treats.
It is keen to help employees develop and grow, and achieve their own professional and personal goals. Due to the nature of the service it provides, it relies on its colleagues’ strength and passion. When Health Assured was formed, demand for workplace wellbeing solutions was a shadow of what it would become.
Ontic is committed to creating an open and supportive culture. It wants employees to feel comfortable speaking about how menopause-related symptoms may be affecting them at work and be able to ask for the support that they need to help manage their symptoms. Managers have been provided support to help them have conversations about menopause.
Ontic has a dedicated People Managers' Communication channel - a monthly, action-driven communication platform with clear expectations of what managers are expected to read/understand and share/do with their teams. This is backed up by a dedicated Managers Hub which provides managers with all the information they need to do their job effectively.
The company continues to see considerable growth in the business through acquisitions. However, this means that it has inherited a lack of female representation at all levels. To tackle this, Ontic employed 30 new starters, of which 17 were female, and it has seen increased numbers of women joining its Early Careers Programme.
The healthcare provider has implemented Menopause Support initiatives to raise awareness, with the hope to erase the stigma around this topic. Additionally, it has created a social and wellbeing committee to engage employees in more social activities as well as activities to promote physical health.
The company launched its Leadership Academy last year aiming to empower its junior and first-line manager cohorts to maximise their potential and bring about positive change within their departments. Additionally, it released a digital skills programme, providing comprehensive training opportunities across many subjects including Microsoft Teams, Advanced Power BI, and Project Management.
With a desire to increase the personal engagement of the Head of Departments, it equips leaders with the ability to lead change positively and recognise their role in establishing a healthy culture within their direct span of influence and beyond. This program will enable relationships between departments to strengthen and drive home company values.
RSM UK has an annual wellbeing campaign called ‘JanYOUary’ which is designed to help its people to invest time in themselves, supported by a month-long calendar with activity ideas. Each year, the campaign’s focus is adapted to keep it relevant. The organisation has also signed the Global Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health pledge.
The organisation utilises open communication between all levels of the business through its Employee Voice Champions (responsible for improving the employee experience at RSM UK), Talk to the Top (employees meet with the leadership team to discuss issues), and Diversity and Inclusion Network Groups (helping to shape the organisation’s EDI policies).
In the 12 months up to 31st March 2023, the RSM UK Foundation made charitable donations of a value of over £730,000. These donations included over £15,000 to Trees for Cities to support ongoing environmental projects and more than £110,000 in partnership with UNICEF in its appeals for Pakistan Floods and the Syria-Türkiye Earthquake.
Employee wellbeing is a key focus for Vindis Group’s Board of Directors; and, as such, the implementation of many initiatives has been supported. These include: a robust internal wellbeing programme, including optional ‘Welfare Meetings’; access to Occupational Health Therapists, funded by the Company; four Mental Health First Aiders; and mandatory mental health training.
The Vindis Group launched a new 'Vision Cube' for the organisation, to provide clarity and direction with respect to the vision and values of the Company. The Vision Cube has six distinct elements: Pioneering Mindset; Sustainable Process; Outstanding Outcomes; Customer Obsession; High Performance Culture; and Exceptional People.
The Vindis Group offers access to leadership development programmes – accredited by the Institute of the Motor Industry. ‘Aspire’ seeks to further develop individuals who are beginning to demonstrate the mindset and behaviours intrinsic to potential future leadership roles. It has a comprehensive application and enrolment process, and welcomes 30 individuals each year.
Employees already benefit from retail discounts and medical cashback, and there is now additional cost-of-living support. All staff can apply for up to £500 from The Stowe Helping Hand Fund if they find themselves with an unexpected bill they’re struggling to pay, such as a broken boiler or car breakdown.
Stowefest is the annual get-together for all the firm’s legal teams. There are opportunities for training and development and to hear from inspirational external speakers. And 2022 saw the first ‘Best in Stowe’ awards gala dinner. There were more than 100 nominations, with peer-nominated categories including Best Newcomer and Most Valuable Player.
New starters benefit from an enhanced induction process. They get IT equipment and access to the firm’s people system before they start. They’re also allocated a buddy and have a virtual meet and greet with the CEO. An extended settling-in period has replaced the probation period, and they can access benefits from day one.
SMS offers a number of different forms of leave depending on an employee’s circumstance including compassionate leave, fertility treatment, miscarriage, bereavement, and other unfortunate or unforeseen circumstances. Paid time for dependents - emergency cover, unpaid. It has 2023 increased our paternity leave package to two weeks of full pay.
SMS has continued to ensure engagement with its people. Organisational clarity has come from the CEO, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief People Officer having regular contact with employees via short video updates, e-mails, texts, pulse surveys, and five employee resource groups. The organisation’s mission, vision, and purpose were communicated via annual performance and development reviews.
It has also recently introduced a bespoke management development programme (MDP) - which has been designed to ensure its managers and team leaders have the core skills and competencies needed to perform their jobs successfully. The programme consists of a number of managerial, coaching, and developmental modules.
There is a dedicated team that focuses on mental health and overall wellbeing for all team members. The agency also offer all managers Mental Health for Managers training. This course includes modules that cover the fundamentals of mental health, diminishing stigma, and cultivating a sense of assurance when engaging in conversations with their teams.
The agency's underlying value is People First. By practising open communication, inclusivity, and providing channels for feedback and employee representation, it creates a supportive and engaging work environment. To encourage open dialogue, the organisation established an Ask the Board channel. This platform allows all employees to directly ask questions or provide feedback to board members.
Rocketmill has launched its Academy; a structured 3-month training programme across its 2 largest departments. Each attendee has a mentor and works through the same syllabus with the aim to complete a final test and be awarded a permanent contract. This programme has allowed the agency to nurture and grow talent.
The organisation provides gym membership for its employees which includes access to the flagship Fitness First gym in the basement of the building. It also launched the Listening Squad to offer support and guidance to employees in need. They are available for regular support and promoted the Time to Talk Week.
All teams have morning meetings to get them motivated. Activities include spinning a wheel to win a prize. Team nights out aren’t just about drinking, but also doing competitive activities or games such as bowling, escape room and shuffleboard. On a Friday each month it holds a fun activity within the office like ‘X-Factor Friday’.
The Charity Champions team organises a programme of fundraising events throughout the year and last year the organisation raised £18,000. Fundraising activities included The Royal Parks Half Marathon, The Queen’s Jubilee Bake sale, World Cup events in the office, Football Jumper Day, sponsored a music evening, Christmas Jumper Day donations, and Halloween dress-up day.
The Big Circle Move initiative was launched in support of physical health. 725 members of staff participated in a 30-day active challenge of moving for 30 minutes every day in May. A total of 40,730 miles of activity was completed and three winners received an Apple Watch in recognition of looking after their physical health.
The organisation’s values and principles are Respect, Compassion, Selflessness, Support, Agility, Bravery, Collaboration, and Commitment. The leadership team live these values and principles every day, setting an example for the staff. Every employee was invited to have candid and direct conversations with the COO about the business
The organisation has created a dedicated career development hub which enables employees to map out their professional careers within the organisation, regardless of role. Circle Health Group believes in growing and developing talent from within and there are numerous clinical and non-clinical opportunities available.
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