Base your health and wellbeing strategy on people, not theories
PRP senior partner Brendan Kilpatrick believes staff wellbeing is at the heart of the company's success
It’s important to consider the specific needs of your team and ensure you’re reaching them in the right way.
Otherwise, you could end up wasting a lot of time and money.
Talk to employees about their challenges
Architectural firm PRP developed a wellbeing policy about five years ago. It’s designed to benefit employees, of course, but also to support the productivity of the company.
“I think it's a very simple metric: if staff are feeling good and their health and wellbeing is protected, then their performance is enhanced. How our teams work is very important because that's basically the root of our success,” senior partner Brendan Kilpatrick said.
“To give a practical example, we have a very capable member of staff who runs our bids – we can't afford for her to get ill. So when she came to us with an issue, we knew we needed to put something in place to protect not only our staff but also our business.”
It’s all too easy to dabble in a bit of research and find the most common reasons behind work-related stress, then use this to inform your wellbeing strategy. But if you really want to make a difference to your employees, you need to find out what challenges they’re facing and base your strategy around them.
“We’ve formed our policy around our experiences. The first few instances of staff coming to us with issues really helped us to know what to look for. So we’ve built it up ever since then, based on what our colleagues have told us they’ve struggled with, to create something bespoke,” Brendan explained.
“To give a practical example, we have a very capable member of staff who runs our bids – we can't afford for her to get ill. So when she came to us with an issue, we knew we needed to put something in place to protect not only our staff but also our business.”
Brendan Kilpatrick, senior partner, PRP
Discuss health and wellbeing in appraisals
Not everyone will get to the point where they have a wellbeing issue they need to raise – but that doesn’t mean they don’t need support. Having a strategy in place is about prevention more than cure.
“We've got a highly developed appraisal system, so that's where a lot of the information we use comes from. It’s designed to find out needs in relation to training, but can also pick up any mental health issues that might need addressing,” Brendan said.
They also keep their policy dynamic to ensure it keeps up with individuals’ needs. It’s evolved considerably in the last year, to offer online mental health seminars and reopen closed offices for those unable to work comfortably from home, for instance.
Be proactive in creating an open culture
It can be intimidating to approach a senior member of staff, which is why health and wellbeing problems often go under the radar.
Brendan believes that his staff feel comfortable enough to go to HR with sensitive issues because the company proactively cultivates an open culture. There are things he’s built into his wellbeing practices to encourage people to come forward.
“We mark Mental Health Awareness Week every year with get-togethers and discussions – I think that has been really important because it shows that the practice takes these issues seriously,” he explained.
“It also helps our staff who are feeling a certain way or struggling with something to realise that they're not the only one. They know there are other people in the company who are feeling the same because they’ve had the chance to share it.”
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website: http://www.prp-co.uk
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location: London
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business type: Professional services, finance & banking
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business size: 100-249
Top takeaways
People need to feel comfortable talking about mental health
Get to know your employees individually to identify needs
Keep your wellbeing strategy dynamic