How do you support your Mental Health First Aiders?
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) can be an integral part of your organisation’s strategy designed to create a culture where mental health is managed effectively. Many organisations appear to think this will be the ‘tick in the box’ that is mental health and wellbeing.
Ultimately, MHFA is as effective and as limited in what it can achieve as traditional first aid. We do not expect traditional first aiders to cover all aspects of workplace safety, or to take the place of paramedics, doctors or nurses, nor should we expect Mental Health First Aid to cover all aspects of employee mental health and wellbeing, or to take the place of counsellors or therapists.
The Role of MHFA
It is important that the business and the person undertaking the training understand the role of the Mental Health First Aider. The role of the Mental Health First Aider is to understand the signs of poor mental health, initiate conversations and to listen without judgement while signposting the individual to additional support services. It is not to diagnose or ‘fix’ other people’s personal problems.
Unfortunately, when others in the business do not fully understand the role, those trained in mental health first aid can find their colleagues offloading and sharing more than they are comfortable handling. This can result in people taking on too much of other people’s emotional baggage, which can lead to burn out.
How can you ensure you give the best and get the best from your MHFA trainees?
As well as offering MHFA training we have developed a suite of courses to ensure the employer receives a good return on their initial investment in the following ways:
Preparing for MHFA
Before investing in the full two-day MHFA training we provide a half-day workshop designed to prepare those interested in being MHFA. The workshop focuses on the skills needed to deliver MHFA and helps to build resilience.
Ongoing support for MHFA
Once delivering MHFA many people may find they are being exposed to very emotive areas that may raise issues for the individual mental health first aider, this can result in burn out if not addressed appropriately. As a therapist I have a professional supervisor to support me when things arise in therapy sessions that I find challenging. We are offering a similar service in a group setting, providing quarterly 2-hour workshops giving an opportunity to share experiences with other Mental Health First Aiders, identifying tools and techniques to build skills and opportunities to build your resilience as a Mental Health First Aider.
Resilience building for MHFA
To help those who have been MHFA trained and who may feel ill-equipped for the reality of the role, or has struggled to re-focus after supporting someone with a mental health issue, or someone who wants to build their skills so that they feel confident if they are faced with a crisis situation, we have developed a one-day resilience building workshop. This training will focus on core skills to carry out the role effectively, while supporting oneself.
For information on this and other courses aimed to support good mental health at work call me today on 01954 267640 or email info@yourpeoplepotential.co.uk
Managing change in the workplace to avoid additional cost and disruption
Change is constant, you can’t escape it so therefore businesses must have strategic plans in place to manage change or, face resistance, lower productivity, higher staff turnover and so on. Change within your organisation may require redefining roles and responsibilities, changing processes or premises and systems, or adapting service levels to continue to meet customer demands.
Many employees will resist change by nature, the biggest reason why they may do so is due to poor management of change. Other reasons employees become disruptive during organisational change is through fear of losing their job, uncertainty, loss of control, lack of reward and office politics. All of these factors can be minimised with an effective change management strategy.
These effects can be widespread and may affect the morale of your staff if they are not addressed in a timely manner. This can lead to a reduced level of efficiency and output among staff, which can affect the company’s bottom line.
You can avoid much disruption by creating a work environment in which employees feel as if they have the power to initiate change when necessary, this can also help to improve your work culture.
All companies are constantly changing and therefore change management is essential in helping your employees’ transition from the current situation to the desired one. It involves tools, skills and best practices to avoid cost and disruption.
Your People Potential can help you to establish a clear vision for change management within your business. We will work with you to provide leadership and support, set up and encourage clear lines of communication, plan, analyse and address upcoming factors that may create resistance to change in advance. We can put measurement systems in place that tell people when they are succeeding or failing and provide consequences in either case.
For an informal chat to identify changes and opportunities in your business please get in touch on 01954 267640 or jacqui@yourpeoplepotential.co.uk. The sooner organisations have a change management strategy in place the more likely they are to minimise cost and disruption.
Why isn’t wellbeing a boardroom topic?
There is no shortage of business cases for investing in the health and wellbeing of employees, first of all, the cost of absenteeism alone. A report from Centre of Economic and Business Research shows that workplace absence is costing the UK economy £18bn in lost productivity. It goes further to claim that this is an increasing trend in workplace absence, increasing year-on-year since 2011. As a result, it predicts the cost of absence will increase to £21bn in 2020.
If the figures alone are not enough to convince HR Directors, imagine that your own company spends millions of pounds each year on large machinery that is responsible for all production and output. Would you complacently wait for your machinery to break down unpredictably or continually invest in its upkeep and ongoing maintenance? Thought not… Although it seems pretty simple when you look at it this way, only 19% of businesses said that health and wellbeing of employees was vital to and at the core of their business.
So why, is employee health and wellbeing, still not a strategic boardroom topic for many businesses? 47% of companies say that they run health and wellbeing initiatives yet only 17% have a comprehensive strategy in place. Clearly it’s not due to a lack of evidence…
29% of HR Directors taking part in a recent survey cited that a lack of buy-in from senior leaders was the main barrier in implementing a successful health and wellbeing strategy. This makes me wonder whether companies have looked at the potential positive outcomes to their business by implementing a strategic approach to employee health and wellbeing. Again, why risk that expensive machinery breaking down!?
The British Heart Foundation found in the UK, case study examples of employers with wellness programmes reported the following: Reduced sickness absence, reduced staff turnover, fewer accidents and injuries, increased employee satisfaction leading to lower recruitment costs and increased productivity amongst others. Further to this, a survey conducted by Quantum Workplace and Limeade, concluded that employees were 38% more engaged and 18% more likely to go the extra mile when they felt their employers cared about their wellbeing.
The sickness absence rate is the most commonly used health and wellbeing indicator, as it connects directly with health and productivity levels. You can measure the direct cost of absence to your own business by using an online absence calculator. A further measurement you can do is to record productivity levels whilst trialling a wellbeing programme within the company. Do you process more enquiries, more orders, more sales, turnaround deliveries faster etc.? These results could imply a boost to staff productivity and support your business case to put wellbeing on the board room agenda.
If you would like to have a chat about wellbeing in your workplace or would like further information please get in touch on 01954 267640 or jacqui@yourpeoplepotential.co.uk.
Is poor Mental Health threatening your business?
I’m a strong believer that when organisations take a proactive approach to mental ill-health at work they will have less issues; they are far better equipped to identify potential problems early and to reduce and prevent stress within the organisation.
Commissioned by AXA PPP healthcare, a poll of 1,000 bosses, found that 74% currently work for businesses which have an employee health and wellbeing strategy in place. Over half of those who did not have such strategies were planning to put one in place within the next few years.
More than half of managers of medium and large-sized firms believe mental health is the biggest threat to their employees’ health over the next five years. This led me to look at the potential costs that many companies risk by not focusing on the wellbeing of their staff.
Mental ill-health is a real issue for UK businesses that needs to be addressed as part of a successful business strategy. The topic of stress and depression is now widely discussed within society, with more people in the public eye admitting that they have suffered in the past. Why should your business be any different? It’s well overdue for organisations to start encouraging their employees to speak up, and to provide the means to do so.
It is important that the signs of mental ill-health at work are recognised and understood by senior and middle management. Too often I hear talk of stress being the back ache of the 1970s, however true stress can lead to mental health issues, from anxiety and panic to depression.
So, why should you prioritise the mental health of your employees? According to Gov.uk, poor mental health costs employers between £33 and £42 billion a year. Can you afford to ignore this? I thought not…
The Centre for Mental Health estimate that positive steps to improve the management of mental health in the workplace can save employers at least 30% of the cost of lost production and staff turnover.
An initial recommendation is that all employers, large and small, should adopt 6 ‘mental health core standards’ that lay basic foundations for an approach to workplace mental health.
Providing support for employees is important for your organisation as well as for the individual concerned.
As well as financial savings, tackling mental ill-health at work can have a positive effect on:
- Employee commitment to work;
- Staff performance and productivity;
- Staff turnover or intention to leave;
- Staff recruitment and retention;
- Customer satisfaction; and
- Organisational image and reputation
Do you hear the word ‘stress’ often? Do you have a high staff turnover? Is there ongoing sickness absence across your business or in specific departments? Your People Potential can help you to take the first steps towards creating a bespoke employee wellbeing policy that works for your business.
To ensure your people managers have the right skills and experience to identify and reduce stress at work call me for an informal and confidential chat on 01954 267640 or email Jacqui@yourpeoplepotential.co.uk