N.B. Many of our clients require confidentiality to ensure security or protect brand reputation. We therefore don’t include identifying features.
A new SME with a large public-sector contract. Staff were high-skilled, essentially office-based professionals, who worked on computers throughout the day (some had occasional international travel). Business continuity rested on generating new business and maintaining the current client base.
• To enable optimal wellbeing and to ensure staff knew they were valued.
• To recruit and retain the best staff.
• To ensure optimal performance at individual, team and organisation levels.
All but one company member completed a:
• Detailed, individual interview using our ‘Cultural Psychological Wellbeing Assessment’.
• Work-related stress questionnaire as a benchmark for future comparison and for tentative comparison against cross-industry averages.
A detailed understanding of how the Company’s culture, strategy and everyday practice affected its staffs’ psychological wellbeing, in-house communication, performance and business security.
• For many, the company was the best they’d worked for. Nearly everyone had good health/psychological wellbeing and daily, work experiences were directly seen to promote psychological wellbeing attributes and performance. In particular, staff felt part of a valued community and aligned to the company’s goals which had personal meaning.
• Management were personally committed to ensuring staff wellbeing. They actively: contributed to a supportive, growth culture; demonstrated and encouraged good personal health behaviour; and managed appropriate work load and work/rest balance.
• Some office physical health and safety requirements had not been met and mental health systems were not in place. Further, concerns were raised in relation to the early signs of a division in the organisation, role and task clarity, two-way communication and the meeting of individual work-support needs.
The management requested a detailed report to gain full understanding of their staffs’ experience and its effects on wellbeing and performance.
74 recommendations were given to address concerns and to reinforce and improve upon good practice. Each was given a level of risk and urgency to help the managers prioritise. Others were noted as ‘quick wins.’
• Most were to improve everyday practice and systems that would directly enhance specific psychological wellbeing attributes and, in turn, performance.
• Others were to meet basic health and safety requirements, to develop a strong mental-health informed culture, and to promote positive, personal wellbeing.
We met twice with the Director and Head of Operations to discuss the findings and how best to embed the recommendations in cultural practice. These were used to inform decision-making and to guide progress.
Head of Operations – “The report was objective and detailed: It was a fascinating read. We now know what we need to do to get our staff to their best, and importantly why we need to do it and why it will work.”
Team member – “Your assessment hits the nail on the head… Wellbeing at work isn’t about gym memberships and fruit bowls. It’s about how we’re treated each day. How we’re helped to be at our best for ourselves and work. I said this is the best company I’ve worked for. Now I know why. And with the bosses working with you, it’s going to be even better.