MTR Elizabeth line sped off with the 2023 Health and Wellbeing Award for Smaller Employers at the Personnel Today Awards ceremony and party at Grosvenor House Hotel this evening.
The judges noted that MTR Elizabeth line has achieved the lowest absence rates in the rail industry and described the new train line as ‘outstanding work in every way’ with clear metrics demonstrating how investment in Health and Wellbeing can lead to better customer satisfaction. We profile the winning entry and those of the runners-ups on a tightly contested category. Sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group.
WINNER
MTR Elizabeth line
Health and wellbeing is a core business objective for MTR Elizabeth line, which operates the London to Reading London Underground route. As well as being the right thing to do for its employees, it also needed to ensure they remained engaged during the project’s significant delays.
It has appointed a new head of occupational health and wellbeing, who is responsible for delivering the health and wellbeing programme. New policies, guidance and initiatives have been delivered since he joined the business in January 2023, and in the first part of the year the organisaiton focused specifically on mental health and musculoskeletal disorders – the two biggest contributors to lost time.
Onsite physiotherapy has been introduced, offering fast access to assessment and treatment. There are new automated blood pressure monitoring machines, and early intervention through the private sector is promoted to allow people to get back to work sooner than they would if they were waiting for an NHS appointment.
Mental health first aiders have been trained and a new mental health and workplace culture programme focuses on destigmatising poor mental health and improving openness. An EAP is offered and its wellbeing centre has been rebranded as Celebrating You, which has increased engagement levels and accessibility.
MTR Elizabeth line says it has the lowest absence rate in the industry and tops the customer satisfaction table for all London transport modes.
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RUNNERS-UP
Birketts
Top 50 law firm Birketts has around 1,000 employees in East Anglia, London and Kent. Recognising that working in the legal sector can often be stressful and presenteeism is commonplace, it launched its THRIVE health and wellbeing programme in 2020.
THRIVE was developed with input from Suffolk Mind and was initially developed to focus on mental health, physical health, sleep and nutrition, but has since been expanded to encompass menopause, financial wellbeing, immune system, gut health and more. Its programme of activity includes webinars to promote its EAP and private medical insurance, training and education sessions for staff and line managers, talks from external experts, yoga and exercise classes, and a firm-wide step challenge. A particularly powerful activity was its ‘My Story’ films, which saw colleagues, a senior partner and external speakers share their personal experiences of mental health difficulties, among other challenges.
THRIVE has supported policy changes and enhancements to benefits, including significant improvements to sick pay, enhanced maternity/shared parental leave pay, and the provision of Bupa private medical insurance to all staff. Last year the firm recruited a dedicated wellbeing nurse who provides confidential support.
Birketts saw its employee net promoter score increase from +39 to +49 in 2023 (+30 is considered excellent). The score for the statement “my line manager cares about by personal wellbeing” increased from 8 in 2021 to 8.4 in 2023.
Dishoom
Restaurant chain Dishoom had a strong wellbeing offering, but it decided to engage with its team further to understand their personal wellbeing priorities and how they have changed. This resulted in it refining its approach and focusing activity around three pillars: mental, physical and financial wellbeing.
Under the mental wellbeing pillar, it partnered with a clarity of thought expert to help its teams understand how their thinking affects their world. General managers and head chefs went on a three-day leadership retreat to explore this further and learn about stress management and listening and understanding others among other topics, while a six-week manager programme covered self- and team- awareness and cognitive flexibility. It also offers mental health first aid training, access to the Calm app, an EAP and a Here 2 Help email address for staff who need support.
To support physical health, the company encourages walking meetings and offers spin, yoga, dance and box fit classes. Other benefits include gym discounts and a cycle-to-work scheme.
Financial wellbeing is supported through access to free workshops on managing money, a budgeting guide, early wage access, and interest-free loans. It also offers four-day weeks at full-time pay in its delivery kitchens and has reduced double-shifts and late finishes to prevent burnout.
This year Dishoom was ranked best place to work in hospitality on Glassdoor.
Health Assured
As an employee assistance programme (EAP) provider, Health Assured has a strong culture focused on employee wellbeing.
Colleagues have access to an EAP so they can seek confidential advice and the company operates a ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ drop in sessions where team members can meet a counsellor or mental health first aider to discuss any concerns in a safe space. These sessions are held in its wellbeing room, which at other times is used for mindfulness and reflection. Over 10% of its workforce are qualified mental health first aiders and it intends to roll out suicide first aid training. Health Assured also provides training on resilience, mindfulness and difficult conversations.
Other benefits include a cash plan offering access to virtual GP appointments, dental care and discounted gym membership. Physical wellbeing is promoted through virtual fitness classes and fruit deliveries, and all colleagues receive private health insurance after five years’ service.
Regular ‘town hall’ meetings and Q&As with the CEO take place, where the company can gather honest feedback from employees. The leadership team alternate weekly ‘tea trolley’ duties, providing an opportunity to share ideas or feedback while delivering treats to employees.
Engagement in sentiment surveys has increased by 12%, with key takeaways from the April 2023 being that colleagues agree employee wellbeing is prioritised.
RSPCA
Animal welfare charity RSPCA, whose frontline staff regularly deal with neglected, abused or sick animals, knew it was losing thousands of working days to sickness, costing over £1.3m. Having the right support in place for its employees was a priority.
In 2021 it introduced TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) – a trauma-focused peer support system designed to help people who have experienced a traumatic, or potentially traumatic, event. The TRiM team have responded to over 75 referrals from colleagues following traumatic incidents, including an Avian Flu outbreak at one of its wildlife centres. Feedback provided by TRiM users has been very positive:
Mental health awareness training for managers was delivered by Mind. RSPCA had weekly courses during 2021, but since then these have continued to be offered as quarterly sessions for new managers or those who wish to refresh their knowledge. A wellbeing and resilience module has also been introduced to its online training programme for managers.
As some colleagues carry firearms or have access to controlled drugs, as support panel was developed to assist managers of those who are struggling with mental health concerns to determine whether access to this equipment poses a risk.
All wellbeing support resources are available on a dedicated microsite and are promoted through regular comms. It has an EAP that offers an annual health check and discounted gym membership, and there is also a healthcare cash plan.
Trowers & Hamlins
Law firm Towers & Hamlins found that its partners were not engaging with firm-wide wellbeing initiatives and decided to develop a tailored partner wellbeing programme.
Launched in 2022, the partner wellbeing programme focuses on mental health, sleep, heart and brain health, role-modelling good wellbeing, supporting team wellbeing, menopause and peri-menopause, men’s health and anxiety. It is run online via Zoom to give partners from all UK and international offices a chance to attend the educational sessions. Speakers included renowned doctors, psychologists, clinicians and coaches, and helped partners to have honest conversations about their health and wellbeing rather than simply seeing each other through a professional lens.
The 2023 programme, launching this autumn, will focus on topics such as burnout, compassionate leadership and maintaining peak performance.
Feedback following the 2022 programme showed that partners now feel empowered to speak up about challenges and know that they can ask for help without fear of judgement.
One participant said: “Although I was nervous about talking about my personal experience, I felt able to because of the supportive nature of the programme. Ultimately, the programme has enabled us to show our human side and in turn have a greater understanding of one another.”
Wigan & Leigh College
Wigan & Leigh College offers its people a wide variety of activities to support their health and wellbeing, ranging from mindful crafting sessions to sporting activities.
Many of its staff are trained in mental health first aid and it has invested in face-to-face counselling in response to feedback from staff surveys. Its Time to Walk initiative encourages staff to take a break and walk between meetings, or make use of outdoor space for meetings with colleagues.
Regular sporting activities include a bootcamp, football competitions, yoga, staff sports day, golf and guided walks.
Recognising that climate change is a major source of anxiety for some employees, it hopes to support staff to become ‘greener’ through a carbon literacy training programme and a salary sacrifice scheme allowing them to purchase a electric or hybrid car.
To support staff through the cost-of-living crisis, it has promoted free haircuts and discounted beauty treatments.
A recent Ofsted inspection recognised that staff health and wellbeing was “strong”. Pulse surveys received an 86% positive response to the statement “I feel the college takes positive action on health and wellbeing” and an 84% positive response to “Do you think there is a supportive culture in your department”.
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