As a leader, you know that employee well-being is a significant priority. Unaddressed mental health issues and staff attrition cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars each year. It is the responsibility of employers and organizations to drive change so that staff is supported in the workplace. But, where do you start? How do you identify the root cause of the issues? The first steps go way beyond looking at sickness records, and getting your strategy right is essential.
Listen to YOUR Staff
One of the most important things you can do as a wellness leader is to listen to what your teams say about working conditions. Look for what is not being discussed, too, as silence could indicate fear or cultural issues. Give people different opportunities to feed their concerns to you. For example, some teams like group discussion but others will be more comfortable on a one-to-one basis. Employees should be offered an opportunity to anonymously record concerns and provide feedback to the organization.
Gain and Maintain Their Trust
Just as important as listening is gaining your staff’s trust. There is a balance between setting ground rules, being open, and respecting confidentiality. Show you mean what you say about making improvements. Your integrity is a major element in seeing change take place and showing a positive difference.
Above all, it is vital to maintain strict confidentiality when working on improvements to employee well-being, particularly on personal and sensitive issues. A single breach in confidentiality can jeopardize the entire program. Instead, give people space to think and engage in the way they find most comfortable, be transparent in your initiatives and processes, explain the goals of your initiatives, and provide evidence-based approaches to protecting their mental health.
Do a Cultural Audit
A toxic work culture leads to increased sickness levels, clinical burnout, and decreased employee well-being. As part of improving staff wellness, a cultural audit in the workplace will reveal negative elements that impact health. Overlooking culture will limit the impact of a well-being program as the two are interlinked. The audit also gives you a baseline to measure any changes to demonstrate an effect. By making minor improvements in culture, such as showing staff they are listened to, you will start to improve the feeling of well-being.
Decide Your Measurements
If you plan to improve the well-being of your employees, decide on some robust measures so you can demonstrate the impact and secure ongoing support and sustainable funding. Develop your baseline on issues such as staff absenteeism, validated stress tools, and others. Some will be quantitative, but qualitative measures and client experience can offer effective feedback on how the program is progressing. Case studies are another insightful way of measuring employee well-being, as they map a journey and show how healthier workplaces can make a difference.
Be Inclusive
One of the first steps in improving employee well-being is to ensure that everyone is included and welcome. That’s not just about getting help but offering support in the design and implementation. For example, if you have wellness champions in each department, people will see that the organization has embraced an environment of openness. Empower the wellness champions to work with you to make a difference, innovate, and get more people involved.
Find the Priorities
Listening to staff is vital. By hearing what the employees are saying (and sometimes not articulating), you will begin to determine the big-hitting issues that will significantly impact well-being support. Be prepared to discover that what you believe to be a priority is not a view shared by employees. Do also listen and capture the priorities at all levels and departments in an organization. Check for trends, patterns, and areas of good practice that you can share across teams. Staff sharing their good ideas helps grow a culture of sharing and caring.
Once you have defined the priority areas, start working on them. Using a priority grid to identify high-priority and high-impact areas will focus your mind. As a result, you will find it easier to deal quickly with issues that can be resolved rapidly and spend time focused on the more complex long-term challenges.
Monitor Progress
It probably seems odd to think about monitoring progress as a first step, but demonstrating your impact is essential. Considering how you will do this is vital at the outset because it helps you capture the correct information and use the most insightful metrics. If you plan this at a later stage, you risk not measuring the most accurate data. Showing you have made a difference in the well-being of employees is a significant way of gaining support and securing sustainable change.
Employee well-being has never been more critical and must be embedded within the workplace. Making time to care is vital for improving culture and positively changing the workplace. Take the first steps today by becoming a Champion for more.
