10 Sep 2019

How to use wellbeing champions to help grow positivity in your workplace

Employee benefits, reward schemes and wellbeing programmes have a tendency to be reactive. That’s all right, in some cases – but for the most part it’s the wrong way to go about it.

Focusing on solving problems and dealing with issues that have already taken root is nowhere near as effective as preventing them from starting in the first place. When you’re proactive, and you head off as many potential issues as possible, you build an inclusive environment that allows people to flourish. You’ll boost resilience, confidence and productivity. And the best way to do this is by installing wellbeing champions – members of staff who shape the way your programme is delivered.

Here are some ways that wellbeing champions can help to drive wellbeing forward in a way that’ll deliver real results for everyone.

Mentoring

Peer support is a strong way to encourage team positivity. In lots of cases, people find it difficult to discuss problems and issues with someone who acts as their superior. When you implement a good mentoring system, with structures in place and support available, you encourage people to be far more open about anything that may be troubling them.

With visible mentors and a good buddy system in place, you’ll make onboarding a lot simpler for new staff, get them familiar with the organisation, and give them the confidence and knowledge that they’ll be around for a long time.

Communication

A major part of being a wellbeing champion is representative. They need to be able to listen, and listen well – and they need to be able to communicate what they hear.

It can be daunting for someone to approach senior management with a problem, or even a suggestion. And when there’s no communication issues pile up, pressure rises and resentment builds.

A good wellbeing champion is an expert in talking with both sides. They’ll be able to listen to concerns raised by those on the front lines, they’ll be able to relate those concerns to the very top and they’ll be able to cascade down the results and effects that those communications have had. This isn’t always going to be positive – not every suggestion can be implemented. But a good wellbeing champion can always see the positives, and with their words and actions in place, everyone else will too.

Ideas

Someone who is mentoring and communicating all of these ideas back and forth will be ablaze with ideas themselves – it’s only natural. Again, not all of these ideas will be achievable, or even practical. But ensuring that you set up a mechanism whereby these ideas can see the light of day is essential – the more you encourage ideas to be shared aloud, the more ideas you’ll find come.

Support

Being a wellbeing champion isn’t an easy task. Some people are far better suited to it than others – the natural empaths, the ones who find listening easy. But constantly hearing the issues of others, and the pressure to communicate and deliver on those issues can wear down even the most optimistic and driven champion.

It’s important that you signpost the support available, especially to your wellbeing champions. Make sure they set up boundaries in order to keep a good work/life balance. Check in on them – ask how they’re doing. They might have their own problems that they’re not telling you about.

Take these ideas and push them out into your workplace. Set up a wellbeing champion, give them the tools and support they need, and watch the wellbeing of your people grow.

This article is provided by Health Assured.