25th November 2021
Research released in March by Mental Health First
Aid England highlighted what you might consider a surprising find: a quarter of
respondents hadn’t had their employer check in on them to ask about their mental
health and wellbeing since the start of the pandemic. In
fact, almost a third of respondents had never even spoken to their manager
about their mental health. Despite ongoing efforts to raise its profile through
campaigns such as Mental
Health Awareness Week it seems that for some employers mental
health support isn’t filtering into action at grass roots level.
If, however, you’re one of the employers actively
engaging with employee mental health and wellbeing, then that places you at a
distinct advantage both from an employee engagement and retention viewpoint and
also from a recruitment and talent attraction perspective too. You don’t have
to look too far to find evidence of the trend that’s been emerging over the
past few years and, thanks to the pandemic, is continuing to accelerate. Employees
want to work for employers who regard their health and wellbeing as a genuine
priority.
Employee wellbeing was the top-ranked trend in
the 2020 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends survey[i] with
80% of almost 9,000 survey respondents identifying it as important or very
important for their organisation’s success. 2019[ii] research
of around 19,000 employees and HR professionals found that health and wellness
benefits were ranked second only to working hours and leave in terms of their
perceived importance. And in 2018 a study[iii]
discovered that 88% of professionals considered an employer’s mental health and
wellbeing strategies to be a significant consideration when looking for a new
position. Wherever you look, the message is clear: an employer’s approach to
mental health and wellbeing matters and affects business success in all kinds
of ways.
Candidates want to apply for positions with employers
who treat their employees well and take the initiative when it comes to mental
health and wellbeing. If your company becomes known as a business that takes
these issues seriously, it’ll enhance your brand in the eyes of those
candidates (and quite possibly in the eyes of other external stakeholders too
like your customers and local community). But that means you must make sure the
good work you’re doing can be seen.
Be in no doubt, candidates will be doing their
research and scrutinising the type of employer you are. So how do you make sure
they can find out about what your approach is to mental health and wellbeing?
It might be quite clearly defined in your company, and fairly straightforward
to articulate as a result. Then again, there might be a lot of great stuff
going on - but y haven’t actively thought about it that much.
You might have a culture where coaching and feedback
are the norm. Perhaps wellbeing conversations between line managers and
employees are pretty standard, and managers are well equipped to keep workloads
realistic and spot if someone’s starting to struggle. That’s just the kind of
environment many potential applicants would want to work in. So you need to
make sure they know about the positive ethos in your company by communicating
it throughout all aspects of your recruitment marketing: in your job adverts,
throughout your social media, on your website and as part of any other opportunities
where you’re connecting with your pool of potential candidates (activities like
webinars and exhibitions for instance).
So what can you talk about throughout your
recruitment marketing to demonstrate your approach to supporting mental health
and wellbeing? Here are some ideas.
If your company has a strong wellbeing vision, refer
to the strategy you have that brings it to life. That might include sharing
your mental health and wellbeing policies on your website, along with
explanations of what you’re doing and any stories or case studies that paint
the picture more clearly. Mention any specific commitments you have made that
offer employees greater flexibility and have helped them to achieve an
effective work/life balance.
Think broadly and creatively. Do you carry out any
activities to tie in with wellbeing awareness weeks that you can talk about? What
about the physical environment? With this year’s mental health awareness week
adopting the theme of ‘nature’ it’s a reminder of the benefits of having the
type of culture where it’s okay for people to take a break by stepping outside and
going for a walk for a quick recharge.
What kind of health and wellbeing benefits do you
offer? Physical health and mental health are closely aligned so you can potentially
talk about a range of associated benefits. Private healthcare and employee
assistance programmes are two benefits that are becomingly increasingly
prominent, offering employees an extensive range of support services and access
to treatments to manage their health holistically and deal quickly and effectively
with problems.
Other incentives you can mention in your recruitment
marketing could include things like gym memberships and subsidised healthy food
options - these kinds of details will all help your company stand out from the
crowd.
If you need more ideas about what to draw out in
your job adverts and recruitment marketing, as well as even potentially refresh
your approach to wellbeing, you might find this
recent research from the CIPD interesting. From health promotion activities such as on-site
exercise classes to employee support and protection initiatives including
financial wellbeing guidance and access to counselling, there are many ideas that
offer inspiration.
Finally - don’t overlook the benefit of employee
advocacy. Happy employees are a fantastic advert for your company being a great
place to work so encourage them to share their positive wellbeing stories too.
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