Anna Shuttleworth, Head of Training at Right Corecare outlines the key steps organisations should take when implementing a stress audit.
Stress audits enable employers to identify the pressure points within an organisation, pinpoint areas or individuals that may be experiencing stress and understand the underlying causes. An audit provides invaluable information to improve both the performance and the wellbeing of the workforce.
The following are the key steps organisations should take when implementing a stress audit.
1. Define ownership of the audit
To ensure that the audit is completed and that any actions arising are followed through, it is vital to assign ownership of the stress audit to an individual within the organisation, and to make sure that this individual is supported by a team. This ownership may come from a working group that already has responsibility for wellbeing or it may come from a newly created team. Stress audits are often seen as ‘belonging to HR’; this perception should be discouraged and ownership across the business should be developed. Do not create too large a committee, as this will slow the process down.
2. Specify what your organisation wants to achieve
Be clear about what your organisation is hoping to achieve from the audit – this will help you decide what kind of information should be gathered. Many organisations are moving away from narrowly defined ‘stress audits’ towards more inclusive ‘wellbeing audits’. This enables the organisation to gather more balanced information about both the sources of stress and also the positive features of work. Capturing the good, as well as the bad, provides a positive foundation on which to build. If you are using an external partner to conduct the audit, they should be able to advise on the key topics to cover and the questions to ask. If you are managing the audit in-house, visit the (HSE’s website), which provides questions based on its six key stressors (demands, control, support, relationships, role and change).
3. Communicate
Tell people what you are doing. Sometimes when an organisation is planning a stress audit employee involvement is minimal. As a result, employees feel isolated from the audit process (it is seen as just another management initiative) and subsequent participation and quality of data are poor. The key to a successful audit is communication and this should start early on. Employees are expected to contribute to the audit and this should be respected and valued. In addition, confidentiality should be assured in the data collection process – using an external provider can help in this respect. Be proactive in managing employee expectations; state what the outcomes will be (e.g. in terms of feedback).
4. Decide on the methodology
When deciding on your methodology think carefully about your organisation and your priorities. A questionnaire can reach a lot of people and gather a lot of information. Focus groups involve fewer people but enable more in-depth exploration of the issues. Ask yourself what you need to shape workable and sustainable solutions. Many organisations find an initial questionnaire useful to give an overview of the issues and prioritise actions. This is then followed by focus groups to drill down to the next level and place the issues in context.
When running focus groups ensure you have a realistic sample of people attending. Pay particular attention to the structure of each group – placing employees with their line manager may not encourage an open and honest discussion! Use a skilled facilitator to ensure that the group explores the positives alongside areas for improvement.
5. Analysis and action planning
Analysis of the data from your questionnaire and / or focus groups should provide a clear picture of what the organisation needs to do to improve wellbeing and reduce stress. The results should be owned by the working group and action plans developed in consultation with other parts of the business, as appropriate. Communicate the results of the audit to employees explaining the actions the organisation will be taking and thank them for their help.
6. Review
Review progress on a regular basis to ensure that actions you are taking are having a positive effect on the work environment (again this may be driven by the working party). You may wish to do this through a brief questionnaire so that each review can be benchmarked against the last, to provide evidence of impact and cost benefit to the business, as well as highlighting any new issues that may have arisen.
Related items
Stress in the workplace
Stress audit
