Virtual roundtable: How to cultivate a wellbeing culture

Becky Norman

HRZone

Managing Editor

Virtual roundtable: How to cultivate a wellbeing culture

How can organisations create more meaningful impact with their approach to employee wellbeing?

By Becky Norman

Nurturing a culture that puts wellbeing front and centre of your business’ values, policies, processes and strategies demands a nuanced approach that is unique to each and every organisation. It requires the business to consider wellbeing in every action it takes, in every process and design. This may feel like a near impossible task, so how can you ensure you’re heading in the right direction?

In this virtual roundtable discussion, recorded in March 2021, HRZone’s Editor Becky Norman was joined by three individuals who are successfully spearheading change in the wellbeing space.

Two of the panelists were specifically recognised for their employee wellbeing accomplishments in HRZone’s ‘Culture Pioneers’ programme last year, an initiative that showcased and celebrated the achievements of people professionals delivering positive culture change.

These leaders are Natasha Wallace, Formerly Chief Consciousness Officer at Clear Review and Emma Govus, Global Benefits Manager at Aveva. They were also joined by award-winning psychologist and Culture Pioneers ambassador Gethin Nadin, who was part of the judging panel responsible for reviewing and selecting the successful inaugural Culture Pioneers.

In this virtual roundtable, we explored

How to create psychologically safe spaces and put the power in the hands of the employee
The importance of taking an evidence-based approach rather than just purchasing a piece of tech to solve the problem
The need to consider cultural differences across global organisations
The concept of conscious leadership and how it impacts wellbeing

You can’t purchase an off-the-shelf solution to wellbeing

Employee wellbeing is arguably the biggest concern for business and HR leaders to address in the current climate, but the solution is not as simple as investing in a new piece of wellbeing tech or booking in some sporadic ‘lunch and learns’ on managing mental ill health or financial worries. “You can’t purchase a solution to solve your wellbeing”, Emma Govus highlighted in the discussion.

Expanding on this point Natasha Wallace highlighted “Often people think wellbeing is an app or it’s having good wellbeing benefits in place. But it’s so much more than that. It’s the conversations we have, it’s the way we treat each other, it’s the way we behave, it’s the way we show up, it’s the freedoms we’re given at work.” This is why achieving a notable impact for both employees and the business involves a cultural approach to wellbeing, with leaders driving the change.

To discover how Clear Review’s leadership approach brings them cultural success, read Natasha’s Culture Pioneers story.

Paying attention to the employee voice

A phrase that kept coming up throughout the discussion was ‘creating safe spaces’. Without employees feeling like they can share their true feelings and concerns, progress will never be made. “If someone is taking that courage and coming out of their comfort zone and they are saying they’re needing help. We need to listen. We need to listen and take it seriously,” Govus stated.

To learn more about how Aveva addressed wellbeing through the ‘route of the voice’, read Emma’s Culture Pioneers story.

Why burnout is a business, not a personal, issue

Another important point raised was on the issue of burnout, specifically around how employers often expect employees to address the problem, when the responsibility should really be in the hands of the organisation. “Burnout is often the result of the way organisations are designed, rather than it being the behaviours of individuals,” stated Gethin Nadin. “Yet we normally look to the individual to fix the issue, when it’s the organisation that’s causing the problem and therefore also needs to solve the problem.”