Embedding wellbeing at work Hotwire case study
Kam White, head of people and culture at global comms consultancy, Hotwire explains how it’s championing good mental health through its proactive wellbeing culture.
We can only be our best if our people are at their best Life at Hotwire – like any consultancy in this industry – can have its ups and downs. That’s why it’s really, really important to look after people. It’s less about reacting when people need support. Instead, our philosophy is about proactively creating a wellbeing culture where we do our part to stop people needing support in the first place. We want to ensure that people can be open about their mental health without any stigma, and also that work itself is not a cause of stress. This philosophy is a long-term one that we’ve been working on for a while – certainly since before I started two years ago. It’s part of who we are, growing organically as part of our culture. Take our annual bootcamp, where we get everyone in the company together. A couple of years ago our theme was ‘ambitious balance’, and that’s something that’s stayed with us. That means that yes, we want to give the best agency experience, do the best possible job, be a challenger brand. But we can only be our best if our people are at their best. They go hand in hand.
Wellbeing that works for you We’ve weaved wellbeing into so many aspects of what we do. The common theme is flexibility; people love that they can choose what works for them because what may help one person may not necessarily help another. For example, we’ve introduced thoughtful working, which is different to flexible working (which we have as well!). Thoughtful working is about saying as long as you’re thoughtful to yourself, to your team, to your clients, you can work in whatever way is best for your needs. For example, if you need to shift your working day so you can fit in a trip to the gym, you’re empowered to make that choice.
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In the context of Covid-19, Thoughtful Working, along with our previous investment in collaborative tech made the transition to remote working seem effortless. This meant that there was minimum disruption to working practices during lockdown. By putting the trust in our employees completely, we have seen outstanding work and commitment from them and our employees reported an improved sense of wellbeing, in that when they need to work from home, they are trusted and empowered to do so, no questions asked. We have also been measuring the mood by running a Covid and wellbeing survey (we did one in May 20 and a follow up in October 20). This has helped us to ensure we are supporting our employees in the right way for them. Whilst trying to work at home, it is likely that many will be going through a tough time. We developed a Mental Health Toolkit, which is available 24/7 for staff. This includes a number of resources that all employees can access including helplines, useful tips on mental health as well as working from home, articles, podcasts and a free download of the Headspace app. We also offer a wellbeing allowance of £300 a year that you can spend on whatever makes you feel better – whether that’s training or when things open up, a spa day. Finally, we have been running wellbeing clinics for Managers and will be following up with resilience workshops in the next few weeks. Something else people find incredibly valuable is our sabbaticals. Every four years, you can take six weeks at full pay or 12 weeks at half pay, to take a break and come back re-energised. To support this, we’ve trained almost 10 per cent of the UK workforce as mental health first aiders to help people proactively identify signs of stress in their colleagues and know how to support them. Last year we put together a small collection of employee stories in our ‘Bring Your Whole Self’ flipbook. A bunch of diverse people from all over our business – from the Global CEO in San Francisco to a programme executive in Madrid – talked openly and honestly about any issues they might have faced. By sharing this internally and externally we’ve helped to reduce stigma and make conversations easier.
It all comes back to culture Through our employee satisfaction scores, we’ve seen the positive impact that our wellbeing culture is having on our employees. It’s so difficult to quantify what it is that makes it successful, but I keep coming back to culture. An initiative is just that – it’s a thing. What makes the difference is creating a culture around it. Our leaders really believe in what we’re doing, and it shows through their behaviour. Not just talking about it, but actually doing it. Because you can talk about a wellbeing initiative all you want, but if people don’t believe you value it or that they have the permission to use it, then you won’t get anywhere. And that’s why I keep coming back to culture and behaviour. You can have a great strategy, a great bunch of services, amazing products, but it’s the people that matter. How they feel and act, so investing in their wellbeing is the most important thing.
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Profile Company: Hotwire What we do: Global technology consultancy with specialist teams across B2B and B2C comms and martech services Who we employ: 300 people across nine locations Our approach in a nutshell: Something for everyone – give people the opportunity to choose ways of working and support that will work for their needs Practice what you preach – you can’t rely on initiatives alone; your messages, behaviour and overall culture needs to match them Lead from above – get leaders onside to role model open and honest behaviour, and reduce fear of stigma
Kam’s top tip “I believe real resilience comes from what I call ‘some time to incubate’. If I need to reduce my own stress, I leave the situation and go and do something completely different. I don’t think a ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ attitude, and working through it, is the right approach. By gathering your energy, you’ll rebuild your energy.”
For more resources and guidance around supporting mental health and wellbeing in your workplace, visit the CIPR website: https://cipr.co.uk/CIPR/Our_work/Policy/Mental_Health.aspx
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