Your how-to: Conducting cross-departmental performance reviews on mental health initiatives
Conducting cross-departmental performance reviews on mental health initiatives involves regularly assessing and analysing the impact and effectiveness of mental health strategies and programmes implemented in different departments of your organisation. This is a structured process that aims to evaluate whether these initiatives are meeting their set objectives, supporting your employees' mental wellbeing in the best way possible and ensuring a healthy work environment.
For Australian businesses, it's additionally crucial to ensure these initiatives comply with the Safe Work Australia's "Work Health and Safety Act 2011", which imposes a duty on employers to ensure staff have a safe working environment, which includes mental wellbeing. Hastings Deering (Australia) Ltd v McConnell [2020] FWCFB 4460 case is a seminal example that emphasises this inherent need.
This review process includes collecting and reviewing data such as employee feedback, utilisation rates, sick leave usage, workplace productivity levels, and other relevant indicators. Post evaluation, areas for improvement or necessary changes are identified, thus facilitating continuous improvement and enhancement of mental health support within your company.
Step by step instructions
Pre-Evaluation Preparation: Start by clearly understanding the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. This is Australian legislation which sets responsibilities for employers in securing the wellbeing of employees. Ensure you know how this relates to mental health and wellbeing in particular. In tandem, familiarise yourself with the mental health initiatives present in each department to gain the necessary context.
Data Collection: Collect relevant data corresponding to your pre-decided metrics. This may necessitate anonymous employee surveys for honest feedback, checking into utilisation rates of any provided services, looking at sick leave and productivity levels, and so on.
Identified Area Evaluation: Evaluate any identified areas that need improvement, modification or are successful. This assessment is about drilling down to the underlying reasons behind the findings from your everything you’ve analysed so far.
Report Generation and Communication: Compile all findings, recommendations and other pertinent information into a comprehensive report. This report should offer an overall view as well as departmental comparisons and be presented to all relevant stakeholders. It’s essential to communicate these findings openly with your staff, to demonstrate that their feedback is valued and acted upon.
Setting Clear Evaluation: Metrics Map out clear parameters for evaluating the efficacy of the initiatives. This might include employee feedback, usage of mental health offerings, levels of sick leave, workplace productivity, and similar data points. Make sure to decide on the evaluation scales to ensure consistency across departments.
Analysis and Review: Analyse collected data, comparing the current state of mental health and wellbeing to previous periods, organisational KPIs or industry standards, depending on your available data. The aim is to recognise any trends, disparities, successes or areas of concern, ensuring a comparative through line is present for evaluation.
Recommendations for Change: Create concise and effective strategies for improving any shortcomings and capitalising on successes. These recommendation turn your findings into action. Make categories of actionable, implementable steps that seek to improve the identified areas. The recommendations should be evidence-based, actionable, and comprehensive.
Follow-up: Finally, set up a follow-up process to monitor the new changes and their effectiveness. Note the marked difference between the initial evaluation and a revisit after implementation of recommended changes and repeat the process to ensure continuous improvement. It's essential to adapt and modify the approach based on these reviews, nurturing an evolving and responsive strategy.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
When conducting such reviews, avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. Every department in your organisation has unique challenges and needs, so it's crucial to consider these during the review process. Overlooking individual perspectives or needs might lead to ineffective initiatives or a lack of employee engagement.
Mental health is a sensitive topic. Therefore, it's essential to create a non-judgmental, supportive environment where people feel comfortable discussing the effectiveness of initiatives and any concerns they may have. Avoid harsh judgements or criticism, which may silence some voices.
Mental health is a specialized field, and expert input can be invaluable. Neglecting to include mental health professionals in your process may limit the depth and validity of your reviews.
Keep in mind that communication is crucial before, during, and after these reviews. Ensure you’ve explained the process and its purpose clearly to all parties involved. Lack of clear communication can lead to misconceptions, anxiety, and reduced commitment to the reviews and initiatives.
When undertaking these reviews in Australia, it's essential to be aware of the legal requirements under the National Mental Health Standards and Fair Work Act 2009. Ignorance or disregard for these can result in legal repercussions and damage your company's reputation.
The review process shouldn't end with the evaluation. Avoid the pitfall of neglecting to communicate the results and action plans based on your findings. Lack of follow-up can make employees feel unheard and undervalued.