Your how-to: Establishing a cross-functional employee mental health policy review team
Establishing a cross-functional employee mental health policy review team is the process of bringing together people from different departments, with varying roles, skills and perspectives, to collectively review, develop, and improve the organisation's mental health policies and procedures.
The overall objective is to enhance provisions for employee mental wellbeing, an aspect that is gradually gaining prioritisation in Australia's workplaces due to increasing awareness of mental health issues.
The team analyses existing policies, identifies gaps, recommends improvements and plays a crucial role in implementing changes. Representatives may include HR professionals, frontline managers, mental health specialists, and employees from various operation levels.
The diversity of the team offers an inclusive approach as it considers multiple viewpoints. This promotes comprehensive and effective strategies, continually improving the workplace environment, and aligning them with current best practices, complying with Australian workplace laws such as the Safe Work Australia Act 2008.
The initiative is a strategic effort to reduce mental health risks, cater to employees' mental wellbeing and consequently, improve productivity, create a positive working environment and nourish a mentally healthy culture.
Step by step instructions
Secure Top-level Buy-in: Start by highlighting the importance of mental health in the workplace and the potential benefits of a mental health policy review team to the top executive management. This could involve a presentation, meeting, or written proposal. Obtaining their buy-in will enable the successful establishment and integration of the review team into the organisation.
Select your Team Members: When choosing team members, consider a mix of skills and perspectives - the team should ideally include representatives from different departments in the organisation. Diversity is key in order to ensure the policies will be designed to cater equally to all employees.
Analyse Existing Policies: The team should conduct a thorough review of the current policies related to mental health. Determine if they are effective, up-to-date, legally compliant, and whether they are supportive of the employees' mental health.
Develop an Improvement Plan: Based on the gaps identified, develop a strategic improvement plan for policies and procedures. This should involve potential adjustments to existing policies or the introduction of new ones. All policies should be developed keeping Australian workplace laws in mind.
Establish the Team Structure: Identify the key roles that the team would require. This should include a project leader who will oversee the process, HR representatives who understand the company policies and can guide on any legal implications, mental health professionals who can provide expertise, and employees from different operational levels who will give diverse perspectives.
Outline Your Goals: The team needs to have clarity on what they're trying to achieve. Clearly define the objectives of the mental health review team – ensuring to state that the ultimate goal is to promote mental well-being throughout the organisation, improve overall productivity and comply with relevant Australian workplace laws such as the Safe Work Australia Act 2008.
Identify the Gaps: Equally as important as understanding what's working is being aware of what’s not. Assess where there are gaps in the mental health support provided by the organisation. This can be done by conducting employee surveys, analysing health reports, and discussing with employees themselves.
Implement and Communicate Changes: Once the team agrees on improvements, it's time to implement these. This may require training sessions or seminars about the improved mental health policies, clearly communicating changes to all employees.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
When assembling the cross-functional team, it is crucial that you don't overlook diversity. This isn't just in regards to race, sexuality, or gender, but also diversity in experiences, skills, and perspectives. A diverse group will provide a comprehensive and balanced understanding of mental health issues impacting different areas and levels of your organisation.
It's easy to lose sight of confidentiality when putting together this sort of team. Remember, discussions surrounding employee mental health are extremely sensitive and must be handled responsibly. Any perceived breaches could lead to a loss of trust, which can undermine the whole initiative.
It's important to set realistic, achievable goals. Avoid aiming too high in a short amount of time as this could lead to burnout among team members, and potentially hinder the team's progress. A measured, step-by-step approach will yield better results in the long run.
Specialised training in mental health for the team members selected is vital. Without it, there's a risk of inadvertently causing more harm than good, misunderstanding mental health issues, or violating employee privacy rights. Investing in professional development will ensure the review team has a solid grounding in mental health issues and relevant Australian legislation.
The company's management team must be committed to this initiative for it to succeed. They should provide the necessary resources, including time, personnel, and budget, to make this endeavour successful. Without substantial management support, the review might not have the desired impact.
Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings, mixed messages, and lower engagement among team members. It's essential to establish open and clear communication channels and update all relevant parties about the team’s progress.