Your how-to: Collecting feedback on initial mental health policies at your place of work
Collecting feedback on initial mental health policies refers to the process of gathering perceptions, thoughts, ideas and criticisms from employees about the mental health policy, or policies, recently introduced at your organisation. This can be thought of as a form of internal auditing – essentially checking the 'temperature' of opinion in-house. Through this process, your human resources (HR) team can better understand how the team perceives the initiatives, where improvements are needed, or if there are elements employees don't understand. This feedback can be captured through various channels such as anonymous surveys, suggestion boxes, small focus groups or one-to-one discussions.
It's important to tailor the feedback methods to the nature and size of your workplace for maximum effectiveness. Being in Australia, you also need to ensure that your methods align with the Australian Privacy Principles when handling personal information. Feedback collection isn't just a one-time thing - this should be a dynamic, ongoing process to consistently improve the mental wellbeing support your organisation provides.
Step by step instructions
Form a Feedback Collection Team: To manage the task efficiently, form a dedicated team responsible for the feedback collection process. This team should ideally include HR executives, line managers, and mental health first aiders.
Develop a Feedback Tool: Develop a user-friendly and comprehensive tool to capture the feedback. The tool should be easy to comprehend while enabling employees to provide their perceptions about the new mental health policies effectively and anonymously.
Execute the Feedback Process: Actively roll out the feedback process. Depending on the channels chosen, this might mean sending out surveys, scheduling focus groups, setting up a suggestion box etc.
Develop an Action Plan: Formulate a plan to address the feedback received. This may include modifications to current policies or developing new initiatives to bridge gaps. Implement changes through close collaboration with HR executives, line managers, and your mental health first aiders.
Determine Feedback Collection Channels: You'll need to determine the most suitable channels through which feedback will be obtained. Consider online anonymous surveys, suggestion boxes, focus groups, individual discussions, and team meetings. The choice of channels should be adapted according to your workplace size and culture.
Communicate the Feedback Process: Transparently communicate the feedback collection process to your employees. Make sure they understand its purpose, how their information will be used, and the measures in place to secure their privacy as per the Australian Privacy Principles.
Analyse Collected Feedback: Once all feedback has been collected, analyse the data to identify common themes, areas of success, and areas that need improvement. This may require data analysis know-how and discernment to effectively identify significant insights.
Communicate Outcomes to Employees: Share the feedback summary and action plan with your employees. Showing them you value their feedback fosters a positive work culture and reinforces your commitment to mental health.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
Despite the sensitive nature of mental health discussions, organisations often overlook the importance of preserving participant anonymity. Involvement in these conversations might potentially expose employees to discrimination or bias, which is likely to deter honest feedback. Hence, consider providing anonymous feedback mechanisms that prioritise confidentiality.
While collecting feedback, there may be a tendency to take the majority view as the norm, thereby missing out on individualised, unique feedback. This 'clustering' can harm the process, as mental health experiences can highly vary. So, strive to value individual voices equally and incorporate diverse perspectives into your policies.
Some employees might have difficulties discussing mental health, and the process might trigger stressful responses in them. Therefore, not preparing them emotionally or providing the necessary psychological support can turn the feedback process harmful. Provide reassurances, support and a safe atmosphere for everyone involved.
Legal regulations governing privacy, especially in domains like mental health, vary across nations, and for Australia, the Privacy Act 1988 is paramount. It is essential to ensure that your approach complies with this Act, respects individual privacy, and protects sensitive information to avoid any legal complications.
Simply collecting feedback without acting upon it is a big pitfall. It can lead to disappointment among employees and the feeling that their views are not valued. Ensure there's a solid plan for implementation and regular communication to staff about changes made as per their feedback.
As Australia is culturally diverse, it's crucial not to overlook the cultural sensitivities related to mental health. Cultural bias or insensitivity could be a deterrent to authentic feedback. Make the feedback process inclusive and culturally sensitive to encourage participation from all employees.