Your how-to: Expanding employee wellbeing peer support roles into specialised areas
Expanding employee wellbeing peer support roles into specialised areas refers to the concept of growing existing employee wellbeing peer support roles to include specialised subdivisions within your organisational setting. This extends traditional peer support remits, creating roles that deal with specific aspects of mental health, for instance, stress management or anxiety support specialists.
Implementing this in your business involves identifying unique mental health requirements within your organisation, examining workplace demographics, inherent job stresses, and specific wellbeing needs of your various departments. The next step is to train selected peer supporters in these specialised areas, giving them a deep understanding of the issues and enabling them to provide highly targeted support to counterparts facing these specific challenges.
In the Australian context, this approach aligns with the national government's guidelines in the 'Work Health and Safety Act 2011', which calls for employers to ensure psychological as well as physical safety in the workplace. Expanding peer support roles can fulfil this obligation whilst improving overall employee wellbeing.
Step by step instructions
Scope Your Needs: Begin by identifying the specific mental health requirements within your organisation. Review surveys, reports and historical data relating to employee mental health and wellness. Draw on the collective knowledge of management, HR and frontline staff.
Identify Inherent Job Stresses: Identify roles and tasks in your organisation that could lead to stress, anxiety or other mental health issues. This could be high-pressure roles, roles with high responsibility, or roles with irregular work hours.
Selection of Peer Supporters: Choose suitable staff to be trained as peer supporters. These individuals should be empathetic, trustworthy, and possess good communication skills.
Implementation and Awareness: Implement the new roles in your organisation and make everyone aware of them. It's important that all staff know what support is available, who they can turn to, and feel comfortable seeking help when required.
Analyse Workplace Demographics: Examine the unique makeup of your organisation. Consider age brackets, gender, roles, locations of work, job nature and shift patterns as these can significantly influence the nature of mental health challenges that might be prevalent.
Evaluate Departmental Wellness Needs: In addition to individual roles, consider the differing wellness needs of your various departments. This could include dealing with stressful clients, difficult suppliers, or facing challenging deadlines.
Specialised Training: Once the peer supporters have been selected, provide them with specialised training related to the identified issues. This will empower them to offer targeted support to other employees.
Regular Review and Improvement: Set a regular schedule to review and evaluate the effectiveness of your expanded peer support model, updating the training and support mechanisms as needed.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
Specialist roles require specific training and expertise. One major pitfall could be lack of in-depth knowledge and practical skill in the desired area. Ensure that your team has access to all the necessary training materials and support.
Management buy-in is critical. Without it, the programme may not get the necessary resources or support. Make certain that there is a comprehensive understanding of the program’s purpose and its benefits to the organisation.
Neglecting to involve employees in decisions related to work, wellness programmes or the introduction of new roles can significantly impact morale and success. Strive for open communication with your workforce.
Expanding into specialised areas could potentially overburden or overwhelm your existing team, leading to burnout and low morale. Ensure that you maintain a balanced workload, allocating sufficient resources and support staff in these newly added functions.
It should go without saying that laws and regulations should be appropriately understood to avoid legal pitfalls. In Australia, the Fair Work Act 2009 underlines specific rights and obligations; educate your workforce regarding these to avoid misconceptions.
Specialised roles come with certain costs, and financial restrictions may limit the function's potency. It’s essential to map out a clear financial plan, to ensure each task can be executed effectively.