Your how-to: Offering initial informal peer support training in the workplace
Offering initial informal peer support training in the workplace is a proactive strategy designed to equip employees with the knowledge and skills needed to provide informal mental health support to their colleagues. This training aims to create a culture where employees can lean on each other during challenging times, fostering a supportive, empathetic environment. It does not replace professional mental health services, but serves as an immediate emotional support structure within the workplace.
This type of training typically includes modules on understanding mental health, the use of active listening techniques, stress management strategies, signposting to professional help, and maintaining confidentiality. All of these elements are crucial for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of employees involved.
In Australia, such training initiatives should align with the Safe Work Australia's 'Work-related psychological health and safety' guidelines. This national guide underlines the importance of establishing psychologically healthy and safe workplaces, including the role played by peer support.
Remember, offering initial informal peer support training in the workplace is not just an investment in employee wellbeing — it also contributes significantly to a positive organisational culture and, effectively, leads to increased productivity.
Step by step instructions
Securing the Support of Senior Leadership: Secure backing from your senior leaders. Their support and endorsement will help build credibility and value for the training, making it more likely to succeed. This might include giving a short presentation about the benefits of peer support training and showing some data about mental health in the workplace.
Establish a Programme Framework: Create a structured framework for your informal peer support programme, taking into account existing company policies and aligning with guidelines from Safe Work Australia's 'Work-related psychological health and safety' guide.
Develop Training Content: Develop content for training the selected peer support workers. The training should cover essential areas such as understanding mental health, active listening techniques, stress management strategies, signposting to professional help, and maintaining confidentiality.
Monitor and Evaluate: After the training has been delivered, closely monitor and evaluate its effectiveness. This could involve tracing conversations with peer support workers, regular check-ins and ongoing training to help them perform their role more effectively.
Identify a Programme Coordinator: Identify a member of the team who would take responsibility for the coordination of the programme. This could be someone from the HR team, a trained mental health professional or an external consultant, depending on the resources available in your organisation.
Selecting Peer Support Workers: Decide on the selection procedure for peer volunteers. Consider people who are broadly respected, good listeners, and demonstrably empathetic. Make clear that this is a voluntary role and not mandatory.
Conducting The Training: Schedule and conduct the training sessions. Depending on the size of the organisation and the number of peer volunteers, this could take several sessions. Ensure that the training is interactive and provides ample opportunity for questions and clarification.
Review and Refine: Finally, always be open to refining and improving the programme. Regular reviews can help identify gaps, areas for improvement and new opportunities to enhance the programme. This includes continual training to ensure your peer support team is up-to-date on the best practices in mental health support and is prepared to deal with all possible situations.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
When organising the training, it's important to clarify exactly what role the peer support workers would play and what the training aims to achieve. Without well-defined roles and clear goals, those attending the training may become confused or focus on the wrong areas. Use this opportunity to set out what is expected from them and what they can expect from the training.
After the initial training, it's crucial to offer ongoing support to the trained peer support workers. This can include further training, regular check-ins, or creating a platform for them to share challenges and successes. Neglecting this can leave your peer support workers feeling isolated or unsure of their abilities.
As a peer support worker, there may be times when sensitive information is shared. Ensure that your training includes a detailed explanation of the Australian Privacy Principles so that your workers understand how to responsibly handle such information.
Training needs adequate time, as trying to cram too much information into too short a timeframe will likely lead to participants feeling overwhelmed or key details being missed. Plan your training schedule thoughtfully and be sure to budget enough time for each module, questions, practice sessions, and breaks.
You might be training a mix of workers from different departments or even different backgrounds. Therefore, making assumptions about their existing knowledge base could potentially lead to confusion or exclusion. In the preliminary stages, consider conducting a baseline assessment to gauge the group's current level of understanding on the course's topics.
It's crucial to have an evaluation system in place for your training to assess its effectiveness and make any necessary amendments. Without evaluating and seeking feedback, you may continue to repeat training that is ineffective or unhelpful.