Your how-to: Standardising peer support training and activities
Standardising peer support training and activities in your workplace' refers to the process of implementing consistent, structured procedures and strategies across your organisation with the goal to improve workplace mental wellbeing. This involves creating a consistent training programme for employees that equips them with the necessary skills and knowledge to support their colleagues who may be experiencing mental health issues. These activities can range from group discussions, role-play exercises, problem-solving tasks, and other interactive methods with the aim to create an empathetic and mentally healthy workplace.
The standardisation aspect means that all employees, regardless of their role, department or location within Australia, receive the same high level of training and have access to the same support activities. This ensures everyone in the company is on the same page when it comes to mental health awareness and support, doing their part to create a supportive, stigma-free work environment.
Standardising peer support can also involve implementing regular mental health and wellbeing activities and initiatives that bring employees together to discuss, reflect, and support one another. By doing so, this can encourage open conversations about mental health in the workplace, de-stigmatise the topic and encourage employees to seek help when needed.
This action aligns with the Fair Work Act 2009 in Australia, which underpins the need for employers to provide a safe and healthy work environment, including psychological safety. It is also in line with Safe Work Australia’s recommendations to promote mental health in workplaces nationwide.
Step by step instructions
Assess Current Mental Health Awareness and Support: Start by gauging the current level of mental health awareness and support in your organisation. This assessment could be done through surveys or consultations with employees, to understand their needs, and current gaps in the existing support structures.
Develop Peer Support Training Program: Devise a training program that effectively equips employees with the required skills to support their colleagues dealing with mental health issues. While developing the curriculum, ensure to include group discussions, role-play exercises, problem-solving tasks and other engaging activities.
Conduct the Training: Roll out the training to all employees and ensure full participation. Provide sufficient resources and materials to support understanding and engagement during the training sessions.
Evaluate and Adjust: Post-implementation, continuously monitor the effectiveness of the training and activities in improving workplace mental wellbeing. Collect feedback to improve and adjust the programme if needed.
Consult Relevant Legal Frameworks: Review the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically looking at the guidelines for a psychologically safe work environment. Likewise, consult the guidelines from Safe Work Australia to ensure your approach is in alignment with national recommendations.
Apply Standardisation Processes: Once the initial plan is ready, proceed to frame a standardisation process. This ensures every employee, irrespective of their role or location, will receive the same level of training and support services.
Implement Regular Mental Health and Wellbeing Initiatives: In addition to the training, integrate continuous mental health activities and initiatives in the business operations to foster openness and ongoing conversations about mental health.
Maintain Consistency: Establish a system to ensure consistency in the ongoing training process. Formulate procedures to onboard new employees into the same training program and make it a crucial part of your organizational culture.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
As with any training programme, you must consider cultural diversity within your workplace. In Australia, this could mean addressing the needs of Indigenous communities, ethnic minorities, and immigrants. The training should be inclusive and respectful of different cultural backgrounds and experiences to avoid cultural misunderstanding or insensitivity.
Uniformity is key when standardising any process. Using different training methods or content for different groups can create disparities in learning experience. To avoid this, ensure the training content, methods, and duration remain identical or similar across all sessions.
It's crucial that peer supporters are adequately supervised and given constructive feedback to bolster their capability and address any areas where improvement is needed.
Ambiguous or undefined program goals could lead to confusion and wastage of resources. It's important that clear objectives for the peer support training are established, and those objectives are communicated effectively to all involved.
Peer supporters not only require technical knowledge but also need to develop effective interpersonal and communication skills. Without proper training, they can struggle to handle difficult situations or provide appropriate help.
Confidentiality is a critical part of peer support. Participants must be assured that their discussions will remain confidential unless there is a danger to themselves or others.