Your how-to: Standardising the use of digital wellness platforms across the organisation
Standardising the use of digital wellness platforms in your organisation entails the consistent application of digital tools geared towards employee mental wellbeing across all departments and units. These platforms may comprise digital apps, wellness programs, and online services that promote stress management, counselling, personal growth, mindfulness, and mental health awareness, to name a few.
Standardisation refers to the process of developing a unified approach whereby every employee, regardless of their position or location, has access to and benefits from the same level of mental health support. The aim is to create a culture of mental wellbeing, assure fairness, and ensure every team member feels valued and supported.
In the Australian context, this aligns with The National Mental Health and Wellbeing Pandemic Response Plan, which underlines the importance of mental health in the workplace. Therefore, embedding digital wellness platforms into your organisational structure can contribute to both regulatory compliance and improving overall employee mental health.
This process includes deciding on suitable platforms, ensuring compatibility with existing systems, planning the organisational rollout, training staff on its use, and establishing a process for reviewing and updating the platform and procedures as necessary.
Step by step instructions
Identifying Digital Wellness Needs: Firstly, identify your organisation's digital wellness needs. This includes understanding the overall workforce's diversity, age range, roles, challenges, stressors, and likely sources of emotional distress. Consult with team leaders, human resources, and your employees to gain insights on their unique wellness needs. Make sure your potential platforms meet these requirements and support The National Mental Health and Wellbeing Pandemic Response Plan's guidelines. Your chosen solutions should be designed to cater to your staff's diverse preferences and situations.
Assess Compatibility: Ensure that your chosen digital wellness platform can integrate seamlessly into your existing systems without causing disruptions. Both technical IT-related compatibility and functional compatible with your business processes and culture. Consult with your IT department, and do initial testing before rolling out.
Train the Staff: Conduct training sessions for the staff to familiarise them with the new systems and understand how to make the most out of these platforms. Make sure to provide accessible resources and support services for continuous learning and troubleshooting.
Pause to Evaluate Progress: Take regular pauses to evaluate the progress of the process. Use these moments to gather data on outcomes and solicit feedback from participants. Reflecting on metrics like engagement, satisfaction, and effectiveness will provide insights into what's working well and what might need adjustment.
Decision on Digital Wellness Platforms: Once you have consolidated your staff's wellbeing needs, make an informed decision on the right digital wellness platforms. Cover all bases to accommodate the wide range of needs identified in the initial step. Your chosen platforms should also allow for customisation to suit individual needs better.
Grand Scale: Prepare for the Organisational Rollout Prepare a detailed rollout plan to introduce the digital wellness platforms across the organisation. This plan should include a timeline of launch, target objectives, resource allocation, involved stakeholders, pertinent training programmes, and contingency plans. The transition should be phased rather than sudden to allow employees time to adapt.
Regular Review and Updates: Establish a review and updating process for the digital wellness platforms. Regular feedback from staff, data analysis, and keeping up-to-date with emerging trends in digital wellness can guide this process. Improvements should be an ongoing commitment in order to continually optimise and maximise engagement with your digital wellness solutions.
Reflect and Breathe: This step can be challenging, so it's important to take a moment to breathe and reflect. Pause to consider the progress made, the obstacles encountered, and the lessons learned. This reflection will not only help in gaining clarity but also in maintaining a balanced perspective, allowing for thoughtful and deliberate decision-making moving forward.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
Ensuring stringent compliance with Australia's Privacy Act 1988 is essential when it comes to the usage of digital wellness platforms. Make sure that any such platform employed has robust data protection measures to mitigate any risks of data breach.
Implementing a new platform requires a comprehensive understanding of its functionality. Without a thorough training, valuable features may go unused or your team may experience challenges to apply the platform optimally.
It’s not uncommon for employees to resist change. Thus, it’s central to focus on open communication regarding the benefits of the new system and provide the necessary support during the transition.
Wellness needs vary among employees. Attempting to meet everyone’s needs with a one-size-fits-all plan can lead to dissatisfaction, thereby compromising the overall effectiveness of the platform.
Wellness platforms vary greatly in aspects like ease of use, user-interface, integration capabilities, etc. Choosing a platform that's not in sync with your organisation's specific needs might hamper its adoption.
While upfront costs are crucial, also consider indirect costs such as implementation, training, possible upgrades, et cetera. Failing to do so might strain your organisation's finances.