CIPR Health & Ferring: Embedding wellbeing at work

Embedding wellbeing at work Ferring case study

Bhavin Vaid, Head of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Ferring Pharmaceuticals, talks about how good mental health and wellbeing is fuelled by making connections.

Protect your own wellbeing to protect your team’s When I think about mental health and wellbeing support, I see three aspects. First, there’s my own mental health. Then there’s my team’s. And then the organisation’s and the people I serve. During the pandemic, we saw how we need to protect one to protect the others.

We’re a small knit communications team – five of us who had to pull together and refocus our work as lockdown hit. And each of us has found this year difficult for different reasons. It’s been vital for us to form support networks – inside and outside of work.

And as part of that support network, it’s my job as a leader to help my teams and colleagues understand what they really need, what is going to help them during this time. There was a lot of time and energy put into listening and talking from both sides.

Staying connected To support wellbeing, we needed to create connections. For my team, the most effective way was through a daily check-in at 9am. Everyone gave a score between 1 and 10 (with 10 being great) and a word to describe how they were feeling. It gave me an assessment of my team each day. Are they feeling good, bad? What’s bugging them in work, what might be happening personally? Understanding that helped me to better help and support them.

And in the wider company, ‘Stronger Together’, a regular newsletter including a message from our Executive Leader, proved very popular. People said they were touched by the personal nature and honesty of these messages, and liked that it gave them a regular connection to the business.

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It set an important tone for the conversation between leaders and our people.

There was a definite appreciation for candid communication, so we worked with the Leadership team on leadership communication style and engagement.

And we also implemented regular virtual check-ins for our senior leader community.

After all, these are the leaders getting all the questions, informing and supporting the rest of the organisation. We needed to check in and support them too.

Like everyone else, we had to take our internal communications online. For example, making our town hall meetings virtual. We also quickly realised that LinkedIn was merging with our people’s personal lives, becoming a Facebook of sorts as people used it to stay in touch and share their new working experiences. So we adapted our social media strategy, mindful that our external channels were becoming an important community for our employees.

Teaching good habits We’re reflecting on what’s worked and what we would do differently next time.

For example, I remember we were reluctant to start the daily check-in, but it’s now a permanent part of day. It’s saved us so much time, not having to go back and forth to stay up to date with each other.

But we could do more to vary the types of platforms and channels we use for online communications to keep things interesting and engaging. We don’t want to rely too much on one idea and let people get screen fatigue.

So what have I learned about wellbeing this year? My advice is to ask yourself: how am I going to start and maintain good habits within my team, my organisation and my own routine? How am I encouraging people to do something they enjoy and build their diaries around moments of release that will stop them burning out?

And as a leader, you really need an open-door policy. There’s no better way than listening to show people you care and have their back.

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Profile Company: Ferring Pharmaceuticals What we do: We’re a leading pharmaceutical company in reproductive medicine and maternal health, gastroenterology and urology Who we employ: 6,000 people across 60 sites Our approach in a nutshell: Talk to your people, and listen to the answers – you can’t offer the right advice or support if you don’t understand what they’re dealing with or where they’re coming from Don’t forget about senior leaders – they need help so they can look after their own mental health and wellbeing, as well as support their colleagues Encourage ‘me time’ – make sure people are building downtime into their diaries to reset and recharge

Bhavin’s top tip “I absorbed a lot this year and while I enjoyed looking after people, I didn’t do enough to look after myself. By summer I was exhausted. So I made an effort to commit to my personal wellbeing. I made time in my diary for things that help me switch off, like getting back into CrossFit.”

For more resources and guidance around supporting mental health and wellbeing in your workplace, visit the CIPR website: https://cipr.co.uk/CIPR/Our_work/Policy/Mental_Health.aspx

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