Your council
Agenda item
Launch of the new Employee Wellbeing Hub
To provide the Committee with an update on developments to our Wellbeing Hub and resources which will be showcased at the meeting.
Minutes:
J Budden, Service Manager People, Culture and Wellbeing, introduced the report on the launch of the new Employee Wellbeing Hub. She provided the Committee with an update on developments to the Wellbeing Hub and resources.
S Kits took the committee through a short presentation on the wellbeing hub. EFDC took great pride in its ability to provide excellent wellbeing resources and support for all employees and had been on an ever-improving journey since COVID hit in 2020. Communicating to ensure all employees understood there were resources, support, and information available has remained a constant priority.
In the last two years in addition to a fantastic Employee Assistance Programme (Perkbox) which offered counselling sessions and support for all employees and their close family members, EFDC had focussed on developing a solid network of individuals within the organisation to help support colleagues.
In 2020 an intranet page was created which listed a host of wellbeing resources for employees including support for mental health, physical and financial wellbeing, and support for families – called the Wellbeing Hub.
In September 2020 the wellbeing provision was extended by introducing Perkbox Medical, giving employees access to GPs 24/7 online, via an app on your phone.
In November 2021 the council announced the expansion of the Perkbox platform to include wellness resources via the Perkbox Wellness Hub, a space dedicated to FREE content that covers all aspects of wellbeing including resources to help you get fit, overcome anxiety, sleep well and more.
EFDC had trained over 90 employees to become Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs), providing employees with an experienced first point of call for anyone with concerns about any aspect of their mental health or their loved ones.
The committee asked for further explanation on the MHFAs and if they were a confidential service. They were told that anything could be brought to them. They were there to offer emotional support and signpost employees in the right direction for further help. This was a confidential service unless there was a risk to individuals, then they would contact Ms Budden.
The committee asked about the people that did not engage, could they be identified and engaged. They were told that they offer a lot more than what they had just highlighted and also relied on line managers to help.
The committee wondered if, during the current financial circumstances, more use was being made of the advice on offer and with many employees now working from home, how easy was it to identify employees having problems; also, how often did we update the information we made available to the staff. They were told that officer did research all the time on the information they put out and liaised with the appropriate charities. As for engaging people working from home, they did have virtual coffee mornings and have also upskilled the managers to educate them in mental health. These services had been successfully used by staff members.
Councillor S Kane asked if we were playing catch up with other authorities in providing wellbeing services or were we ahead of the field in this respect. He was told that EFDC was ahead of the field in this respect; other councils came to us for advice and were close to being able to put these services up for an award, especially for our digital offerings and staff having 24/7 access to what they need.
Councillor Lion asked if this had any impact on staff retention. He was told that it did lead to a better understanding of what the staff wanted.
Resolved:
That the Select Committee noted the refreshed Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) Employee Wellbeing Hub.
Supporting documents: