I’m a PR get me out of here…
The combined economic impact of ill-health related absence and presenteeism in the UK currently sits at £73 billion in lost productivity. Research into the PR profession (CIPR – State of the Profession 2019) has discovered that over a fifth of PRs have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, while 75% said that agency or consultancy comms was most stressful sector.
I was a Partner at f1 recruitment from 2010-2014, looking back, the early warning signs of a profession in crisis were evident, agency side AM-SAM roles were often the most challenging to recruit for. Why? The conversations with prospective candidates often working very long hours went something like this… there is no way I want to work for another agency; (i) I’m going in-house (ii) I’m taking a career break.
Joining the dots on data…
Some people think with ideas, others are predisposed to think with data, I sit in the data camp. Information is beautiful, data can tell stories and yet the impact and usage of wellbeing services is either not being captured, the measurement criteria isn’t fit for purpose or the data is, for one reason or another, inaccessible.
A CFO contact of mine working in an agency group shared a timesheet healthcare slide that he presented at a department meeting. He says emphatically that he has never known timesheet data to be used to discipline anyone, rather he uses it for costing/ service-efficiency exercises and for discussions with managers about individuals overworking or not taking holiday; this is a start…
I recently pitched our Bounce! programme and index to a well respected wellbeing professional working in-house, she told me she asks this question at every departmental meeting – “what if we were to stop spending on employee mental health and wellbeing services?” It’s a legitimate question, particularly where companies have a track record of investing in; MH first-aid training, an EAP etc but where the ROI remains unclear. Another meeting reveals a company who have a stack of employee health data in different places but they currently lack any analytics headcount in London.
We are on a mission to co-create the world’s healthiest human systems; our focus is to work with executive teams and their organisations to increase both individual and organisational resilience. We have set ourselves an audacious goal; by 2025 wellness is recognised and reported as an (intangible) asset class. Working with organisational partners over a 3-5 year term; including an annual survey to inform our Bounce Index + an integrated programme of strategic advisory, workshops, coaching and bite-size learning.
We believe that business success and growth can only be fully realised by organisations that understand the critical link between human health and productivity. In particular,
these organisations will invest in creating the conditions for optimal human performance. To find out more about our recommended 5-point plan to a leader enabled wellbeing environment, you can download a free copy of our green paper – “The real value of wellbeing” below…
http://www.madworldsummit.com/green-paper.php
For more details about joining the Bounce! pilot programme, please contact… Catherine@halcyoncoaching.co.uk