Well Beings?
Pre-Covid (…feels like a lifetime ago), the wellbeing of our Technology team was a growing priority. Already a champion of good mental health (there’s been too many charity events to mention), in Dec 2019 our CTO, Christina Scott, recognising that good mental health promotes engagement and productivity, arranged a mandatory, 1-day workshop with the brilliant Dr. Hayley Dare and Gavin Richardson at Wellbeing Mental Health to train all our line managers in how to better support our teams.
It was good timing.
Pre-Lockdown
The pandemic hit the UK and with lockdown inevitable, Technology came into its own. Thanks to a robust Mobility project already in progress, our Enterprise teams’ Covid response to ensure the entire business was able to work from home was superb in its pace and delivery. Within days they:
- Provided Appstream for the entire company and provisioned 2875 desktops for staff to work effectively at home
- Ensured all Editorial staff had tested the technology before vacating the office (every spare pair of hands in Tech was assisting, including the CTO!)
- Covid microsite hosting — 4k hits per wk
- No major drop in call volumes — over 6000 users
- 4582 Service Desk tickets — a 272% increase in normal volume
- Audited 1500 desk environments and performed 200 desk moves
Lockdown
When it was clear lockdown would last longer than any of us expected (my 2-week prediction was a bit naive!), the business undertook an initiative to provide working from home kit — screens, mice and keyboards. And our Asset Management and Desktop teams dedicated themselves to making it happen. They went into the office (and still do) every day, going above and beyond so we could continue to produce world-class content from the safety of our homes (heroes!):
- 2048 work orders (via Service Desk) converted into 3665 tasks closed
- 2321 courier shipments
- 400+ per accessories
- 800+ laptops
Mental Health
So now we were all successfully working from home, it quickly became apparent that we needed to track Technology’s mental health in the same way we were tracking our physical Covid health. Within 10 days of lockdown, working with HR, the Admin team implemented a daily mental health tracker in which colleagues (perm and contractors), in the strictest confidence, score their mental health via a simple 1–10 scale. Scores of 5 or above are flagged to HR who make contact with the individual to check how they’re feeling and discuss the resources available to them.
We were the first department to do this in News UK and the business replicated our model by implementing a centralised, weekly mental health questionnaire. We decided to stick with our own daily process, to ensure we could offer support within 24 hours. The Admin team has shared, monitored and maintained the tracker every working day since (19k+ responses over 280 days), helping HR and Line Managers support colleagues through tough days.
We saw participation fluctuate with the pandemic, so whilst average participation has decreased over the last 4 months (a good sign!) it’s allowed us to focus efforts on those colleagues who have consistently scored themselves highly, and we can infer that they are consistently engaging with us because they trust that the process will prioritise their welfare.
Managing this activity for over a year has been a humbling process. There’s been countless times when the Admin team is worrying about a colleague long after closing our laptops for the evening. It’s hard not to care when you understand the courage it takes for colleagues to admit they’re struggling. Their resilience is huge. And even if we only help one person a day it’s worth it.
A lovely positive of this process is that our relationship with HR has grown. Our joint focus on staff wellbeing has improved communication and we’ve witnessed first-hand the tangible difference they are making. Our HRBP works extremely hard to keep the ‘human’ at the heart of their role and it’s given us a whole new appreciation for them.
Sharing is Caring
Whilst working from home was a novelty, it soon lost it’s shine once the reality of home schooling and isolation kicked in. But as it turns out, our Tech Community volunteers were our conduits of fun! There’s been no end of entertainment, from pictionary, Wacky Faces, a Summer party that introduced us to DJ Nanz (now our Friday afternoon resident) and an epic Christmas quiz that Jimmy Carr would be proud of. The imagination and effort that went into producing so many brilliant events with zero budget was amazing. It’s no wonder these guys make brilliant digital products!
In addition to the entertainment, the Community has also kept us informed on all the various designing, building, innovating, testing and releasing activities throughout our products and platforms. Flash Talks, Lunch n’ Learns and Show and Tells have been invaluable in helping us share successes and understand each other’s challenges.
A successful forum was also borne out of the pandemic. Wellbeing in Tech was set up by a few colleagues with a passion for good mental health, in the hope it would encourage openness and help normalise and destigmatise the issue.
The idea was simple — once a month we would invite an external speaker to discuss wellbeing topics or invite a Tech colleague to share their personal experiences of mental health. It was important to us that the sessions were practical, so we include Q&A’s in every session and signpost our colleagues to all the mental health resources the business provides (which is extensive!).
The launch event ran with a personal experience. We had almost 70 people join. It was tough to hear what our lovely colleague had endured. We all leaned closer to our screens in support (some of us in tears). By the end of the session the chat function was flooded with words of encouragement, support and thanks, for voicing some of the challenges many of us had experienced ourselves. A joint catharsis happened, and it still gives me goosebumps…
We’ve had a number of successful sessions since. More courageous personal experiences with invaluable tips and tools for recovery. We’ve also had some excellent external speakers — Occupational Health, EAP, with more to follow.
A Wellbeing in Tech Confluence page was created to accompany our events with helpful videos and every mental health resource possible. And if that isn’t enough, we now have four Mental Health First Aiders and five Mental Health Practitioners in our department.
Bases. Covered.
Well beings?
It’s been a tough, strange year but without the pandemic we wouldn’t have been invited into each other’s homes and hearts, or met kids, partners and pets. The enormous challenge of mobilising an entire company to work safely from home was the start of a journey that contributed to a collective awareness of the importance of personal wellness before work. And as a result our empathy and support for each other in Technology has multiplied (our productivity is pretty awesome too!).
All things considered, we’re in good shape. Well beings indeed.
