Customer Stories

How Simply Business cultivated a culture of wellbeing through Covid

Oliver Matejka

Brand and Comms Lead

Unmind Product Spotlight: Calendar Reminders

TABLE OF CONTENTS

"Wellbeing is for life," said Kelly O'Neill, Head of Coaching & Wellbeing at Simply Business, "not just for Covid." We sat down with Kelly to find out how the leading business insurer is bolstering its wellbeing strategy to support its people through Covid – and beyond. 

 

U

Hey Kelly! How has your approach to health and wellbeing changed since the pandemic?


Kelly

Luckily we started the year with this great employee wellbeing strategy. Rather than pivoting these plans, Covid meant making some virtual and accelerating others.

We had some great plans in place throughout the whole year but we realised that employees needed some sooner, especially in March and April when there was a lot of anxiety and a lot of people feeling the need to reach out.

U

Which of these initiatives have been the most engaged with during lockdown?


Kelly

We planned a ‘Talk to an Expert’ series. Before Covid, we were going to invite an expert into the office to talk on a subject – one was sleep, another was resilience, another was on nutrition and mental health.

We turned these into online seminars, but with the added bonus of having a one-to-one with the expert. You would go to the seminar, learn the fundamentals of sleep, for example, and if you wanted to know more or had a particular personal issue that you wanted to talk through, we would book in for one-on-ones with that person. These sessions got great engagement.

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Our strategy is about focusing on preventative initiatives


Also, at the start of the year, we knew we wanted to use Unmind as our digital wellbeing platform. Our strategy is about focusing on more preventative initiatives. We thought Unmind would enhance and complement our other initiatives, like EAPs and wellbeing policies.

We already had that in the plan. It was just fantastic timing that we launched in April when people really needed it. Some people really love wellbeing apps and were already engaged with them. Even people who wouldn’t usually have tried these kinds of apps were realising the full importance of wellbeing.

It became really popular and people started talking about it. I knew it was successful because I didn’t need to keep communicating about it – other people were doing it for me and saying how great it was. Unmind has been a real success for us – especially the mood tracker and Praise, people really latched onto those.

U

What critical activities have you taken up since lockdown to support your employees?


Kelly

From the start of lockdown, we knew we had to support our people. My initial move was to hold seminars myself for all of our managers, across the business, on how to work remotely and look after our wellbeing but, specifically, how to look after the wellbeing of your team. The managers are responsible. They are going through it themselves but, they have to lead their team as well.

I thought it was brilliant. Having 120 managers all converged together in one remote space – it was one of the first times we had really done that. The content was good but what was really great was I definitely felt a sense of connection.

We use Zoom, so we have the chat bar at the side. All of the chat going on during the seminar and afterwards made us realise that actually people weren’t just looking for solutions, advice and training but they also wanted opportunities to connect, so we carried that on.

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... actually, people weren't just looking for solutions... they wanted opportunities to connect

We have done four seminars now on remote working, specifically wellbeing of the team and practicalities of working from home, and also how to manage change. And it’s not just change from Covid, but also change as a business. We were still launching products and requiring people to pivot their own roles. So that topic felt pertinent.

Even though these sessions are voluntary, hundreds of managers have attended. They come together to connect, learn and share their own advice on how they were managing themselves and how they could support the teams.

U

Tell us about the Simply Business annual award ceremony – how, if at all, did you move forward with that?


Kelly

Our annual awards ceremony is normally held in another country. We were supposed to go to Madrid and have a lovely celebration of our employees and our successes.

We made the decision to go ahead with the ceremony – but virtually. We had nearly 700 people all on one Zoom. We thought we might break it. It was really amazing. It wasn’t a wellbeing initiative but I suppose it is a sign that these cultural occasions to connect our employees are still so valuable.

We said to people: ‘Dress to impress.’ They wore bow ties and cocktail dresses. We had some special Zoom backgrounds made with sparkles on. We had entertainment from SBers. Somebody played the piano. Others sang Despacito.

It sounds a bit cheesy but it’s one of the most amazing things that we have ever done. Who would have thought that would take the place of an external celebration in another country? It was the happiest I have seen a lot of people – it was just so much fun. I suppose it showed me that, even though sometimes it’s not the same being virtual, going ahead with things that really matter to people, and rewarding and recognising people virtually is still incredibly effective and really fun.

U

What are your considerations for an eventual return to work?


Kelly

Our key consideration is quite obvious really – it’s safety. For me, that doesn’t just mean a safe office from Covid and the spread of the virus, we’re also considering the mental health of our SBers. For some of our people, being safe at work means being in the office – when restrictions allow. This could be for many reasons including health and wellbeing, personal situations, and even technology and connectivity.

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...while it can be hard, a lot of people are finding benefits in this new way of working



It definitely is about choice. We have a company standpoint that’s safety first. When restrictions allowed, a handful of people returned to the office. Out of hundreds, we had less than 10 people going in. We recognise that, while it can be hard, a lot of people are finding benefits from this new way of working, whether that be an expensive commute is no longer an issue, or being able to walk the dog or take the kids to school.

Of course it’s about making sure safety is paramount, but it's also recognising that supporting the mental health of our employees means helping them to work effectively in different environments.

U

What is your biggest piece of advice for your peers in other organisations about this time?


Kelly

It’s been amazing to see that the whole business has engaged in wellbeing, and recognising its importance. The virus and everything that goes with it has meant that we have had to really take care of ourselves.

The danger is that we might lose some of that momentum and some of that spotlight. It’s about making sure that it’s a long term thing – not just Covid related. I have this silly strapline, I say to people: ‘Wellbeing is for life, not just for Covid.’

I used it when I was asking for my budget for next year!

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Wellbeing is for life, not just for Covid

My advice is to keep that momentum going and to keep those communications going and to keep banging the drum for wellbeing. It is so important. Some of these initiatives are really helping people in more ways than you realise. Don’t take your foot off the gas.

U

Thanks so much for your time Kelly, and best of luck for 2021!

To find out how, like Kelly, you could work with Unmind to bolster your proactive and preventative workplace mental health strategy through Covid and beyond, get in touch with one of our mental health technology experts.