You may have a great company culture but how are you benchmarking it properly? Not doing so can cause issues down the road, says Michelle Hoskin, managing director, Standards International.
When people are job hunting, it’s remarkable how many businesses say they have “a great culture,” “fantastic employee assisted offerings” and “the support needed to realise their extraordinary potential.”
But the reality is most people will assume that’s just flannel. Nobody really knows until they are on the inside. And by then it might be too late!
All businesses claim they are shiny, bright and beautiful to work for. But the day a person starts working with them, they quickly realise the toxic levels of bullying, nepotism, discrimination and unhealthy work expectations that can massively encroach on family and social time. Never mind, finding themselves fast-tracked in front of the Employment Tribunal for shabby work practices.
Likewise, the opposite is also true.
Businesses might do a tremendous amount of good work in this space but who truly knows it? People naturally assume that the business culture is just as toxic or ‘meh’ as any other, despite what the business crows about on its website, job recruitment posts and social media. But they can then be pleasantly surprised when they realise that the business is speaking the truth, and actually it has gone above and beyond to provide a truly excellent culture where everyone feels genuinely valued.
In reality, nobody is going to believe a business that says they are focused on wellbeing unless they can prove it. And that’s the question… how can businesses prove their wellbeing credentials in a way that is genuinely believable?
Not just about bean bags
These days, it’s just not good enough for businesses to provide beanbags, table tennis, free fruit, free sanitary products, dress down Thursdays, working from home options and pizza and beer after work on Fridays. There’s so much more to having a healthy working environment focused on excellence in not just psychological health and safety but genuine wellbeing processes in the workplace.
In fact, in these days post Covid-19 where it can be a struggle to get people to work at the office, it’s even more important to display the business’ wellbeing bona fides in a way that makes people pay attention.
So how can small businesses in our sector prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they put the wellbeing of their team at the same, or even higher, levels of importance as they do profits and promotions? After all, if the business wants to improve on the latter, it’s best to prioritise the former in order to get the best out of their people.
New standard
The answer is ISO 45003 – The Wellbeing Standard of Excellence. It is the first global standard giving practical and certified guidance on managing psychological health and wellbeing in the workplace.
Created by an international committee of experts and building on global examples of best practice, it provides frameworks and guidelines for managing psychosocial risk at work, as part of an excellent approach towards occupational health and safety.
Here at Standards International, we are the standards body for the wellbeing of excellence certification. This is the cherry on top for businesses to show the world they follow the standard guidelines and are awarded ISO certification in recognition of their efforts.
This world class wellbeing certificate of excellence is designed to support organisations that are committed to building a best practice management system and to bolster businesses already familiar with ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety. It’s truly all-embracing, as a benchmark for addressing wellbeing should be!
Essentially, the ISO 45003 wellbeing standard encompasses:
- The five key principles to support psychological wellbeing at work
- Leadership commitment and review
- Team consultation and participation
- Objectives to address psychosocial risk
- Eliminating hazards, reducing risk and promoting wellbeing at work
- The operational framework for maintaining psychological wellbeing at work
- Best practice tools, templates and guides.
If your business is interested in getting your organisation certified and validated as an outstanding business focused on objectively verified standards of wellbeing and excellence for your organisation, let’s talk.
It’s a very straightforward process where you apply to join the various learning cohorts that kick off every few months of the year then start building your business capacity, skills and processes step-by-step with our support and guidance.
Once your business has progressed through the various stages of learning, review and implementation, you will then be assessed before being finally awarded the ISO 45003 certification.
This kite mark of excellence signifies to the prospective employees, clients and businesses that the business really is a wellbeing ambassador and has the tools, support and validation to prove it.
Supporting positive mental health and wellbeing in the workplace has never been more important, especially after lockdown and during tough economic times. Understanding, implementing and adhering to this international standard of excellence will improve the resilience of your business, boost the engagement, performance, and productivity of your team, and make your business a magnet for new talent!
What’s not to love?
This article was first published in the December 2022 issue of Professional Paraplanner.
