CIPD

A starter for 10 x Dos
- have a high level sponsor
- look around the organisation to find a team leader - someone ( outside HR) for whom the subject matter is important. - only if no one is an obvious choice , post the opportunity
- work with the sponsor and team leader to define parameters of the work of the group
- in conjunction with the sponsor present concept to get buy in from lead team, indicating time commitment involved
- set limit on numbers of participants in group
- agree with lead team how to recruit team members - seek volunteers from different departments, levels, backgrounds, etc to ensure optimum diversity in make up of group.
- give those who volunteered but didnt make it to the group a role - eg focus group for ideas generated by the E&D Wellbeing Staff group
- ensure that group is facilitated ( possibly by HR) to ensure that the group does not take on more than is achievable in bite sized chunks.
- launch with a trial period focusing on low hanging fruit, build from there always ensuring effective time management and delivery in accordance with timelines set
- regularly check in with sponsor on progress
also are there any other opportunities for improvement in your organisation that are being tackled by quality improvement teams or SWOT teams - if there are a couple of other staff groups or teams being launched at the same time to achieve organisation wide improvements, it is more likely that the idea to set up the E&D Wellbeing team would be viewed in a broader context of the HE establishment looking to involve staff in other aspects of organisation development.
And a few don'ts
- don't launch until you have key stakeholder / lead team buy in
- don't reinvent the wheel - use the team to source info on best practice - other tried and tested ideas in other HE and no HE establishments
- don't launch if in your judgement the organisation readiness to implement likely recommendations is in question/doubt
- don't forget that an easy way to get data to analyse is by surveys ( of staff) and this also gives a greater overall level of participation
- dont forget the impact that this could have on staff consultation committee - find a role for them possibly in considering recommendations. Could the E&D Well being team even be positioned as a sub set of the staff consultation committee ?
Health warning - my experience is in fmcg, pharma and med devices- none in HE ! I therefore hope that some of the above tips and traps translate across into your sector.

Hi I've been working in New Zealand with a tertiary organisation and they are doing some great work - group of champions all received extra training in supporting and promoting wellbeing, training for leaders (compulsory - interesting approach but seems to have mostly landed positively), optional training for the wider employees, online website of resources and HR/People related conversations introduced which align to wellbeing and resilience at work.

In reply to Kathryn:

Hi Kathryn, thank you and is it possible to get more details?

In reply to Kevin Elvidge:

Kevin, that's brilliant. Thank you. Really gives me foundations to start.

In reply to Kevin Elvidge:

Thank you, Kevin.

In reply to Ilona:

Hello, I'm more than happy to do so - are you able to give me your PM/email address and I'll send you some information through? I've actually written a "lessons learned" from our experience in Christchurch New Zealand but I don't really push it so happy to share on request!