Employee wellbeing is much more than a nice-to-have. Evidence suggests that employee wellbeing levels impact organisational success in a big way! When employees feel good, they tend to perform better, are more engaged and are less likely to quit. Organisations also tend to see an average 10% improvement in customer satisfaction and shareholder return. If we factor in that one in five Australians experience a mental health condition in any year, it is clear that organisations need to take action strategically to build long-term, sustainable wellbeing throughout the employee lifecycle – from attraction to exit.
A recent PwC study suggests that 38% of Australians are potentially thinking of quitting their job in the next year. According to The Australian Financial Review, it takes on average six months to locate, onboard, and train new talent, with an estimate of $200,000 of lost productivity when a person leaves. When deep-diving into the reasons for this current wave of resignations, research shows that health and wellbeing is the second most important driver of employee satisfaction – only second to remuneration and reward. If employees are the most important assets of a company, then employee wellbeing should be viewed as a cornerstone of an organisation's Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
Improving employee wellbeing and engagement is not a ‘set and forget’ exercise. It’s a cultural change initiative that takes analysis, planning, and time. But, don’t let the term cultural change put you off. Every good cultural change incorporates easy wins – or low-hanging oranges - that we can pick to have an immediate impact in our organisations, while on the road to the larger ‘strategic’, organisational-wide initiatives.
Spoiler alert: even the smallest organisation with a limited budget can take a strategic approach to wellbeing.
Systems thinking is a way of making sense of the complexity of a given network by looking at it in terms of the whole system and recognising the interconnectedness of relationships, roles, functional units and processes, rather than by splitting it down into its parts. It has been used as a way of exploring and developing effective action in complex contexts.
As Victoria’s Department of Health suggests, wellbeing is not just the absence of disease or illness. It’s more like a system - a complex combination of a person's physical, mental, emotional and social health factors. Although, there are many external factors that influence an individual’s wellbeing that organisations cannot control, when you think that, on average, people spend a third of their lives at work, there are many initiatives that organisations can put in place to positively influence the wellbeing of their people.
A successful wellbeing strategy often outlines the organisation’s commitment to a systems approach to employee mental and physical health. It defines an action plan to ensure that employee wellbeing underpins every aspect of the organisation. It ensures wellbeing is integral to the entire employee lifecycle; from attracting the right talent to mitigating attrition, or reducing the likelihood of employees leaving the organisation. The key to long-term, sustainable success of a wellbeing strategy also lies in its everyday application and optimisation.
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Viewing the end-to-end employee experience as a lifecycle with employee wellbeing central to this can provide a helpful framework for identifying strengths, opportunities and gaps in an organisation's systems and processes. The employee lifecycle includes all touchpoints that an employee or prospective employee has with an organisation – from attraction, recruitment, induction, to learning and development, retention and attrition (or exiting). It’s not always completely linear and there is some overlap between stages. The following section outlines a few key considerations at each stage to consider how employee wellbeing is built into the employee lifecycle.
From the moment a prospective employee learns about your organisation, there’s an opportunity to communicate your employee value proposition (EVP) and how wellbeing is embedded in your workplace. Considering all the domains of wellbeing - from flexible, family-friendly working practices through to training and wellbeing days - communicating the wellbeing offering will help you attract the right talent, in an increasingly tight labour market.
Employees are also your most important brand ambassadors. Fostering a culture of wellbeing increases the probability that your current employees will spread the word about how great it is to work in your organisation.
A key way we can support the wellbeing of our people is in the way we design the job. When an employee leaves your organisation it’s a great opportunity to use the data you gather from the exit interview/survey to redesign the role. If the role is new, then ensure you’ve consulted key stakeholders to maximise the impact of the role and reduce any uncertainty. If the job itself is overloaded, or the skillsets of the candidates don’t match the expected outcomes of the role, it’s likely you’ll increase the risk of negatively impacting the employee’s wellbeing which may potentially lead to burnout, dissatisfaction and more attrition.
Finding and securing a new job can also be a challenging and stressful experience. Organisations have a role to play in supporting candidates to have the best opportunity for success. As David Rock’s SCARF model suggests, when experiencing change and uncertainty, people benefit from leaders creating more certainty and communicating regularly. Designing a recruitment process that supports and includes people with regular feedback and two-way communication can provide candidates with a positive experience that supports their wellbeing even if they are not successful in the role.
It’s important to keep in mind that for the interviewee, the job interview is an opportunity to assess whether the role and company culture offers a suitable fit for their professional and personal lives. The employer can support them during the interview by portraying a clear vision of their organisational culture.
As the saying goes, start as you mean to go on! The induction process sets a foundation for the employee experience, and is an ideal time to introduce the employee to organisational values, culture, expected behaviours and norms. To make sure your onboarding process is positive, ask for and listen to feedback from the minute the new team member starts.
At The Oranges Toolkit, we love the idea of a ‘policy-free first week’. This is where you avoid bombarding your new team members with heavy policies, procedures, and online compliance training... Let their first week be about connection and culture, not compliance!
Learning and development (L&D) are more of a constant rather than a stage in the employee lifecycle, as learning occurs formally and informally at every step. To remain engaged and feel valued in the workplace, employees may need fresh challenges and a growth path to maintain their motivation. Beyond technical and job-related learning and development, organisations can strengthen wellbeing and their EVP through the provision of personal development training programs related to general wellbeing or more specific learning outcomes like managing stress, avoiding burnout, or developing resilient and agile thinking.
Employee retention is influenced by many factors. Recent research suggests employee engagement is most impacted by leadership, remuneration, recognition, flexible work practices, and support for mental health and wellbeing.
Using measurement and analysis tools can be helpful to assess priority areas or outcomes that need to be addressed, and what success you can celebrate too. From very simple actions, such as allocated time in meeting agendas for wellbeing check-ins, to planned breaks and wellness events, through to more comprehensive wellbeing training and support programs – investing in the wellbeing of your employees pays off. Research suggests that, on average, every $1 spent on creating mentally healthy workplaces, organisations receive a return of up to $4.
The lifecycle of an employee will always come to an end. Often overlooked in organisations, why and how people leave can offer rich insights into how to improve wellbeing and engagement at work for everyone. It is important to capture data about why people leave the organisation through exit interviews and surveys. Furthermore, offering support for those transitioning to retirement or parental leave are also important contributors to a positive workplace culture.
When an employee leaves, it can also have an impact on others in the organisation. Thus, organisations can take this golden opportunity to acknowledge the departing employee's contributions, and provide a safe space to obtain honest and open feedback through conversations with remaining employees. Leaving well has a positive influence on the wellbeing of the departing employee, and can positively influence others too. They may even return to the organisation in the future.
Many organisations using this guide might already have a wellbeing strategy in place, or have valuable insights on what needs to be worked on. In any case, we recommend the following before designing or reviewing your employee lifecycle:
Importantly, organisations are more likely to create sustained behaviour change when wellbeing is seen as a cultural foundation rather than a standalone program, pillar, training or initiative. Wherever possible, take a top-down and bottom-up approach - with executive leadership 'buy in', not just sponsorship from the Head of People and Culture. Meanwhile, empower a team of wellbeing champions to activate a grassroots movement to positively influence their peers.
To help you develop or refine your wellbeing plan, we have provided a quick guide on how to do this in the following infographic. Feel free to download and share it with others!
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Get in touch to let us know and explore how we can work together.
The Oranges Toolkit offers a range of science-based workplace wellbeing programs focusing on practical actions you can take to build resilience, energy, and emotional agility.
Remember there is help all around. If you or someone you know needs extra support, we recommend contacting your workplace Employee Assistance Program (EAP), a qualified health practitioner, or:
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
- Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
You are welcome to download and share the above employee lifecycle infographic here and share it with peers and colleagues. Complete the form for an instant download and we'll be in touch.
