Supporting employees’ wellbeing is fundamental to Admiral’s culture, to making it a great place to work, and to its overall success.
The financial services firm has more than 7,500 employees that work in its Cardiff and Swansea offices, at home across the UK, or a mixture of both.
Ensuring they are all happy and healthy is important to Admiral, as shown through its dedicated wellbeing and workplace support team who are mental health first aiders and continuously improve the benefits and support on offer.
These include an employee assistance programme, provided by Aviva, an Ear to Listen scheme in partnership with Talk in the Bay which offers access to qualified counsellors, menopause provision and support in association with Health and Her and Bupa, access to the Thrive App for mental health support, a Gympass scheme, wellbeing information on its intranet, meditation sessions with its in-house wellbeing coach, and bespoke training and coaching sessions for managers on parental leave and people solutions, which focuses on how to support and signpost mental health.
The organisation acknowledges that everyone is different and that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work, therefore, offers a variety of health and wellbeing support from both internal and external sources so staff can find a combination that works for them and their particular needs.
It also has a growing network of representatives within departments who receive additional training to support wellbeing within their areas and be points of contact for those who need further information, explains Rhian Langham, head of people at Admiral.
“We want to educate, enable and engage our people, giving them the tools to manage their health and wellbeing,” she says. “We hope that this combination from central and local teams makes our support accessible and inclusive.”
In order to recognise and avoid any barriers to any benefits take up, Admiral holds quarterly surveys to listen to employees’ views, as well as other feedback avenues such as digital feedback, face-to-face focus groups and its employer consultation group to gather opinions from across the business.
A culture of openness and two-way communication to encourage staff to share their views and make recommendations is regularly promoted, says Langham.
“Alongside this, we aim to stay ahead of the curve in terms of what staff may need in the future so we can be in the best position to tailor our support to meet practical needs,” she adds. “Data can tell us a lot too; we evaluate the engagement rates with the benefits we have in place and make adjustments based on this and the views of our people.”
Admiral ensures its health and wellbeing strategy is inclusive and accessible to all by encouraging face-to-face communication, support and signposting to make sure it reaches those who may be struggling, combined with its online platforms and digital communications.
“This allows wellbeing content to be accessible to those both in the office and at home. We want to appeal to everyone in the way they most relate to whether they work in our offices, hybrid or at home. Where possible we engage on a person-to-person basis and don’t rely on often oversaturated digital methods of engagement,” Langham concludes.