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An employer's new goal-setting approach is helping to nurture "a culture that supports the whole person", its HR leader says.
Pureprofile, which has recently been shortlisted for three Inspiring Workplace Awards, has moved away from "performance goals only", global head of talent and culture Michelle Mowle tells HR Daily.
Under the new framework, employees can set two business goals, one development/growth goal, and one life/wellbeing goal.
"That provides more of well-rounded approach to performance of the individual, taking into account the integration of everything going on in their lives," Mowle says.
The life/wellbeing goal might be related to exercise or meditation, to reading more, or listening to more podcasts; it could be learning how to knit. It could be anything, Mowle says – or nothing, because setting one is not compulsory. Even so, about 80% of employees opt in.
"We set them in July each year, at the beginning of the financial year, and then we'll review them quarterly. But we do a more comprehensive review biannually." The personal goal is reviewed, but not with the same rigour as the business ones.
"We don't want [employees] to feel as though there's pressure around that goal. It's more sending the message that we support them and what they're wanting to achieve with their overall health and wellbeing," Mowle explains.
The act of putting a goal on paper, and telling someone else about it, can create "empowering" accountability, she says.
"At the end of last year there was a wrap-up, and everyone put in all their personal achievements as well as their work achievements.
"We had some people increase their reading by tenfold," Mowle says.
Others increased their fitness, or started practising mindfulness, or undertook LinkedIn Learning. People achieved "goals that they never thought they would, because they put their name to it", she adds.
Normalising seeking help
Pureprofile's benefits package now operates on the assumption that many employees have their own relationship with a mental health practitioner, Mowle says.
Staff can still access the employee assistance program, and might in the event of sudden need, but can now claim a subsidy for seeing their own therapist as well.
Coupled with the government subsidy, it means they can have up to 10 sessions per year at no expense, and benefit from seeing an expert with whom they have an ongoing relationship.
"It's also trying to promote people being transparent and open, and feeling safe enough to say that they're having challenges in that area... We assume everyone has their own GP... Why would we not assume that they have support around emotional or mental health as well?" she says.
It's early days yet, but the program has had noticeably more take up than the EAP and looks set to continue.
Leveraging the richness of neurodiversity
The organisation has also been partnering with Believe Neurodiversity with a view to reducing stigma, encouraging neurodivergent employees to talk about their needs so their employer can "get the best out of them and support them", Mowle says.
This has included a "brilliant" workshop on how to embrace neurodiversity and "really leverage the richness that that can bring", including advice for managers around how to navigate conversations.
"As a result of that we had some of our neurodiverse [people] come forward and talk to us about the fact they are neurodiverse and how they best operate. So I think we've already started to see the results of bringing awareness to the workplace."
The next step is to run an index survey, Mowle says. "We're going to roll it out in the next quarter across the organisation to essentially see how neurodiverse our workforce is. And then from there, what sort of programs we can work on."