Tai Tarian reaches milestone in staff health and wellbeing
Tai Tarian has reached a notable milestone in its quest to improve the health and wellbeing of its workforce.
In partnership with i-act, the UK’s leading provider of workplace mental health and wellbeing courses, the Neath Port Talbot-based social housing provider has now trained all their managers in how to look after the wellbeing of their staff and themselves.
The target has been reached in just under a year. The i-act course sees managers given the tools and resources needed to step-in and help staff who may be struggling with their mental health.
The training has been delivered by Tai Tarian’s Organisational Development and Learning Manager, Kelly Mordecai, who trained as an i-act instructor so she could deliver the course herself to colleagues.
Speaking about the achievement, Kelly said:
“The last 20 months have been difficult for many people, with lots of uncertainty in the world together with long periods of isolation, cut off from family and friends.
"Early on in the pandemic, we identified this as a potential problem and set about finding ways of combatting this and supporting staff.
"The i-act course was perfect for us as it helped people manage their mental health in both work and at home. Personal problems can often have an impact at work and with many of our staff working from home we wanted to ensure that any concerns are dealt with and staff supported.
"The fact that I was also able to train as an instructor and deliver the course myself meant we could deliver the i-act training to more staff than we could have otherwise. In addition to the main training, I also host regular, informal sessions with the managers to support them with any ongoing issues and continue the conversation.
"I’ve thoroughly enjoyed delivering each session over the past year as we look to create a culture of openness and break down the stigma and barriers associated with mental health."
With all managers now trained, work is continuing to roll-out a similar i-act course to other staff. So far 125 people have undertaken i-act’s Understanding and Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing course, with the training set to continue for others over the coming year.
Speaking on behalf of i-act, Chartered Psychologist, Peter J. Green said:
“At i-act we have been thrilled to partner with one of the largest social landlords in Wales, Tai Tarian. The dedication and proactive approach shown by them should be regarded as a model of best practice in supporting workplace mental health and wellbeing and we hope that other organisations are able to follow their lead.
"Kelly and the team at Tai Tarain are truly inspiring and have made a significant difference, particularly during the challenges which have been brought about by the global pandemic.”
