8 Processes for More Effective Employee Support Schemes
Ms. Koay Saw Lean, Director of HR at Rajah and Tann Singapore LLP shares the organisation’s key processes for sustainable work-life practices.
18 Feb 2022 Articles Work-life harmony Best practices
The threat of burnout is real in the legal profession. The long hours of the job coupled with work demands can lead to high stress, exhaustion and ultimately, burnout from the job. At Rajah & Tann (R&T) we implement Employee Support Schemes (ESS) to provide a workplace that is safe and supports mental and physical health so that our people can have fulfilling lives both in and outside the office.
These are the key processes that support the successful and sustainable implementation of ESS at R&T, that other employers may consider as well.
#1 Conduct Assessments: Consider organising an internal survey, to ask your people what they need or wish to have. Have a list of options ready for them to choose from.
Surveying employees directly helps assess the current climate as to how a programme might be received, and to determine which types of wellness programmes to offer.
At R&T, we conduct our wellness survey online, on an annual basis, before we start to plan and develop any health & wellness programmes. These surveys not only give our employees a venue for open feedback, but it also helps us understand our employees demographic profile better and their wellness preferences. All wellness surveys completed are on an anonymous basis.
From the employee surveys, one of the popular programmes is the on-site annual corporate health screening. Assessing the health of our workforce provides us with important information that helps to shape the direction of our internal health and wellness initiatives. Employees too, will be aware of their health index and work towards a better and healthy lifestyle.
# 2 Set a Budget: Carve out a budget ready to organise the programme.
Setting a budget for your wellness programme can help determine various components of the programme, including the incentives you can offer employees. Depending on the structure of the programme, there may be various expenses related to the cost of incentives, activities and programme development. Thoroughly planning out your programme can help determine a budget that corresponds to your organisation's available resources and needs.
#3 Create Awareness: Actively advertise your programme.
At R&T, we create awareness of our wellness programmes through campaigns and company-wide email updates. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, we placed campaign posters at our “Courtyard” (main pantry), resting lounge and coffee corners where our lawyers and staff usually gather and relax.
Our employees are also kept up to date on the happenings of our firm through our monthly online R&T newsletter. In addition, we include health tips, fitness ideas, parenting, financial and other news updates under our “Well-Being” initiative in the Intranet. This platform provides our employees with a space to talk about positive matters and lets them know that the company embraces a positive and supportive culture.
#4 Design the Programme: Plan what you need to include in the employee support programme (e.g., exercise classes, health screenings, food & nutrition programmes, mental wellness programmes, coaching, counselling, access to external counsellors, technology tools for work-from-home).
Over the years, R&T has developed various strategies to improve work-life integration to enable greater sustainability for our lawyers and staff in the workplace. The firm has invested in a holistic programme on health and wellness relating to mental wellness, food & nutrition, financial as well as fitness classes.
However due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to move our usual face-to-face wellness programmes to a digital platform. Besides virtual fitness classes, the firm also launched its first virtual campaign, “Immunity for Life”, to encourage our employees to be “happy” and “how to be healthy” during the 2020 circuit breaker period. In 2021, we launched the “Pursuing Happiness” campaign to equip employees with experts’ practical tips on managing mental health during the Covid-19 period. Both campaigns were very well-received by our employees.
To further support employees, the firm continues to invest in the latest technological tools to enhance their efficiency and productivity when working remotely.
#5 Engage Employees: To encourage participation, provide incentives such as vouchers, fruits, little gifts, snack packs, etc.
To encourage participation, we had provided free fruits, fresh milk, lunch bento meals and vouchers in the past for lawyers and staff who had participated in the health & wellness programmes. During Covid-19 and work-from-home arrangements, these have been replaced with a free lunch delivered to employees’ homes for those who participate in the virtual campaign quizzes.
Recently, we have also introduced the Rajah & Tann Wellness Care Pack for every employee in recognition of their hard work and cooperation on Safe Management Measures implemented by the firm during this period.
#6 Spot the Gap: Evaluate and measure the success for every programme.
Rajah & Tann has a dedicated HR team to ensure fair, consistent, and equitable processes and practices to address employees’ needs and implement work-life strategies. The evaluation of our wellness programmes and their components are constantly reviewed, and conducted on an on-going basis. In addition, the team taps on lead indicators such as attrition rate, absenteeism rate and participation rate as a guide to review the firm’s health & wellness programmes.
Townhall sessions serve as another channel of communication and feedback where we can continuously improve our programmes.
#7 Communicate: Celebrate your milestones for key events and keep employees informed all the time.
A monthly “RTA e-postcard” that shares events, happenings, and updates such as festive celebrations, corporate social responsibility activities and regional training programmes from within the R&T network is sent to employees regularly. The e-postcard is a good opportunity to share stories, information and help create a strong and unified corporate culture across our regional offices.
We also celebrate our milestones through the Rajah & Tann LinkedIn Page to share company updates and interact with our employees, alumni as well as LinkedIn members.
#8 Measure and Evaluate: Measure the 'Happiness Index' of your company to understand how your people think, feel, and behave and re-evaluate your programmes if needed.
The pandemic has changed the “shape” of global happiness. To survive and thrive, organisations must actively listen to their people and gain a deep insight into their cultural health. Having a Happiness Index has helped our firm to measure employee engagement and help us understand how people think, feel, and behave. These data-driven insights are shared with our management team and from these insights, we will re-evaluate our existing programmes or implement new initiatives which will eventually help the firm to boost retention, productivity, and performance.
At Rajah and Tann, implementing effective employee support schemes requires planning ahead, regular evaluation and refinement of programmes. With these key processes in place, the implementation can be carried out seamlessly and sustainably – and ultimately support employee well-being for the long run.
This article was created as a part of the efforts of the Alliance for Action on Work-Life Harmony, which aims to increase public awareness of the importance of work-life harmony and work with community stakeholders to co-create work-life harmony initiatives.