Our people are our biggest asset – fact! We simply wouldn’t be here without them, which sounds obvious we know, but it’s true! And as such, we support them in all areas of their lives. Mental health and wellbeing is incredibly important to us (it’s not just a tick box exercise!) and we are always looking at ways to improve how we support everyone at The Verve Group.

In honour of #WorldMentalHealthDay, we’ve been reflecting on how we support our team to be the best and happiest version of themselves, both inside work and out. As part of our People Plan, we recently refreshed our ‘Approaches’ (our Verve take on a boring policy!)

Our Flexible Working Approach

Gone are the days of traditional Monday-Friday, especially since Covid, and we absolutely embrace this shift. We offer everyone a more flexible style of work to allow our team to make work fit around their life – giving them a better work-life balance and ultimately helping their mental health.

Our Time Away from Work Approach

We know that work is just one of the many aspects of life. Personal lives can get hectic and are full of lots of things that take priority, which you simply wouldn’t want to miss. No one should have to work on their birthday, right? So, we give all our team their birthday off to enjoy however they wish (some boozier than others!) along with giving them a ‘volunteer day’ every year to spend supporting any charity close to their heart. The approach also includes lots of other great stuff, such as taking their children to their first day of school, along with sick pay to ensure our team get the rest and recuperation they need when they are ill.

Our New Families Approach

Having children is one of the biggest milestones in a person’s life. We believe it should be celebrated and we want our team to feel like we have their backs (one of our values!) during this time. We offer parents enhanced full paid leave to enjoy time with their new family at home. This approach also includes compassionate support and leave for miscarriage or loss of a child, as when the worst should happen, we want our team to know we offer the support and time to heal.

Our Employee Development Approach

As we’ve already said, our people are a biggest asset, so we naturally want them to feel supported in their personal and professional growth and development. This approach empowers them to be invested in their own development, giving them time and budget each year towards training that works for them. We appreciate every individual is different and so needs training that is right for them. We have a new role of ‘People Coaches’, who do exactly as the name suggests, and support and mentor our employees on a daily basis, helping them grow, learn and be the best version of themselves.

Wellbeing @ The Verve Group

We’re great believers in healthy body, healthy mind and so to complement these amazing approaches, we also have an incredible team of ‘Wellbeing Champions’ who have volunteered their time to work with our Communications Lead, to create activities, events, challenges and lots more to help support our team’s mental health and wellbeing.

We want to build a working environment where everyone feels comfortable to be the best version of themselves. To encourage people out of their comfort zones, in a safe and supportive environment where they can try new things, create new relationships, and most importantly, have some fun! The Verve Group is very much a family, and we encourage acts of generosity and kindness to each other, as well as supporting the local community through our charitable activities.

Our Wellbeing Champions look at three key areas – ‘Fun and Social’, ‘Mind and Body’ and ‘Charity and Good Causes’ (as shown in the snazzy diagram below) as we believe it’s a mix of all these aspects that leads to wholesome wellbeing: