Manufacturing company bolster its employees’ mental health and wellbeing

Overview

Bigham’s is a food manufacturing company which employs 650 people at two sites in London and Somerset.

As well as producing premium ready meals under the Charlie Bigham’s brand, the company also supplies a number of retailers and restaurants with own-brand products.

Challenge

Bigham’s was keen to take pro-active measures to bolster its employees’ mental health and wellbeing.

Mary Louca, People Business Partner at the firm, said:

“Mental health is essential and as our employees spend most of their day at work, it is imperative that our managers are able to have those conversations with their direct reports and signpost them to the relevant services should they need further support.”

Solution

Bigham’s chose to provide a cohort of its staff with our Mental Health First Aid course, which takes place over two days.

The course teaches participants how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health – and how to provide help to colleagues on a first aid basis.

Mary commented:

“We have a large and diverse workforce with different challenges both in and out of work. In order to maintain our culture, we need to be able to support all our employees appropriately.”

Outcome

Mary explained that the course had been well received, and revealed that participants had already been able to make use of the skills and knowledge acquired.

She said:

“The training was indeed extremely useful. Barrie was an excellent facilitator - as I’m sure the other delegates mentioned in their feedback.

 

“The first aiders have been approached by colleagues seeking assistance - and they were able to signpost them to the appropriate resources.

 

“People now feel more confident to speak openly about it which is a great step in our wellbeing journey. It is evident that people are now more open about the challenges they’re facing.”