Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 15TH - 21ST DECEMBER 2017 | 19 scheme saves up to 2,000 tonnes of CO2 a year by generating enough elec- tricity to power two nearby villages, Watchfield and Shrivenham. BSR operates and manages nearly 6 per cent of the UK's utility-scale solar power and Westmill takes its portfolio to 536MW from 50 projects. If you have an asset or project you would like to see featured in this slot, please send details of the project to: paulnewton@fav-house.com Pipe up Andy Brierley W e've been focusing hard on developing a wellbeing strategy for at least three years now. Over the same period, recruitment pressures, made worse by Brexit, have grown. To my mind, this has turned having a proactive wellbeing strategy from being a nice-to-have into an urgent must-have. Here are eight lessons I have learnt from our wellbeing journey so far. 1. It helps if you really do care. I really, really want people to enjoy working with us and to feel fulfilled. I want them to be happy, and I'm upset when anyone wants to leave. 2. Wellbeing is much more than apples and bananas. Encouraging healthy eating is good. We do that. But our definition of wellbeing is much broader: it's hap- piness, and all the little and big things that can affect it. Starting big helps you capture the full scope of what affects wellbeing. 3. You must take all concerns seriously. Wellbeing means different things to different people. 4. You must prove you mean it. People will only reveal personal information that helps you help them if they trust you. So, we've had to prove we want to help. That includes overcoming the scepti- cism of managers. 5. It can improve the bottom line. Since we introduced our feeling app, which under- pins our wellbeing strategy, our churn rate has halved. The number of leavers in November 2016 was 36. This November it was 11. Each leaver costs us £6,000 to replace. It makes sense to keep your team happy. 6. There are lots of other benefits. I believe our manag- ers are now better leaders. Our colleagues are more engaged. If our staff are happy, they are more likely to make customers happy. In the past year, we have achieved record customer satisfaction scores. I don't think that's a coincidence. 7. Ninety per cent of issues are non-work related. Most of the personal wellbeing issues we help with have nothing directly to do with work. Relationship problems, alcohol dependency, gambling addiction, depression – we've helped colleagues with all these and more. But the ben- efit for us, as an employer, is very real. 8. Once you start, you can't stop. As we understand our workforce better, we want to do more. We've now employed a full-time wellbeing engagement officer who works with colleagues to resolve their problems, and help us understand and reduce wellbeing risks. This is not being nice for the sake of it. It's a people imperative, driven by the fact that we really do care. Andy Brierley, director, Lanes Utilities "Wellbeing is a business issue. If our staff are happy, they are more likely to make customers happy." "Since we introduced our feeling app, our employee churn rate has halved" Operations & Assets

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