CHRO Corner: Supporting Employee Mental Health

CHRO Deb LaMere discusses how Datasite maintains its culture of connection by providing flexibility and acting on employee feedback.

By Maggie Mancini

HRO Today: Why should prioritizing efforts that support employee’s well-being be a part of companies’ attraction and retention programs?  

Deb LaMere: Creating a workplace where employees feel valued, connected, and seen can contribute to a happier and more engaged workforce, which can lead to greater innovation, creativity, and collaboration. This, then, not only helps support growth at organizations and better customer service, but also helps to reduce turnover, as a happier and more engaged workforce is more likely to stay at the company or entice new workers to join the company.  

HROT: What are some steps employees can take to ensure they are putting their mental health and well-being first? 

LaMere: Taking employee mental health into consideration is key for any company looking to flourish today. There are several ways to do this. 

• Ensure that employees are not overworking on a consistent basis. Employees need to take time away from work by using their paid time off. Disconnecting with family and friends or doing something enjoyable helps employees recharge.  
• Make sure that employees are prioritizing their well-being by helping them understand what benefits and resources are available to them. Many organizations provide a variety of tools, often available at any time, to support mental health and well-being. 
• Encourage employees to ask for help when they need it. Creating a culture of transparent and open communication lets employees know that they can discuss challenges and that they shouldn’t be afraid to communicate their needs, whether it’s with their managers, a team member with a specific skill set, or a mentor.  

HROT: How is Datasite supporting employee well-being and what results are you seeing?  

LaMere: Datasite continues to maintain a culture of connection by focusing on meeting the needs and expectations of the modern workforce. Datasite does this by providing flexibility and work-life balance, opportunities for collaboration and holistic training, skills development, and acting on employee feedback.  

Some examples of how we do this include recognizing and celebrating World Mental Health Day by providing employees with an additional day off to relax and recharge. We’ve also created spaces for open dialogue to enable employees to learn with each other, and from each other. Recently, for example, Datasite hosted third-party provided well-being workshops for all employees focusing on topics such as understanding individual response to stress and defining the meaning of wellness. The interactive workshops helped employees exchange ideas and suggestions.  

Also, at Datasite, managers complete a two-day training program focused on leading with empathy and listening to individual employee needs, and managers are encouraged to host regular check-ins with employees. This approach has helped lift our annual employee engagement survey by five points year-over-year in both Datasite’s overall employee satisfaction scores, as well as well-being scores.  

HROT: What are some keys to a successful hybrid work environment?   

LaMere: Datasite continues to maintain flexibility or the opportunity for many remote and hybrid work arrangements to give employees flexibility and freedom. At the same time, we also bring employees together on a regular basis to create stronger connections and better outcomes by blending in-person collaboration with flexibility. 

One way we do this is by creating unique opportunities to build relationships no matter where an employee is located. For example, Datasite recently coordinated a global movement challenge. Not only did the challenge encourage employees to incorporate movement into their days, but it also gave employees the chance to bond over a common goal. Through a special application that was used to coordinate the challenge, employees were also able to share photos from their activities and encouraging messages with each other, building a sense of camaraderie and connection.  

Listening to employees is also important. Throughout the year, employee needs may change based on what is occurring in the business, and even the world. In addition to conducting an annual employee engagement survey, we also conduct quarterly employee pulse checks to ensure our initiatives align with what matters to our employees. 

HROT: What is your favorite way to spend your free time?  

LaMere: I love to travel in my free time. It gives me the chance to experience new people, places and cultures while creating shared experiences with family and friends. When I’m not traveling, I also look to cook! For me, going through each recipe preparation step is relaxing. And at the end, I have a great meal to enjoy and share with others!