Sally Green is the Business Development Officer at mental health charity Ponthafren in North Powys. Working closely with Newtown-based Robert Owen Community Banking, Waste Not and Open Newtown, she and partnership colleagues provide a truly innovative service to the business community in Newtown and the surrounding area.
Each of the partners in this Welsh Government funded pilot provides access to specific tailored support for business – so in Ponthafren’s case issues such as low morale and poor mental health amongst staff are addressed.
Building Resilient Businesses sounds like an amazing project, so we got in touch with Sally to find out more.
How was the need for this project identified?
“Bringing together new nature-based partnerships at a replicable market town scale; engaging many more people and businesses (both urban and rural) in sustainably managing their natural resources alongside piloting new models of delivery.
Placing young people and their role as ‘ecological observers’ at the evidence-based heart of the project, underpinning understanding and awareness. Marrying this with the piloting of viable long-term solutions for green prescribing and business wellbeing / resilience and beginning to pilot ecosystem service payments with landowners."
How did you come together to set up the partnership?
There are three partners within our stream which are ENRAW (Enabling Natural Resources & Wellbeing Scheme), ROCBF (Robert Owen Community Banking Fund) and we are Workstream 2. We all decided that we wanted to use our own expertise to help businesses, so it made sense for discussions around co-operation to take place.
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| Sally Green, Ponthafren's Business Development Officer |
Ponthafren is a local charity promoting positive mental health. As part of this project promoting wellbeing and resilience in business, we will offer help to businesses and organisations in their role as employers to:
- Support their staff’s health and wellbeing.
- Better understand the employer's mental health responsibility towards their staff.
As a mental health charity what do Ponthafren feel is key to the success of this project?
Communication is the key in the workplace and mental health conversations take patience, confidence and trust which can be difficult when talking to your employer about something that could be impacting work. What can help is:
- Space and time to talk openly.
- 1-2-1 time.
- Weekly staff meetings.
- Weekly management meetings.
What is your background Sally and your main role in the project?
I am the Business Development Officer for the role and along with my colleagues we look after the project and I do all the administrative side. I go out to meetings with prospective businesses and hold events to promote the work we are doing.
Which businesses are eligible for support and how do they source it? Do they need to receive support around all strands?
Over 750 businesses in and around the Newtown area will be contacted firstly by email, then followed up with a phone call. We all keep in touch as regards who we are contacting.
I am the Business Development Officer for the role and along with my colleagues we look after the project and I do all the administrative side. I go out to meetings with prospective businesses and hold events to promote the work we are doing.
Which businesses are eligible for support and how do they source it? Do they need to receive support around all strands?
Over 750 businesses in and around the Newtown area will be contacted firstly by email, then followed up with a phone call. We all keep in touch as regards who we are contacting.
However, any business in the Newtown area is welcome to contact Ponthafren and ask about the service.
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Many factors in our personal and professional lives can affect staff mental health and sometimes it can be hard to separate the two. Examples such as a new manager or supervisor, risk of redundancies for you or your colleagues, rising cost of living, personal life changes, loss of friends in the workplace, promotions/increased responsibilities, improper work-life balance, and working conditions/workload can all lead to:
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Sickness
- Panic attacks
- Depression
- Anger
What might happen to workers and businesses if they did not receive the right support?
If the staff’s mental health and wellbeing is not supported this could result in changes in their behaviour and mood and how they interact with their colleagues. Work output, motivation levels and focus could all be affected. People can appear tired, anxious or withdrawn, and lose interest.
This can also lead to people being off sick, sometimes long term, which can result in expense to the company in replacing or covering for them. In the worst case if this is managed badly by the employer, costly employment tribunals and also payment of compensation may be put in place.
What role do your project partners play in supporting businesses?
The Building Resilient Businesses project is being delivered by the following partners:
A small improvement in some, if not all these areas, could mean the difference between staying afloat or closing.
Ponthafren, Circular Economy Mid Wales (CEMW), and Robert Owen Community Banking Fund (ROCBF) are coming together to support Newtown’s 750 businesses, by offering business support services, to address these issues and offer solutions.
Circular Economy Mid Wales will provide environmental efficiency support, tailor made to individual businesses in Newtown in addition to their public work on reuse and repair.
Robert Owen Community Banking is looking at ways to help with credit and ways of helping with the supply chains.
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What are some of the advantages in working together?
There are three parties working together in this stream.We all have our own areas to work in but it is always good to work together as we can bounce ideas off each other. We can all support each other as well.
Are there any disadvantages or ways of partnership working that could be improved?
I think the only disadvantage is if we all contact the same business/organisation at once leading to confusion between the services or increasing demand on the businesses time to speak to us all.
What feedback have you received so far from local businesses?
We have sent out leaflets and emails along with a questionnaire to a variety of businesses in the Newtown area and are now awaiting a response. Two of the local businesses are going through the service at the moment and we have just finished a report for one of them having looked at the questionnaires they have sent us with our findings and recommendations.
It's been good to hear from businesses that we have been able to verify concerns they suspected may be there and that we have been able to report back on the positives employees feel in the workplace too. Due to the anonymity of the employee feedback, businesses can be more confident in what is being shared about employee mental health and wellbeing.
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If the staff’s mental health and wellbeing is not supported this could result in changes in their behaviour and mood and how they interact with their colleagues. Work output, motivation levels and focus could all be affected. People can appear tired, anxious or withdrawn, and lose interest.
This can also lead to people being off sick, sometimes long term, which can result in expense to the company in replacing or covering for them. In the worst case if this is managed badly by the employer, costly employment tribunals and also payment of compensation may be put in place.
What role do your project partners play in supporting businesses?
The Building Resilient Businesses project is being delivered by the following partners:
- Circular Economy Mid Wales
- Robert Owen Community Banking Fund
A small improvement in some, if not all these areas, could mean the difference between staying afloat or closing.
Ponthafren, Circular Economy Mid Wales (CEMW), and Robert Owen Community Banking Fund (ROCBF) are coming together to support Newtown’s 750 businesses, by offering business support services, to address these issues and offer solutions.
Circular Economy Mid Wales will provide environmental efficiency support, tailor made to individual businesses in Newtown in addition to their public work on reuse and repair.
Robert Owen Community Banking is looking at ways to help with credit and ways of helping with the supply chains.
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What are some of the advantages in working together?
There are three parties working together in this stream.We all have our own areas to work in but it is always good to work together as we can bounce ideas off each other. We can all support each other as well.
Are there any disadvantages or ways of partnership working that could be improved?
I think the only disadvantage is if we all contact the same business/organisation at once leading to confusion between the services or increasing demand on the businesses time to speak to us all.
What feedback have you received so far from local businesses?
We have sent out leaflets and emails along with a questionnaire to a variety of businesses in the Newtown area and are now awaiting a response. Two of the local businesses are going through the service at the moment and we have just finished a report for one of them having looked at the questionnaires they have sent us with our findings and recommendations.
It's been good to hear from businesses that we have been able to verify concerns they suspected may be there and that we have been able to report back on the positives employees feel in the workplace too. Due to the anonymity of the employee feedback, businesses can be more confident in what is being shared about employee mental health and wellbeing.
Tell us about some of the most rewarding work you have done so far on this project
Just talking to people about Mental Health in the Workplace is very rewarding for me. I am working closely with my couple of clients and hope to get them onboard very soon.
When you’re not working how do you enjoy spending your time?
I have a very busy family life and love spending time with them. I also do a lot of work with Macmillan Cancer Support. After having breast cancer in 2016 I wanted to give something back. I like to travel and socialise with my family and friends. I sing in a local ladies’ choir as well which is very good for your mental health.
Just talking to people about Mental Health in the Workplace is very rewarding for me. I am working closely with my couple of clients and hope to get them onboard very soon.
When you’re not working how do you enjoy spending your time?
I have a very busy family life and love spending time with them. I also do a lot of work with Macmillan Cancer Support. After having breast cancer in 2016 I wanted to give something back. I like to travel and socialise with my family and friends. I sing in a local ladies’ choir as well which is very good for your mental health.
Many thanks to Sally for telling us more about the Building Resilient Businesses project. If you would like to find out more you can contact Sally by emailing: sally.green@ponthafren.org.uk
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