Kyla Farmer, Group HR Director at Keltbray, talks through the importance of supporting our people…

One of the key goals of our Engineering our Resilience Transformation Programme is ensuring we maintain a great place to work where our people thrive.   But we recognise there are many different factors that can impact how people ‘show up’ at work.  And of course we want people to ‘show up’ at their best.

We know any mental or physical health challenges can have a big impact but it can be so much more than that.  Bereavement, moving home, financial difficulties, family challenges, dependent care, illness, legal matters… The list goes on.  Life can just be really tough sometimes.  This is why we were so keen to have an employee assistance programme (LifeWorks) in place. LifeWorks provides an additional support for our people on a 24/7 basis to help navigate whatever challenges life throws at us. LifeWorks can help with mental health issues, financial/debt advice, legal advice, help navigating the care system, counselling and so much more.

Why is this important for Keltbray?

At Keltbray we are very proud to say that we really try to help and support our people no matter what is going on in their home or work life.  We encourage everyone to come forward and tell us if they are facing a challenge so we are aware of what is going on and offer help and assistance. We also have great partnership with KML Occupational Health who we work with on a daily basis to help manage the health and wellbeing of our people.

So if this is all true why would we need LifeWorks as well? Well the sad fact is there is still a lot of insecurity and stigma attached to some issues people face.  Pride, embarrassment, fear and shame are too often factors in why people don’t want to share personal matters with their employer.  So we think LifeWorks is a great extra support.  It does not replace anything else we do but just adds another avenue for people to seek help if they need it.

Life can be tough.  We all have days where we don’t quite know what to do. LifeWorks is there for Keltbray’s people to use whenever they need it.