Telus Communications’ Commitment to Psychological SafetyTelus Communications’ Commitment to Psychological Safety Telus Communications’ dedication to creating a psychologically safe workplace has earned them recognition. The company’s comprehensive wellbeing strategy, based on five pillars, has been tailored to address the diverse needs of its employees. Data-Driven Approach To implement and maintain effective support systems, Telus analyzed employee data on demographics and benefit usage. This targeted approach allowed them to identify areas for improvement and engage specific cohorts of employees. Pandemic Preparedness During the pandemic, the wellbeing strategy proved invaluable. Telus quickly developed a framework to protect team members, including a medical advisory board. The strategy recognized the impact of isolation on mental health and provided programs and resources to mitigate its effects. Wellbeing Pillars The strategy focuses on five areas of employee wellbeing: * Physical * Psychological * Social * Financial * Environmental Recognizing the interconnectedness of these factors, Telus offers flexible wellbeing accounts, personal wellbeing days, and financial planning tools to support employees in all aspects of their lives. National Standard Alignment Telus aligns its strategy with the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. This alignment ensures continuous improvement and support for employees, particularly call center agents who experience higher rates of mental health claims. Mental Health Training for Leaders The company has implemented mental health training programs for frontline leaders, providing them with the skills and knowledge to support their teams. Diversity and Inclusion Diversity and inclusion are integral to employee wellbeing at Telus. Employee resource groups and inclusive benefits, such as gender affirmation and Indigenous wellbeing benefits, foster a supportive and welcoming environment. Telus’ commitment to employee wellbeing goes beyond lip service. Their data-driven approach, comprehensive strategy, and alignment with industry standards demonstrate their genuine dedication to creating a psychologically safe and supportive workplace.
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The company first looked at how to implement and maintain employee support systems, Domries said. He noted that various forms of data, including employee demographics and benefits usage, helped shape a targeted approach to engage different cohorts of team members within the organization.
“If we were to look at comorbidity outcomes, we could say, ‘Look, there are certain areas and demographics in our industry where we would run heart health clinics.’ We would actually engage team members and work with them to improve their conditions and outcomes.”
The wellbeing strategy also helped Telus assess its business risks during the coronavirus pandemic, when the organization was designated an essential service by the federal government.
“We really had to quickly develop a framework that was extensible across our environment to protect our team members and customers (and) we created a medical advisory board. . . . One of the findings we had in assessing what was happening with SARS in Ontario in particular was that isolation became a huge driver of mental health. . . . We did a lot of programming and webinar sessions around ergonomics (as well), making sure employees were set up as best they could be in their homes.
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The strategy is based on five pillars of wellbeing: physical, psychological, social, financial and environmental, recognising the impact of each factor on different aspects of employees’ mental health.
“It’s a continuum — people can feel great, they can feel OK, they can feel not OK, and it changes from week to week, or sometimes even from day to day. If any of those elements are out of balance, if you’re stressed about finances, that’s probably going to impact your mental health. If you’re stressed about your social environment, that could impact your mental health. If you focus on your fitness, that can help your mental health. They’re all interconnected.”
According to Domries, financial wellbeing is one of the most important factors for Telus. The company offers a flexible wellbeing account that allows employees to put money where it is needed most. The company also offers three personal wellbeing days that can be converted into cash. There is also the option to transfer money to a defined contribution pension scheme, a tax-free collective savings account or a registered group pension savings plan.
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It was also important that the strategy had a long-term view of employee wellbeing, he said. “We’ve talked to senior management at length and said, ‘This is not a one-year or two-year programme, this is going to be a three- to four-year journey to really deliver the outcomes that are measurable and meaningful in the organisation.
The wellbeing strategy is aligned with the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, which helps Telus continually improve its approach to employee mental health, Domries said. This has been particularly helpful in supporting the mental wellbeing of Telus’ call centre agents, who typically have higher rates of mental health claims resulting in short-term disability, accounting for around half of these claims across the company.
“What we did post-pandemic was we had a lot of our team members still working (remotely) and we worked very closely with our leaders in our operational areas to unpack the nature of our contact center members’ work, how they were doing their work, and how we could create a slightly different workflow for them that actually improved their mental health.
Read: 69% of employees globally say their mental health has deteriorated in the past year: survey
“Part of that is taking some micro breaks in the day, so if you’ve just had a tough customer conversation, taking a minute or two to reset (yourself) is a great way to do that. We also deployed the mental health training from (Queen’s University), a two-day program for all of our frontline leaders. Luckily, we had already done that when the pandemic started.”
Diversity and inclusion are also key factors in Telus’ approach to employee wellbeing, supported by its network of employee resource groups and inclusive benefits such as gender affirmation and Indigenous wellbeing benefits.
“Culture becomes your competitive advantage (and) we believe that leading with well-being is the right critical anchor for our culture, connecting it to our social purpose and enabling our team members to be their best selves at work and at home,” he said.
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