initiatives we run and how we can reach as many
people as possible. For example with our gym
discounts we make sure there are local gyms all
across the UK.”
One area where this aim to reach all parts of
the workforce has worked well has been the recent
Summer Steps initiative, where employees across
all sites and divisions participate in an app-based
fitness challenge.
“Because it’s a digital solution everyone could
sign up to the app and we could get the whole
company behind one goal all interacting with
each other,” he says, adding that more than half
the business participated.
The Connect pillar includes a Wellness Fund
for team wellness activities, and three paid days
off a year for personal moments such as
birthdays, weddings or getting a new pet.
Then there’s the Balance pillar, which focuses
largely around employee mental health.
Millbrow explains that mental health is “at the
core” of Three UK’s wellbeing strategy and “an
area of growing concern for the business and
for the UK as a whole”. Creating a culture of ‘it’s
OK to not be OK’ kicked off in 2017 with the
signing of the Time to Change pledge. Senior
leaders also shared personal mental health
stories during Mental Health Awareness Week.
This then led to the development of the
Being Me, Being Three course, which gives
employees valuable tools and techniques –
including cognitive behavioural therapy and
mindfulness – to look after their own mental
health and to identify when they are suffering.
All colleagues go through this as part of their
induction, with a one-day course for all
employees (focused on looking after yourself)
and a three-day course for line managers (focused
on yourself and direct reports).
“It’s all about understanding when your stress
levels are increasing and what your triggers are so
you are better able to manage stress,” explains
Millbrow. “You gain the concept of being above
the line or below the line. Being above
is when you’re feeling good and ready
to go, and below is when you’re
stressed. At the beginning and end of
each meeting we now do check-ins to
see where people are, so we can
support anyone who’s below the line.”
Other Balance programmes include
a digital GP service and the rollout of
mental health first aid training, with
one in 20 employees now trained to
spot the signs of someone struggling.
The setup of the wellbeing team is
deliberately “dynamic”, which enables
Case study Operational efficiency
Three UK has signed the Time to Change pledge
them to support these initiatives, says Millbrow.
He explains that rather than having a dedicated
team the wellbeing function has adopted a ‘circle
way of working’. This means relevant specialists
(typically five) are brought into the team from
different parts of the business to work on a
specific aim, depending on the skills needed for
this focus.
The result
This holistic approach to employee wellbeing
is paying off. The eNPS has risen from +16 in
the second quarter of 2016 to +24 in the first
quarter of 2019. Positive responses to the
statement ‘Three cares about the wellbeing of
its employees’ increased from 76% in the last
quarter of 2017 to 79% in the first quarter
of 2019.
Additionally, more than 3,100 employees
have now been through the Being Me, Being
Three course, and the flu jab programme has
led to a 25% reduction in cold and flu sickness.
Perhaps one of the biggest signs of success is the
fact that 83% of office employees said they were
happy with the company’s wellbeing offering in
their exit surveys. Given these results, it’s perhaps
little surprise that Three UK took home the
Health and wellbeing award at the 2019 HR
Excellence Awards.
No initiative is seen as a done deal though, says
Millbrow, pointing out that the same data and
insights used to inform the start of the journey
are constantly called on to “sense check” whether
things “land or not”.
And the hard work doesn’t end
now. “We’ve come a long way with
mental health but we need to
continue to develop our plans in
this area,” Millbrow explains.
“Another key area is looking at how
we offer financial support to people.
We rolled out a financial education
platform last year so we’re now getting
insight into what people use that for
and looking at opportunities to offer
services to support employees with
day-to-day expenses.” HR
Fact file
Locations
325 retail stores
and three offi ces
Number in HR
170
Number of
employees
4,500
Turnover
£2.4 billion
time for causes that are important to them
Fund for team activities
wellbeing strategy, which led to a more understanding culture
hrmagazine.co.uk October 2019 HR 47
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