Samantha is Nomad Digital's Talent & Development Manager. She has been with the company since 2015.
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At Nomad Digital we believe that every employee should feel supported at work and be proud of their achievements. Health and wellbeing are both fundamental to feeling good at work, that’s why in 2019 Nomad Digital formally launched the Workplace Mental Wellbeing Policy along with a global network of trained Mental Health First Aiders. Since then we’ve embedded wellbeing as a key pillar in our approach to learning and development, performance management, reward and recognition, engagement, CSR, and even our HRIS strategy!
At Nomad, our business is built on connectivity. Therefore, staying connected is central to our company’s ethos. So, we organise regular catchups such as our ‘Staying Connected’ calls and ‘Time 2 Talk’ global meetings where we discuss a different mental health topic every other month. These calls are also a chance to check in with colleagues across the globe and are a great way to ensure that people’s voices are heard throughout the business. On top of the catchup calls, we also send out a bi-monthly Wellbeing Newsletter where we promote industry-specific events such as Rail Wellbeing Live, topical mental health resources and a collection of videos that encourage resilience, a growth mindset and positive perspectives. Plus, we have an online Wellbeing Hub with resources and materials dedicated to supporting people through the global pandemic.
Pre-covid we hosted many popular wellbeing events in our head office, including Corporate Yoga, ‘Mood Food’ demonstrations, Indian Head Massage, nutrition workshops, and even an introduction to gardening. But, with the pandemic shifting working conditions out of the office and into the home, it has given us the opportunity to move wellbeing events online; giving colleagues access to virtual wellbeing classes and a programme of external workshops covering topics such as menopause, andropause, stress busting, time management, and powering potential. We’ve also used Yammer to facilitate competitions and to share photos and good news whilst working from home. Furthermore, we’re utilising fantastic resources from our parent company, Alstom, to enable everyone to have access to an employee wellbeing app with team challenges and prize draws.
The relationship between annual leave and wellbeing is symbiotic. It is so important to take time away from work and to use annual leave to recharge. Therefore, last year we launched a user-friendly HR system to improve time-off management and ensure managers can easily monitor their team members’ leave usage. We also simplified objectives and development planning within the system, and now every employee has a personal objective that relates specifically to health and wellbeing. Another nice touch with our new system is that all colleagues can see if we’re celebrating someone’s birthday or work anniversary; it’s a simple thing that helps us recognise everyone in a more personal way.
As well as encouraging wellbeing within the workplace, we have Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) and healthcare plans in our largest regions. Plus, we have actively been promoting counselling services and wellbeing treatments to help colleagues who may need more dedicated and bespoke care.
As we enter a new financial year, we are focusing on driving the wellbeing agenda further via a wealth of health and wellbeing events aligned with our CSR strategy to ensure that we have a variety of opportunities every month to promote awareness of key issues and help keep all our colleagues happy and healthy.
