This has been a year of massive loss and adaptation that no one could have prepared for, and it is a natural response to feel burnt out and stressed.
Last July, Columbus nonprofit Concord Counseling completed MHAOhio’s Occumetrics assessment to identify, understand, and address employee concerns. The leadership team has since found many ways to continue to create a supportive work environment, not just through the pandemic, but for years to come.
Concord provides holistic recovery services to those experiencing mental illness. Concord’s Executive Director Linda Jakes said that going through MHAOhio’s Occumetrics process during the pandemic ended up being the perfect time for introspection on how they could improve their policies and procedures for their more than 100 employees.
“We went into the process with a good foundation,” she said. “When our team got the initial results, we were able to see the things we were doing right, but it also gave us an opportunity to seeing where people were still struggling. The process allowed us to say, ‘We hear you, and now we’re going to do these things because you are important to us.’”
Concord’s approach to improving their workplace was twofold. The first step was to meet the staff’s most immediate needs, and the second step was to come up with a plan for their long-term goals. Mike Preston, Concord’s Director of Operations, explained that the immediate needs were all about making the transition to working remotely easier. They began with instituting self-care time so that employees could take the time they needed to attend to family and home-life needs.
“When your work is at home, work-life balance can be difficult,” Mike said. “We did a lot of work with staff early on around those kinds of issues. Now, we’re focusing on the transition back to the office, which will be just as challenging as the transition out was.”
Concord also offered a support group for staff where they could talk about the issues they were having openly and honestly with staff at a “sister” mental health organization. Linda explained that this kind of dialogue made it easier for staff to feel safe voicing their concerns.
“Leadership staff not only encouraged but also modeled the kind of open dialogue we wanted to have,” she said. “It’s been really important that we, as the leadership team, say, ‘This has really been tough.’ We’re all hitting our pandemic wall.”
For the long-term approach, Occumetrics offered Concord a roadmap. Mike explained how they’ve updated and streamlined their paperwork, revised the productivity structure, and have been investing in training for their supervisors. They’ve prioritized even greater transparency with the staff about when and how they’re going to address other key areas from their Occumetrics assessment. Overall, the feedback from staff throughout the process was very positive.
“Our clearness in communication was actually getting through to staff,” he said. “There’s trust in leadership and the executive team. It’s worked out really well.”
When asked about conducting the Occumetrics assessment with Concord, Maggie Hallett, MHAOhio’s Director of Workplace Health, said, “It was such a pleasure to work with Concord – they truly have a leadership team that prioritizes staff wellbeing. When we see organizations listen to and act upon staff needs we see higher retention and satisfaction rates, which ultimately leads to better care for their clients.”
Learn more about MHAOhio’s Occumetrics program.
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