hrsafe in HRM magazine with tips on Mental Health Strategy

I was lucky enough in 2019 to have a quote of mine on suicide prevention published in the latest edition of AHRIs HRM.

Mental health is an important issue, however many of the approaches to date lack effective preventative models. HR professionals should look to collaborate with WHS professionals and provide data that aligns with early indicators of stress, bullying and harassment.

These include:

Strategic level – A HR Strategy including a thorough workforce capability assessment. This ensures good job design and engagement of staff. L&D should be leveraged off this providing well thought out and resourced professional pathways, especially for graduates/apprentices.

HR/Operational level – The larger the organisation, the more important it is to have good data. This enables you to spot a bully. Spikes in turnover via HR data can be narrowed down to one area (the bully may or may not be the manager) this should be investigated immediately to prevent future harm. Recent empirical data highlights that exit surveys are important for many reasons, but may be compromised if the bully is the manager as they are key to a good reference for future employment.

These are just a few examples of how HR can provide the treatments for WHS to minimise mental health risks.