“…Every member of the NHS should have a health and wellbeing conversation and develop a personalised plan. These conversations may fit within an appraisal, job plan or one-to-one line management discussion and should be reviewed at least annually. As part of this conversation, line managers will be expected to discuss the individual’s health and wellbeing and any flexible working requirements, as well as equality, diversity and inclusion.”  NHS People Plan 2020/2021

What is a wellbeing conversation?

A wellbeing conversation is a supportive, informal, regular, coaching-style, one to one conversation that focuses on a person’s wellbeing – physical, mental, emotional, social, financial and safety. It's a chance to ensure that everyone knows how to access Health and Wellbeing support at work and what is available.

Wellbeing conversations ARE: Wellbeing conversations ARE NOT:
  • Caring and compassionate – they give space to enable colleagues to holistically explore their wellbeing.
  • Colleague led – they enable colleagues to lead the conversation and focus on the most important things to them.
  • Supportive – they signpost colleagues to the most appropriate support.
  • On-going and dynamic – wellbeing changes over time, therefore these conversations should be held regularly.
  • Inclusive – every NHS colleague should have ongoing supportive conversations that enable their unique and diverse personal wellbeing needs to be met.
  • Therapeutic interventions – colleagues should, where necessary, be signposted to access appropriate support from trained professionals.
  • Judgemental or performance related – wellbeing conversations should not be used for performance management or as a way of judging the quality of someone’s work.
  • A formal mental health assessment – if you think your colleague needs a formal mental health assessment, you can signpost them to a relevant trained professional.

 

Building wellbeing into everyday conversations

At STSFT we want to create a culture where workforce wellbeing is built into everyday  conversations.  They can be standalone or incorporated into existing conversations such as regular 1:1’s, return to work meetings, team ‘huddles’ or meetings, appraisals, job planning and/or shift handovers. In most cases this will be your line manger or supervisor, however we understand you may feel more comfortable talking to a trusted colleague. Across the organisation, we want to actively encourage our teams to support one another by regularly ‘checking in’.
 

How should we approach wellbeing conversations?

Wellbeing conversations can be face to face or virtual, and should be held in a safe and confidential space, being mindful of any personal circumstances or cultural considerations that might be affecting someone’s wellbeing at the time.  We ca keep in mind the below skills when holding effective wellbeing conversations and help colleagues feel valued and listened to:

Attending – paying attention and “listening with fascination”
Understanding – sharing an understanding of what they are going through
Empathising where relevant
Helping – taking action to signpost the person to support.
 

Click here to download our Step Into Health and Wellbeing Conversations guide or contact our OL&D team for more support and information.

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