At Everperform we measure Wellbeing, Relationships and Productivity in addition to the traditional scoreboards that exist in Sales, Operations or other parts of the business. We do so not only to get a broader picture of how an individual is performing on a weekly basis, but also to try and improve our people and measure the collective contribution as a team.
Over the past couple of years there has been stress on everyone, and as a start up, we were certainly not immune to the challenges that have been present.
Consistently we are asked:
‘What are other companies doing for Wellbeing?’
‘How do we fix this problem?’
‘How do we support our people to improve?’
‘How do we help them be happy?’
The short answer is, we can’t know for sure.
The reason is simple, people are different. They enjoy different things, need different stimuli, support and environments. On top of that, people evolve, they change and as that happens so do the things that are important to them.
We see this in our measurement, across every single client, not one person is the same.
So how do we create a support system to underpin that?
In the past we have implemented ‘Walk and Talk’ meetings to help break up the monotony of working from home. More recently flex working/time, social events and an environment that is genuinely capable of supportive conversations that go deeper than ‘have you finished that piece of work?’. In a way, we are a family at Everperform and we try our best to support each other as such.
Yet, the question still beckons. ‘What can we do to support our team, as individuals?’
So recently, CEO Daniel Spitty partnered with DiviPay to develop our ‘Wellbeing Card’. A card that has a budgeted amount each month for each employee to access and spend on whatever they deem important to their Wellbeing. Some members have spent it on Gym, or Ballet classes, or a new bike.
‘I really wanted to give something to the team to support them, support themselves. I looked through the different offerings that are in the market, and it struck me that nothing was reflective of the ethos that we have at Everperform about supporting every unique individual. So we decided to give the autonomy and trust back to the individuals, and whilst we have some ongoing suggestions surrounding what may work, the message is really clear, do what you think is going to work best for YOU.’
Wellbeing Growth Leader Tom Boyd has a slightly different equation to consider.
‘Sleep has been an issue for me in the past, and with the next great chapter of my life about to begin with the imminent birth of my first child I really wanted to ensure I was doing everything I could to monitor my sleep ongoingly. So I used my Wellbeing budget to purchase an Oura Ring, so I can know without a doubt when I can push myself, when things are going well, and when I need to recover.’
The Everperform Wellbeing card is certainly not a foolproof solution, it is much more like an experiment, and like any experiment it will take time to understand what's worked and what hasn’t. With all of our employees measuring wellbeing on a weekly basis (some daily) we will be able to hopefully see the positive impact that the activities that people access have over time. Coupled with the team's ability to share what works for them, we see this support mechanism only growing over time as we learn more about our own Wellbeing, and each other.
Watch this space.
