It’s World Mental Health Day on 10th October 2020, which aims to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilise efforts in support of mental health.
At Copart, supporting our teammates’ mental health and wellbeing is something we take very seriously.
To mark World Mental Health Day, we’re reflecting on how we encourage mental health awareness across our business.
An important element of this is being able to identify signs and symptoms of mental health conditions, so that we can ensure the right support is offered.
Investing in training
Last year, we invested into Mental Health Awareness training courses for 54 managers across our business, in association with the charity Ben. These managers can now potentially identify mental health issues in their teams before they escalate further and provide the necessary support to individuals who are struggling.
Support services
We have been a proud advocate of Ben, who provide health and wellbeing support to the automotive industry, for many years. We adopted them as our company charity in 2015 and hold many fundraising activities on their behalf throughout the year. Earlier this year, Copart teammates across our 18 UK locations took part in Ben’s annual mental health awareness fundraiser, Hats on 4 Ben. Even teammates who are currently working from home were able to take part in the event via team video calls.
We regularly promote Ben’s range of support services to our teammates via our internal magazines, e-newsletters and intranet. Ben have recently enhanced their range of services by introducing a new digital platform which provides access to online self-help, as well as telephone or face-to-face talking therapies and telephone-based life coaching. The digital platform will help support teammates with issues such as managing stress, anxiety and depression.
Reaching out remotely
The ongoing pandemic has been unsettling for everyone. With many of our teammates now working from home, we are mindful that for those who are not used to this way of working, it can be a stressful time.
We recognise how important it is for our remote workers to feel fully supported as we continue in this ‘new normal’, so back in April we launched a new Home Working Essentials training module on our Copart Learning Management System (LMS).
This training module, which was sent out electronically to all our remote workers, provides tips and advice on how to become even more productive while working from home. It gives some great insights into setting up a workspace, staying safe and secure, communicating remotely and maintaining productivity.
It also includes a raft of information about the various tools we have at Copart to help our teammates to collaborate and communicate effectively.
Helen Gilbert, Head of UK Human Resources at Copart, said:
“We believe communication is absolutely key to maintaining positive mental health. To ensure that our remote workers do not feel isolated, we are maintaining regular contact with them via video team meetings, chat groups and other online collaboration tools. We’ve also been sending out regular e-newsletters to keep all our teammates engaged and connected.
Going forward, we are hoping to invest into training Mental Health First Aiders across our business, which will help to promote more conversations around mental health and provide another layer of support for our teammates.”
Read more about Ben, the automotive industry’s support service, at ben.org.uk