WTW (Willis Towers Watson)

People working in insurance often find themselves stuck in a fast-paced environment with a lot riding on their shoulders. Without sufficient awareness of their mental health needs, they risk slipping to the wrong side of the mental health continuum. Therefore, training is vital to maintain the wellbeing of staff, which in turn will support productivity.

Human resources staff from WTW, formerly Willis Towers Watson, attended the Mental Health Toolkit’s Comprehensive Toolkit training in 2022. While their HR experience gave them an understanding of people’s mental health needs, they left the session with a “significant” amount of additional knowledge.

The tools and techniques they found particularly useful included the mental health continuum, understanding different conditions, emotional needs, innate resources, how the brain works, effective communication, RIGAAR, understanding addiction, and how to respond if someone expresses an intention to take their own life.

The company described the course as “invaluable” because it broadened and deepened their understanding of different aspects of mental health. By working with other attendees, they were able to practice techniques they learned with each other. Therefore, they left the course feeling confident they could apply them to their working life.

Since taking part in The Comprehensive Toolkit, WTW attendees have been able to apply the learning to more complex casework. This includes long-term absences as a result of underlying mental ill health. According to WTW, having knowledge of different conditions and how to approach them has been a significant help. Additionally, they have been able to provide support in response to business decisions such as structure-changes, redundancies and more.

To find out more about the support for organisations available through The Mental Health Toolkit, please click here.