Lucie Mills of NorthEdge tells Jo Russell how the private equity firm supports staff and encourages an open culture for discussing mental health issues.
Every May, millions of people across the UK come together for a week of activities focused around mental health. Yet the success of Mental Health Awareness Week lies not so much in its longevity – now celebrating its 23rd anniversary – but in its promotion of the understanding that mental health cannot be compartmentalised into one week a year. The number of people affected by poor mental health is growing each year. The way in which businesses do or do not respond to this can have a significant impact on their workforce – for better or worse – and, by extension, their business.
While figures may vary slightly, statistics from Mindful Employer suggest that one in six workers are dealing with a mental health problem and that mental illness costs UK businesses more than £45bn a year.
However, there is a sense that the narrative is changing, looking beyond purely the costs to business to the benefit of proper engagement with employees. Mindful Employer points to recent evidence showing a return on investment of £5 for every £1 spent on staff mental health.
Lucie Mills, partner at NorthEdge, supports this view. “COVID-19 may have acted as the catalyst for us looking at how we supported mental health and well-being in our business and across the portfolio,” she says. “There is now a very clear business and moral case as to why it’s stayed on the agenda.”
The private equity firm has implemented a number of initiatives, starting with mental health and well-being sessions to familiarise people with the correct tools and language, and the introduction of six mental health first aiders at NorthEdge, and a further 108 across its portfolio. Staff can look forward to a four-week sabbatical after five years’ service and take up volunteering opportunities advertised through the app, OnHand. It has signed up to the Mindful Employer Charter, having been an early adopter among its private equity peers.
Outside help
NorthEdge has also brought in external assistance, with the services of Sanctus. The company was co-founded by two tech entrepreneurs who, from their own experience, saw a gap in the market for high achievers looking for a safe space in which to air difficulties. Sanctus provides one-to-one coaching, helping people on topics ranging from mental health, grief and imposter syndrome to professional development and work-life balance.
“It is a space that is independent of NorthEdge. We can see that it is being used, but not who has used it or what has been talked about, and we are comfortable with that,” explains Mills. “It is a provision for people to use as and when it is needed and we don’t want to ‘KPI’ it.”
Beyond NorthEdge’s four walls, the importance of mental health and well-being is discussed openly with portfolio companies. “We don’t mandate anything with the portfolio companies around this topic, but we do encourage it,” says Mills. “If we are talking about mental health in the same way that we talk about net zero or tech and AI or customer success or pricing, it becomes really important. At our last CEO forum, we had Sanctus present on why mental health and high performance are so closely linked and then provided the opportunity for leaders to go on a Sanctus leadership programme.”
The exchange of information and ideas works both ways. NorthEdge’s adoption of the OnHand platform arose from a recommendation from Altia Intel, a portfolio company that provides intelligence and investigation software. It was then shared in the NorthEdge ESG report. “It shows the power of the private equity network,” comments Mills.
Open books
Mills believes that the conversation around mental health needs to be both ongoing and part of a wider conversation around personal development. It should not be perceived as a weakness, but rather something that, with work and focus, can keep people strong, much as with eating well and going to the gym. Burnout is not uncommon for people in high-performance companies and finding ways to keep the workforce fit should be an ongoing conversation.
Senior staff are happy to act as mentors – many have executive coaches and mentors themselves – and to share their own experiences. “It’s important to show some vulnerability. We have senior people saying it is not a weakness to use these tools, but is a way of developing yourself personally and professionally,” says Mills.
There are clear synergies around the themes of mental health, personal and professional development, vulnerability and building a culture of trust where people feel free to speak openly – all ‘good work’ principles. Mills highlights the work of Sophie Lawler, CEO of NorthEdge portfolio company Total Fitness. In an episode of NorthEdge’s Beyond the Capital podcast series, Lawler discussed the importance of building trust on taking up her role.
“I had to be exceptionally clear about what I knew and what I didn’t. That starts to create trust, which is about sharing some level of vulnerability and then trusting that that will not be used against you. If you can build a culture of trust, people challenge each other more. If they have the opportunity to ask questions, they start to commit and you start to build some level of shared accountability… that eventually creates performance.”
Lawler is an advocate of personal leadership and Total Fitness now has a number of The Living Leader Master Trainers within the organisation who coach the team. The initiative has led to greater employee engagement, which has directly contributed to a better customer experience and growth in members.
While positive inroads are being made towards moving the dial on mental health awareness, it is recognised that there is a long way to go before working on mental health is perceived as the norm. The mental health charity Mind revealed that in a survey of more than 2,000 adults, 66% of people say that we should be more considerate in the way we talk about mental health to avoid making people feel upset or ashamed. There is still a level of stigma to overcome, while ongoing uncertainty around the macroeconomic and political environment continues to create anxiety.
“The reality is that the world is changing around us and people’s challenges are different,” says Mills. “I would hope in five years’ time we are still talking to our people about what matters to them and making sure we have the right tools to support them, whatever they are at the time. It is our responsibility to keep close to our people and our portfolio and make sure that we can respond accordingly.”
Three steps to improving workplace culture
Creating a mentally healthy workplace brings gains both in the health of employees and in their productivity at work. There are a number of practical steps that will help towards achieving these goals, says Lucie Mills.
1
Promote well-being through open dialogue. Senior staff should make people feel that they are being listened to while also raising awareness and promoting discussion of mental health and well-being. Flexible working practices, encouraging work/life balance and promoting social activities also help well-being.
2
Try to prevent the common causes of mental ill health such as stress, often caused by management style, excessive workloads and poor work relationships. Line managers play a key role in supporting people’s well-being. Their role in providing more supportive allocation of workloads together with better communication of tasks and appreciation of staff contributions will help.
3
Encourage staff to talk freely about their mental health problems. Encourage honest and open communication, and an open commitment of support for open conversations.
