“Not acknowledging that millions are dealing with mental health conditions is costing an enormous amount both in terms of dollars and cents and, more importantly, people's lives."
Arianna Huffington
Mental Health at Work Mini-Conference, May 2018
"I personally would like to thank Mind Share Partners for all of your support of this ERG and community from the very beginning when we were unsure, driven, and quite a bit scared on launching something that would make us so vulnerable. You provided resources and insight that gave us direction, hope, and reminded us that what we were creating would matter to our peers. To which, you were right. I'm thankful for Mind Share Partners, what you stand for and all that you're creating in this new area of diversity, inclusion, and belonging."
"After the Mind Share Partners conference, we created our own Mental Health Fund, since our health insurance excludes it, and talked about it so our team knew we had their back and they'd be covered for emergency care for suicidal thoughts, etc.
It's a start. Stigma runs deep. It's good that [Mind Share Partners] is helping workplaces talk about it!"
Just launched! Join our Mind Share Partners Institute certificate program.
Just launched! Join our Mind Share Partners Institute certificate program.
CASE STUDY
Manager Training Series
DAT Solutions
DAT Solutions operates the largest truckload freight marketplace in North America.
Mind Share Partners partnered with transportation technology company DAT Solutions for a two-session manager training series as well as discovery research and leader coaching.
Summary
Industry: Transportation
Technology
Size: 500 employees
Location: Portland, OR
Time frame: August 2019 - April 2020
Result highlights:
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83% of participants felt more comfortable talking about mental health at work.
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74% felt better-equipped to support a colleague with their mental health if they needed support.
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70% felt more likely to reach out to their manager or HR about their mental health if they needed support.
The Situation
WHAT THE ORGANIZATION WAS FACING
DAT Solutions’ President & CEO and VP of HR wanted to help managers navigate mental health in the workplace. Both are highly committed to increasing awareness of mental health and educating their manager population on action they could take, to provide their teams with the best support possible. In 2019, DAT was introduced to Mind Share Partners at an event by the Technology Association of Oregon.
The Solution
WHAT WE PROVIDED
Mind Share Partners held a two-session training series for all DAT managers, including discovery and leader coaching.
In the discovery phase, Mind Share Partners interviewed senior leaders at DAT to understand the culture, common stressors, and mental health knowledge among their teams--marketing, software engineering, and customer support. Mind Share Partners also spoke with the DAT president to understand his perspective on mental health and to help him communicate his support to DAT employees. These interviews helped Mind Share Partners tailor the manager training content to ensure that the content was relevant to DAT’s culture and addressed the varying needs of functions across DAT.
The first session, held in-person, focused on creating a shared understanding of mental health and navigating compassion, compliance, and performance management, while supporting mental health at work. Between sessions, Mind Share Partners surveyed managers to understand what they wanted to get most out of the second session.
The second manager training, held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, dove deeper into specific workplace mental health scenarios, such as supporting mental health during Covid-19, continuing support for employees who are struggling, and managing accommodations for one person in the context of the whole team’s goals. Managers engaged in interactive discussions in virtual break-out rooms.
The Impact
The training sessions had an impact on both perceptions of mental health and willingness to take action. Following the training series, 83% of participants felt more comfortable talking about mental health at work, and 70% were more willing to work with, or hire, an employee with a mental health condition. Additionally, 74% felt better-equipped to support a colleague with their mental health if they needed support, and 70% felt more likely to reach out to their manager or HR about their mental health if they needed support.
"The team felt that sessions were of tremendous value"
- Lisa Henshaw, Vice President of HR, DAT Solutions
Looking forward, DAT’s leadership will continue to create space to talk about mental health, honing their managers’ abilities to support the mental health of their teams.
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“Bringing the entire manager team together in a dedicated space to discuss and connect on mental health was a game-changer. Our managers found the specific scenario discussions and conversation about how to balance compassion and performance management of most value. Mind Share Partners was easy to work with and engaging during the sessions. The team felt that sessions were of tremendous value and we will continue to build on efforts taken within this space.”
- Lisa Henshaw, Vice President of HR, DAT Solutions