Positive Teams: Recruitment, Retention and Wellbeing

Creating a positive culture within your charity is important for so many reasons, not least of all, the wellbeing of the people who work with you. A positive and inclusive environment means that staff feel valued and supported, that we are mindful of our duty of care as employers, and that we recruit and keep staff who are a good fit for the organisation.

When looking to grow and build your charity, you should be focussing on what you are doing to support such an environment, as much as you are focussing on strategic direction and success.

Finding and recruiting staff is an important part of the journey. Going on to retain engaged, enthusiastic, motivated and healthy staff is equally important. All organisations want to have passionate individuals who align with their missions and so managing and helping them to manage their own wellbeing is key to maintaining that energy.

Wellbeing Starts with Recruitment

Creating a values-based recruitment process and actively managing the wellbeing of your staff ensures that you can attract, retain and nurture talent.

Recruiting staff who align with your charity’s values is key, however, how do you make their wellbeing a priority from day one? Having a values-based recruitment process will clearly communicate your organisation’s support for mental health and employee wellbeing, setting out your desires/expectations for a healthy working environment.

Recommendation:

  • Ask values-based questions on your application forms and in interviews.
    Example: Can the candidate share when they were able to demonstrate one of your core values?
  • Send out a few of the key interview questions to the candidates in advance – allowing them to prepare their initial responses reducing stress levels and possible nerves.
  • During the interview, inform candidates of what initiatives and supports you have in place.

Creating a Wellbeing-Focused Induction

It is crucial to ensure that all new staff are inducted into their roles. This is a key time to help them understand their role and responsibilities, meet the people they will be working with and learn about your policies and procedures. What is just as important, but often overlooked, is that conversations about wellbeing should also be included during induction training: how your charity supports mental health, work-life balance and a positive workplace culture. This is the perfect time to introduce good practice such as regular team check-ins, forums through which we share mental health resources, introductions to those staff can turn to for support and introducing wellbeing as a topic in your 1:1 meetings.

Recommendations:

  • Clear signposting to Mental Health 1st Aiders as well as external support charities (Mind, CALM, Samaritans).
  • A weekly personal check in for the first month.
  • Increase number of formal 1:1s during the first 3–6 months.
  • Ask for feedback on your recruitment process (positive experiences and where improvements can be made).

Retaining Staff by Supporting Wellbeing

In the charity sector, where there can be greater risk of burnout due to the nature of the work, by actively managing wellbeing through regular communication, empowering employees, and providing support, you can create an environment where people feel cared for and motivated to stay.

A “coaching” mindset encourages open conversations about wellbeing. Adopting a coaching approach to support means managers are genuinely interested, plan and ask thoughtful questions and then actively listen to the responses. Providing psychological air – a space where staff can ask questions, say how they feel, even respectfully challenge without fear – helps create a culture of trust and openness. This approach not only supports wellbeing but also fosters better collaboration and teamwork within the organisation.

Recommendations:

  • Launch a Wellbeing Team made up of cross-department internal volunteers.
  • Train staff as Mental Health First Aiders.
  • Create a Wellbeing Channel in Teams/Slack.
  • In small charities look to what resources already exist in the sector and how you can provide access to these to your staff.
  • Train managers to coach as well as manage.

Managing Wellbeing in Remote and Office-Based Teams

With many charities adopting remote or hybrid working models, managing wellbeing requires even greater attention. Remote staff may face additional challenges, such as isolation or difficulty disconnecting from work. Regular check-ins, virtual team-building activities, and ensuring a balance between work and rest can all support wellbeing in a remote environment.

It is essential to create a culture where wellbeing is part of the everyday focus. This could mean giving feedback or having to have the “difficult” conversations which focus on what is going well and where change or improvement is required rather than what or who is wrong, poor or inadequate.

Recommendations:

  • Train your managers in how to support remote staff generally.
  • Ensure managers know what to do/say if someone discloses their wellbeing challenges.
  • Find out through a bi-annual employee wellbeing survey how your staff are really feeling/coping.

By truly integrating wellbeing into your recruitment, induction, and day-to-day management of staff, your charity will be creating a warm, engaging, purposeful environment in which staff feel valued, self-motivated, resilient and healthy.

Prioritising mental health and wellbeing ensures staff can commit to your cause and contribute to the delivery of your mission, positively impacting the lives of those you seek to serve. For many charities, it will also mean we are upholding and living the values we espouse through the actions we take.

Eileen Browne portrait

Eileen Browne, Training Consultant, Directory of Social Change (DSC)

Eileen joined DSC in January 2018, and having worked within the commercial teams in charities and social enterprises brought a wealth of experience of generating income and delivering high quality services into the DSC Sales team.

Eileen’s many years’ experience as a trainer in both sectors was then employed as she became a member of the Training team, designing, updating, producing, retailing, facilitating and delivering courses and workshops.

Because it is fundamental to success in the sector, Eileen covers Well-being to varying degrees in most of the courses she delivers, including :

  • Management training for new and established managers
  • Supporting and supervising staff
  • Time management and personal effectiveness
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Dealing with conflict and difficult behaviour
  • Having the difficult conversations and giving effective feedback

Eileen enjoys being part of a team that is genuine, professional and totally committed to building sustainable charities with well trained, psychologically safe, confident trustees, employees and volunteers.