How Reflex Built A Successful Wellbeing Programme

Content warning: this article mentions suicide 

When our Mental Health Ambassador Charlie Cavers went on stage to collect the Wellbeing Award at the FN50 annual dinner in London it was the culmination of many years of hard work, stemming from her own experience of mental health. 

Unfortunately, Charlie has lost family members to suicide, including her dad who passed when she was just nine years old. She was left with a lot of unanswered questions and understandably her mental health suffered. 

Recovering from that made Charlie want to ensure that other people could access support whenever they needed it. 

Our Mental Health Champions 

During the first national lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic Charlie began researching the concept of a Mental Health Champion, which charity Mind defines as ‘any employee who takes action to raise awareness of mental health problems amongst staff and challenges mental health stigma’.

When Charlie shared the idea of having a team of Mental Health Champions at Reflex with our co-owners Oliver Waring and Lisa Spong they were fully supportive. In fact, Lisa was one of our first Mental Health Champions when we launched the initiative in August 2020. 

Our trained Mental Health Champions hold regular open-door sessions where employees can talk about any difficulties they are facing. 

“Talking can sometimes be the best kind of medicine; people can feel so much better when they offload,” says Charlie. 

Our Mental Health Champions can also support colleagues by signposting appropriate professional support, if needed.

We offer an Employee Assistance Programme for employees to seek support from independent professionals via telephone, an app or online. 

Through this service we also provide a digital health risk assessment tool for employees to review their wellbeing and then set and track goals to improve their health.

The majority of our staff have completed a half-day mental health awareness training course, and some are also trained as Mental Health First Aiders. 

“The aim is for people not to be afraid to reach out and speak to someone - whether that’s their line manager or a Mental Health Champion,” says Charlie. 

Additional support for drivers 

It is recognised within the fleet industry that van drivers of all ages are prone to poor mental health due to unpredictable journey times, traffic congestion, tight deadlines, a high workload and a lack of social interaction, and the suicide rate for van drivers is 25% higher than the national average, according to the Office for National Statistics. 

We employ a number of van drivers to deliver and collect vehicles, as well as having mobile technicians so we give them additional support, through our Field Service Controllers who have daily welfare calls with drivers.

We have a team of six Driver Champions who offer everything from driver training to wellbeing support to our drivers.

Since November 2020 we have supported the CALM driver campaign and we share our best practice insights with our customers and provide them with in-vehicle wellbeing packs. 

Boosting mental and physical health 

Our employee wellbeing programme isn’t just about offering support, we also have initiatives to keep staff feeling positive and motivated at work. 

This includes: company-wide Reflexion meetings where we reflect on success and celebrate great work before turning to business matters; an Employee Awards ceremony and an early finish on a Friday for each employee once every six weeks. 

Recognising the link between physical and mental health, we provide free fruit to employees and give everyone a five-minute screen break every hour.

All of our staff receive access to Medicash, a dedicated employee health care plan. Employees can utilise the service to claim cashback on routine health care and treatments, such as dental appointments, prescriptions and opticians, and on a range of extra complementary therapies and benefits, such as physiotherapy, massages and chiropractic treatments.

Our dedicated groups and clubs help to promote a sense of community. For example, Reflex Rooters is for those passionate about plants and also improves the workplace as studies show plants and greenery enhance morale and happiness, as well as helping air quality. 

We also have a menopause group to help members of staff understand and discuss their experiences during an important period of their life.  

In light of the cost of living crisis, we have recently introduced a Reflex food bank in our reception area for staff to donate food or to take food if they are in need. This follows an employee support package which we put together for staff in 2022. 

We also support local charities and causes which staff are passionate about. For instance, Charlie and other Reflex staff undertook an ambitious 111-mile walk from Mind HQ in London to our HQ in Loughborough to raise money for Mind during Mental Health Awareness Week, and Lisa is a trustee at Leicestershire and Rutland Blood Bikes. 

Evolving our employee wellbeing programme 

A robust wellbeing programme is a long-term commitment and needs to continually evolve. To help us do this we have an employee engagement group and invite feedback from all staff on our mental health initiatives through an annual survey. 

“We have had a lot of comments from staff on the positive impact our mental health initiatives have had on the business and how they feel supported,” says Charlie. 

We are also adapting the programme as our business grows. Originally, we had six Mental Health Champions but this has recently increased to 10, following our acquisition of Hireway Vehicle Rental in May 2023, to ensure there is dedicated support at each of our locations. 

All staff will receive a refresher mental health awareness training course in the near future. 

We are working towards having a dedicated in-house councillor as one of our Mental Health Champions, Claire Thorpe, Maintenance Desk Team Leader, is completing an Advanced Diploma in Counselling and Psychology. 

Claire plays an important part not just in mental health but in helping to create a more inclusive workplace by organising events to mark religious festivals such as Eid. 

Both Charlie and Claire were recognised for going above and beyond their day jobs at our Awards ceremony in 2022. 

We also like to give something back to staff in unexpected ways ... 

Charlie recalls: “The day after the FN50 I was stood at the platform at Euston train station when I received an email to say that Reflex had planted a tree for me through Gift a Tree. 

“I was blubbering because it was such a lovely touch for the environment and for me personally.”

To date, 850 trees have been planted through Gift a Tree for each of our customers and employees. We plan to increase this number each year as we grow. 

If you've been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available via Samaritans and Mind. 

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