We speak to the innovators within our APM Training partners, Assure Programs and MCI Solutions to see what’s new in tech and workplace health.
What’s hot in psych?
Organisations throughout Australia and New Zealand continue to explore the use of technology in the delivery of workplace wellbeing programs.
The ability to offer scalable and equitable solutions to geographically dispersed employees appeals to many workplaces and the use of technology often means that services can be delivered in a cost-effective manner.
Using technology is an effective way to remove barriers for people who may have chosen to distance themselves in participating in historical workplace wellbeing initiatives.
We are seeing an increased understanding in the value of SMS counselling.
Following a positive pilot program in 2018, SMS counselling has been incorporated into a significant number of our customers’ programs.
42% of clients say that they would not have reached out for support if SMS counselling wasn’t available. Professional psychological support is available immediately 24/7.
Males and females across all age groups, not just millennials, use the service for a range of personal and workplace reasons.
The service peaks between 6pm-9pm with other key periods of support provided around lunchtime hours and first thing in the morning. Weekend access, mainly Saturdays, is also high.
We have found that employees will re-book subsequent sessions with the SMS-psychologist and a small percentage transfer to phone or face-to-face. Sessions last for a full hour.
Resilience has re-emerged as a key strategic business asset and the use of technology means that employees can have access to evidence-based assessment tools and resources, including virtual coaching.
For example, Assure’s model assesses an individual’s six key domains of resilience: health, collaboration, vision, tenacity, reasoning and composure.
Understanding an individual’s strengths and areas for growth allows employees to focus on each domain.
Using virtual coaching, one-on-one coaching, or participation in team workshops allows individuals and teams to embed learnings, creating sustainable behaviour change and achieve positive outcomes.
We have seen an increase in participation in people who traditionally wouldn’t participate in these initiatives, and as well as improving individual and team-based resilience, we have seen improvements in holistic health such as nutritional, physical activity and sleep habits.
- Gerard Beven, Head of Customer Care, Assure Programs
What’s hot in workplace health training?
The full spectrum of learning includes so many options – for all forms of training, including healthcare.
Modern learners expect to absorb content in various different ways. Although we aren’t throwing in-person training out the window, here are some examples of how technology is playing a role in the transfer of learning:
- Micro learning that is available on the go, on mobile devices works well where the demand is immediate and the need is specific. It’s an incredibly powerful way of bringing about rapid changes in knowledge and behaviour – and it’s a way of ensuring that people learn as fast as they can and get back to their usual working day.
- Virtual reality is starting to take off and provides an environment where people can safely practice their skills. The technology is coming down in price and we are seeing strong results when implemented well.
- Social learning is a fast and effective way of sharing knowledge using platforms that exist in the business such as Yammer or Workplace or external platforms such as Linked In groups or even Facebook private groups.
- Chatbots are being used to perform the mundane tasks of helping teams find the information they are looking for and pointing them in the right direction.
- Virtual classrooms play a role where teams are national and the learning needs to spread en masse. It’s a step forward from self-paced e-learning and adds that social element in to the mix.
Time to be bold and use technology to deliver peak learning experiences for your cohort!
- Denise Meyerson, Managing Director, MCI Solutions. (APM Training)