For many family businesses, people and relationships lie at the heart of the business; they invariably form the biggest asset. Having healthy, resilient and engaged individuals and teams is therefore critical to the success of a business, and is what North-East founded ‘Talk Works’ aims to achieve with clients they work with.

As a B Corp certified company, Talk Works meet high standards for social performance and are passionate about improving mental health and wellbeing in workplaces across the UK.

Managing Director, Helen Wilkinson explains about their service, saying “ We offer evidence-based accessible therapy, educational training and a soon-to-be-launched online portal which offers discreet, anonymous support and an online resources hub.

“Businesses often assume that our services are aimed at the big corporates, but this isn’t so – we work with all sizes of businesses, from the very small to the very large, including many family-owned enterprises.”

The benefits of positively managing and supporting good mental health at work are well documented, with research showing that it can boost employee productivity, morale, resilience and loyalty, as well as reduce absenteeism and staff turnover.

Talking specifically about family-run firms, Helen says, “In family businesses, there can often be complex family dynamics at play and a range of reasons why individuals may feel uncomfortable disclosing any issues they have. Ultimately, it’s in the interests of the business to have individuals that feel able to communicate and work through any issues, and that feel supported”.

Helen shares examples of some of the scenarios where Talk Works would be able to assist businesses, saying “It might be a company where staff members are impacting negatively on each other and their colleagues, which would require mediation and support. It might be a small family-run business where a staff member (family or non-family) would benefit from the ability to self-refer for support under confidentiality, or it might be a business that wants support to reintegrate an individual back into the workplace after prolonged leave. We often work with businesses that want to educate and upskill their managers or senior leaders on mental health and wellbeing through face-to-face workshops.”

Just these few examples demonstrate the variety of reasons why having a mental health and wellbeing service provider could be of benefit to your business, whatever the size or sector.

For family firms that are interested in gauging the health of their workplace, Talk Works also offer tailored anonymous surveys to provide insight data and reporting on either specific matters or of a general nature.

Whether it be an ad hoc employee referral, a training requirement or ongoing support, family businesses interested in the service can contact Talk Works directly via [email protected] or 0191 490 9301.