Crystal looks inward with Health and Wellbeing survey
Crystal Specialist Finance (CSF) is urging all financial businesses to prioritise staff health and wellbeing, as a survey of its 50 employees revealed many positive aspects and created a new support initiative.
Carried out as part of its acclaimed Health and Wellbeing campaign, which has so far focused on the intermediary sector, the results show 86% of CSF staff are ‘happy’ or ‘love’ what they do compared to 48% of brokers who were recently asked the same question.
Lack of sleep however is becoming a reoccurring issue, with 27% of CSF staff and 23% of brokers stating that they never get the recommended daily dose of 8 hours.
In terms of what employees felt were the most important factors connected with their health and wellbeing, relationships and financial independence were top which matched the responses received from brokers.
The one slight difference was the CSF team felt that a fulfilling professional career came into the top three, where brokers felt that fitness and diet were more important.
The findings have seen CSF launch a ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ initiative, which gives the team a weekly chance to talk openly with their colleagues, either in the open or behind closed doors, sharing feelings, experiences and opinions on any topic, whether work or non-work related.
The survey forms part of CSFs long-term commitment to support mental health in-and-out of the workplace. Both the broker and employee surveys will be rerun every few months to paint a picture of how people cope during the coming winter months.
Jason Berry, CSF’s group sales and marketing director, said: “The health and wellbeing of people operating in our sector should be a real focus for all companies at present, Covid has forced remote working environments upon us and the high levels of transactions are creating strains which are compounded by funding processes which are more dislocated than normal.
“Our brokers and their customers depend on the Crystal team to deliver outstanding customer outcomes, so it is crucial our staff enjoy their jobs and feel part of a company which is shaped by their feedback.
“It is therefore very pleasing to see that the latest survey results suggest a huge majority are content, and we remain committed to collaborating with our mental health partner Mind so we can support individuals and their families whatever the circumstance during these challenging times.
“One such example is the Wellbeing Wednesday initiative. If sleep is an issue for an individual, we want them to be in a safe environment where they can talk openly and honestly about the issues affecting them so we can assist where possible.
“It is hoped that this internal campaign provides valuable strength and inspiration so everyone within the Crystal family is best equipped to get through these difficult times.”