60 seconds with…Caroline Plumer (MA, BACP Accredited), Founder, Director & Lead Therapist – CPPC London

Online wellness hub offering therapy, coaching and fitness solutions to businesses, individuals, couples, and families. 

The business was born from a passion for supporting professionals, who may be under the strain of challenging careers, as well as experiencing personal struggles. We work with clients from several high-pressure industries including film, music, PR, advertising, consultancy, law, and the public sector.

What effect does Improved wellbeing have on productivity and motivation?

Focusing on wellbeing not only helps prevent burnout and absences due to mental or physical illness, but with the right wellbeing interventions, employees can be encouraged to develop the skills and confidence to innovate and ultimately improve their own customer retention. A recent Deloitte estimate suggests that poor mental health costs UK employers £33-£43bn annually, largely due to absences and presenteeism. Workplace mental health interventions have been proven to provide a £1.50-£9 return for every £1 spent and reduce sick leave by up to 50% so it’s not only great for the individual, but also for the bottom line. 

How do you create a happy, healthy, and productive workforce?

I would love to see more and more companies offer mental health training and support as part of their standard employee benefits package. This type of offering sends a message that the employees wellbeing is important and ultimately employees who feel cared for and valued tend to work harder and stick around longer. 

Is there any training to support health and wellness in the workplace?

CPPC London offers webinars, workshops and one to one therapy, coaching and fitness training at discounted rates to businesses as we believe there is a real need for more to be done to improve and maintain employee wellbeing.

What tips can you give employers to help support staff in 4 key wellbeing areas:

Mental Wellbeing? Be proactive – if possible, get the right interventions and support in place before burnout, stress, absenteeism and presenteeism become an issue.

Financial wellbeing? Offer access to educational tools and allow time in the work week for them to be used. Personally, I think we need to start doing a better job on schools of educating children on how to manage their personal finances, but it’s never too late. Also, and this is an obvious but crucial one – compensate people fairly for their efforts! 

Physical Wellbeing? Look at what can be offered on-site or by the company to encourage employees to look after their fitness e.g. cycle to work schemes, on site or virtual exercise classes – in some Japanese companies the morning stretch in the office is mandatory!

Social wellbeing? Make time for employee social events or calls, but also ensure employees are well resourced enough to attend them – I’ve worked in many an office where people miss social events because they are overworked. Consider how employees can be aided in better managing their time, or how managers can help re-resource where possible. 

Caroline Plumer

CPPC London