MEDIA RELEASE: 2 October 2020
MEDIA RELEASE - 25 August 2020
SuperFriend, the national workplace mental health and wellbeing organisation, has launched a new online learning platform - MySuperFriend - as COVID-19 accelerates the shift to digital learning and increased need for mental health support.
SuperFriend, the national workplace mental health and wellbeing organisation, has launched a new online learning platform - MySuperFriend - as COVID-19 accelerates the shift to digital learning and increased need for mental health support.
MySuperFriend changes the way all Australian workplaces – including SuperFriend’s existing superannuation fund and life insurance Partners – can help their staff build mental health and wellbeing competency. It provides a fresh, digital experience through interactive learning modules that can be blended with live (in person or virtual) facilitated workshops to embed learnings.
Margo Lydon, Chief Executive Officer of SuperFriend said: “It is really exciting to deliver on this clearly articulated need from our Partners and respond with a solution that significantly benefits their staff and customers. MySuperFriend also makes our mental health and wellbeing training far more accessible to the employers they work with, and Australian workplaces more broadly, at low cost. It’s a huge extension of our digital capacity and uplift in the value and impact we are able to deliver, especially in these challenging times.”
New learning experiences – to benefit everyone
MySuperFriend will deliver online learning content in short modules, with the initial rollout structured into four courses, suitable for learners in different roles:
● Workplace Mental Health Essentials for All Staff (5 modules + optional workshop)
● Workplace Mental Health Essentials for People Leaders (5 modules + optional workshop)
● Positive Interactions for Contact Centre Staff (2 modules + optional workshop)
● Communication Strategies for Claims Managers (2 modules + optional workshop)
The platform also includes additional resources including articles, tip sheets and videos for learners. The content roadmap is extensive, with SuperFriend planning to add new modules and courses regularly to help staff build competencies in new areas, and strengthen existing ones. Extending the MySuperFriend training suite will also create a pathway for organisations to tailor solutions in line with their mental health and wellbeing strategies by “building their own” courses.
Supporting healthy workplaces in COVID-19
MySuperFriend comes at a time of need and further extends on SuperFriend’s capacity to support its Partners digitally while social distancing measures continue to be in effect.
The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on front line workers such as contact centre staff who are engaging with customers during an incredibly challenging time in their lives.
Ms Lydon commented: “This role requires staff to be empathetic and supportive as well as handle the technical aspects of their job at all times. This can create additional pressure and stress if workers are not well supported.”
“Now more than ever, strong and supportive leadership is crucial within Australian workplaces. Maintaining a positive, healthy and safe working environment is particularly challenging in these uncertain times, it’s critical to provide appropriate training and strengths-based coaching to team leaders around mental health.”
“MySuperFriend is a scalable product which makes us market-ready for broad adoption by employers across Australia – further enabling us to achieve our vision of an Australia where all workplaces are mentally healthy,” added Ms Lydon.
SuperFriend is introducing the MySuperFriend platform and new training content to current Partners over the coming weeks, and is already working with a number of employers in response to enquiries for org-wide mental health support. Learn more about MySuperFriend and review all currently available course content.
One of SuperFriend’s first Partners to roll out the new platform is MetLife Australia. Commenting on the benefits, MetLife Australia’s Chief Customer and Marketing Officer, Chesne Stafford said: “We’re incredibly excited to roll out MySuperFriend - it will enable us to deliver foundational mental health training to all our people, empowering them to actively manage their mental health. It also bolsters our own health platform 360Health, available to our partners, to help them support their members’ health needs, and in particular their mental health. Mental health support and services are in high demand right now, with everyone’s mental health being tested now more than ever.”
A free mental health tool to share with friends, family, community and colleagues
In response to some of the mental health challenges presented by the pandemic, SuperFriend also has released a short, free, online learning module that is available for any individual to use to help them understand and manage their own mental health during this time. Entirely confidential, this interactive module asks a number of questions to help you assess your current balance, and helps you create a personalised action plan to improve or maintain your wellbeing.
Wellbeing on Call
SuperFriend is also celebrating the recent completion and successes of a pilot program aimed at protecting and promoting the mental health and wellbeing of Victorian contact centre workers, funded through WorkSafe’s WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund. Victorian contact centres involved in co-designing SuperFriend’s Wellbeing on Call initiative gained important practical skills related to mental health literacy, greater leadership confidence and reduced absenteeism. The program’s interventions included webinars, training, peer support and strength-based coaching.
“The Wellbeing on Call program offers learnings and initiatives that inform the development of SuperFriend’s learning solutions and help us to evidence the positive impacts of our work ” Ms Lydon concluded.
