ILC ARTICLE

Mental Health First Aiders, Team Huddles and Isolation Competitions Create a Buoyant Team Spirit at e2e Total Loss Vehicle Management [e2e]

15th April 2020

Head office staff at e2e are all working remotely and doing a great job of supporting clients and network members with the newly introduced Emergency Recovery Assistance Service, initiated by the UK’s largest salvage and recycling network to recover total loss vehicles during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Mindful of the challenges working in isolation can create, and the underlying stress and anxiety caused by the overall unprecedented situation, e2e has introduced some people-led initiatives to help staff feel supported and connected.

The company was one of the first in its sector to train up Mental Health First Aiders [MHFA] in 2019 and this training is a valuable skill that the business is putting to good use.  e2e’s MHFAs are reaching out individually to all members of staff on a regular basis to check in on how they are feeling and coping, and to source and provide access to advice they may find useful.  The contact details of all the MHFAs are also included in a weekly update email to all staff so that they are able to make contact directly if they need some support. 

‘Team Huddles’ have been introduced as regular sessions three times a week enabling department teams to come together, albeit in a virtual environment, for the usual ‘water cooler’ chats.  Work is not discussed in the ‘Team Huddle’ sessions; the purpose is for everyone to see, chat, share jokes and stories with the people they would normally be interacting with at work on a daily basis. 

As a result of the ‘Team Huddles’ a series of staff inspired isolation competitions have emerged as people have shared their non-work pursuits and activity.  Currently underway is the Isolation Bake-Off where staff are sharing photos of their culinary achievements which will be voted on for look and presentation, as tasting is not an option!  And as not everyone is a budding baker a second competition covering images of ‘Furry Co-Workers’ invites staff to take photos of their pets at their home work space with votes for the cutest co-worker. 

Neil Joslin, Chief Operating Officer at e2e explains: “We recognise that these are very unusual working conditions and times for our staff and we are working hard to support them with their physical and mental well-being.  We know that staying connected is important and so as well as our remote working processes and communication channels that help people to work effectively remotely, we wanted to create a means of also staying socially connected.  The ‘Team Huddles’ are proving to be a great success and more new ideas are coming out of these to keep a vibrant sense of community going.  I have been so impressed by the way our people have risen to these challenging times and how they are taking care of each other, our clients and supporting the business.  The team spirit at e2e remains as vibrant as ever.”