Organisation Type: Limited Company with Charitable Status
Number of Employees: 36
Location: 7 offices across Donegal (3), Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, and Monaghan
The Process
1. Gain & Demonstrate Support
Successes:
Our Regional Manager gave us great backing right from the very start. We initially set up our Staff Wellbeing Committee during the Covid pandemic to keep everyone connected, engaged and to boost morale across the region.
Having this active committee meant we had a brilliant head start when we formally took part in the Healthy Ireland Framework.
To build on this, we made the Healthy Ireland initiative the number one objective in our company Action Plan for 2025. This was supported and approved by the Board of Directors of NCU MABS.
The objective also featured in each staff member’s individual performance plan to ensure everyone contributed to the project implementation.
Regional Integration: The Healthy Ireland initiative was included as a standing item at our regional meetings and progress was discussed directly with each Office Coordinator / Service Delivery Manager so they could share updates and ideas back with all staff locally.
Challenges & Learnings: It took a bit of time for staff to recognise that adding employee wellness to their annual performance plans and subsequent reviews wasn’t just extra paperwork, but an important vehicle way to support them in their day-to-day work.
Future Plans: Develop a succession plan for the Staff Wellbeing Committee with annual rotation of representatives to maintain energy and encourage fresh ideas at the table. Regular engagement with staff to ensure the initiatives being organised and facilitated meet their needs and continue to support their health and wellbeing while delivering an important service to the public.
2. Conduct Assessment & Set Objectives
Successes:
We developed a “Needs & Wants” survey to find out exactly what staff needed to support their health and wellbeing and the response rate was over 93%.
After analysing the results, we selected three main areas to focus on and set our goals for the year which included:
Connection: Focus on getting the team together through social days out by hosting an annual Regional Staff Day and celebrating IBEC International Workplace Wellbeing Day. On IBEC day in April, we brought in a qualified Psychotherapist to do a talk on grounding techniques in the workplace which was very well received.
Keep Learning: Organise information sessions for staff addressing health issues at different age milestones, mental health wellness, and preventative care.
Be Active: Encourage movement in the workplace by designing and distributing Exercise Posters for every employee’s office and creating visual prompts to break up sedentary habits. Staff are now openly encouraged to get away from their desks every hour to stretch and get moving. We also targeted physical support where it was needed most by providing a stand-up desk in one of our offices for a staff member dealing with back issues and computer screens for staff to reduce eye strain and fatigue.
Challenges & Learnings: At times, we found it challenging to progress our goals given how busy our day to day schedules are delivering a service to the public. We realised the importance of having to schedule initiatives and events well in advance to ensure good engagement and participation among staff.
Future Plans:
We plan to develop a series Life Coach talks to promote staff resilience and self-care.
Maintain the Staff Support booklet we developed which is a dedicated resource for staff to know what help and structural supports are available to them in the workplace.
We have planned a dedicated Team Building Day in Sligo to bring the regional team together and boost connection.
Our plans will keep focusing heavily on Connection, Learning and Being Active.
3. Plan & Resource
Successes:
We have successfully secured a Staff Wellbeing budget from the company which gives us greater scope to plan our activities annually.
We mapped out all our wellness activities for the year ahead which have been communicated to all staff. We have built in the flexibility to allow changes if we see something that might benefit staff over the course of the year.
Financial Wellbeing Action: We specifically planned and arranged talks from Employee Financial Wellness on financial wellbeing. We put these resources in place because of the heavy financial stress everyone has been under due to the rising cost of living.
We planned for regional gatherings, allocating funding for a Team Building Day in Cavan in 2025 and Sligo in 2026.
Challenges & Learnings: With staff scattered across 7 geographically spread office locations, it takes a bit of extra planning to make sure everyone gets involved. It helps to have a representative from each office on the Wellbeing Committee to ensure varied input, staff representation and regular communication back to the teams.
Future Plans: We are organising a dedicated walking activity in September to coincide with National Workplace Walking Day, giving staff from different offices the opportunity to get out, meet their colleagues and have a proper chat in the outdoors.
We are organising a specific training event at the end of Q4 which will coincide with a Christmas lunch to blend staff development with a festive social get-together.
Our plans will keep focusing heavily on Connection, Learning and Being Active.
4. Implement
Successes: Staff Supports booklet produced and distributed to each staff member; it will be updated and circulated annually.
Wellness Wednesday initiative rolled out to each staff member. Each member of staff is allocated an hour each month to use as they please outside the office to promote and develop their own health and wellbeing.
Two of our own regional staff did the Peer Support & Supervision training with Cycle Against Suicide. They are now available for anyone on the team to contact for a confidential chat at any time.
Newsletters and Bulletins are distributed to all staff to keep them updated on all initiatives the Staff Wellbeing Committee are planning and to get feedback from staff.
Exercise Poster distributed to each staff member and displayed in each office. This was very well received and has subsequently been distributed in other MABS regions.
Informed staff of other initiatives which may benefit their health, for example the Yuka App and online talks on Nutrition, Men’s Health and the Menopause.
Challenges & Learnings: Busy caseworkers can miss emails, so we found that using both printed and digital newsletters in the office ensure staff are kept up to date and informed.
Future Plans: We are organising formal training for all our Wellbeing Committee members. They will be taking part in the QNUK Level 2 Award in Mental Health at Work through the Learning in Employment scheme in September 2026.
5. Evaluate & Improve
Successes:
Senior management and our Board recognised the importance of this initiative from the outset and fully support all our activities throughout.
It was important for us that we delivered exactly what staff wanted, and we achieved this through our Needs & Wants survey to build a proper plan that included everyone; we plan to repeat the survey this year to help us plan for 2027.
The initiative has been well received among staff with high rates of participation and engagement.
Challenges & Learnings:
As the initiative was new, it was difficult to explain initially what it was about and the benefits it could bring to staff and other stakeholders. The well-recognised Healthy Ireland brand supported our initial conversations to get buy-in across the region.
Getting constructive and honest feedback from staff; to address this, we introduced anonymous surveys for feedback.
Future Plans: We plan to run the Needs & Wants survey every year. This will make sure we can continually work staff feedback and suggestions directly into our plan for the year ahead and keep the programme fresh and relevant for all.
Challenges:
7 Separate Office Locations: Coordinating in-person wellness events and distributing material across our branches in Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, and Monaghan takes a lot of planning and consultation.
Breaking Old Habits: regular reminders need to be sent to encourage staff to engage in self-care, for example taking movement breaks throughout the day.
Cost:
Money Spent: The cost to the company was low when compared to the outcomes achieved. Committee meetings are mostly facilitated online; we meet in-person once or twice a year so on those occasions, there are travel costs to be reimbursed.
By planning out 12 months in advance, we ensure all activities fall within our allocated budget, which is currently set at €5,000 per year. We also found that there is a wealth of subsidised or free resources available to promote employee health and wellbeing.
Time Spent: The Committee meet monthly, and the agenda is set in advance for efficiency; meetings typically last 30 – 40 minutes so there is minimal time commitment. We only meet in-person where there is a specific requirement to do so, such as the HIHW workbook submission.
Outcomes
Part of the Day Job: Wellness is tied directly to our company goals and everyone’s annual reviews.
Proper Backing for Staff: Having two trained Peer Support Workers on-site means staff have a safe place to turn if they are feeling under pressure.
National and Leadership Success: At the national Healthy Workplace Celebration event in Dublin in April, our company was presented with a special recognition award: the Healthy Workplace Leadership Award.
Helping the Wider MABS Family: The Desk Exercise Poster we designed is now being shared as a template for other MABS offices across Ireland.
Key Learnings/Tips
Build on What You Have: We set up a Staff Wellbeing Committee during Covid. We used the tools from the HI Healthy Workplace Framework to further enhance and develop the Staff Wellbeing Committee and subsequent plans.
Put it in the Annual Action Plans: Linking wellness to the annual action plan makes sure people actually take notice and take part.
Give People Time: Initiatives like ” Wellness Wednesday” and the March Movement Hour work brilliantly because they give staff the freedom to step away from the desk on company time.
Look Out for Relevant Training: You can do a lot on a tight budget, but it requires time to research and source accredited courses like the QNUK Level 2 Award, which will develop and strengthen the skills on a Staff Wellbeing Committee.
Investing in Wellbeing is Investing in your Staff: When staff feel supported by their employer and see genuine efforts to promote self-care, they are happier in the workplace and have the potential to be more productive. This should also lead to reduced absence and reduced staff turnover.
We strongly recommend that any workplace engage with the Healthy Ireland Healthy Workplace initiative, and we are proud to have been part of this journey throughout 2025.