Organisation Type: PhoneWatch is a security services company providing monitored home and business security solutions across Ireland. Its role is to help protect customers through alarm monitoring, installation, and customer support services.
Number of Employees: PhoneWatch employs approximately 270 people.
Location: Employees work across a wide variety of roles, including office-based, sales, customer support, and field service positions. Office-based staff are located in Dublin, while sales and field teams operate nationwide, supporting customers throughout Ireland.
The Process
1. Gain & Demonstrate Support
When we began our Healthy Workplace journey, we knew that wellbeing would only become embedded in our culture if it was seen as a shared responsibility across the organisation rather than an HR-led initiative.
Our first priority was creating a clear vision for what wellbeing should look like. We engaged with the Executive Team and people leaders early, focusing on why employee wellbeing matters not only for individuals but also for engagement, performance, retention and culture.
Visible leadership support became one of the strongest drivers of success. Senior leaders attended wellbeing events, spoke openly about the importance of wellbeing and actively supported initiatives throughout the year. This sent a strong message to employees that wellbeing was a genuine organisational priority.
One of our key learnings was that support is not something you secure once and then move on from. It requires ongoing conversation, visibility and reinforcement. By continually involving leaders and sharing progress with employees, wellbeing became increasingly woven into everyday organisational discussions.
2. Conduct Assessment & Set Objectives
Rather than beginning with solutions, we started by asking questions.
We wanted to understand what wellbeing meant to our employees and where we could make the greatest difference. Through surveys, feedback sessions and discussions with managers, we gathered insights from employees across different roles and locations.
The feedback highlighted an important reality: a one-size-fits-all wellbeing programme would not work for our workforce. Employees had different needs depending on their role, working patterns and personal circumstances.
Using this feedback, alongside external research and best-practice guidance, we developed a wellbeing strategy built around three simple pillars: Mental Wellbeing, Physical Wellbeing and Social Wellbeing.
These pillars gave us a clear sense of direction while still providing flexibility to adapt as employee needs evolved.
3. Plan & Resource
Our approach was to build something sustainable rather than create a calendar filled with activities.
In the first year, we introduced a broad range of wellbeing initiatives to understand what generated the strongest engagement. While employees appreciated the variety of supports available, we quickly realised that offering more activities did not necessarily lead to greater participation.
This learning significantly influenced our planning for the following year.
Instead of increasing activity levels, we became more intentional. We focused our resources on initiatives that aligned closely with employee feedback and the three wellbeing pillars. Programmes were selected based on their potential to create meaningful impact rather than simply adding another event to the calendar.
As a result, our wellbeing programme became more focused, more sustainable and more aligned to what employees genuinely valued.
4. Implement
As our programme evolved, we recognised that successful implementation was less about launching initiatives and more about creating opportunities for people to connect with them.
Communication remained important, but we learned that engagement was highest when activities felt relevant, practical and enjoyable. We therefore used a mix of channels to promote wellbeing, including employee briefings, manager updates, intranet communications, posters and company events.
We also adopted a “test and learn” approach. New initiatives were often introduced on a smaller scale first, allowing us to gather feedback before expanding them across the organisation.
One of the strongest themes to emerge was the value of social connection. Team-based fundraising activities, group challenges and recognition programmes consistently generated high levels of participation. These activities supported wellbeing while also strengthening relationships and creating a greater sense of community across the organisation.
Over time, wellbeing became less about individual events and more about creating a workplace where people felt connected, supported and recognised.
5. Evaluate & Improve
Continuous improvement has become one of the most valuable outcomes of our Healthy Workplace journey.
At the end of each year, we take time to reflect on employee feedback, participation levels and overall impact. Just as importantly, we look honestly at what has not worked as well as expected.
One of our biggest learnings came from recognising that employees were being presented with too many wellbeing activities. While the intention was positive, the volume sometimes created confusion and diluted engagement.
Rather than doing more, we chose to do less—but better.
By simplifying our programme and focusing on initiatives that employees found most meaningful, engagement improved and the programme felt more authentic.
We have also continued to review our supports to ensure they remain relevant. This includes regularly assessing employee feedback and making changes where needed, ensuring our wellbeing programme continues to evolve alongside the organisation.
Looking back, one of the most positive changes has been the growing openness around wellbeing. Conversations that may once have happened only occasionally are now a much more visible and accepted part of everyday working life.
Challenges
Like many organisations, one of our biggest challenges was engaging a workforce with varied working patterns, including employees who spend much of their day away from a desk or computer.
Another challenge was balancing enthusiasm with simplicity. In the early stages of our journey, we introduced a wide range of initiatives. While well intentioned, we discovered that employees preferred a smaller number of meaningful activities rather than a constant flow of communications and events.
We also learned that employee engagement cannot be driven by communications alone. Some of our most successful initiatives were those that created opportunities for employees to participate together, build relationships and contribute to a shared purpose.
Cost
The programme was largely delivered using existing organisational resources, strong internal collaboration and partnerships with external wellbeing providers.
Rather than focusing on large-scale investment, we focused on making wellbeing part of everyday organisational life. Many of our most successful initiatives, including recognition programmes, fundraising activities and awareness campaigns, delivered significant value with relatively modest costs.
Our experience has shown that impact is often determined more by relevance and employee engagement than by budget.
Outcomes
Our Healthy Workplace journey has delivered a number of positive outcomes:
- A clear and structured wellbeing strategy with long-term objectives.
- Increased visibility of wellbeing across the organisation.
- Strong leadership support and participation.
- Greater employee awareness of wellbeing resources and supports.
- Higher engagement through more targeted and meaningful initiatives.
- Increased opportunities for social connection across teams.
- Strong participation in charity and community-focused activities.
- More open conversations about wellbeing throughout the organisation.
Perhaps the most significant outcome has been cultural. Wellbeing is now viewed less as a standalone programme and more as part of how we work, lead and support one another every day.
Key Learnings / Tips
- Start by listening to employees rather than assuming what they need.
- Secure genuine leadership support and make it visible.
- Focus on quality rather than quantity.
- Be prepared to adapt your plans based on feedback.
- Recognise the importance of social connection as a wellbeing driver.
- Don’t underestimate the impact of simple initiatives that bring people together.
- Treat wellbeing as a long-term journey rather than a series of isolated events.
Our biggest lesson has been that successful workplace wellbeing is not created through a single initiative or campaign. It develops gradually through consistent actions, leadership commitment and a willingness to listen and learn. By taking that approach, we have been able to build a wellbeing programme that reflects our culture, supports our people and continues to evolve as our organisation grows.
PhoneWatch is a security services company providing monitored home and business security solutions across Ireland. Its role is to help protect customers through alarm monitoring, installation, and customer support services.
PhoneWatch employs approximately 270 people. Employees work across a wide variety of roles, including office-based, sales, customer support, and field service positions. Office-based staff are located in Dublin, while sales and field teams operate nationwide, supporting customers throughout Ireland.