Building a Successful Workplace Wellbeing Strategy in Local Government

At this year's PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards, I had the privilege of presenting the Wellbeing Award, recognising organisations that are making a meaningful difference to the health, wellbeing and experience of their workforce.

The quality of nominations was incredibly impressive, highlighting the innovative and impactful work taking place across local government to support employees and create healthier workplace cultures. From preventative wellbeing initiatives to organisation-wide cultural change, it was inspiring to see so many teams placing people at the heart of their approach.

The winner of the award was Norfolk County Council, who stood out for their commitment to embedding wellbeing into everyday working life, moving beyond reactive support to create a proactive and preventative culture. Following the awards, I caught up with Jo Hanson, HR Consultant – Wellbeing Lead at Norfolk County Council, to learn more about the initiative, the challenges they faced, and the impact the programme is having across the organisation.

Here's what she had to say.
 

What was the wellbeing initiative, and what inspired it?
Norfolk County Council had wellbeing support in place for many years, including employee assistance programmes, stress surveys, and various wellbeing resources. However, much of the support was fragmented, reactive, and not always easy for employees to access or understand.

Jo Hanson explained that the initiative focused on bringing all wellbeing support together into one joined-up strategy that was proactive rather than reactive.

“We wanted to move from supporting people only when things had already gone wrong to creating a preventative culture where wellbeing conversations happen much earlier,” Jo said.

A key part of the strategy was recognising the importance of the manager-employee relationship and giving managers the confidence, tools, and guidance to support their teams effectively.

What challenges did you face when developing the strategy?
One of the biggest challenges was capacity. Norfolk County Council’s wellbeing team consists of just four people supporting around 8,000 employees.

“We had become known for providing really valuable support, but it wasn’t sustainable,” Jo explained. “We had a backlog of referrals and were spending most of our time reacting to issues rather than preventing them.”

Other challenges included low awareness of existing wellbeing support, fragmented communication, lack of manager confidence, and stigma around accessing wellbeing services.

“There was still concern from some employees that using wellbeing tools could negatively impact how they were viewed,” she added.

What key activities helped make the initiative successful?
One of the biggest developments was the introduction of the “My Wellbeing Plan” a proactive tool designed for all employees, not just those experiencing difficulties.

The plan helps employees identify what supports their wellbeing, how they like to work, any adjustments they may need, and how managers can best support them. It also includes sections covering health conditions, caring responsibilities, workplace stress, and personal circumstances.

“We wanted to normalise wellbeing conversations and make it something everybody could engage with,” Jo said.

To support this, the council delivered awareness sessions, manager workshops, and leadership role modelling, with senior leaders openly engaging with the wellbeing plans themselves.

The organisation also redesigned its mental health e-learning programme, creating a tailored and interactive training package that has now been completed by over 7,000 employees.

Alongside this, the council rolled out the HSE Stress Indicator Survey across the entire organisation, generating detailed insight into workplace wellbeing and helping identify areas requiring additional support.

Importantly, the council also changed the way referrals were managed by introducing a wellbeing support system with two key elements. The first introduced an initial triage process for calls into the wellbeing service, enabling employees to receive early advice, guidance and signposting to the most appropriate support. The second introduced dedicated advice calls for managers, helping them build confidence and capability to support employees directly before escalating cases to the wellbeing team.

“As a result, we no longer have a backlog,” Jo explained. “Managers are now far more involved and better equipped to support their teams directly.”

What impact has the strategy had so far?
The strategy has significantly increased engagement with wellbeing support across the organisation.

Over the past year, the team delivered 84 wellbeing sessions with more than 2,000 attendees. The “My Wellbeing Plan” has received over 10,000 views, while engagement with wellbeing training and resources continues to grow.

The organisation has also seen positive changes in workplace culture and wellbeing outcomes. While mental health absence initially increased, which Jo believes reflected reduced stigma and greater openness, overall absence later reduced and mental health absence stabilised.

Survey data has also shown encouraging improvements in manager support and wellbeing conversations.

“The biggest success for us is that wellbeing is becoming embedded into the culture,” Jo said. “People are more aware, managers are more confident, and conversations are happening much earlier.”

What advice would you give to other organisations looking to improve workforce wellbeing?
Jo believes the most important starting point is listening to employees and involving them in shaping wellbeing strategies.

“You have to engage with your workforce and demonstrate that you’ve listened to what they need,” she said.

She also emphasised the importance of prevention, investing in managers, and visible leadership support.

“There’s only so much reactive services can do. Prevention is key. Managers need the confidence and tools to support their teams early, and leadership role modelling is absolutely crucial in reducing stigma.”

Ultimately, Jo believes wellbeing strategies are most successful when wellbeing becomes embedded into everyday working culture rather than treated as a standalone initiative.

“It’s about making wellbeing part of how the organisation operates every day, not something people only access when they reach crisis point.”

A huge congratulations once again to Jo and the team at Norfolk County Council on their Wellbeing Award win.

Their approach demonstrates what can be achieved when wellbeing is treated as a strategic priority rather than a standalone initiative. By investing in prevention, empowering managers and creating a culture where wellbeing conversations are part of everyday working life, they have delivered meaningful and measurable change for their workforce.

At Tile Hill, we're passionate about celebrating and sharing examples of great people practice across the public sector. The challenges facing organisations may differ, but there is always value in learning from one another, and Norfolk County Council's journey offers valuable insights for any organisation looking to strengthen workplace wellbeing.

Thank you to Jo for sharing her experiences and reflections with us, and to all of this year's nominees who continue to champion wellbeing across the sector.