The 8 dimensions for creating a culture of well-being: practical advice

The workshop with Guido Stratta - HR Director of Enel Group

Our webinar "Creating a culture of wellbeing" ended this morning. What is the role of managers in corporate wellbeing? where, together with Guido Stratta, HR Director of Enel Group and Eleonora Valè, wellbeing designer of Trainect , we discussed the strategic role of leadership in creating a culture of wellbeing.

During the webinar we explored, through a practical workshop, Trainect tools and approaches to create a culture of well-being and spread it within the company. We used the Culture Wellbeing Canvas , a useful tool for identifying strategic cultural levers to create the conditions for wellness initiatives to succeed.

What are the key dimensions of the culture of well-being?

We have identified 8 key dimensions and related stimulus questions to get a snapshot of the existing corporate culture.

1. Purpose: is the company purpose clear? What connection does it have with well-being? do people feel part of something bigger?

2. Values: What values guide the organization? Is the well-being of people included in these values?

3. Psychological safety: do you freely express your point of view without fear of consequences? How are errors handled?

4. Leadership style: does management empower the team? is there attention to the well-being of your collaborators? Is there clear and transparent communication?

5. Community and learning: what is the quality of relationships? is there a sense of mutual support? do you learn together with others? are you already creating culture on these issues, are you training anyone? do you have solutions that cover these skills?

6. Strategy and priorities: are the objectives, priorities and role expectations clear? Are the workflows effective, efficient and clear to everyone?

7. Wellbeing activities: what wellbeing / welfare initiatives exist in the company today? What activities have been carried out in the past? Is there a dedicated budget/team?

8. Sustainability: what sustainability initiatives are present? What is the social/environmental/economic impact of the initiatives?

What emerged?

Just as a cross-section of reality we have had results from virtuous companies and others who have recognized that they have difficulties in some areas. The reflections of the participants are shown in the image.

Alarm bells:

For each area we highlight some reflections written by the participants which are key points of attention. Starting from the dialectical discussion on these points, with the key interlocutors in the company, the risk of introducing welfare initiatives as an end in themselves is avoided, without actually changing the culture.

• Purpose: “corporate purpose: very focused on customer service”; “It's not clear and we never talk about corporate well-being. Each area works in watertight compartments"

• Values: “wellbeing comes in intermittently”; “in the code of ethics it is written that one of the purposes is to guarantee the development of people, in reality this has never been the case.”

• Psychological safety: “those who expose their thoughts by raising problems are considered problematic. In the event of an error, we look for the culprit and do not discuss it calmly."; “psychological non-safety emphasizes rumors and complaints”

• Leadership style: “Process and authoritarian manager”; “Centralising Manager”

• Community and learning: "no mutual support, everyone distrusts the other. Managers encourage all this and consider these issues a waste of time"

• Strategy and priorities: "unclear priorities, everything is very confusing and everyone follows their own process, as there is no guideline"

• Wellbeing activities: "as HR I had proposed mindfulness and counseling: rejected"

• Sustainability: "no real sustainability initiatives are carried out"

This tool is very powerful and allows us to photograph the "as is" of the organizational culture we are experiencing. Often culture, precisely because it is also composed of intangible elements (such as basic assumptions - E. Schein ), risks becoming something not visible, something to which we are accustomed.

If we want to change things, if we want to create a culture of well-being we must start from the analysis of the current state.

Case studies

If you are looking for inspiration on how to start taking care of your people, you may find it interesting to read what other startups and companies are doing, such as Pokè House, Helbiz, Musement and many others. Here you can find a series of interviews conducted with HR teams, which delve into the strategies and experiments implemented.

Do you want to understand how to use the tool and apply it to your business context?

Book a free call with our wellbeing designers.