The practice of mindful business

Nadia Davies, chief operating officer at Sharpe Pritchard, explains how the firm set about considering and implementing a ‘Mindful Business Charter’ to establish some guidelines for respecting people’s right to switch off and protect wellbeing

Lockdown in 2020 and 2021 brought mental health for organisations into sharp focus. Many were isolated at home, struggling to support and care for families, battling illness or furlough. As a country, we worked to check in with each other, ran online social events to virtually get together and tried to weave in a bit of exercise; Captain Tom Moore and Joe Wicks became new national heroes.

As we emerged from lockdown, Sharpe Pritchard remained committed to proactively looking after our people. Not only is it the right thing to do, but people who feel well work at their best for our clients.

A charter for positive change

In 2021 we came across the Mindful Business Charter. Initially a joint initiative between Barclays, Pinsent Masons and Addleshaw Goddard in 2018, it is now a much larger movement of businesses, including professional services, all sharing a commitment to ensuring that working practices support the wellbeing of their people.

Sharpe Pritchard signed up in September 2021. The Mindful Business Charter found a natural home within our then newly established Wellbeing Leadership Group (WLG). This comprises volunteers from across the firm who have an interest in promoting wellbeing. They include some of our senior leadership, representation from HR as well as our mental health first aiders. The group has a dedicated budget for wellbeing initiatives across the firm.

The Mindful Business Charter is structured across four pillars: openness and respect, smart meetings and emailing, respecting rest periods, and mindful delegation. Throughout the rest of 2021 the group set about looking at what specific commitments we could make as a firm, and critically what practical guidance we could provide to support each of these four pillars.

Into the detail — and trust at the top

For the first iteration, each pillar was unpacked into practical suggestions for how it could be supported. The focus was on quick wins and the things that would make a real difference to people and, most importantly, get buy-in across the firm. There were thorny discussions about emailing after hours — the pros and cons of a blanket ban, and whether this was realistically achievable or desirable, or whether instead we needed training for individuals to recognise how their work behaviour could impact others.

The Mindful Business Charter remains a living document. It’s revised — and widely communicated — annually to ensure it is understood and working in practice. Most recently it featured on the agenda for this year’s partner away day

The practical also includes the smaller things that can sometimes get forgotten in a busy working environment — for example, remembering to give credit where credit is due and say thank you, setting clear deadlines for work and communicating changes, and ensuring that managers enable individuals to take holiday and ‘switch off’, as well as doing so themselves!

Essential to the successful rollout of the charter was senior sponsorship and buy-in. The proposal to sign up was discussed and agreed at executive level. At an early partner away day, equity partners discussed and agreed how they could model working in ways, in line with the charter, that supported wellbeing. Their sign-off on the final version was essential to its success. Leadership and modelling behaviour to maintain a culture of wellbeing starts at the top.

The Mindful Business Charter remains a living document. It’s revised  — and widely communicated — annually to ensure it is understood and working in practice. Most recently it featured on the agenda for this year’s partner away day; discussing how we can best integrate wellbeing objectives into our processes and procedures as we grow as a business.

It’s also underpinned by ‘pulse surveys’ of our people’s real experience that inform its success. While central to the wellbeing strategy, it is supported by several other initiatives that, taken together, ensure we are consistently focused on creating a positive and supportive work community. This includes line manager training to recognise and support individuals who may be struggling, investment in bringing our colleagues/community together at lunches and social events, structures to ensure regular check-ins with all people, and a suite of benefits to ensure everyone can access the support they want and need if they find themselves struggling.

The Mindful Business Charter has enhanced our positive culture of mutual respect and openness. Perhaps most important, it ensures that as the firm grows all our people have a solid foundation from which to thrive at Sharpe Pritchard.