FM CAREERS - TRAINING
FIRST OF A KIND ABM UK recently introduced an innovative mental fi rst aid training programme for its front line
staff . Here, Chris Townsend, Senior HR Director at ABM UK explains why the rest of the FM
industry needs to follow suit
JULY 2021 57
The pandemic has brought the
subject of mental health to the
fore, more so than ever before
in my opinion. In fact, you could refer
to the subject as a pandemic in itself,
and we need to respond to it.
Attitudes towards mental health and
the stigmas surrounding it are changing,
leaders are starting to adapt and some
businesses are setting a good example.
As a solutions-based sector, it’s only right
that we demonstrate excellence and best
practice; and at ABM, we are looking to
do just that.
Crucially, we have introduced a mental
health first aid training programme
across our aviation and facility
management business divisions. It’s
one of the first of its kind in the industry
and it will equip team members, such as
security o icers, train station cleaning
teams and those working in airports and
shopping centres, with the right skills
when faced with di icult situations while
working.
We began the rollout in March and the
positive response was so overwhelming
from those involved that we have
invested further, training more team
members.
MEETING THE CHALLENGE
As we emerge from an extremely
challenging time and enter into a phased
return to normality, we believe that this
initiative has never been more important
because our business has been, and
continues to be, at the forefront of
fighting COVID-19.
Since the global pandemic prompted
a national lockdown in March last year
we have been operating reactively across
our facilities management and aviation
divisions. The nature of our business
means that our teams are working
amongst the public every single day and
we’re seeing first-hand the e ect that
the pandemic has had, and continues to
have, on mental health.
But, we have an opportunity to play a
positive role and help those people who
are su ering. As charity organisation
Mind states in its ‘Mental Health
Emergency’ report, social distancing,
lockdown, the loss of loved ones to
the virus and the over-consumption of
stress-inducing media reports is taking
a huge toll on our mental health and
wellbeing; and will continue to do so for
some time. This is why we believe having
trained personnel in mental health
first aid across our industry, must be a
priority.
Mental health is our emotional,
psychological, and social wellbeing. It
a ects how we think, feel, and act. It can
present lots of di icult moments of crisis
and unfortunately, suicide and self-harm
are big problems and they must be
treated carefully and compassionately.
Day-to-day, our teams on the ground
should be able to identify those who
are struggling with poor mental health;
who may be dealing with critical, lifechanging,
situations; who may be at risk
of harm to themselves. We have a duty
to support our teams and provide them
with the right skills and the necessary
knowledge they need to manage these
very di icult and sensitive situations.
TRAINING SUPPORT
The training programme we have
introduced will not only prepare ABM
teams for the di icult situations they
may experience while working, but it also
a ords us the infrastructure to support
our own people to process those di icult
experiences and help with any other
mental health challenges that they may
be experiencing personally.
Our people have faced significant
challenges of their own over the past
year and the aviation sector in particular
has been hit hard, which has meant
that some team members have been on
extended periods of furlough and may
find returning to work di icult, which
may fuel feelings of anxiety and worry.
Being a business that is knowledgeable
in mental health awareness with trained
mental health first aiders means we can
o er the right support and tools.
We have been working with
TalkOut a market-leading change and
development platform to create the
training programme. With the support of
our clients, we will be training more team
members across our client's sites and
across all job roles. By the summer, 75
team members across our UK businesses
will be trained in mental health first aid.
As our industry and the UK economy
works towards recovery, we want our
teams, our clients and the public to
feel fully supported and ready to come
back. We hope that by introducing this
initiative we can lead by example and
demonstrate a progressive step forward.
We’d love to see our peers follow suit
and widen the access to support across
the industry. Now, more than ever is the
time to come together, help our people
and recover from this past year stronger
than ever, together.