GRS wins major construction sector health, safety & wellbeing award

14 July 2023

GRS is the 2023 winner of the Construction News Award for Health, Safety & Wellbeing Excellence for its innovative and far-reaching ‘Let’s Talk’ campaign.

The Construction News Awards are the industry’s biggest recognition of the best initiatives and performance across the sector, attracting hundreds of entries from right across UK construction.

GRS believes that in order for employees to carry out their duties safely and effectively depends on their physical and mental wellbeing. Wellbeing is a primary driver behind human behaviour so being physically and mentally well means people are more focussed, alert and resilient, leading to fewer unsafe acts and situations.

The GRS ‘Let’s Talk’ campaign is all about improving wellbeing by changing the culture to sensitively encourage people to open up about their struggles, then also having systems in place to support them when they feel able to talk.

The CN Awards panel of independent judges was impressed by the positive impact of the Let’s Talk campaign and how it has helped some GRS colleagues to get through difficult times over the past 12 months. They also appreciated the company’s openness about the uncertainties of our continued journey as we strive to put ‘people at the heart of everything we do’ and work towards ‘no harm done’.

GRS Chief Executive Jon Fisher said: “Even making the shortlist in the CN Awards is a major achievement, so to go on to win the award – beating stiff competition from some of the construction industry’s big names – is a stunning achievement. It is a testament to the commitment of each and every one of our employees in embracing the spirit of ‘Let’s Talk’ to look after ourselves and look out for each other.

“We have set the bar very high in terms of health and wellbeing and it’s down to everyone in the business to uphold the standards we have come to cherish so much. Well done team GRS – we can justly feel proud at this achievement!”

Examples of activities implemented as part of the ‘Let’s Talk’ campaign include:

Equipping employees with skills to recognise the symptoms, and how to listen, respond and support without trying to ‘diagnose’ or ‘solve’
Training managers on how to produce a wellbeing action plan for their teams
Establishing a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors trained to signpost people to the right support
Producing a suite of health manuals on gender-specific issues, tailored appropriately to the audience
Putting time aside for health and wellbeing on the agenda of every meeting
Setting up ‘Let’s Talk’ noticeboards at every site (>50) with updates, support, advice
Emotional wellbeing and resilience training, delivered by Mind UK, with almost 100 managers trained in 2022
Management conference in the second quarter of 2022 majored on health and wellbeing with employees presenting their stories on everything from the impact of unhealthy eating and living with cancer to the impact of substance abuse and domestic violence - a memorable and moving session with a lasting impact
Introducing of a series of videos with employees talking about physical and mental health issues and the impact these difficulties have on themselves and others.

Find out more about the CN Awards: https://digital.emap.com/39001/95071/index.html?27962