Why is Unitrans so people focused? 

People need to come first in our opinion. We always say we’re ‘serious on compliance, serious on safety and serious on engagement.’

But over the past few years we realised there was an absence in our understanding of why we do what we do for our people. Engagement surveys we’d had in the past had also proven that. 

So in the last year we’ve done a lot of work to try and build this up from a communication perspective and from a wellbeing perspective. When it comes to wellbeing we’re focused on mental, physical and financial wellbeing. It’s all about that connection.

This work has borne fruit. The results from our last engagement survey were really good.

One of your wellbeing initiatives has been rolling out Humanforce Thrive, why did you decide to focus on financial wellbeing?

We get quarterly reports from our EAP provider and they split up the types of calls they receive into categories. The top three trends were work, family and finances. They were the topics people were calling about. So we knew we needed to look at what we could do from a financial perspective. 

We looked at super and savings seminars and Humanforce Thrive. So it was the feedback that we got through the EAP that spurred this on. Since we’ve implemented Humanforce Thrive that trend of finance-related calls to EAP has completely dropped off. 

What impact has Humanforce Thrive had on your people?

Humanforce Thrive releases a lot of pressure from our team. It means when something happens, especially in this Covid-19 environment, they can still pay their bills and put food on the table for their families. So from that perspective it’s amazing, especially in the last few months with lockdowns. 

Just last week a gentleman came and saw me to tell me he’s going through a tough time at home. He said the ability to access Humanforce Thrive has gone a long way for him and means he’s still been able to provide for his kids. 

On top of that our team understands we value them, which is a big thing. They know we’re giving them options to improve their financial wellbeing.

So it’s a combination of that relief and the fact that we’re providing extra value to them.

The positive impact can be shown through the uptake we have at the moment as well. We’re at 30% uptake and it’s to do with the value that our team gets from Humanforce Thrive. 

We’ve pushed Humanforce Thrive in all of our onboarding packs and we have it on our remuneration and benefits page as well. So when people join Unitrans and see Humanforce Thrive they know they’re joining a great brand that looks after its people. That’s the biggest impact for us. 

What would you say to other employers thinking about partnering with Humanforce Thrive?

I think once people understand what Humanforce Thrive is and the potential benefits, implementing Humanforce Thrive makes a lot of sense. I would recommend that any other business considering Humanforce Thrive from a financial wellbeing point of view should take it up because it can have such a big impact and create good value for your employees. 

There are a lot of people struggling, especially lately, and we don’t know what goes on in most people’s lives. People come to work and they put on a smile, but we don’t know what’s happening. Humanforce Thrive provides the opportunity for assistance for people if they’re going through a tough time.

If you’re a business that wants to focus on your people and their wellbeing, then Humanforce Thrive is a great thing to do.