Burnley business and bondholder RJ8 pride themselves on providing “the next level of mental health care”, offering 24/7 counselling for employees, as well as mediation, occupational health and mental health awareness training.
We met up with some of the team at their offices at The Landmark and it is clear how passionate and knowledgeable they are about mental health and what businesses should do to help their staff.
Rebecca Jane, founder and CEO of RJ8, explained that at the beginning of the pandemic, many organisations panicked, from how they could survive to the logistics of staff working from home. However, as the situation appears to ease and employees have more time to absorb what happened over the past two years, she predicts that many employees will leave those organisations that didn’t look after them.
“During the height of the pandemic, many people were grateful to have a job and changing careers or jobs at that point might not have crossed their minds. However, whilst companies at this point may now be focused on physical restrictions and growth, employees will start to reflect on how they were treated. And many will walk away from companies that didn’t take their mental health seriously and continue not to do so.
“I believe that the mental health fallout from COVID will last for five to ten years. There was a 200 per cent increase in suicidal behaviour during the third lockdown. Businesses need to ensure they’re communicating to staff and providing them with the support they need.”
Rebecca Jane, CEO of RJ8
This is where RJ8 come in. Impressively, they provide their clients’ employees with 24/7 counselling support. Through their extensive network of experts covering everything from CBT therapy and psychologists to leadership coaches and financial experts, 90 per cent of referrals are seen within seven days, compared to what they describe as a much longer NHS waiting list time.
Another USP is that each business gets their own branded portal, the service is confidential and independent, and staff do not need to request access via HR, which puts some people off. They simply log on and access help.
Panaz: a shining example
It was great to hear how fellow Burnley business and bondholder Panaz are taking the wellbeing of their employees seriously. They’re currently working with RJ8 to take their communication with employees “from good to excellent”, Rebecca told us.
“Panaz are seriously committed to helping their employees with their mindsets and understanding patterns and behaviour. They have exciting expansion plans and want to ensure both their current staff and future employees are collaborative and unified. In turn, this has a positive impact on communication with clients. Panaz is one of our businesses with a “good problem” – they’re already doing well, but want to do even better. We can help all types of companies, from those with serious staff engagement and retention issues to those like Panaz who simply want to continually improve,” she explained.
We are pleased to hear that two local businesses are working together. Although RJ8 is relatively young after being established in 2021, Rebecca and her team have been working together for much longer. Rebecca co-founded a private mental health clinic in 2019 and took over the ownership. Their wide network is also incredibly experienced and you can see who they work with on their website.
So, what next for RJ8? After tripling growth, the business is working on an exciting pilot in the maritime sector. Employees in this industry can often be forgotten about, especially when out at sea under the remit of no authority. Clinical lead Lucian Sanchez explained that employees on so-called super yachts are often young, have no personal space and are thrown together with people they may not necessarily get along with. The hours are long, but the pay is typically good, so often individuals feel they cannot speak up and let issues fester.
It certainly sounds interesting and we’ll be keeping a close eye on RJ8’s continued growth and expansion into this niche sector.