Services (11)
Communicorp is a leading provider of workplace psychology solutions
We are driven by our strong conviction that Australian workplaces need a more proactive approach to workplace mental health and wellbeing.
With uncompromising standards and a practical outcomes-driven approach, Communicorp is the provider of choice for many government and non-government corporations.
We deliver:
- Mental health and wellbeing education programs
- Proactive wellbeing coaching
- Psychosocial risk management services
- Mental health and wellbeing strategy development
- Team and organisational culture reviews
- Specialised assessment services
All programs
How to deliver mental health and wellbeing support to postal office and delivery workers across Victoria, with Australia Post and WorkSafe Victoria.
GOALS
- Understand the psychosocial risks that may lead to mental injury and/or compromised mental health for Licensee Post Office and Community Postal Agency employees and Contract Delivery Drivers.
- Address risks using sustainable and outcome driven solutions.
- Develop a program to prevent risks in the long-term.
APPROACH
- Project team established to explore the psychosocial risks in the postal sectors.
- Create and provide easy access to support material on how to increase awareness of psychosocial risks.
- Survey workers to identify further risks and opportunities to expand and develop services.
- Detailed interviews with individuals for deeper insights into mental health risks.
RESULTS
- Identified several risks and issues facing workers which can be alleviated with the program.
- Created first round of program content to support workers and highlight risks.
- Program framework established to allow further expansion of services with a focus on preventing risks and mental health issues.
Background
With frontline workers across Victoria’s substantial postal network facing multiple challenges, hazards and risks to their mental health, both Australia Post, alongside WorkSafe Victoria, knew more needed to be done to support the wellbeing of employees.
The target population are not direct employees of Australia Post, but rather franchise owner operators or contractors.
These workers in particular are more difficult to support due to the geographical spread of the locations within the network, which includes:
- 806 Licensed Post Offices (LPOs)
- 58 Community Postal Agencies (CPAs)
- Over 1,000 contract delivery drivers
The owners/operators of post offices also have varied cultural, economic, and educational backgrounds.
Plus, as well as postal services, many are required to provide finance, insurance and identity and document services to regional communities, adding to the pressure of customers who rely on them as the only business to deliver these services locally.
Additional factors across the network include:
- Large number of dispersed local businesses across Victoria’s regional areas.
- Isolation of workers where they are the only business in a remote area.
- Long hours and self-employment add difficulties for training and upskilling.
Exploration
Communicorp established a project working group and held consultation with Australia Post's Safety Manager for Community and Consumer, to identify several challenges faced by workers across the network.
Communicorp also reached out to Canada Post and New Zealand Post to examine common risks and solutions across similarly challenged networks.
A literature review was completed on psychosocial risks in the postal sector, which is currently being reviewed for publication in an appropriate academic journal.
Key findings from the literature review were:
- Literature outlining the state of psychosocial risk within the postal sector at an international scale is limited
- Workplace risk factors identified across the literature were isolation, job demands, occupational violence and aggression, job instability (including financial strain) and bullying and harassment
- Risk factors have remained relatively constant over the last 20 years of literature
The program working group identified several factors with the highest need for intervention:
- Violent or traumatic events (specifically aggressive customer behaviour)
- Jobs with either high or low demands
- Remote and isolated work
- Poorly managed organisational change
Impact of COVID-19
Ongoing communication across the network and with international postal agencies became increasingly difficult from March 2020 with the global spread of the Coronavirus.
Communicorp adapted to the changing conditions with a commitment to new milestones in order to continue the program through the pandemic.
This included the plans for baseline data collection (Workplace Wellbeing Insight (WWI) survey) being put on hold due to the greater demand of postal and delivery services across the state, economic pressures and an expected low response rate.
Consultation with the working group indicated a desire to provide support to the target population in any way possible, during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
A variation proposal was submitted with additional milestones to be delivered over the 2020 period.
Communicorp adapted to the changing conditions with a commitment to new milestones in order to continue the program through the pandemic.
Enabling workers to access support tools
A big challenge was to maintain open communication with all stakeholders in the project and enable workers across the postal network to access support material.
The project team developed videos and tip sheets aimed at increasing awareness of psychosocial risk areas and provide resources to minimise the impact of these risks. Topics included managing difficult customer interactions and managing remote and isolated work.
Five videos and five proactive tip sheets, based on known psychosocial risks in the target population, were published in September 2020 and promoted together with the roll out of the previously postponed WWI survey.
In line with the sustainability principle of the project, the content was selected based on known psychosocial risks in the target population to maximise relevance for the future.
These resources are housed on intranet pages that all individuals have access to and will continue to be referred to across other projects and communications.
Initial learnings
Interviews revealed issues faced by workers and perceptions of mental health risks such as aggressive customer interactions.
By using phone interviews more workers were able to participate from across the state’s various regions.
A lack of time and the increase in demand of delivery services as a result of COVID-19 made it more difficult for workers to access the material or take part in surveys and interviews.
It also became clear that a lack of direct and regular interaction with the workers made it increasingly difficult to follow up from initial conversations.
Next steps
The project team is currently working with researchers at Griffith University to complete a data analysis of the survey results, interviews, and usage of the support materials.
Workshops planned for early 2021 will include representatives from across the target population as well as key stakeholders from within Australia Post.
These workshops will kick off the co-design phase in order to design a prevention led approach to minimising the mental health risks identified in the exploration phase.
Join us at Communicorp
Want to join a vibrant, dedicated, and innovative team? Communicorp might just be the place for you!
We are a leading workplace mental health consultancy focussed on building psychologically safe, healthy, and thriving workplaces.
We are privileged to work with leading organisations across the Asia Pacific region to assist them on their journey in implementing evidenced-based, practical workplace mental health interventions and solutions.
Our services include strategic consulting, organisational measurement, workshop facilitation, evaluation, and executive leadership coaching.
We ensure that we provide a breadth of primary and secondary interventions to our clients ensuring you will have access to a variety of challenging work.
Be part of a national team
Our national consulting team of registered psychologists is united by our passion for a proactive and practical approach to workplace mental health and wellbeing matters.
We pride ourselves in being at the fore of research, innovation, and application.
We value collaboration, a growth mindset, and the ethical application of our profession.
We invest in the growth of our profession and are passionate about sharing our successes (and failures) so others can benefit.
If you’re looking to join a trusted team dedicated to solving complex problems across a diverse range of industries, we would love to hear from you.
Why you should join our team
As a member of the APM Group of companies, we’re part of a global human services organisation dedicated to enabling better lives through services and programs across 10 countries.
We like to practise what we preach. We are all about getting the right person into the right job with a strong organisational values alignment.
We genuinely want to know about you and what inspires, motivates, and drives you to do what you do.
If that sounds like a good place to start, we might just be the right organisation for you! If not, we’re okay with that too.
At Communicorp, we also want to ensure that our team gets the opportunity to grow and be recognised for what they do. We provide:
- Access to professional development
- Monthly internal CPD events
- Access to an organisational psychology registrar program
- Access to leadership development programs
- Local recognition programs/social events
- Complimentary Employee Assistance Program
- Flexible work arrangements
- Corporate Health discount through Medibank
- Salary packaging options (novated lease, salary sacrifice)
- Competitive salary, pool car (as required), phone and laptop
- Relocation support offered for the right person
Re-open your business with a healthier, safe and compliant workplace in the post-pandemic world.
We have all been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect of business closures, social distancing and isolation.
As restrictions ease and we find a new way of working, we want to help you support and welcome back the people who make your business a success.
Together with leading experts in workplace health and safety, employee assistance programs and psychological health services from the APM Group, we’ve developed the Welcome Back Program to be customised to any business.
This program enables you to support your workforce with:
- A safer workplace after COVID-19
- Informed leaders
- Supported employees
Our services are delivered by experienced workplace educators, psychologists, occupational health specialists, health and safety experts, rehabilitation and injury management consultants.
Whether it’s completely online or a combination of digital and face-to-face consultations, workshops and practical assets, we’ll shape your program around the current operations of your business.
Mental Health Masterclasses
Manage the 3 Bs: balance, boundaries and burnout
Work-life balance, managing boundaries, avoiding burnout these are some of the most common things that people talk to us about.
This session focuses on the importance of self-care in a busy world, how you can find balance, and how essential this is to avoid burnout.
- The importance of work life balance or integration
- How to set boundaries that support your wellbeing
- What is burnout and how to avoid it
Suitable for all employees. Available as a 1 hour webinar or 2 hour workshop.
Lead well: psychosocial risk management
New WHS regulations put a spotlight on factors that impact our mental health at work.
This session adopts a practical, plain English approach to help leaders understand these factors and develop skills to lead for better psychological health and safety.
- How to identify and address psychosocial hazards in your team
- Practical strategies to foster psychological safety and team wellbeing
Suitable for people leaders. Available as a 1 hour webinar or 2 hour workshop.
To book a session, please contact or call 1300 855 140.
About virtual training
At Communicorp, we recognise though there is much to gain from face to face training delivery, it can bring significant, operational challenges.
Our virtual learning products have been developed with the recognition that that every organisation is different, and that to meet the needs of an ever-changing workforce, flexibility is imperative.
Our clients look to virtual learning to meet the needs of workers who:
- Work flexibly
- Work from home
- Are geographically dispersed or isolated
- Seek highly accessible learning environments
Communicorp’s virtual workshops and webinars have been expertly designed to be engaging, practical, interactive and focussed on developing not only capability but also confidence in managing mental health in the workplace.
Our virtual workshops are facilitated live by a senior psychologist with substantial experience in workplace mental health and training delivery.
This method of delivery not only ensures a robust evidence base to our interventions but also a wealth of experience in practical applications that are adaptable to the requirements of participants.
Our online platform enables us to engage the audience through activities such as:
- Live chat with an AHPRA registered psychologist
- Interactive polls and Q & As
- Interactive eWhiteboards
- Break out rooms for group discussion, live roleplays and targeted facilitator feedback
- Interactive activity workbooks
The psychologists that comprise our national consulting team are some of the most qualified thought leaders and subject matter experts in the field. They are passionate about the power of prevention and about the importance of adopting a proactive and systemic approach to workplace mental health.
Our industry-leading programs at Communicorp recognise the value of a preventative approach to workplace mental health and the importance of delivering sustainable programs that provide ongoing improvements and results.
The prospect of recognising and responding to wellbeing matters can be confronting and stressful. While many employees, leaders and executives see the compelling business case for promoting workplace mental health, most don’t know how to transform these good intentions into actions that genuinely make a difference.
Personalised coaching can provide a powerful avenue for organisational leaders, high achievers and staff alike to reach personal and work-related goals.
The journey to a creating psychologically safe and healthy workplace is different for every organisation. Rather than adopting a ‘one size fits all’ or tokenistic approach to workplace mental health that fails to achieve results, we are known for our strategic, collaborative and tailored approach to optimising workplace mental health and managing psychosocial risks.
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Psychologically Safe & Healthy Workplaces Consulting Services
We recognise the importance of a strategic approach to psychological health and safety in the workplace, and understand what is required to have a genuine impact on an organisation’s psychological wellbeing and bottom line.