NCI HR Team: Ciara Jackson; Deirdre McCarthy, EDI Manager; Mary Connelly, Director of HR; Caroline Dolan; Lar McDonald
National College of Ireland is proud to have earned a KeepWell Mark from Ibec.
Director of HR, Mary Connelly, said: “This award lets us know that we are succeeding in making the College a workplace that actively supports staff health and wellbeing.
“To receive the KeepWell Mark, we engaged with a rigorous process that has allowed us to see not just our strengths, but also areas where we can improve. Staff wellness is not a once-off project and done, it is an ongoing and responsive undertaking, so this has been a most valuable – as well as rewarding – experience. I’d like to thank the Ibec KeepWell team for the opportunity to take part, and the HR team in the College for rising to the challenge.”
It is three years since NCI made VHI’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) available to all staff. This programme offers confidential support to employees and their families relating to physical, mental and financial health and well-being.
Provision of the EAP is backed-up by regular ‘wellness weeks’, which engage staff in specific events both online and offline, but also serve to actively promote the EAP, rather then the service simply being passively available.
Deirdre O'Hanlon and Caroline Dolan at NCI's first Wellness Week, January 2020
Wellness Weeks are a mix of fun and serious, focused and general – for instance, we might programme in some reiki sessions, a tax expert, an online guided meditation, an inspirational speaker both on-campus and livestreamed, and a gardening workshop in our quad,” explained Mary.
“Some events target a specific need we have identified as relevant to our staff, and some events are designed for broad appeal and easy engagement, to encourage greater participation. Wellness Weeks provide a chance for people from all areas across the college to meet and get to know one another – and to be reminded of the services offered by the EAP every day of the year.”
In 2021 and 2022, NCI made Business & Finance’s list of the top 100 companies ‘Leading in Wellbeing’.
Mary noted, “Everything we do to make NCI a great workplace is inspired by the College’s core values and aligns to the College’s strategic plan. NCI’s mission is ‘to change lives through education’ and that must be driven by staff who know themselves to be valued and appreciated, so they have a firm foundation from which to act.”
