Budgeting for policy, training and support for employees with cancer

If only we saw this coming…

In the midst of the current global pandemic, this is something that has crossed a lot of people’s minds. If only we knew what lay ahead so we had the chance to prepare. Plans could have been put into place to best protect and support your employees and business.

Unfortunately, none of us could ever imagine something like this would occur in our lifetime. Many businesses weren’t fully prepared with how to handle this unprecedented situation both from an economic perspective as well as maintaining the wellness and mental resilience of their staff. 

While COVID-19 is a once in a century type of occurrence, people being diagnosed with cancer is not. It’s a disease that affects a significant number of people each and every day. Last year approximately 396 people each day were diagnosed with cancer in Australia. The search for a cure for a range of cancers has been going on for years, but for now, it’s here to stay.

Reactive responses are common place

A lot of people have been hurt financially during this pandemic. especially with job losses. With the shock and fear of what this means for business, many companies have had a reactive response to what their business has faced. This response has led big corporations laying off hundreds of staff members all at once.

Some reacted so quickly that they laid off valued employees before the government had announced they would offer support to businesses needing assistance to pay staff. It’s understandable that these companies responded to the pandemic with a reactive approach because they were not prepared. Nor did they have the chance too as we never saw what was coming.

Budgeting for staff training and support

In times of crisis, businesses must be prepared in order to protect their staff and their company. Employees being diagnosed with cancer is, unfortunately, something that is much more common and predictable. So you have the opportunity to prepare your business and your staff if someone was to fall ill. By planning and preparing policies, training and support for employees if they are faced with cancer, your business will be able to respond proactively rather than reactively.

Good employees are a companies’ biggest asset. Moving forward from COVID-19 there is going to be a huge pool of talented people out there looking for jobs. Now more than ever are people are going to look for a job in businesses who they know will take care of them when times get tough. How are you going to attract them? If you are lucky enough to still have your employees, how are you going to make them feel secure and protected?

Don’t let it get to the point where someone within your business gets diagnosed with cancer or a life-altering illness, and then you start to figure out how you are going to handle and support the situation. If you do so, you are likely to end up having a reactive approach and risk the workplace culture of the organisation as we have seen in current times with COVID-19. Because focusing on wellness within a business goes much further than having a communal fruit bowl or a walking club. By having good wellness support within your team you can help to build a strong culture and trust within your business.

What can we do to help you?

At MyMuse, we work with our clients to create a proactive model, where we teach you how to approach the situation should it arise. There is more to it than just having an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider. 

While the service itself is good, the issue with having an EAP provider is that essentially you are turning your employee away to an external place to get their situation addressed. By being able to support your employee internally you will gain a better understanding of what they are going through and your employee will feel more secure and supported. This will enhance the engagement within your business and result in enhanced culture.

Different organisations will need different support. Some companies will have bigger budgets than others. That’s why we first have an initial conversation with you to see where you are at and how to find the most cost-effective way for you to get the most out of our services.

We would then have an in-depth meeting or conversation with your organisation as to where you feel you would get the best value. It could be just a three-hour workshop. It could also be a year long organisational change that you want to go through. Whatever approach that will best achieve your outcomes, we are there to help you.

We also understand that different companies will have different schedules for their budgets. It doesn’t matter when your budget falls and your budget decision making falls. We are happy to speak and engage with you at any period of time. At MyMuse we work personally and closely with organisations so that we can tailor a programme specifically for them.

If we know that your business only needs a three-hour workshop, then we aren’t going to tell you that you need our top service package. Because honesty is one of our key values. We want each company to get the best results out of our services and not just have it as a ticked box.

Workshops aren’t always fun and we get that. But our workshops mean we can all sit in a room together and create something for your company that has a positive impact and a big change. Which we have seen time and time again with the organisations we have worked with. 

By having the correct policies, training and support in place, it will take pressure off the company as a whole in the unfortunate, but common situation when an employee is diagnosed with cancer.

MyMuse works with businesses and organisations across Australia and New Zealand. To discuss your needs or learn what is involved in co-designing a workshop or program with the MyMuse team of experts, phone on 0420 790 091 or fill in this contact form and we will be in touch shortly.

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