Introducing Sophie: The Best Support Act

Our annual leadership awards are a celebration of the people who truly make every moment and lead Consensus with compassion, care and innovation. This year, one of those people was Sophie, winner of the Best Support Act Award which recognised a colleague from our central support teams who embodies teamwork and makes a difference to their colleagues’ lives and wellbeing.

One of their nominations said, “Sophie – what an absolute ray of sunshine! If you’re having a rubbish day, after a message or meeting with Sophie, she’ll have you instantly feeling better. Always on hand to help with anything, always spreading words of encouragement – Sophie is ready to turn anyone’s day around. She’s great at giving advice and her passion to get every single person and service involved in wellbeing initiatives is wonderful.”

Sophie joined Consensus as a HR administrator in 2020 and after it became clear that her passion was all about supporting people and their wellbeing, she took a chance on her new role as HR & Wellbeing Coordinator. She supports all our colleagues by finding out what they need and looking for the best way to bring that to life, whether it’s new initiatives, new benefits or even entirely new policies.  

Supporting colleagues with Mental Health

“Our mental health first aiders programme started several years ago, but I’m very excited to say we’ve grown to having over 50 trained first aiders and have been looking at how we can grow it even further. Recently, I opened up a referrals process so any colleagues who don’t have a mental health first aider on site can easily get help when they need it. Supporting peoples mental health is so important, especially at work – I want everyone to have access to help and am going to keep working to tailor everything I do to what people need.”

Supporting colleagues wellbeing

“Our wellbeing Coach, Mary, dreamt up the idea of creating a wellbeing champion group  and I couldn’t wait to help her bring it to life. We’re making a network of people who want to work together to promote health, happiness and wellbeing, and can be a source of knowledge and advice for their colleagues. It’s in the early stages but I really believe this will make such a positive impact on people to have someone they see every day offering support rather than making a call to someone in an office they might not know too well.”

Supporting colleagues through menopause

“While I was studying for my dissertation, I came across a study that said around a quarter of women consider quitting their job when they experience menopause because they can’t handle the symptoms when working. This really stuck with me, especially considering Consensus is made up of over 70% women. We’ve already had our Menopause meet-ups running for some time with Mary at the helm, and I’ve been so proud to be a part of it. I hosted an event earlier this year for Menopause Awareness Day, full of learning, companionship and we even designed our own menopause journals for people to track, understand and manage their symptoms. I’m working with my team on developing a new menopause policy too, informed by colleagues who have experienced it, so that we have a truly great place to work for women that offers actual equal opportunities.”

Supporting disabled colleagues

“Last year, one of my colleagues Bee who has a disability themselves approached me and asked for support with getting Consensus into the Disability Confidence Scheme. As soon as they explained what it was, I absolutely loved the idea and knew this could make such a real change. I helped get everything reviewed and was really happy that by reviewing our practices it highlighted the things we were already doing, not only things we could do better. Being in the scheme means constantly holding ourselves accountable and being better, making real meaningful improvements and making a platform for disabled colleagues to succeed.”

Supporting colleagues to get recognised and rewarded

“Something I try to bring into everything I do is appreciation and recognition. I’ve recently been working to support with launching brand-new awards that anyone can get nominated for that celebrate everything from the everyday moments to the extraordinary. I want people to feel heard, and show that we truly see the differences they make every day – whether it’s a quick teams message or a fabulous awards ceremony.”

Sophie is truly a shining example of what it means to be a supportive, caring person – when we asked what someone should do to start supporting their colleagues wellbeing, she said, “It’s all about listening. We could just bring benefits and events in, but without really talking to people about what they need it’s meaningless. Always be open and set the tone – if you care, other people will care too.”