At Continuum Attractions, we believe that our team’s wellbeing is just as important as the unforgettable experiences we create for our guests. The tourism and attractions industry is fast-paced and demanding, making it crucial to support our team’s health in a meaningful way.
A recent article by Attractions Management highlighted supportive processes within our industry. In response, we want to share how we are actively fostering a workplace culture where our team feel safe, valued, and supported. From mental health first aiders to wellness action plans, financial assistance, and social wellbeing initiatives, we are committed to making a real difference.
Here’s how we are ensuring our team’s emotional, physical, social, and financial wellbeing remains a top priority, in the words of Dorothy Stubbs, our people director:
Emotional wellbeing
By investing in a team of 16 mental health first aiders across the business we are creating a culture where our team feel safe to talk about their mental health. Our MHFAiders can signpost team to support and help them in crisis situations. All our team also have access to our Employee Assistance Programme which provides 24/7 phone support to our team, and if needed provided them with a referral for face-to-face counselling sessions.
We also offer discounted access to the guided meditation app, Headspace. To support our teams from the start of their employment, we are implementing ‘wellness action plans’ to give team one-to-one time with their line manager to discuss their wellbeing, any medical conditions, their mental health and how we can support them in the workplace.
Physical wellbeing
We have a portfolio of benefits that provide the team with access to services or tools to improve their physical wellbeing. Ensuring our team start the day off right, we provide breakfast at our attractions for our team to enjoy prior to their shift – ensuring they are set up for the day.
Through mygymdiscounts, our team can access discounts on local gyms, home exercise programmes and exercise equipment. For the team that get their daily movement from their morning commute, we have access to a cycle scheme to save the team money on equipment.
Medicash offers our team cash back on key medical costs such as opticians or dentist appointment, plus access to a Virtual GP service – ensuring our team can speak to a GP whenever they need it. We also cover the cost of an eye test for our screen users through Specsavers vouchers and, for those that don’t qualify with the NHS, our team can claim back the cost of a flu jab should they choose to have it.
Social wellbeing
To support our teams’ social wellbeing, we put opportunities in place to build and maintain positive relationships, as well as having a sense of belonging. We focus on teamwork and collaborative working within our teams. To connect the wider teams, we have also established some role specific communities. We then celebrate our successes at our annual Attraction of the Year awards and our attraction summer and winter socials.
Social wellbeing also covers creating an environment to support work-life balance. We ensure our ways of working promote switching off from the work and regularly assessing workloads to ensure they are achievable in contracted hours. We also offer enhanced annual leave, enhanced family leave and a culture of supporting our team through life’s hard times (such as caring responsibilities or bereavement).
Financial wellbeing
Whilst often a sensitive topic, we are aiming to reduce the stigma around financial health by normalising these conversations. We work with our suppliers to educate the team on maximising their financial benefits, such as their pensions. We also have a hardship fund – this scheme supports our team when faced with financial difficulties with a set amount of money available to support team members. Team members can forward an application to receive financial support towards any hardship they are facing.
We understand that people may be reluctant to share their personal situation so a process is in place to ensure information is shared only with the people relevant to administer the scheme.
