Five minutes with: Kate Fisher, Senior Director, People - Talent, Capability & Leadership at Asda

Kate Fisher, Asda’s Senior Director, People, Talent, Leadership and Capability, spoke to us about supporting employees with mental health issues and their new policy to combat it…

Why is it so important to train managers to support colleagues with mental health?

“At Asda, there is an ethos that if you take care of your colleagues they will take care of the business, ensuring that we deliver the best service to our customers. We all have mental health and it is important to look after it in the same way you would your physical health.  Asda’s open and inclusive culture has led us to implement our new mental health policy, which provides guidance for managers to help look after the wellbeing of our colleagues.  This policy also gives colleagues the right tools to identify signs that could suggest a person is in need of help and it also reassures colleagues that there are support structures in place should they need it. Our managers need to feel both confident and able to offer appropriate support their colleagues.”

What practical solutions did you gather from the event with Leeds Community Foundation?