Staff wellbeing is too important to leave to chance.
When was the last time someone at work asked how you are?
Not just in passing, but really asking how you are without any other agenda?
Too often, these discussions are left to chance, if they happen at all.
Part-timers or those who don't work closely with management are especially vulnerable to being overlooked.
Even when staff see their manager, there's usually a work-related agenda making it difficult to discuss wellbeing.
Small issues can snowball into bigger issues, or staff might suffer in silence.
All this means school leaders end up fighting fires, and reacting to issues when they get out of hand
instead of proactively helping to resolve them as they arise.
Regular check-ins with staff are a great way to prevent these issues. They're a friendly, light-touch way to foster communication and to stay informed. They also provide great opportunities for managers to express praise and appreciation for their staff and the work they do. However, they can be difficult to coordinate in a busy school environment.
This is where Pulse can help. It provides an easy-to-use, online platform to encourage regular, online check-ins between staff and managers. It handles all the scheduling, reminders, and record keeping, and ensures everyone - regardless of role or working hours - has the chance to feel supported and valued.
A core feature of Pulse is the check-in. It consists of 4 simple questions designed to get an overview of the week. Once a check-in is completed, a notification is sent to the specified managers, who can then read and respond in their own time. The questions are fully customisable. Each check-in can also record ratings for well-being and workload.
Although we recommend checking-in each week, the process is optional, so this doesn't become another task to complete. Staff can check-in whenever they feel like they have something to share.
Each week, staff members get an email asking them to check-in. They can choose the day and time of the reminder to fit around their schedule, e.g. to coincide with PPA time. Clicking on the link in the email takes the staff member directly to the new check-in form.
We also have 'Express' check-ins, allowing a check-in to be completed with just one click. This lets the manager know that everything is OK in the time it takes to click a button.
Check-ins are a great opportunity for managers to thank staff and acknowledge all the work they do, but we also have a postcard feature for all staff to share positive messages.
One of our most popular features, postcards can be shared with specific recipients, and really help to promote a positive culture at work.
The wellbeing and workload ratings from each check-in are used to update a dashboard, allowing you to monitor trends over time. The dashboard is only accessible by users designated as senior leaders within your school.