Valor Hospitality Partners has spent all year prioritizing its workforce's mental health

As the conversation about workplace mental health continues, workers have come to expect more from their employer. The HR team at hotel management company Valor Hospitality Partners is working to rise to the challenge. 

In general, employee engagement is low while stress is on the rise, with 28% of U.S. workers reporting suffering from symptoms of burnout, according to a recent report from management consulting firm McKinsey. This makes it important for employers to step in and boost their support for worker mental health. 

"People are getting more comfortable talking about their mental health at work," says Charlotte Spedding, regional director of HR at Valor. "We're seeing a trend of openness, where employees are ready to share their own experiences, ideas, suggestions and best practices on what can be done to improve their mental wellness." 

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Over the last year the company has steadily grown their mental health programs, services and offerings to more adequately meet the spectrum of needs from their workforce. On top of its employee assistance program, which provides free counseling services to staff members and their immediate families, Valor has added access to qualified "mental health first aiders" on site should anyone need it. They've also expanded their resources to include financial wellness services, legal guidance and work-life solutions. 

To tackle engagement, employees also have been granted free use of workout facilities in some locations and discounted overnight stays around the world within the company's network of hotels. Since July, Valor has also held a number of prize giveaways, such as athletic gear, Apple watches, meal prep kits and bikes, aimed to encourage healthy habits both physically and mentally. 

"One of the things that was very important to us is that we made [our effort] as inclusive as possible," Spedding says. "We have a very big workforce, so we wanted to make sure that we were kind of hitting every wellness point." 

Employees are also encouraged to share hobbies and anecdotes with colleagues as a means of fostering connection and culture. For a long time companies have focused their offerings on the more traditional sense of wellness, according to Spedding, but once the people team at Valor evaluated what their employees wanted, they knew they had to re-strategize — which is what they urge other leaders to do within their own ranks. 

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"Get the right feedback from your team," Spedding says. "What would the team like to see more of? What do they love that you already do? What would they like to see a little bit more of going into 2025? Additionally, look into your own internal statistics to get the full picture and talk to leadership to make sure there's a budget for any changes." 

Investing in a workforce's wellness as holistically as possible doesn't just improve employees' personal outlook, but their professional one too. Internally, Valor has seen higher productivity and engagement as a result, which has decreased the likelihood of turnover in times of stress. 

"It's something I would encourage all leadership teams to prioritize and take seriously," Spedding says. "The more that you take care of your team, the more they're going to take care of the product and feel invested in the experience overall."