WELLy Project was created in response to work’s physical and psychological effects on employees. The project’s central idea was that a well-being manager (WWM) at the workplace would do wonders in reducing stress in the workplace.

However, the professional role of work well-being managers is almost non-existent. Also, those tasked with caring for the well-being of employees, most of the time, are not adequately trained. And even if they have some training, their knowledge is not yet certified at the EU level.

Throughout the project’s implementation these past years, WELLy has come up with important outcomes that can help improve work-well being at the workplace and empower individuals to pursue a meaningful careers that can have a big impact on employees’ personal and professional lives.

It is time to certify the knowledge learned in WELLy’s IO3

If you have been following the project closely, you should be aware of WELLy’s previous intellectual output (IO3). The IO3 created a Work Well-being Manager Training Course, piloted in several enterprises in Slovenia, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Spain. The ones that took this course were HR managers who wanted to specialize in work well-being.

IO4 comes to create a certification process at EU for the work wellbeing manager professional profile. This certification model evaluates the competencies of work wellbeing managers. Then, it tries to create a homogenized EU work wellbeing manager curriculum according to the European Qualification Framework (EQF) through 16 learning outcomes and ten professional tasks as part of the WELLy course.  

This certification process wants to help the Standardisation Body create a model for assessing and certifying the competencies of work wellbeing managers acquired through formal, non-formal and informal training for CV recognition. This certification will recognize these competencies at the EU level, thus increasing labour market mobility.

What does the WWM professional profile certification entail

The certification of the work wellbeing manager has recognized 6 competencies, 16 learning outcomes and 10 professional tasks that WWMs demonstrate possessing. Very briefly, they are the following:

Competencies

WWM must possess competencies like communication, analytical and critical thinking, relationship building and emotional intelligence, strategic and organizational leadership, andragogy, knowledge transfer and support, and disability and diversity management.

Tasks

Subsequently, the tasks of a work well-being manager that derive from these competencies are to:

1. Evaluate actual workplace conditions,
2. Create an environment that is welcoming and stimulating,
3. Develop good relationships with other managers and all staff,
4. Embed equality, diversity, and inclusion best practices,
5. Plan measures for a fair and healthy workplace,
6. Coordinate and manage all well-being programs and services,
7. Being responsible for well-being program,
8. Work with other business leaders to improve overall health,
9. Present regular updates and reports on the progress of the population,
10. Being responsible for well-being-related internal and external communications.

Learning outcomes

Nevertheless, to be able to perform the above tasks effectively, well-being managers to do the following:

1. Develop effective written and oral communication skills, use the available tools to promote, implement and monitor well-being in the workplace,
2. Present and evaluate communication messages and processes related to wellbeing management within the organization,
3. Facilitate and communicate the HR component of the organisation’s business plan pertaining to well-being in the workplace,
4. Problem-solve human resource challenges: being able to analyse and solve daily problems related to the well-being of HR,
5. Define and implement strategies and methods to build and maintain positive employee relations and stimulate team working, also making use of emotional intelligence,
6. Contribute to employee performance management and organisational effectiveness and well-being,
7. Develop, implement, and evaluate organisational development strategies aimed at promoting organisational effectiveness and well-being,
8. Develop, implement, and evaluate employee orientation, training, and development programmes,
9. Develop, implement, and evaluate Coaching, Mentoring and Counselling programmes for employees, leaders, and managers,
10. Summarise the legislation regarding employment discrimination, EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) compliance, best practices, and enforcement,
11. Discuss the benefits & challenges of a diverse workforce. Promote diversity within the organisation and implement a disability and diversity management programme,
12. Summarise the legislation regarding work-related stress, national laws and initiatives,
13. Examine current issues, trends, practices, and processes in HRM, taking into consideration potential stressors,
14. Promote the importance of providing good working conditions for the whole team and how poor mental health can negatively impact a business,
15. Development, implementation, and evaluation of work well-being policies and practices within the organization,
16. Conduct research, produce reports, and recommend changes in human resources practices to promote workplace wellbeing.