A Guide to Implementing
Right Direction

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A Guide to Implementing Right Direction

This outline is designed to help navigate Right Direction online resources and guide the implementation of Right Direction into your workplace mental health initiative.

Click on the underlined links below to access each resource.

1. Gain organizational support: Talk with leadership about prioritizing mental health in the workplace.
   1. Follow step-by-step guidance on building a business case for mental health
   2. Support a mental health initiative using a mental health cost calculator to measure your organization’s mental health costs and present this information to leadership
   3. Use a Right Direction slide deck to present your case to leadership and secure their commitment for a mental health initiative
2. Organize your resources and plan your mental health initiative: Talk with vendors to ensure your employees have the necessary benefits and resources for treatment. Prepare a plan to develop and implement Right Direction into a broader mental health initiative
   1. Use the Mental Health Initiative Checklist to help you develop and plan your initiative
   2. Use our Communication Planner to set up a communication schedule to share information with front-line supervisors/managers and other key staff.
   3. Equip managers and staff with information on mental health warning signs, fact sheets on mental health in the workplace, information on how to start a conversation with someone they are concerned about, and how to connect employees with mental health benefits and services
   4. Understand the importance of ensuring employees have access to mental health care and how to improve it at work
   5. Request quarterly reports on mental health cost metrics from medical (depression and anxiety utilization and costs), pharmacy (antidepressant and anxiolytic costs), and EAP vendors (self-referrals, referrals from co-workers/bosses, utilization for mental health) to track and measure the success of your mental health initiative. Request a report before you begin the initiative to obtain baseline information. Keep track of your data and report positive results to leadership to show success and grow your organization’s investment into workplace mental health
   6. Coordinate the implementation of Right Direction and your broader workplace mental health initiative with your health plan and other care providers. Deploy Mental Health Programming. Programs can often be at no cost or very low cost if you bring your partners into the fold.
3. Communicate the importance of mental health to employees and share leadership support of a mental health initiative in the workplace
   1. Announce organizational support: Request organizational leaders to email employees reinforcing organization’s commitment to support employee mental health and well-being
   2. Make information and depression and related mental health issues visible: Customize Right Direction posters to include your organization’s medical, behavioral health, wellness, and EAP information if applicable. Print posters and display in high traffic/common use areas (entrances/exits, cafeteria, bathrooms). Displaying these posters raises mental health awareness, encourages help-seeking, shows the organization’s commitment to mental health and well-being, and reminds employees of available benefits and resources
   3. Print and hand out mental health fact sheets
   4. Keep current with new ideas, guidance, and best practices by signing up for our free newsletter on workplace mental health
4. Create a mentally healthy culture: Maintain what works and expand
   1. Make mental health a key part of company culture by creating an employee resource group focused on mental health and well-being
   2. Review informational articles to learn more about mental health topics from working remotely to burnout and postpartum depression. These topics will be expanded so check back regularly
   3. Focus on mental health every month through innovative and diverse programming that touches multiple aspects of well-being.