Workplace Champion award for Viva

Rawtenstall-based Viva PR has been named a national ‘Workplace Champion’ in recognition of its focus on employee wellbeing.

Viva’s PRCA Workplace Champions award comes during both Mental Health Awareness Month and Mental Health Awareness Week.

The awards aim to celebrate the leading places to work, live and thrive in the PR industry.

They highlight the agencies and in-house teams from across the UK that go the extra mile to establish positive and inclusive working environments for colleagues.

The awards also showcase organisations that ‘practice what they preach’, leading by example to deliver equal opportunities and positive experiences for all their stakeholders.

Tony Garner, Viva’s founder and managing director, said: “Fundamentally, we believe that happy, healthy teams are more creative and productive - and that equals happier clients. In short, we take the physical and mental health of our people incredibly seriously.

“While this news is welcome and of course we’re celebrating an award win, we’re the first to accept that we still have an awful lot to of work to do. Only in recent weeks have we surveyed the team and found areas where we can provide more help and support.”

Viva PR now employs a dedicated health and wellbeing manager – who is also a trained mental health first aider – to provide a single point of contact and signposts people to appropriate support.

Tony said: “Creating a positive and inclusive working environment in a high-pressure world, where deadlines keep the stress levels high and client demands are never ending, is not easy.

“But we are taking steps and learning new things all the time – introducing a health and wellbeing manager has been one of my proudest moments.”

Businesses recognised as PRCA Workplace Champions have proved their commitment to ensuring employees feel heard, valued and respected across all levels of seniority.

Teams were judged on their commitment and performance on diversity and inclusion, as well as their consideration for the ethical and moral concerns of their employees.

Viva PR was assessed in four key areas: employee welfare, account management, recruitment and retention, and business practices.

Tony said: “Our central focus is on delivering work with measurable and meaningful impact, but we also recognise a deeper truth – humans do the work here, not machines, and so we have wrapped a supportive culture around them.”