Getting people home, safe and well
on England’s roads

National Highways is the government company which plans, designs, builds, operates and maintains England’s motorways and major A roads. They asked us to support the delivery of a comprehensive ‘Home Safe and Well’ culture change programme across several directorates.  

The spark for the project originated from National Highways’ commitment to achieving a harm-free environment on the strategic road network by 2040. This long-term vision aims to safeguard the wellbeing of every individual involved – be it employees or travellers relying on the network.

The strategy aimed to build a positive health, safety, and wellbeing culture, encourage greater ownership, embrace innovation, and prioritise health and wellbeing.

We conducted a comprehensive Culture Assessment in 2018 and the evaluation highlighted the existence of systems managing health, safety, and wellbeing but indicated a lack of a people-centric approach. They required a behavioural shift throughout all levels of the organisation.

To ‘Motivate’ the organisation, we created a detailed programme of activity including workshops, high-impact films, and inspiring content featuring employees.

The creation of a ‘Be the Change’ ambassador community fostered collaboration between the workforce and leaders to drive local initiatives. We also delivered leadership interactive events to promote engagement.

Some of the films created for National Highways on mental health and wellbeing topics:

• ‘Remember Me’ focused on a call handler who talked a suicidal man off a bridge during his first shift, and how the organisation supported his mental health after the incident
• ‘Warning Signs’ covers the topics of mental health, stress, and issues arising in the workplace.
• Other films touched on topics like returning to work after long-term sick leave and being diagnosed with cancer.

These films were used in pre-existing briefings alongside huddle cards to facilitate health, safety and wellbeing discussions.

“The team at Tribe are so creative, professional and informed. They bring a wealth of experience and knowledge from so many sectors. We would have really struggled to approach our cultural change challenge in the way that we have without the support from Tribe.” 

Louise Jones  
Head of Customer Engagement and Assurance,
National Highways 

Find out more…