Traci Scherck: Welcome to talent optimization my name is Tracy sherck and this week, we are talking about how we inspire employees to perform.

Traci Scherck: And so much of that has changed over the last couple of years, with a pandemic, but also what needs employees have are very different than what we have typically paid attention to so on the show with me today I have Bruce Martin.

Traci Scherck: And Bruce is going to share with us a little bit about his own employee journey and some of those key things that inspire him but also how that translates into safety in the workplace, so Bruce welcome to the show.

Bruce Morton: Thank you, thanks for having me pleasure to be here.

Traci Scherck: yeah so i’m curious, why is this topic so important to you.

Bruce Morton: Well, this topic goes back to my son, who was diagnosed in kindergarten with ADHD.

Bruce Morton: And we’ve led a pretty long journey to this point where he’s a freshman in high school.

Bruce Morton: And then I would have treatment facilities in and out of doctors therapists office.

Bruce Morton: to the point where we couldn’t help them anymore, and we had to send him to a residential treatment Center in Helena Montana called intermountain children’s home.

Bruce Morton: most difficult decision as parents, but we knew we had to get our loving son, the proper care and treatment facility.

Bruce Morton: wanted him, it was the first one that wasn’t like a hospital where oh yeah well we’ll bring them in and you get to pay all this money, this one was more know we want them here, we know we can help them, we can help your family and.

Bruce Morton: So he was there for 15 months we went and visited him a whole bunch of times fell in love with Montana fell in love with the therapist Ashley that we still talk to that my wife still snaps that you know she just had a newborn baby, we talked about going back when you know we can.

Bruce Morton: But we did a lot of work with them still to this day, just over over zoom with the parents.

Bruce Morton: With the teams and keep in contact with them, and you know he’s he’s 14 he’s in high school he’s excellent he’s on one medication only so the journey brought us to where we want to be so.

Bruce Morton: Now we just have normal teenage kid problems boy problems and not mental health issues so.

Bruce Morton: You know I figured my journey, would be a good one to share with others who might be going through a rough time or might be starting and need to get help and can see that there is encouragement out there and we can have good stories versus all the bad stuff we’ve been hearing.

Traci Scherck: awesome and it’s the vulnerability right like one of the things that I think, as we talked about how do we inspire individuals to perform and what’s needed.

Traci Scherck: it’s knowing that you know what we are humans outside of work, and we have things that are going on and we don’t always know what’s going what’s on someone else’s plate.

Traci Scherck: But to really create that culture in that environment where we’re curious about that, but also to ensure that.

Traci Scherck: we’re providing the support that’s needed so individuals aren’t a safer place and so much of this has become De stigmatized over time.

Traci Scherck: But yet they’re still certain environments that I walk in and it’s like oh my gosh there’s such a strong stigma So how do you really create a stigma free culture, reducing the stigma of mental health in the workplace.

Bruce Morton: yeah I like that that you use the word vulnerable there’s the three b’s be visible be vulnerable and bring value.

Bruce Morton: And that’s that value piece that’s that you’re talking about moving that needle, especially in some male dominated areas like construction, which is what I mainly work in and trucking as well.

Bruce Morton: What we’ve been doing is just slowly kind of incorporating it into the day to day activities.

Bruce Morton: So, whether that like at my office my doors shut, but we gave people.

Bruce Morton: National lines for mental illness posters, and they could pick them up in the break room and put them on their door I also put like words of encouragement up there in that like i’m open to talk about it.

Bruce Morton: So someone would feel that they could come into my office.

Bruce Morton: So we did that option we’ve also did the personality tests, so that we know how to talk or how that person wants to communicate, you know it takes so many repetitions for it to sink in to our heads and to know how to talk about it so that supervisory training.

Bruce Morton: has been the top of the list for a lot of my company so, whether it be mental health first aid training.

Bruce Morton: qpr which is question persuade refer, which is a Suicide Prevention training that that nami does.

Bruce Morton: And then, through our wellness consultants just continuing to feed that information out and then with our big net that we can cast we just continue to send that out to these companies, so that they can send them out something as simple as a little poster in the break room or.

Bruce Morton: Employee assistance program information and bringing it up in every management meeting so safety, as we know, is number one refer the adage but one be asked to be that mental health to get.

them.

Bruce Morton: To move I just class I did this morning, one of the supervisors jumped in and shares a story which is unbelievably rewarding he didn’t have to do that.

Bruce Morton: Now all of those supervisors that didn’t know what I do know it, but just that one would hoped to encourage to do that and that information getting back to you know upper management or hr.

Bruce Morton: Like Oh, I think we should really do more of this in it’s really spreading into the Community, I know you know now me does push stuff out into the Community so we’re going to actually partner with them through my nonprofit which I started, which is Wisconsin construction wellness community.

Bruce Morton: Our first partnership is going to be for the bluejeans Bingo so you come, you have a fish fry you drink some beer.

Bruce Morton: You play Bingo but there’s also auctions and then they do videos and stories and people talk about it so it’s a Community event and it doesn’t look like it’s for mental health, but it is that’s how good they are.

Bruce Morton: Right, just like, just like the facility my son stayed at my daughter goes to one of her first therapies and she comes back oh yeah yeah we just played games counselors looks over at meetings know we did therapy, the whole time.

Bruce Morton: and

Bruce Morton: that’s the way.

Traci Scherck: Right you’re.

Bruce Morton: Talking through it.

Bruce Morton: mm hmm.

Traci Scherck: it’s integrating it into the culture right, and so what are all those ways that you integrate these things into your culture.

Traci Scherck: Whether it is the conversation, so I know, for example, adobe.

Traci Scherck: offers every single one of their employees the headspace APP and it’s something we actually do as well, so it’s like things like hey mental health important, here are some resources beyond the EAP, but also when those things come up let’s have those conversations.

Traci Scherck: And no longer stating i’m sorry Bruce you’ve got something going on with your kiddo you can’t bring that to work it’s like that’s no longer the case because it is you who you are.

Traci Scherck: And if those things are happening at home when you have that support at work and can talk about that guess what your improve your your performance goes up and that engagement also goes up.

Bruce Morton: yeah it’s that whole, I have a program creating a caring culture sounds kind of cornea.

Bruce Morton: I need a newer title but.

Bruce Morton: it’s the truth, I i’ve talked with coworkers and and i’ve talked with TEAM members throughout the region and.

Bruce Morton: The more you care about them as a person as a human, the more likely they are to work hard for you or work with you or or do a favor for you, and then you return that favor we’re doing that regionally.

Bruce Morton: We just did a big webinar with this Sean Acre was called the big potential we had like 3000 people on the call, and it was about lifting up your employees, looking at those positives using what you have, as your strength to help others out.

Bruce Morton: And mentorship as well, because we have a lot of young safety professionals you’re on 20 years in this thing now.

Bruce Morton: And I can bring value to them, and you know what’s great about them, they can bring value to me as long as I accept it, especially on the technology side and just teaching me how to do things that are quicker and faster.

Bruce Morton: It just makes people happy they want it’s it’s funny they want to take your calls like like i’ve heard through companies like I can’t get this person to return my call I can’t get this person to.

Bruce Morton: email me like will meet me share something about your week or your day or your family or your vacation to make it more personable.

Bruce Morton: And then, when they see your name pop up maybe they don’t want to talk about you talk to you or about work or about what you talk to them about.

Bruce Morton: Because we don’t know anything about them it’s really hard to have that further conversation or gain that trust not saying that everybody has to go on podcasts and talk about.

Bruce Morton: The mental health journey.

Bruce Morton: I tell people that all the time, but sometimes it’s just.

Bruce Morton: listening and then you’re bringing them into that circle of trust and then, if you have something to give them a referral or something like that great.

Bruce Morton: And then just please follow up what, however, that is, with that person asked him, can I text you can I email, you can I give you a phone call What would you like that follow up is super important to make sure that you continue to care for them down the road.

Bruce Morton: or they might have something else to update you about which I think is good to have that they want to share back, are you continue to share moving forward.

Traci Scherck: Absolutely, and just this idea of you know it’s the common sense it’s what does another person need.

Traci Scherck: And you know you talked about the personality assessments, we use predictive index right it’s really how does a person need to be communicated with.

Traci Scherck: and asking the question and then honoring who that person is right, because it’s not no longer that golden rule treat others the way you want to be treated.

Traci Scherck: it’s treat others the way they want to be treated as that platinum rule and really baking that into the culture.

Traci Scherck: You know, so thank you so much for sharing that that behavioral health initiative that you’re working on.

Traci Scherck: And then you know, one of those things that you know I love to hear from you is how do you take care of your own mental health, knowing that there’s so many things happening.

Traci Scherck: both at work and you know and at home because you’re the guy that like when OSHA shows up you get the call that says osha’s here.

Traci Scherck: And i’ve been on the other end of this call, where i’m like hey Bruce osha’s here, what do I do you’re like just talk to them and don’t let them in the building i’ll be right there.

Bruce Morton: yeah you know it was years I had a great mentor.

Bruce Morton: Who trained me through a lot of that that stuff and I had a lot of great employees work for me to the class I did this morning was for an ex employee that he you know he’s a safety director of a big company um.

Bruce Morton: You know it’s been a lot of.

Bruce Morton: A lot of you know, reading books and taking seminars and classes, that people necessarily looked at me like why, why would you be taking those classes you’re a safety professional I said yeah but.

Bruce Morton: A lot of business personalities, you have to be able to communicate with whomever that person is.

Bruce Morton: In whatever industry, they are especially when it comes down to the sales side of things, you know you have to be personable.

Bruce Morton: When you do that, but for me and my wife, but unfortunately it’s about planning.

Bruce Morton: We plan our food we plan our workouts I put it in the calendar people look at us know, like, how can you do that i’m like that.

Bruce Morton: helps me knowing what I need to do, helps me knowing where I need to go what I need to get done and i’ll tell you when the gyms closed down, I was like.

Bruce Morton: What am I going to do, I don’t know what to do, and my wife says all right, and they may give us an APP so we use this APP for a while, then they got rid of that after 60 days.

Bruce Morton: She asked around we found this YouTube trainer her name is kat money.

Bruce Morton: And we started.

Traci Scherck: Her on the show notes so.

Bruce Morton: yeah oh cool.

Bruce Morton: We started following her and her instagram posts or awesome she battled eating disorders twice in came through to be this you know.

Bruce Morton: This this personal trainer that just does great things and she reached out to my wife and she’s like you don’t need to take just YouTube you can come to brookfield.

Bruce Morton: and take my class and we were like.

Bruce Morton: Are you serious like we get to meet in our eyes were thinking we get to meet this famous person and she’s just a normal person and and that was our journey, you know through her in in reconnecting and we went to a couple classes, we signed on for 50 sections.

Bruce Morton: With her because it makes us, it makes us happy she makes it fun, which is a hard piece about working out.

Bruce Morton: In a great story with her, I brought her to my little wellness community to talk to us risk professionals about what we should be doing.

Bruce Morton: Because we’re always helping.

Bruce Morton: Right, you have the same right in the HR role, but we need to help ourselves and she did a great job we did a little meditation she made us uncomfortable we had to write down five things we.

Bruce Morton: Like about ourselves.

Bruce Morton: Which is always.

Traci Scherck: So what are your five things.

Bruce Morton: Oh, I can’t remember man.

Traci Scherck: You can’t come up with five.

Bruce Morton: Oh, I can’t remember what I wrote down, you know and we couldn’t say, like our kids or wife, it had to be like a personality trait or the way we handle something.

Bruce Morton: What was the other thing the other example she had or something we did it work that was impressionable to someone else so.

Traci Scherck: Part of it well i’m hearing a challenge for our listeners to come up with five things that they like about themselves and post it for us to send it.

Bruce Morton: Right I blushed immediately when because it’s hard to talk that way about yourself but that’s part of what she’s promoting is to like.

Bruce Morton: meditate so like even when we’re at her workout if what say we fail at something like Oh, you know you suck that that pulls up inside little girl she’s not really little which pulls your side, makes you like say something nice it’s all about that affirmation.

Bruce Morton: um but she came she listened to us, she listened to our stories we bought her her favorite vegan food is kind of a nice thing and weeks later, I was at a client on a Friday and I got a phone call from her, and I’m like why is she calling Bruce this doesn’t make any sense.

Bruce Morton: So I text her back just got in the car i’m like hey did you but me and then these frantic text came in like out of order.

Bruce Morton: So I called her back sitting in my car she’s visibly shaken.

Bruce Morton: She said that one of her friends was was having some issues and in her words she says teach me all that bleep that you guys talked about.

Bruce Morton: In class and i’m like what can I can’t do that over five minutes and i’m like here’s what you need to write down there’s a couple things you need to ask her.

Bruce Morton: Specifically, and then, once you ask her those if there is something that she’s really thinking about doing you know you need to call call 911 and it’s just funny clear as day she just goes, what if I can’t do it.

Bruce Morton: And I said what’s the other option, and then I just heard her adult.

Bruce Morton: You know and she’s like oh my gosh I have to do this and i’m like so, then I was like okay.

Bruce Morton: Now, when you’re done, you need to follow back up with me and then we need to follow back up with her to make sure she gets support with husband or.

Bruce Morton: or or mom or whoever, this is and in you, and then you need to talk about it as well, because you can’t leave that in there because it’s going to be a stressful moment and.

Bruce Morton: Just those little stories that you know that’s not work related that’s personal related but just those little stories by having her come to that class for an hour, you know that’s why i’m doing this, yes, it may be stressful.

Bruce Morton: it’s tough to start a nonprofit and be in charge of that and be on all these other boards and maybe my blood pressure is a little high Doc.

Bruce Morton: I might have to go on a pill I am also 46 so.

Traci Scherck: awesome yeah and thank you so much for sharing that, because what there’s a couple things I just want to pull out of here that’s so amazing.

Traci Scherck: And that is when we build that culture of trust inside the organization, we have individuals that will call us out of the blue, and that will really do anything for us because they’re inspired not only by the work that they’re in.

Traci Scherck: But also very specifically because of the trust in the culture and the vulnerability going kind of back to those three B’s.

Traci Scherck: And I love you know what you just said about we thought she was this famous person she is just this person right and aren’t we all, and you know you never know.

Traci Scherck: What is on someone else’s plate and taking the time to know that one of the things i’ve loved about the last two years, with covid is with zoom I can see kiddos I know what cats, like the screen and the name of the cast.

Traci Scherck: And the thing is right, because we’ve been able to connect on a deeper level than you show up here and you’re this person here, and then you leave because that’s so not true.

Bruce Morton: yeah yeah I think we did a great job.

Bruce Morton: We had great initiatives, at least at MMA as a region we started these little groups these little columns.

Bruce Morton: Of specialties that allowed all of our specialties to talk to check in and share lessons learned and we’ve kept them all, even though it has consultants, you know we’re all on the road we still break down that just that 30 minutes like.

Bruce Morton: Every other month.

Bruce Morton: And then we do a big one as well, with all the initiatives and it’s only made us stronger in being able to see them as well as great certainly we’d like to get back to doing regional meetings up in minneapolis which are here, supposedly coming again.

Bruce Morton: But throughout the year we stay in touch.

Bruce Morton: And I was just talking with a colleague down in St Louis about something he’s got a specialty on on mind work and I had someone that had a question and.

Bruce Morton: Just a simple quick instant zoom call and I had an answer, I would have never known to reach out to him if we weren’t doing those little meetings.

Bruce Morton: And it just shows that that collaboration and that trust for them to reach back out to you as well, so I think it’s great to have that option, I mean I am more of a face to face person.

Bruce Morton: So I still do a majority of that but.

Bruce Morton: You know, doing this at this time, if I would have had to drive to you or you would have had to drive to me also save some time, so we can be just as efficient as well.

Traci Scherck: Absolutely absolutely So what is the key takeaway that you have for executives and CEOs listening into a conversation today about really, how do you integrate you know mental health into the organization, because it has such an impact on employees.

Bruce Morton: You have to find a way to start a conversation, whether that be at a safety meeting, whether that be a toolbox talk, whether that be simply sending out a link sending out the gap information.

Bruce Morton: And then start that conversation in those meetings you know, simple, as you know, checking in are you Okay, how was your workload going what’s happening with the family what’s new and.

Bruce Morton: exciting um that engagement is so important, but it has to be repeated, you know with my construction sites.

Bruce Morton: What I did is the University of Missouri gives all these hard hat stickers magnets in these little coins and I don’t know if I have one in my bag anymore.

Bruce Morton: So sneaky Bruce would just go out to these job sites and leave these things in the trailer like not tell them.

Bruce Morton: That they’re in the trailer and I got some of my other colleagues to do it as well, so, then you come back the next time they’re like hey you left this coin or the same What is all this about, well then, you get to have a conversation with.

me.

Bruce Morton: And one great story, I was with superintendent Dan.

Bruce Morton: At a job in Tulsa and I had left when they’re.

Bruce Morton: In him and I sat down.

Bruce Morton: to eat our lunch, to the microwave and I, like the hot lunch, and so we just started talking about it and people started coming in the trailer but nobody left like normally you come in, you get to actually leave that construction right great good good oh.

Traci Scherck: yeah.

Bruce Morton: They just started coming in and nobody left for like 15 minutes, they all sat there and were like huh and they didn’t talk a lot, but you could tell they were engaged.

Traci Scherck: right here.

Bruce Morton: And then, finally, you know I had to go, so I left the conversation, and he texts me later that he walked around the job and people were talking about it throughout the job.

Bruce Morton: So just that little piece getting that ball rolling, specifically in construction we we know it’s hard and the numbers are staggering you know, even if they have care less than 50% are going to get care, and then only 20% of that 50% will do it.

Bruce Morton: enough to get help.

Bruce Morton: And what the suicide rate and construction being so high five times more than any other industry right now.

Bruce Morton: we’re really trying to push that needle and get those percentages to go up and not make those people feel like it’s a weakness and we want to give them more than the one option.

Bruce Morton: So it’s great we have the virtual we have the in person, you know we have online stuff there’s so many resources there’s funny stuff they’re serious things.

Bruce Morton: But we’re also trying to tie it back to that physical well being or partnering with physical therapy comes.

Bruce Morton: That can offer onsite help you know, maybe they don’t want to go get it, maybe a therapist comes on site physical therapist comes on site to help we’re also partnering with companies who do it virtual, which is an absolute great option we’ve partnered MMA to do that, so you can do.

Bruce Morton: This way with zoom or if you’re a self starter, they can send you like a packet.

Bruce Morton: And then you can do it on your own, which would be more what I would want to do like i’ve been having some hip pain lately so i’m thinking about.

Bruce Morton: jumping on their APP and seeing if they have some other stretches for me to do because you know my hip hurts i’ve been up and down our research lady is like molly is like, why do you keep going by my office i’m like because my hip hurts.

Bruce Morton: Getting up and down, but that physical pain, you know, I feel it today so am I as sharp mentally.

Bruce Morton: i’m not sure, but if it’s severe enough you’re not going to be so that’s where that safety and risk and mental health all come together as one and we kind of have to meld them.

Bruce Morton: Together, so we try to teach people that you know we think of first aid like rendering first aid for a.

Bruce Morton: Hand injury or a cut it’s the same with mental health and there’s mental health first aid training.

Bruce Morton: You don’t necessarily have to take the eight hour class there’s a two hour class gpr is an hour and a half.

Bruce Morton: I have classes that are 15 minutes long so does all our wellness team, we have to think of it that way that’s the De stigmatizing factor first aid is first day, no matter if it’s physical or mental.

Traci Scherck: I love it I love it, especially because so much of that physical pain and you said it leads into the mental health issues, but it leads into depression and then you’re just in a downward cycle versus moving it into an upward cycle.

Traci Scherck: And what’s the takeaway that you have for HR professionals listening in.

Bruce Morton: Oh, I mean just really continue to get the information out there and we have to share success stories.

Traci Scherck: mm hmm absolutely.

Bruce Morton: And of course we need permission and we, we want to, but if we can get one employee to stand up in a meeting and say they used X or did X or their family did this.

Bruce Morton: And that it was a positive versus always looking at the negatives that’s where we’ve really been seeing traction now as our little group that eight or 10 or 12 less than an excuse to get together and have lunch or sometimes we do happy hours, I will admit.

Traci Scherck: there’s nothing wrong with it.

Bruce Morton: yeah I brought it into my lunch cooler couple beers.

Bruce Morton: But.

Traci Scherck: Now that that’s like my business card that says, you know what do you do an employee has back in our water bottles, so you know we’re on a different topic, no.

Bruce Morton: yeah but it’s just been good to share those successes and then what’s Nice is they take those back to their companies and share them with their companies, and then it just starts rolling downhill.

Bruce Morton: I can hear it throughout the industry, and I can hear it, even at my office and you know, on my linkedin page and people are looking at that, and like maybe we should be doing what should we be doing so, you know all those resources that are out there, free and just sending a new one out.

Bruce Morton: So people take a look at it and starting that conversation, and it seems to be working i’ve heard nothing but positive certainly there is negatives out there, but we have to try to.

Bruce Morton: flip them into a positive because we’re trying to build everybody up and we don’t want to watch the news and then doom and gloom and doom and gloom you know everybody’s.

Bruce Morton: worried about driving yesterday and.

Traci Scherck: yeah I.

Bruce Morton: drove to the office and i’m like this is just Wisconsin like.

Traci Scherck: parking lots are really bad.

Bruce Morton: They were my driver was horrible I had to hand scrape it because the kids didn’t get out there early enough so when I got home at three I had to like can scrape the whole thing I was.

Traci Scherck: So if you’re listening from somewhere other than Wisconsin and Wisconsin yesterday it we have slushy is all day long, so it just rained ice in slushies all day, so it was really fun, so all the kiddos are home.

Traci Scherck: which was also very fun as well, so one of the things I will say, as we start to kind of wrap up here is.

Traci Scherck: If you’re on linkedin follow Bruce because his posts are one they’re hilarious their inspirational but they really have you think about how do we do this in a different way.

Traci Scherck: And if you are interested in connecting with Bruce at all it’s Bruce Martin he’s a senior lost control consultant with marsh and mclennan agency and then also his nonprofit is.

Traci Scherck: Wisconsin construction wellness community, and we will have both of those linked in the show notes, and you know Bruce I just want to thank you so much because.

Traci Scherck: You know, in all of this, you really hit on the importance of de stigmatizing what this is, and you know, for those of you listening and Bruce and I work together, probably what 15 years ago is probably 15 years ago and it was my first HR manager role and I had a situation or I had.

Traci Scherck: An individual pull out a gun on my boys and myself, they were three and five at the time and we just rolled out a.

Traci Scherck: EAP program for the very first time and I don’t know if you remember this Bruce but the executive director at the time was like you need to go to EAP i’m like i’m not going to eap it’s not for me she’s like why i’m like.

Traci Scherck: I can’t and she’s like What do you mean and I had this huge fear of the stigma of going to gap as an HR professional and now I look at it and laugh, but at the same time.

Traci Scherck: that’s something that’s so incredibly important is that we have to break that stigma every single level in our organization and I can’t tell you how incredibly powerful and helpful that that EAP was.

Traci Scherck: So I just kind of want to name that as we talked about that stigma, because if we see that stigma, at whatever seat where and guess what it’s every employee is going to see that as well, the great news is the EAP program like took off after that because I started to tell that story so.

Bruce Morton: yeah that’s you know that’s the homework for anybody listening, they have to go find whoever has that EAP information they need to look it up share it with.

Bruce Morton: At least one person in our organization and use one of the services and then they should.

Bruce Morton: look back to that person.

Bruce Morton: They got it from.

Bruce Morton: I think that’s great and sometimes it’s a little harder to find the not.

Bruce Morton: Our offices been great with it, but i’ve talked to a lot of other people that they don’t even have it posted like.

Bruce Morton: On the Bulletin board, you know that’s something simple to do as well just to it’s there someone can take a picture of it, someone can screenshot it.

Bruce Morton: And then save it on their phone so if they do need it, like the qpr not me training, I have that crisis management numbers in both of my phones.

Bruce Morton: yeah because if it’s a bad situation you may not remember the numbers, the 211 or or the national Suicide Prevention hotline number you’re not going to know that off the top of.

Bruce Morton: There, for you to use to at least make the call so just like first aid training, if you do nothing at all still make the call get someone the help that they might need or authorities to make sure that they can de escalate what’s going on.

Traci Scherck: awesome Bruce Thank you so much for chatting and just for the ongoing conversations that we have, I really appreciate you.

Traci Scherck: And what you bring especially to construction so with that Thank you so much for joining us, and if you haven’t liked our podcasts yet please go like and rate us and all of bruce’s information is also in the show notes, so you can find them thanks so much and have a great day.

Bruce Morton: Thank you.