July 2022 marked the Samaritans Big Listen campaign, reminding people that the Samaritans are here to listen to anyone who’s struggling to cope, at any time of the day or night.

Across FSP, we used the #TalkToUs campaign as a backdrop to encourage our colleagues to connect and understand how we can be better active listeners.

During the pandemic, FSP launched ‘Reach out Roulette’, our employee engagement initiative to bring people across the organisation, usually from different teams, to connect and strengthen relationships that go beyond the day-to-day work.

Pairings are normally selected at random, but July’s Reach Out Roulette had a particular focus on The Big Listen, encouraging colleagues to check in with whomever they choose. To take the opportunity to build stronger relationships with people they have not spoken to before, someone they may have met for the first time at our recent company event, or a new starter they want to provide with support and guidance.

We have shared several useful resources with the team on how to be better listeners and will also be running a workshop soon on active listening. Utilising the resources and the workshop, we will explore approaches and techniques to become better listeners, all of which can be used in both professional and personal situations.

Find out more about the Samaritan’s #TalktoUs campaign here