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We spoke to Matt Wilson UK Wellbeing Lead at Computacenter, a leading independent technology and services provider with 20,000 employees globally. Matt is responsible for the wellbeing offering of 4,000 UK employees at Computacenter and leads the UK organisation’s MHFAider network of over 50 MHFAiders.
Alongside their network of MHFAiders, Computacenter provides a range of EAPs, the use of the Headspace app, Healthy Leadership Training to managers and leaders, and a dedicated group of Wellbeing Champions who help raise awareness and support for mental health initiatives. Computacenter’s wellbeing strategy focuses on the physical, mental, financial and social wellbeing of its staff – aiming to empower all staff to be the best they can be.
Having recently joined Computacenter, Matt wanted to gather feedback from the current group of MHFAiders – what was working well and what could be done better.
“I spent a lot of time gathering data from the existing MHFAiders. It’s important to check if being an MHFAider is something they want to continue with. We want to have people who are proactive, engaged and want to be part of the network. For those that didn’t want to continue, I wanted to understand why that was and what they wanted to see more of from the network.
It gave me a picture of the landscape and an opportunity to learn what my priorities should be in order to establish a stronger, more sustainable network. I needed that information to see what was important, and to upskill people so they could carry out their role as an MHFAider.
Gathering feedback is essential. The role can be challenging and it’s crucial that MHFAiders feel listened to and supported to carry out their role with confidence. We have a duty of care as an organisation to make sure that everybody's skills are up to date and relevant.”
Having gathered feedback, Matt worked to prioritise how his network of MHFAiders stays connected with one another.
“I set up our first monthly MHFAider call for people to come together and talk about the best ways we can provide support to each other and to our colleagues. It was important to make sure people know that I’m going to be communicating with them on a weekly basis.
I’ve introduced a ‘midweek memo’, something I used in my previous role, which everybody in the network gets through our Teams site. It’s a way for me to maintain contact and connection. Whether it’s useful webinars, organisational updates or encouraging them to reach out for support. Through this memo they are given more context, opportunities for self-development or just picking up little nuggets of information that could help them in their role.
It also provides MHFAiders the opportunity to talk about things that work well for them. Doing that isn’t easy for all of us though! As Brits, we like to be humble and we don't like to brag. However, it’s important to highlight within the MHFAider network the amazing work we’re doing as individuals, and how we’re empowering people to have open conversations and encouraging them to seek support.
People sometimes think that communication is just saying hello and making sure that people know how to reach them. For me, it's about communication in context –making sure it's relevant to what's going on. If there are concerns raised in a monthly call, then the following month we focus on how we can address those concerns.
We don’t want it to feel like just one hit – ‘you said this and we've done this, so everyone be quiet now’. It's about making sure that people return to that communication method, whether it’s the midweek memo or the monthly meetings because they know that they'll be useful and applicable to them.”
The role of an MHFAider is an important one and Matt knows how critical it is for MHFAiders to have the right support in place to support them in their roles and with their own mental health.
“We try to ensure we’re a supportive peer network for each other as well as for our colleagues. During our monthly meetings, the first thing I do is a quick check-in with people to see how they're doing. This is a safe space for people to talk and gives me an opportunity to do a pulse check on the MHFAiders in our network.
It's so important for MHFAiders to know that they can say, ‘I need to take a break’ or, ‘I need to offload to someone myself’. Making that clear to them is really important. I really focus on self-care as a starting point for all mental health. I encourage our MHFAiders to check in with themselves every morning. To see how they're feeling, to see whether they're in a place where they're able to offer support.
People’s ability to offer support to others can also be linked to capacity issues. They might have too much work on, or they may have a big project that's going to take a few months which might mean they need to step back. So it’s important that we have that to and fro – where people feel empowered to take a break. The last thing we want is for people to reach out to MHFAiders who can't offer support or who may not have the time to even signpost to other wellbeing support.”
Matt understands the importance of inclusion and ensuring his network has a diverse range of voices, lived experiences and points of view.
“It's important that we have an inclusive network, that way we get the benefit of different perspectives and lived experiences. In terms of diversity, that includes neurodiverse colleagues and those from our PRIDE community. We have several Employee Impact Groups (EIGs) and networks across the organisation and are exploring how we can use them to support staff as well.
Building on diversity and inclusion will help us to be proactive whilst also being reactive. It's thinking about the context of conversations and being able to use our MHFAider network and their expertise and experiences to be able to signpost to the most relevant support. I’ll be focusing on EDI to ensure that we get a broad spectrum of lived experiences. This will help us to move people in the right direction when they come to us, with support routed in lived experiences.”
Being the Wellbeing Lead and a focal point for the MHFAider network is important to Matt but he also wants to ensure the network is sustainable and effective in the long term.
“Creating a sustainable network means working together. I’ll be developing a steering group to guide the direction of the MHFAider community and support its evolution into a more organic, natural network. The goal is to find the most effective way to foster that sense of community—both within the network itself and across the wider organisation.
Creating a sustainable MHFAider network isn’t a one-off initiative, it’s an ongoing journey. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to strengthen what you already have, prioritising connection, communication, and care will help ensure your MHFAiders can support themselves and with confidence.