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1. Identify Organizational Needs

It is important to determine your organization’s particular needs. This will help you build your business case, communicate with your staff (including senior management) and decide on appropriate action. In later stages, it will provide an indicator of whether the process has been successful.

Action Item: Make a note of the main reasons for implementing GM@W in your workplace.

2. Determine Appropriate Assessment Components

Next, you must determine which assessment components you will make use of. The possible options are:

Organizational Audit only

This is suitable for your organization if...

  • Your organization has fewer than 25 employees.
  • Your organization has recently conducted an employee survey.
  • Organizational or procedural barriers make it difficult to carry out a survey at this time.
Initial Scan only

This is suitable for your organization if...

  • You want a quick snapshot of the organization as a whole in order to identify areas in need of further investigation.
  • Your organization has recently conducted an employee survey that did not include any assessment of psychosocial risk, and at this time you want only a general overview of risks.
  • There are concerns about the cost, resources or logistics required to have employees participate in the full PSR-12 Employee Survey.
PSR-12 Employee Survey Only

This is suitable for your organization if...

  • You or your organization lack the data or objectivity required to complete the Organizational Audit accurately.
  • You have limited resources and can only invest in either the audit or survey process.
  • You feel your needs would be best served by a comprehensive risk assessment from the employee perspective only.
Organizational Audit + Initial Scan

This is suitable for your organization if...

You may choose to conduct the Organizational Audit and Initial Scan if your goal is to undertake a psychosocial risk assessment that identifies whether there is a need for a comprehensive PSR-12 Employee Survey.

GM@W Recommends!
Organizational Audit + PSR-12 Employee Survey

This is the recommended approach. You may choose to conduct the Organizational Audit and PSR-12 Employee Survey if you are seeking a comprehensive psychosocial risk assessment that incorporates both employer and employee perspectives.

3. Identify Key Participants

It is vital to ensure that the appropriate people are involved and committed to the process. It is important to have support at all levels within your organization (including senior management/leadership) to ensure a successful process.

Action Item: Identify who in the organization should be involved and the roles they will play.

4. Create a Communication Plan

Effective and regular communication with relevant staff throughout all stages of the GM@W process is critical for increasing and enhancing engagement. Methods for enhancing communication include:

  • Discussions of GM@W at staff meetings.
  • Inclusion of information on GM@W in employee newsletters or bulletins.
    (e.g., the website www.guardingmindsatwork.ca can be provided for background information).
  • Provision of information on GM@W in e-blasts.
  • Inclusion of brochures/handouts on GM@W with employee paychecks.
  • ‘Lunch and learn’ sessions on psychological safety and health.
  • Identification of a contact person(s) that can answer employee questions about GM@W.
  • Sharing of important dates (e.g., launch of PSR-12 Employee Survey).

Action Item:
Create a communication plan to inform the organization about GM@W using these 3 components:

  1. Why GM@W is being implemented.
  2. Details of the various GM@W components being implemented.
  3. A commitment to share and act upon the results.


Template Letter: Introducing GM@W to your Employees

5. Sign up for the GM@W Dashboard

You are almost ready to implement GM@W! The final step is to register for your free GM@W Dashboard Account and get full access to all the tools and resources to successfully implement GM@W at your workplace.

Here are a few reasons to sign up:

  • Gain access to comprehensive assessment instruments, such as the Organizational Audit, Initial Scan and PSR-12 Employee Survey
  • Conduct surveys online and compile results with one click
  • Create action plans and evaluation reports
  • Download valuable psychological safety and health resources and documents
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The Dashboard lets you conduct surveys and compile results with one click. The results will highlight workplace psychological risks and help you create action plans to correct these risks. Afterwards you can evaluate the effectiveness of your action plans with the Dashboard’s evaluation tools.

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Conduct a self-audit of your organization. Administer the Initial Scan Survey or PSR-12 Employee Survey within the Dashboard. The Dashboard lets you conduct these surveys online, on paper, or both.

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Download and access valuable resources and additional in-depth documents about workplace psychological safety and health.