Adidas: Training its teams on mental health issues
Virginie Despres
Director of human resources
at Adidas
Sites in France
Employees made aware
5/5
Average employee rating
Can you tell us about your activity and your commitments QVCT at Adidas?
I am Human Resources Manager within the Adidas subsidiary. Today I have 2 main roles within the organization:
- I am HR Business Partner for the Marketing, Outdoor and Olympics departments (around 100 employees)
- I am in charge of the subject of mental health cross-functionally for all departments of the organization France (around 750 employees) and Southern Europe
The subject of mental health has become a major issue within our French society to the extent that it is as important as our physical health. It is therefore crucial, for a company such as ours, that we can help break the many taboos that persist on the subject. As such, we have deployed a number of initiatives on the subject:
- Energy Friday : for one day per quarter, employees can focus during this working day on their personal development and well-being;
- Mental health training with Medisur: Collaborators & Managers;
- SharePoint : we have created a sharing space which brings together all the documentation on the subject of mental health;
- Listening line: for several years, we have offered psychological support accessible to all employees 24/7.
About
Adidas, German firm specializing in the manufacturing of sporting goods.
Sector: sports equipment manufacturer
Number of employees : 750 (2023)
Head office France: Paris, France
Website : adidas.com
Offer : Mental health worker and benevolent training
What were your challenges linked to this preventive action?
Given that mental health remains an often taboo subject, we consider it essential to raise awareness. Thus, we wanted to provide exhaustive information to all of our teams, including employees, managers and management. With this in mind, our goal is to encourage open communication. In addition, we seek to identify appropriate and concrete levers to ensure the mental health and well-being of our employees.
Finally, to ensure a proactive approach, we intervene preventively to eliminate risks before they manifest.
What actions have you set up with Medisur?
We have deployed training for all of the Group's managers (Corporate and Retail) and for 22 volunteer employees so that they can become real mental health relay in company.
Why did you choose the Medisur method ?
With the Medisur Innovation teams, we have built a training cycle totally adapted to each profile, taking into account the challenges and issues of their function. Tailor-made for Adidas!
What were the returns of your colleagues?
The feedback from all of our participants was very positive.
The participants became aware of their power to act and this is the main issue for me. I remember a participant who I quote at the end of every training course now: “I feel like I have a chest of drawers in front of me with lots of drawers to open!” » and that's exactly it. Mental health is a vast subject that deserves to take time to explore it with curiosity. The first step is to inform yourself. This is how we will learn to take better care of ourselves, to “commit to our health and that of others.
