How Acorn Strategy built wellbeing into the way work gets done
2025 WINNER · Professional services, PR and communications, and creative sector
Acorn Strategy’s ELEMENTS programme began with a practical question: what in the working day was making life harder for its people? Confidential surveys pointed to cognitive load, uncertainty about roles and isolation, particularly among colleagues living away from their home countries.
Its response was to connect wellbeing with planning, onboarding, performance reviews and leadership routines. The winning approach made support part of running the business.
What they did
ELEMENTS covered mental, physical, social, financial and future-self wellbeing. Weekly resources and quarterly activities provided a rhythm, while trained colleagues offered a first conversation. Acorn reported that 10% of its team had trained as R U OK? Champions.
Professional help sat alongside peer support. Acorn co-funded MEPRA’s Employee Assistance Programme, extending access beyond its own staff to other agencies. Employees helped shape the approach, clinicians advised on cultural relevance and trauma sensitivity, and leaders were expected to model the behaviours themselves.
What the entry shows
In its August 2025 BambooHR pulse survey, Acorn reported a 75% response rate, a happiness-at-work score of 4.3 out of five and leadership confidence of 4.1. Peer support scored 3.9, identifying an area that still warranted attention.
The entry also reported a 12% year-on-year increase in retention. These are internal measures reported alongside the programme; they do not isolate ELEMENTS as the cause of the change.
What others can learn
The transferable idea is to give wellbeing a place in the decisions managers already make. Planning work, clarifying expectations, welcoming new colleagues and reviewing performance can each become a point of support.
The shared counselling model also offers an option for smaller employers: collaborate on access to professional support while retaining responsibility for the everyday experience inside your own organisation.
Based on the organisation’s original 2025 mentl awards submission. Figures and observations are those reported in the entry.
