How Standard Chartered redesigned mental health support around local needs
2025 WINNER · Finance
Standard Chartered’s winning entry began with a review of its existing support. A programme introduced in 2019 was no longer meeting the needs of colleagues in 2025, particularly around local and cultural provision in the GCC. The bank set out to make professional help easier to access and more relevant to the people using it.
What they did
The refreshed Employee Assistance Programme launched in January 2025 through Unmind 2.0. It combined self-guided resources with virtual psychology, therapy, counselling and preventative coaching. GCC-based practitioners and access for immediate family members were important parts of the approach.
Manager development sat alongside the service. Unmind Manager supported leaders to recognise stress, look after themselves and create a more open environment for their teams. The submission described accessibility, cultural relevance and leadership ownership as the three foundations of the programme.
What the entry shows
The entry reported a 17.3% increase in app utilisation compared with the previous programme. Therapy and coaching accounted for 13% of usage, compared with less than 5% previously. These measures indicate greater use of support.
In colleague surveys, 72% said they felt comfortable discussing work-related stress with their manager, while 66% felt able to rest and recover after intense periods of work. Those responses describe the workplace experience at the time; they do not establish that the platform alone caused it.
What others can learn
Reviewing an existing benefit can be as important as introducing a new one. The useful questions are whether people can access it privately, whether the support understands their context and whether managers make it easier to ask for help.
Standard Chartered’s example connects the service with the working environment in which people decide whether to use it.
Based on the original 2025 mentl awards submission. Figures and observations are those reported in the entry.
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