We start the mental health conversation
FIFO workers are struggling. FIFO leaders are playing the role of counsellor. We're here to take the reins. We're here to provide a relatable yet safe outlet, for your people, so you can focus on your actual role.
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“Truly one of the best presentations we have had at Drillsafe. You could hear a pin drop. Absolutely unreal.”
Chris Wilson, Drillsafe Chair
FIFO Mental Health Group is proud to be an approved vendor for:
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The Workplace
Mental Health Sessions
Mental health talks designed to get your people talking.
The 2-Day Mental Health First Aid Course
The 2 day MHFA course, delivered in your workplace, regional town or mine site.
The FIFO
Leaders Lounge
Ongoing coaching for FIFO leaders. Regular calls, strategies and support.
Office. Regional. Mine site.
Our programs have helped
1000s of FIFO workers across 100s of site visits…
…and if there’s one thing we’ve learned so far, it’s that most teams just aren’t having honest chats about what’s really going on. Like REALLY going on. And leaders just don’t have the tools to start those conversations, let alone keep them going.
So, why aren’t teams talking?
Well there’s the isolation, the "show no emotion" culture. There's stigma, the fear of reaching out and not being understood…the list goes on.
But why don’t leaders have the tools?
Because most leaders were technically brilliant on the tools, and were promoted for that reason. Managing people is something you learn after you step up, but in most mining orgs, it’s a scatter-gun approach to training. It’s not designed to actually help you manage people, their emotions and their mental health.
As a leader this means not being sure how to approach someone whose struggling. Or if you can even handle what comes back at you! It means constant check-ins ‘just in case’. It means having people miss flights and shifts, without knowing the real reason why. Sometimes it even means hours of emotionally heavy conversations, sacrificing time on your tasks, falling behind on your work, to ensure your people are ok.
That’s a lot on top your day to day responsibility..
And the stats don’t lie. One study showed that high and very high levels of psychological distress were reported by 33% of FIFO workers surveyed. But we’ve seen for ourselves that it doesn’t have to be that way.
This is where we come in..
We don’t just start the conversation. We keep it going, all while building emotionally intelligent and confident leaders.
We create outlets for your team to open up. We take some of that weight off your plate. Then we give you the strategies and support to help you create psychologically safe teams.
Picture a team that show up and perform, because they trust each other. Picture leading your team, confident in your ability to navigate these conversations, while creating good outcomes – Picture everyone flying out better than they flew in.
Office. Regional. Mine site.
“It was a clear winner. Get them into your teams and workplaces. They will not disappoint.”
Michael Atkins, Superintendent, Warehouse & Logistics: East Pilbara
Relatable, engaging mental health conversations led by people who just get it.
Let’s face it, FIFO workers can be a tough crowd. While most facilitators start sweating when they’re met with a room of blank stares, we don’t.
No wonder your team rolls their eyes when they hear about another 'tick-and-flick' mental health visit. They’re probably expecting a talk from a robotic health professional. They're expecting fancy words and a person whose never put on a pair of work boots, let alone understands what it's like to work away.
Well, we break that mould.
Whether it's the heavy diesel crew with their arms crossed. The mining return to work crew talking amongst themselves, or the supervisors with legs bouncing up and down because they're "losing production"... we've built a reputation for creating engagement with the toughest of FIFO crowds.
To put it simply..
We get the FIFO life because we’ve lived it (and still do). We get the FIFO slang because we use it. We get FIFO workers because we were them. We get FIFO culture because we were immersed in it (and still are).
*The most important button you'll click today
Why do our sessions work so well?
We take our own mental health challenges, carefully craft them into stories with meaning, and then share them in a way that reduces stigma, creates trust and gets the mental health conversation going.
✔ Relatable sessions that blend, engagement, FIFO storytelling and evidence based content
✔ Confidence in managing emotional responses and triggers
✔ Confidence to engage groups
✔ We come to you: regional, CBD or on-site
✔ Super quick reporting on our observations
✔ Give your team an outlet for their problems
✔ Actionable tools to reduce stress
✔ Insight into why workers feel the way they do (and what to do about it)
✔ Referrals to professional support if required
We see ourselves as a well-lubricated cog in your wheel. We create openings for your people and ease the burden on your leaders, while assisting your HSE and HR teams as they navigate their psychosocial risk management plan rollout.
The result?
Teams that trust each other. Leaders with less stress.
Flying out better than they flew in.
Office. Regional. Mine site.
See what it's like on site with us.
Come with us to De Greys mine site, where we were lucky enough to film during our time with the Topdrill team through RUOK week 2021.
From drillers and offsiders, to the clients engineers and admin team, you'll get a snippet of what a site visit looks like.
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Are your people qualified to have private conversations?Our speakers are not health professionals. They do not provide therapy and do not attempt to unearth or heal trauma. What they do is leverage the trust they create within their sessions, to provide an open, safe space, for your people to share what they're struggling with. From there, we refer to the appropriate health professionals where needed.
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What do you do in private conversations?We actively listen, providing them space to share openly without judgement, using the tools from the 2 day MHFA course (and various other courses / training) to safely and confidently navigate the conversation and steer it towards the safest outcome. Throughout the conversation we may also use state change tools to help your personnel self regulate, as well as emotional labelling and reframing, to help them better understand the emotion that is driving the undesired thoughts and actions.
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Is lived experience speaking safe?Yes, if done well. You will tell the difference between our speakers and others. We have a deep focus on safety, because telling our stories is about your people, not about us and stroking our egos. We focus on ensuring any emotional low, is followed by a group exercise using state change tools proven by science to help your people transition from a "threat state" to a "safe state". We also ensure your personnel know that they can leave the session if the timing isn't right for them personally, as well as ensuring our story telling follows a "low to high" approach. This "low to high" approach ensures that low points in the story are always followed by a high point. This means your team won't be left in emotional lows (feeling heavy) as they return to work. Instead, they'll return to work with a message of hope and transformation.
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We have a tough crew up here, how do you know you'll connect?To put it simply, it's what we do better than anyone else. Most sites we visit, we're told not to ask questions, because no one will answer. Leadership is always shocked how engaged the crew are, because they're not used to seeing it. What makes us different is that we were and still are FIFO workers so we get it. We're not health professionals using big words. We're not their supervisors or superintendents, who they've heard speak at every pre-start or return to work, meaning they mentally switch off and lose focus. Sure they may roll their eyes at the thought of a mental health session, but generally the toughest crowds have the most to say, they just haven't felt safe enough to say it. This is where we excel.
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What does a normal site visit look like?General 2 day visit overview Day 1 Fly up on the early flight Day 1. Get to camp, put bags away, get crib. Get to site and deliver session 1 Opt in private conversations Deliver session 2 Opt in private conversations Deliver session 3 to nightshift immediately after pre-start Dinner Day 2 Morning pre-start address to multiple crews Deliver session 4 Opt in private conversations Deliver session 5 Pack up Fly out on the afternoon / night flight *Similar structure for 3-4 day site visits. *We recommend having the visit cover panel change day, to get max coverage.
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What does it cost?General pricing is $3600 + gst per day, for site visits. This includes 3 x 30-90min sessions per day, opt in private conversations, as well as a short report on our observations. One off mental health talks / sessions in Perth are $2200 + gst per 30-90min session. Full days in Perth are $2800 + gst. *Fees for Lachie differ due to demand. Lachie: Site visits: $4500 + gst per day One off session in Perth: $3000 + gst Full day in Perth: $3900 + gst
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We don't have enough people to justify that cost, how do we make it work?We recommend engaging the other departments on site, to spread the cost across multiple department budgets. This also allows us to deliver sessions to more people, having conversations with people all across site, ensuring we get as much coverage as possible, while reducing your departmental expenses. Bang for your buck.
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We're a contractor, can we invite the client to attend?Yes, absolutely. To make the most of your sessions as a contractor on site, we'd recommend this. This provides value to your client, and shows your commitment to the mental health of your team, which is always a good look. Ideally you would brief us on who is in the room, so we can alter our approach where needed, as we'd effectively by representing you during those sessions. There is no cap on attendees per session, so invite as many as you'd like... as long as they can safely and comfortably fit within the space we'll be facilitating in.
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We have people all across the state, how do we get to them all?The best option for this would be a road show. For example, we've recently delivered a 2 week roadshow for one of our awesome clients, Bennco Group. They service Rio Tinto sites across the Pilbara here in WA. This was 2 x 5 day visits, Monday - Friday. Within those 2 visits, we flew from Perth to Paraburdoo, then travelled by ute, between the 5 sites, delivering sessions to all crews, as well as the mine operator. This allowed for max coverage, while also ensuring we weren't visiting one site only, leading to the other crews on other sites feeling as though they weren't receiving the same level of care.
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Do you visit sites after mental health incidents?Yes we do, BUT we are not therapists or health professionals. If we are visiting site after a mental health incident, the intention for our visit should be: To provide hope To provide them with insight on their thoughts, feelings and behaviour To provide tools to reduce stress, worry and overthinking To provide an outlet for people to share To ease the load on leaders who are playing the pseudo-counsellor role To connect people to professional help where needed To give your leadership an insight into collective and individual states
