Three-quarters of Perrys employees feel they have someone at the dealer group to talk to about their mental health and wellbeing
The finding from its 2026 Employee Opinion Survey comes as the car dealer group marks World Mental Health Day on October 10
Four of Perrys’ top five employee engagement drivers were wellbeing-related: Sunday closing, flexible working, fundraising events and its Mental Wellness Champions network
The group launched the network in March 2023 and now has more than 50 volunteers providing colleagues with support and signposting across its dealerships
Denise Millard, chief executive of Perrys, said: “It’s vitally important to embed this culture into Perrys because anyone suffering with their mental health needs to know they have somebody they can talk to. If they feel able to trust somebody and open up, that in itself can help.”
Building a support network
Rachael Millard, who leads Perrys’ mental health and wellbeing programme, said the initiative was developed in response to concerns about stress and barriers to seeking support
She said: “We could see that people were struggling with stress and mental health, but in a predominantly male industry there were still barriers around talking about it
“People weren’t necessarily willing to say, ‘I’m struggling’ or ‘I need help’
“The main rationale was to make sure our teams knew that there was someone there to talk to and support available if they needed it.”
Mental Wellness Champions receive training through Mind and meet quarterly, providing the business with feedback on how its wellbeing activity is being received
Millard said: “The role of our Mental Wellness Champions is to support and signpost. It’s not to advise, it’s not to diagnose, and that’s a really important distinction.”
Perrys’ Take 10 initiative also encourages employees to approach a champion for time to talk
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Support in a target-led industry
The wider programme includes webinars covering men’s and women’s health, menopause, burnout, suicide awareness and neurodiversity, alongside management guidance and wellbeing policies
Perrys has signed Mind’s Mental Health at Work Commitment and supports automotive industry charity Ben through fundraising, awareness activity and employee signposting
Millard said: “One of the biggest changes our Mental Wellness Champions report is that people are talking more
“They’re sharing their stories, checking in with each other and having conversations that perhaps wouldn’t have happened previously
“It doesn’t need to be a really serious conversation every time. Sometimes simply asking someone, ‘Are you okay?’ or ‘How are you doing today?’ can make such a difference if they’re having a difficult day.”
She highlighted the pressures associated with the automotive industry’s sales calendar: “Automotive is a very target-led industry and there are naturally periods of significant pressure, particularly around traditionally busy months such as March and September
“That makes it even more important that employees know what support is available and feel comfortable accessing it.”
As the programme develops, Millard said its focus remains on making support visible and accessible within everyday working life
She added: “You’re never going to be able to stop people feeling what they’re feeling, but if you can let people know there is help out there and that they’re not alone, that’s part of the solution.”
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