As the charity for the furnishing industry, The Furniture Makers’ Company has been supporting the welfare of people working in the trade since 1903, helping furnishing industry people who are dealing with financial hardship by providing grants and useful advice.
Every day, people are having to cope with financial hardship due to the impact of bereavement, relationship or family breakdown, illness, reduced work hours, an unexpected loss of income or redundancy.
But they do not have to deal with this alone, states The Furniture Makers’ Company, whose welfare officer, Sue Dean, is on hand to support anyone in need – and everyone in the trade can make a difference to someone’s life, by helping spread the word about the charity in their workplace.
Here, Sue provides five tips on how to be a welfare champion …
Display the charity poster and other collateral
“This is the simplest way that you can make your co-workers aware of our charitable support,” says Sue. “We have posters and discreet brochures that can be affixed to notice boards, displayed in the cafeteria or even pinned in bathrooms and toilet cubicles.
Tell HR about the charity
“In the past, HR departments have been great aids in communicating our message to employees at their company who they know to be struggling. We’re very keen to connect with as many HR professionals in the industry as possible, so please refer us to your HR department so we can make contact.
Share the charity’s content on social media
“We regularly disseminate information about our grants on social media. You can help get more views on our content by liking and sharing what we publish. It is a simple action that can have a dramatic effect on the number of people who ultimately engage with the post.
Do not be afraid to recommend the charity
“Welfare is a tough subject to talk about, but the only way we are going to change that is by addressing it head-on. If one of your co-workers or contacts from the trade has disclosed that they’re going through hard times, don’t be afraid to let them know that we exist.
Let the charity know if a supplier or customer goes out of business
“If a company that you have dealings with goes out of business, please take five minutes out of your day and let us know. We can then get on the case of contacting either the insolvency practitioner or someone from the HR department to explore how we reach the affected employees,” concludes Sue.
For more information about welfare support, visit The Furniture Makers’ Company’s website, or contact Sue on 020 7562 8528 or [email protected].
