Aside from the board flying business class - an unusual practice in not-for-profits - launches and parties were always top-class. But the highly skilled psychiatric nurses, social workers and occupational therapists who answered were only meant to mail out information and tell callers where to find GPs and psychologists in their area, information that could easily be garnered from a Google search.Īccording to ex-staff members, money was being squandered, often on the organisation itself. Contactable 24 hours a day, the line was rung by many distressed callers believing it was a counselling service. Sources say she also questioned the role of beyondblue's $1.8 million-a-year information line. The Sunday Age understands she also had concerns about the lack of accountability and transparency around the way funding was allocated, and began putting more robust policies in place. It became a matter of priority to address the concerns of the staff and significant progress has and continues to be made.''īUT it was not just staff morale that troubled O'Neil. Beyondblue denied the staff attrition rate was ''anywhere near'' 50 per cent, yet would not provide the figure.Ī statement responding to the issue when it was raised in last week's Sunday Age read: ''The results were disappointing and the CEO, executive team and the board recognised the need to address staff morale. According to its annual reports, only 23 of the 48 people who worked there in the 2007-2008 financial year remained in 2010. Another staff member suffering a mental illness was refused stress leave, the former manager said.Įx-staff spoke of high staff turnover at the organisation, which employs about 70 people.
Be you beyond blue how to#
The senior manager, who declined to be named, believed beyondblue was not following its own advice to the community - published recently in a guide for managers - on how to deal with mentally unwell staff.Ī manager who developed workplace-related depression and who had taken to crying in their office was urged to stay to work their final four weeks. A spokeswoman for beyondblue declined to comment.) Another former staffer said: ''Jeff's a natural born bully and I think senior management just tried to match him.'' (Kennett did not return calls from The Sunday Age for this article. ''It was Jeff's way or the highway,'' one manager said. Staff said senior management had stopped making decisions based on clinical expertise, instead simply trying to please Kennett. One former senior manager described it as toxic and autocratic. It seemed, for many, the culture of the place was a problem and this appeared to come from the top. Many senior people had quit, some with less than a year's service and no job to go to, complaining of stymied ideas and micro-management. She took the results to Kennett - both were shocked by the depth of unrest and disillusionment.
The charity scored well below average compared to other not-for-profits in almost all categories, including morale, retention, leadership, values, integrity and engagement. She commissioned an organisational survey to gauge the mood of staff. Then along came Dawn O'Neil.Īccording to ex-employees, O'Neil, the highly respected former head of Lifeline, discovered several major issues at beyondblue and set about fixing them. For the next seven years, Kennett had a more like-minded chief executive in Leonie Young, who, former staff say, got one well with the chairman. And it was Kennett who, using his celebrity, iron will and former ad-man talents, put depression and anxiety on the national agenda.įor the first three years of beyondblue, well-known psychiatrist Professor Ian Hickie served as Kennett's chief executive. It was Kennett who argued for a national depression initiative, marshalling a whopping $118 million of state and Commonwealth funding in the past decade. Former board member and state Labor MP Caroline Hogg described the former premier as an ''excellent'' leader. And no one, not even his enemies, denies he drove its remarkable success. 1 talent at beyondblue is, of course, Jeff Kennett. After 11 years of Kennett's leadership, former staff say beyondblue had become a cashed-up, autocratic and conservative organisation that lacked transparency and could not retain its talented staff. Beyondblue boss Jeff Kennett is under pressure.īut the issues ran deeper.
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