Koru Kids is London’s fastest growing childcare brand. They’re making it easier and more affordable for families to access high quality childcare.
Childcare company Koru Kids has been using Spill to support its team since late 2021.
"We've always have a very supportive culture and I'm proud of that, and Spill contributes to it," says Rachel Carrell, Koru Kids' CEO. "The company has a good reputation and we wanted a good, solid, reputable service."
Supporting the team through a challenging time
“As the founder and CEO, I felt really good that I was doing something to support my team during a really hard time, in and coming out of the pandemic.
Trying to build a new, innovative service is very difficult. People experience work challenges and also personal challenges, and I'm very happy to be able to do something to help them with that,” says Rachel.
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“I was feeling immense amounts of stress, both at work and in my personal life. I found myself bursting into tears or needing to take deep breaths and step away from situations at least once every day. Although I was working effectively, I felt like I wasn't. I felt panic almost every time I got a Slack message or email. I wanted to prioritise everything at once, and felt like I was letting my manager and the whole company down.
I was a bit nervous because I’d never tried therapy before. I worried it wasn't going to 'be for me' and wasn't going to help. But I still went in with an open mind, I really felt like I had to try it.
I felt so at ease so quickly with my therapist. I felt this immediate trust and this space of no judgment, and it made it easy for me to open up and start getting the help I needed.
I always looked forward to our sessions and they helped me see so much of what was in my past that I hadn't even really considered before, and how it was impacting me still, especially at work but also as a mum.
It's now easier for me to take a little time to myself and do something that isn't just 'productive'. It's easier for me to stop that initial panic, and rationally explain to myself that it's probably nothing to worry about. I still get stressed or panicked but nowhere near the same intensity.
It's one of the most important perks we have at Koru Kids. If I saw Spill mental health support featured on a future job ad, it would definitely make me more likely to apply for that role.”
Building a company without shame or stigma
“We have an anonymous internal tool where we ask people questions like ‘what do you value across the different services we offer?’. When Spill is mentioned, it is positive. In general, we have a very high performance and supportive culture, and Spill is something that contributes to that. It helps support people and allows them to be higher performers.
We have always had a very positive and transparent attitude to mental health. Very early on when we were just a 6/7/8 person startup, we did our daily stand up and someone said, ‘I had a panic attack on the way to work’. And I remember thinking that was a moment I was really proud of; someone could disclose that and then we could support them outside of that meeting. There wasn't any kind of shame or stigma around it.
I've always been very happy and proud that we have that kind of culture. Introducing Spill is definitely in line with the culture I want to have at Koru Kids.
If you are a startup like us, that doesn't have huge amounts of money, but needs every pound to really pay back, I think Spill and mental health support is a really good place to spend your money.”
“Sometimes managers might recommend to someone that they do a Spill session and we see it as one of our tools, which I think is really healthy.”
