Mental Health First Aiders vs Wellbeing Champions: Choosing the Right Role
When it comes to supporting employee wellbeing, organisations often ask: “Do we need Mental Health First Aiders or Wellbeing Champions?”
The truth is, both roles play an important and complementary part in building a healthy, thriving workplace. They just focus on different points in the wellbeing journey.
The Difference in a Nutshell
Wellbeing Champions are your proactive advocates for wellbeing. They help create a culture where wellbeing is talked about openly, normalised, and embedded into everyday working life.
Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs) are your trained responders – people who can recognise when someone might be experiencing poor mental health and guide them towards professional or internal support.
You can think of it like this:
Wellbeing Champions help prevent problems by promoting positive wellbeing.
Mental Health First Aiders help respond when problems arise.
When these two groups work together, they create a joined-up, supportive approach to mental health and wellbeing at work.
The Role of a Wellbeing Champion
Wellbeing Champions are the heartbeat of your wellbeing strategy. They bring energy, awareness, and connection to your organisation’s approach to wellbeing.
They are:
Amplifiers – promoting initiatives and boosting engagement.
Connectors – offering a safe space for light-touch conversations.
Role Models – visibly demonstrating healthy habits and boundaries.
Listeners – feeding insights from the ground to HR and leadership.
Our Wellbeing Champions Training equips employees with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to make a real impact – from running campaigns and having meaningful wellbeing conversations, to knowing when and how to signpost colleagues for further help.
Training can be delivered in person or virtually, with ongoing support to help Champions sustain their impact through quarterly community check-ins.
The Role of a Mental Health First Aider
Mental Health First Aiders are your organisation’s designated responders for mental health concerns.
They are trained to:
Recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health conditions.
Approach and support a colleague in distress, using non-judgemental listening.
Maintain boundaries and confidentiality.
Signpost to appropriate professional or internal support.
The Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course, accredited by Mental Health First Aid England, provides practical, evidence-based training. While anyone can become an MHFA, these roles often work best within HR or People teams, where there’s already a process for managing and escalating wellbeing concerns appropriately.
How the Two Roles Work Together
In an ideal setup:
Wellbeing Champions are the first port of call – approachable peers who notice early signs and promote everyday wellbeing.
Mental Health First Aiders provide a next step when someone may need more specialist or structured support.
Together, they help to build psychological safety, reduce stigma, and create a culture where everyone feels safe, supported, and able to thrive.
If you’d like to explore how Wellbeing Champions and Mental Health First Aiders could work together in your organisation, we’d love to help.
Get in touch to learn more about our training options and how we can support you to build a culture of wellbeing from the inside out.