What are companies doing with regards to 'Giving Something Back'

Recently AAT offered and delivered resilience coaching sessions to its staff, as well as holding a ‘wellbeing month’ with different sessions each day. The association has also introduced Wellbeing Champions throughout the business, provided access to wellbeing apps, and established an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).

Following on from successfully publishing its gender pay data, AAT is now publishing its ethnicity pay data for the first time. This data will give the organisation a benchmark and a goal to work towards in future years to address its ethnicity pay gap. It has also signed up to the Race at Work Charter.

Abri encourages colleagues to work flexibly within its Agile Working Framework to make time for their wellbeing and personal events. The company also introduced an extra question to its monthly 'Great Conversation' form to ensure managers and colleagues are discussing workloads - and the impact of them - on a regular basis.

Abri encourages colleagues to shape their future in housing through the learning and development programmes it has on offer. The company recently launched 'Housing Professional of the Future', which is a framework for colleagues to build their careers and development pathways, as well as an abundance of training materials available on its learning platform, LEAP.

Two-thirds of staff are women, but the association recognises the need for greater female representation in senior leadership roles to reflect the make-up of staff. At manager level, 59% of roles are held by women, but Accent Group is committed to ensuring there are progression pathways to make more senior leadership roles available to women.

The association has recently launched a new performance framework and provided training for all managers. Its people business partners have a specific customer base, which enables them to act as supportive critical friends with each manager within that. Part of this includes providing bespoke training for people-related processes.

Leaders at ACT have been proactive in communicating and engaging with staff over the past 18 months. Weekly communications range from company updates, news, charity reports and feel-good stories, celebrating what staff have been up to at work and within their communities. Leaders also consult staff on big developments and plans for delivering new programmes.

The company aims to gain an Investors in Diversity accreditation with the National Centre for Diversity. It has formed an advisory group to ensure that the voices of staff among the business's diverse community are heard. An action plan has been developed to make sure the organisation meets the criteria for the award.

Regular calls are made to keep in touch with how team members are doing. Cross-team meetings take place to improve communication. Online social events allow staff to celebrate birthdays or have a Friday drink together, while 'Worksmarter Wednesdays' give them the chance to share knowledge.

The banding system for engineers provides them with a clear goal to progress their career within the company. Instead of having to wait for four years to move from an engineer to a senior engineer role, they can progress from engineer level 1 to level 2 in six months or a year.

Learning and development blends technical audit, behavioural skills and specialist skills training with professional qualifications. Mentoring, alongside lunchtime-learning with guest speakers and TED talks, also plays a critical role in supporting everyday learning and career progression. Junior team members are encouraged to take the lead chairing meetings and facilitating discussions.

Wellbeing is always given priority in Audit Scotland. Each week the management team reminds colleagues of their wellbeing and how important it is to maintain. This includes moving deadlines to maintain wellbeing, as well as providing the variety of sources for support through the organisation's occupational health provider.

There is a non-hierarchical approach in the organisation which allows everyone to be heard and recognised. All managers and the senior team are visible and accessible. Offices are used only for meetings, and managers, including senior ones, sit among their teams.

The We Care programme offers 24-hour access to a private GP for employees and close family and household members, a second medical opinion, smoking-cessation sessions, mental health support, including up to 10 counselling appointments, life-events counselling and burnout prevention.

Managers were given mental health training last year, which has made them more aware of different illnesses and how to approach people who are struggling and need support. The aim was to make managers feel more confident and knowledgable on the topic and encourage open conversations throughout the business.

Apart from ensuring its new London office is sustainable, Big Group's other green initiatives include having staff who are taking the Chartered Institute of Marketing's course in sustainable marketing to develop their knowledge in the field.

The Senior Leadership Team holds ‘drop-in’ sessions with employees, as well as engaging with employees though regular Q&A and feedback sessions to address any concerns. Each week, teams can look forward to The Monday Morning Mail (MMM), a company-wide email from the CEO updating staff on the previous week and week ahead.

This year CAE introduced flexible working arrangements that enabled employees to work two days from home to help them achieve a good work/life balance. The company also invested in Headspace, a meditation app accessible to all employees, as well as hosting monthly wellness sessions to share wellbeing tips and offer support.

In 2021, CBS worked hard to bring employees together utilising Microsoft Teams for formal and informal meetings, as well as webinars and a regular company-wide quiz for employees and their families. Lifting spirits, the organisation ran a 12 Days of Christmas Event with activities such nominating colleagues for fun awards.

CBS remains open with its teams about the potential of employee burnout and is actively taking the steps to prevent this, such as setting up exercise clubs, providing the opportunity for flexible working, and focusing on wellbeing through the CBS Connect Intranet with tips for balancing work and home life.