As part of their work for the Footprints Foundation they have sent 2 teams of their employees to go out to South Africa and help build an Orphanage for a period of 2 weeks. The company also did the same last year and it has been a great success.

Every member of the management team has access to the company's leadership pathway to further develop their leadership skills. They hold two Assistant Team Leader and Team Leader conferences every year to support development and offer them a forum to share experiences and ideas. This year, they have also introduced a new training session called ‘New Learning Methods'. During this one-day course, Team Leaders will learn how to better engage their teams and promote understanding by using a number of different learning styles. Management Team are also sent on external courses for job specific training. They also have an entire department dedicated to supporting the management team so they may reach their full potential. Leadership Academy hosts training sessions and one-to-one mentoring with the management team to help them develop their skills and also to support them as they create a succession pool within their team. Finally, financial assistance is offered for external professional training courses and development.

Each year, as a reward for outstanding performance, 10% of staff are chosen to attend the annual “Boat” event. The event takes place the first week of September and sees the top performing staff across categories such as most permanent vacancies taken, most new accounts bought on, best internal feedback, and best customer journey. The luxury boat is privately charted by the company from Hamble Harbour in Southampton. Employees get to spend 2 days sailing around the Solent, before docking on the Isle of Wight taking lunch in Colwell Bay with an overnight stay and dinner in Cowes. Winners of this unique reward are announced at the Annual Company Awards evening in June each year. Feedback from those that attended this year's event included comments such as “What a fantastic way to reward staff for all their hard work and “A relaxing day at sea, time to spend with colleagues and lovely food and drink – a perfect couple of days”

The company has 3 values: Expert, Dynamic, Scrupulous Expert: continuous learning via two Directors being members of two bimonthly peer support groups (Cranfield BGP Alumni group and the Property Academy Leadership Group); speaking at local events; taking part in Sunday Times National Awards as judges to keep in touch with best practice; contribution to industry trends as spokespeople to trade press and national media; proximity to planning legislation via the MD being a Steering Group member of his Neighbourhood Plan. Dynamic: constantly pushing new ideas into the organisation. Other new innovation includes their own bespoke Property Inspection iPad app to streamline arguably the most valued part of their Property Management. Sourcing of new developments and opportunities such as the 24 apartments they bought and furnished for clients in Reading. Scrupulous: honesty and integrity when dealing with clients; fair judgements during the settling of any minor or major customer complaints; walking the walk each day in their demeanour and treatment of colleagues.

The senior management team are committed to developing talent and encouraging their colleagues to be the best they can be. They demonstrate their commitment to the ‘EnviroVent Way' by leading teams by example, and following up on promises made. The company take a contextual approach to business, by making pragmatic decisions based on facts. This creates an environment of trust and mutual respect which encourages an open flow of communication across the business. The senior management team are accessible, there is an open door policy that has encouraged people to stop by for a quick chat to feeling that they are able to raise new ideas or difficult topics. The company believe that this approach to work has created closer working relationships and an overall feeling that they are all ‘in it together'. The senior team cascade and promote new initiatives through 1-1's, huddles, company and regional updates and writing articles for the monthly newsletter with aim of ‘keeping it simple' and providing ‘opportunities for all' to get involved. The company provide merit based awards and recognition for those colleagues who demonstrate and alignment with The EnviroVent Way.

They offer employees to attend free massage therapy sessions and Reflexology. These are held on a monthly basis and employees are able to attend these at the cost to the company.

N&C believe in the 4 C's – be caring, be compassionate, be competent and be committed. This is portrayed daily by the leadership team through truly believing in the 4 C's and being examples to all staff in the organisation. Every member of staff is seen as an individual and is supported in every way possible to bring out the best in themselves.

Draycott Nursing & Care seek to enhance the wellbeing of their staff by providing continuous training and they also provide a 24 hour emergency helpline for their employees.

The last Friday of every month at DMC Canotec is dress down and this promotes a relaxed working environment. They have a no tie policy which the men the organisation love! The company have a local gym that offers their staff members a corporate discount if they wish to join. DMC Canotec offers their staff corporate prices on AA car membership and also offer staff Costco membership through the company. DMC Canotec has an open door policy and anyone can speak to any senior manager or Managing Director at any time. The Director's Forum helps staff with any issues they may have and DMC Canotec feel this works very well for the company. DMC Canotec's MD walks around their office daily making sure everyone is ok and will even offer to make staff a cuppa!

The company have an incentivised lunch club where £13K worth of placements in the month sees their employees wined and dined at a top London restaurant with at least 2 directors each month, as well as helping them qualify for the company quarterly. A favourite of theirs is just being able to have fun and take the team out to the pub for an afternoon, a shopping trip, or an impromptu lunch as a reward for all the hard work. It's much easier to do this when all are doing well, and the team understands that if the company does well they will do well too. They love a reason to celebrate and have worked hard to fuel their company's culture of competition, achievement and excellence, whilst retaining its community feel and an environment where everyone feels included. Each week, the teams vote for the DG Hero - the person they feel has lived and breathed their values above & beyond - and they take a cheeky snap shot of them for the wall! Coupled with the annual Golf, Fifa, Darts, Sports day and Ping Pong tournament, there are always new champions to be found!

Digital Gurus provide industry leading external training for all team managers and directors through Elite Leaders. This great programme is a peer-led mentoring group that not only challenges their managers in their way of thinking, but also provides them the opportunity to step away from their desk and focus on what is most important. They get to listen to and interact with some great industry leaders on a bi-monthly basis. With ongoing pastoral care, they have seen individuals evolve their leadership skills. In January 2015, the company were lucky enough to secure Marcus Childs, who is - in their opinion - one of the best motivational speakers on the UK circuit. He hosted a ‘mindfulness' session with their consultants, clients, and candidates, helping them to face challenges with positivity and to remember that they have the choice in how they let things affect them.

It's well known throughout the company that if a person has recently contributed to the business or is excelling in their role, Helen and Damian reward their employees for all their recent efforts by inviting them along as guests to support and represent Danbro at awards and community events outside of work. This is the kind of reward which Danbro regularly reward their employees with, as it is a widely received initiative over monetary rewards across the business; it makes their employees feel appreciated and that their efforts are not overlooked. Some of their employees were invited to the Red Rose Awards in early 2015 after contributing to the Employer of the Year application form. To present their case and engage with all of their employees they sent a companywide email asking ‘why you think they should win.' Those who contributed were invited as guests with Helen and Damian to the award ceremony. The table were also lucky enough to collect the award and give a small speech on behalf of Helen, Damian and Danbro. Other events include the BIBA's awards (an evening awards ceremony held at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom), St Georges Day event on Lytham Green (where all those who gave up their Christmas holidays to help with the big office move were invited to an afternoon of food, drinks and dancing) and Lytham Festival Tickets, including VIP/meet and greet with headlining acts. Other non-monetary rewards include office treats and breakfast/meal vouchers in their onsite canteen/coffee shop.