Purpose Boosts Engagement

They hold a weekly trade meeting where all colleagues from head office and the distribution centre are invited. These are a great way to ensure all colleagues have the opportunity to receive key information directly from the leaders. They are also a great forum to share, and celebrate, successes for example the great charity work colleagues do and contribute to. They also ensure colleagues hear about great new developments in the business, for example new store openings. Key messages are then cascaded to store colleagues via a weekly ‘Trading Post.' This enables Bonmarche to share information with as many people across the company as possible. Annual roadshows are run across the country and include as many of their Colleagues as possible. The 2015 Roadshows were titled ‘Road to Success' and focused on values, strategy, branding and new product development. The aim of the roadshows are to bring colleagues together, share key information, welcome feedback directly from them and have some fun!

The senior management team constantly promotes core values to their current customer and prospects as it is part of their organisation presentation and introduction. The core values are indeed a real competitive advantage and are definitely part of their strategic objectives and are reflected in their employees individual objectives too.

Blandy & Blandy encourage junior staff to pursue qualifications to enable them to become fee-earning legal executives or assistants. Other functions are encouraged to pursue professional qualifications such as marketing and finance.

Being an international company with offices all over the globe, Blackbaud are lucky to be able to offer their employees ‘international placements' as rewards for outstanding performances. It is not unusual for them to have colleagues from their Charleston, Sydney and Brisbane offices doing regular stints in London and vice versa. The company find that this not only fulfils lifetime ambitions for their employee's but it is also a great way of intercompany skill and knowledge sharing.

BKL want team-members to develop their careers and progress at the firm. The company take pride in being a meritocracy. They have a dedicated talent team, creating clear job descriptions, competency frameworks and targets so team-members receive frequent, useful, on-going feedback. They use a range of tools such as team appraisals, regular reviews and 360 feedbacks to ensure the team get the right level of support. BKL encourage team-members to track their own development and give them the tools to do this, such as work/training passports. Passports help trainees understand expectations for work and training opportunities they have whilst studying with BKL and follow on into qualifications. This provides a detailed plan of what training they should receive and when, the type of work they will be exposed to and responsibilities they will take on. The passports are reviewed on a regular basis with the HR team to ensure each individual's development is kept on-track. This is integrated into their appraisal (PDR) system and is a valuable tool for setting targets. For trainees, they provide full study support, including paid time off throughout their training contract, through highly-regarded study providers. Team-members have access to a wide range of training and development opportunities, including external professional qualification courses, practical skills, management training and CPD level training. There are regular internal programs like Induction sessions, Tax seminars (run by their award-winning Tax team), audit master-classes, IT skills and personal development sessions. All new team-members are assigned a buddy to help support them.

At Bindmans, the business plan has recently been updated for the next 3 years and presented to all their colleagues. There is also a competition for colleagues to describe 'Bindmans in a nutshell', there is a prize for the best catchy phrase that can be used to describe and market the firm.Also, a welcome pack is sent in advance of a new employee's start date that has details of facilities around the firm's location (lunch time venues, dry cleaners etc.), key policies and an introduction to the firm with the induction schedule. New starters have a full day of induction with follow up sessions. There is an organisation chart with photos. New starters are also introduced around the firm.

Charity Initiatives Berneslai Ramblers sponsored challenges. Food Bank. Strictly Fantasy League (latest initiative to raise money and have fun networking across the company). Community Initiatives. Proud Tenant taken up as the theme for National Housing Day November 2015. Camper van tour round the borough asking tenants to tell the company why they're proud to be a tenant, counteract negative media portrayal of social housing. Ambition Barnsley – event to reach young people, promote apprenticeships and work experience with a stall and activities designed by construction apprentices. Greenacre School – spent half a day with local young people with physical and learning disabilities delivering employability skills and enrichment activities. Teen Tech – national scheme to encourage young people into IT and engineering roles which they support in the region. Funding Pots – Young Persons' Funding Pot, Community Chest, and Diversity Community Grants aimed at local groups who bid for funding for their projects and events including healthy eating, allotments, computer classes, Gay Pride. CEO is non-executive Director of Barnsley Enterprise Living Well. They are key partners in the Dementia Alliance, some employees are trained as Dementia Champions, promoting dementia friendly communities in Barnsley.

The company has implemented a 'mindfulness' program, run by a Buddhist Monk who has visits their head office and has spent time at their London and Dublin offices. They intend to roll this out across the Group and to provide follow up sessions in all locations. The sessions provide an introduction to the management of day to day challenges through mindfulness techniques.

Dragons Glen is an event created by the Scottish Charity, Children First. Teams are provided with a small fund and challenged to create a business and within 6 months return as much money as possible. Two teams from BCF entered and their Managing Director also contributed by being a Dragon for another team. One BCF team created a company making and selling T-shirts and the other team created, manufactured and sold a board game, 'Escape the Jungle'. They managed to raise over £7,000 for the charity and won awards for the Most Innovative Idea and Most Future Promise. Head office have been involved in helping to create a better environment for some children locally. A local after school club was in desperate need of some care and attention and staff worked for two days painting the entire building. Additionally they donated £700 from their BCF Foundation charity to help with equipment. For the past five years they have supported a group of equipine vets, all keen on motorcycling. They deliver educational talks to raise funds for charities. The company has hosted the Scottish leg of their UK and Ireland tour and donated a brand new x-ray system worth over £17,000 which will be used at the Gambia Horse and Donkey trust. They also sponsor the Vet Charity Challenge, helping raise over £100,000 for animal based charities.

They have a dedicated training budget open to all employees to develop their careers. Progression plans are put in place, allowing all employees to monitor and track their development in their role. Quarterly and annual appraisals are offered to all staff as well as 360 feedback sessions with an independent, external representative. In addition to this, all employees are encouraged to take part in internal training sessions, from Social Media Academy classes, to French Club, Code Club and professional masterclass sessions in PowerPoint and Excel. Managers are also encouraged to participate in management training courses to help them progress their careers and develop stronger people skills.

The Avecto induction process takes place over a week. All employees go through this process regardless of role or experience. The induction process includes presentations from every department in the business so all new staff have a thorough understanding of the company. Their employees are cut from the same cloth: hard-working, passionate and driven individuals.

The company ensures that a minimum of 1% of pre-tax profits are donated to charity. They are also a partner of the bloodhound land speed record and support the STEM project (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). They also support and are a partner to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Hull FC Foundation which gives support to Young Adults to get them ready for employment. All staff can have up to 2 paid days per year for CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and all colleagues are encouraged to participate. They also hold an annual family fun day where they participate in an activity and actively encourage colleagues to raise money for their chosen charity, in the past they have taken part in a Dragon Boat Race and an It's a knock out challenge.

The Executive Board demonstrate their commitment to their four company values, Caring, Connected, Excellent and Responsible in a variety of ways. They do regular walk-arounds and attend team meeting to stay connected with what is happening at all levels of the business. The Executive Board take part in an ‘Exec Tea Run' twice a year, delivering tea, coffee and cakes to employees on every floor of our head office. They also lead by example when it comes to CSR, regularly taking part in volunteering days and our company wide events for Children in Need. During our bi-annual Communication Forums the members of the Executive Board present with a focus on the four values.

Employees have attended events to create understanding about the company's five year plan, about individual business areas and how they plan to deliver exceptional customer service. The event also offered opportunities for colleagues to ask questions of the Executive Team. Prior to the event, employees posed questions and feedback via an electronic portal so they could ask questions anonymously should they prefer. Competitions were set up with prizes, and everyone was encouraged to have fun. Feedback post event showed that colleagues gave the event an overall rating of 4.1/5 (v 3.8/5 in 2014). 92% of participants felt the events objectives were met, 90% said they felt proud of working for the company and 74% of respondents had a better understanding of the Bank's vision. Following on from the events all senior leaders were involved in a company-wide cascade of the five year plan launched at the roadshows. Leaders across the business held sessions with their teams, using a centrally provided toolkit (presentation, quiz cards, briefing notes) to explain the five year plan in more detail and what it would mean for colleagues in their area. These sessions were well received and have set the strategic context for colleagues for the years ahead.

Investment in people is paramount to the organisation and its success. Having a budget to spend on staff development is as important as a budget for IT, facilities, etc. The current annual Learning and Development budget is in the region of £300,000. As part of the performance review process a learning and development plan is designed for each member of staff for the forthcoming 12 months. These plans typically include skill development, technology, professional education and qualifications, coaching and mentoring, management development, overseas secondments. They also invest in the Emerging Talent Programme and in 2014 developed and introduced the Advent Graduate Programme, which offers an 18 months placement with a structured training and development timetable which encompasses secondment in each area of the business. Financial support is given to all employees studying for all relevant professional qualifications, which includes paid study leave and time for examinations. Requests are welcome from staff for any qualifications or external training courses that they feel would enhance their personal development and/or the business. The company pays for annual professional membership fees and training courses are regularly held and run by external providers for development of the Managers. At the beginning of each year the Senior Management team goes off site for a three day strategic business planning and objective setting seminar which ensures that business and personal development objectives are aligned to support the overall business objectives and goal.

The company's core values are uniquely communicated under the banner of "Let's Talk". This maxim is regularly referenced and clearly understood by everyone. Their values live through what they say and do and "Let's Talk" makes their values a conversation and a work in progress. They have ‘Outrageous Ambition' to double the business to £38m by 2020.

The company believe their Wellbeing scheme has been their most effective initiative. The scheme focuses on quarterly campaigns, which have in the past covered nutrition, hydration, resilience and physical activity. These campaigns were supported with merchandise to reinforce messages, e.g. water bottles and healthy alternative drinks to tea and coffee. They trained 15 Wellbeing Leaders across the business who have planned and delivered these campaigns. The Wellbeing Leaders recently organised and supported an extension of an existing office hygiene campaign following a successful pilot called Healthy Workplace to their new upgraded offices provided for staff with improved facilities. Following employee feedback, this year they have reviewed how they can refocus their wellbeing campaign to make a bigger impact on staff. Going forward, the company will be holding two dedicated 'wellbeing weeks' a year, jam-packed full of health-focussed events. Their Lean Programme helps staff to improve their productivity, efficiency and quality of services to customers by streamlining processes and cutting out anything that is unnecessary. In addition they offer a long and varied list of flexible benefits that are continually refreshed in consultation with their employees.

The company offer ‘supply chain & quality employee of the month' voted for by staff, and annual company wide awards which recognise achievement and performance. They celebrate success in a company newsletter and noticeboards and give ‘thank yous' from team members to thank colleagues who have gone the extra mile. All these factors increase engagement in addition to the contractual and monetary benefits like salary increase, discounts and bonuses.

They are committed to developing the career of every team member within the Company, and are continuously seeking new ways in which they can support individuals with their chosen career path. An example of this would be the recent award for The Microsoft National Apprentice of the Year Award, whereby one of their apprentices was awarded ‘runner up' out c.7,000 applicants directly employed and trained by Microsoft Partners and Customers. In conjunction with the Company Wide PDP scheme, they have found that recruiting and training apprentices is not only beneficial to the Company, but it also improves the lives of young people.

The development and implementation of a core skills programme, integral to the development of Managers for the future of the company. An outside company is used to give their Management Team regular external residential training to focus their Management Abilities and enhance Team Performance.

The 'Skills Hub' is a collective of experts in various disciplines responsible for the learning, knowledge and skills of the entire team. They have developed a set of core competencies for each role and they develop a training plan around those competencies to ensure skill level of the agency is adequate. The company has enabled all staff members to enrol in the IPA commercial and Legregs certification in an e-learning. Staff working in the analytics team have taken an external course and examination paid for by the company to further develop their knowledge in this area from an external source. 360 degree appraisals are being trialled in one team as a direct result of feedback from the staff. Digital Ps is a full day training day hosted every 6 months for staff members to learn from internal and external speakers, ensuring they are up to date with the industry and their knowledge.

The company host events throughout the year to encourage teamwork like work shadowing, activities run during values week, mentoring, internal newsletters, charity volunteering. Fun Central is the company's sports & social committee organising activities such as quiz nights, barbecues and fundraising events such as an abseil which raised over £2,000.

Payroll Giving to Zurich Community Trust is on a pound for pound basis with no upper limit. Office based or individual fundraising by employees for the Zurich Community Trust is matched 100% with no upper limit. Team fundraising for nominated external charities is matched 50% and capped at £10,000 per event. Individual fundraising for nominated charities is matched 50% and capped at £500 per event. Children of staff fundraising is pound for pound and capped at £50. National charity days such as Red Nose Day or Children in Need are also matched 50% with no cap.

YHA have held numerous team building events within their hostels and national office to underpin the values of the organisation and celebrate the achievements of the last year. These include an organisation wide awards ceremony, a national office Summer BBQ and individual team building days for their teams and departments.

Both founders, Jonathan and Nick, are completely accessible and operate an open door policy for all employees. Having been there at the start, they are both fiercely protective of the company's culture and ethos, and insist that their standards remain as high as day one and as they grow. Jonathan and Nick are often spotted walking round the office chatting to the various teams about how they are doing, both in and out of work. Staff are actively encouraged to share ideas about the company and many of these ideas have shaped the way they work today. From day one at the company, employees get an induction talk from Jonathan and he imparts the company's culture and values on everyone, engaging new hires in the organisation. Jonathan also holds monthly round ups to keep everyone in touch with how the business is doing, so everyone feels that are in touch with the company's performance, not just management. He is also on-hand to celebrate the On Your Side winners – making them feel extra special for getting the attention of the CEO. Finally, both Jonathan and Nick always attend company parties and events, where they chat to everyone and make any newcomers feel welcome. At the company's recent tenth birthday party, they both made a short speech highlighting the best, worst and funniest moments of the last ten years which further drew employees into the World First family.

Annually WE take part in Business in the Community Give & Gain Day. Give & Gain Day is the UK's only national day of employee volunteering. Every year since 2008, it has given companies a unique opportunity to bring community action to life in a celebration of the power and potential of employee volunteering across the world. By getting unprecedented numbers of people out volunteering on one day, they are championing the talent, skill and energy found in business and the role it can play in helping communities prosper.

Following on from Vacherin's success of the Health Matters their Health and Wellbeing Initiatives, they have now set up similar training sessions for all employees. These include the following to achieve a feeling of optimised health and wellbeing. Planned days - Balancing Blood Sugar Stress Management, Well Balanced meals, Summer Body & Fitness, Food & Mood Optimum Nutrition, Healthy up your Heart, Boost your Immunity, Beat Fatigue.

Vacherin support and encourage their staff in their work in local communities and charities – allowing 2 days per year off for volunteering activities. They organise volunteering days with the Fareshare charity for their staff to help distribute food to the homeless and in need. Vacherin present to hospitality students to promote the catering industry and build students' understanding of their sector. They encourage fundraising yearly for their chosen charity Debra, and offer the option of fundraising for their own chosen charity. Vacherin regularly present to colleges and universities to promote understanding of their industry, and take placement students from one day up to one year. They have a partnership with Lewisham College whereby they have dozens of staff taking NVQ qualifications, they are setting up apprenticeship schemes and they take students on work placement as well as into their first permanent employment, and hospitality management placement students from Portsmouth & Bournemouth University, giving them invaluable experience in all aspects of the contract catering industry.

THT has embraced and seen the benefits of coaching over the last 12 months, through a management coaching programme, supported by group training sessions to reinforce common developmental themes. In a survey conducted with approx. 50 THT managers early last year, it has in some cases transformed the way people view their role, with managers reporting increased levels of confidence and self-belief (88%), improved performance management capability (95%) ability to look at problems and issues in new ways (93%) motivation/inspiration to make improvements or try new things (88%). These successes are in part due to the fact that the remit was clear, it was about specifically improving management skills but at an individual level – so people received the direct support that they needed to improve as opposed to a ‘one size fits all' training approach. The message also coming back from managers, is that whilst they wish to continue coaching, they are keen to embed this within the organisation through the development of a cross section of staff to provide internal coaching that can support teams as well as individuals creating a coaching culture for THT and a key objective of the company's Management Development next year is to develop this.

THCH's Leader (CEO) engages with all staff, he takes the time to get to know each and every one one of the staff. He meets new starters and personally takes them on an induction tour and then off to an informal lunch so that he can get to know the person. He has an open door policy and has been operating an “Afternoon Tea with the CEO” which is an opportunity for each and everyone of the staff to sit informally and speak to him. He has a presence and is always available to everyone to talk too. He delivers the customer care training so that all staff know what he and the organisation expects, in relation to the service that is provided to their residents. The CEO delivers Quarterly Briefings which updates staff on current legislation, gives praise and information on service delivery. He is passionate about Housing and the Community which filters through to staff making him an inspirational leader. He leads by example and encourages staff development. He see the organisation as a family and invited each and every one of his staff and their partners to celebrate his 50th birthday – the venue was packed which shows that staff want to engage with him. The staff away day team building activity is his personal idea and staff are encouraged to compete for prizes. Even members of staff that have passed away in service, have been remembered by having a plaque and rosebush in their memory. Some have had a park and a block of flats named after them.

2014 recycling awareness campaigns on and off campus with Worcester City Council major building projects have been subject to the university's commitment to sustainable and environmental building practices and many have won awards. They have improved the landscape of Worcester with the regeneration of inner city sites and retro-fit refurbishment of commercial buildings.

The university hold the Pink Party in the Piazza event and round the World in 80 days walking initiative. The university mile walking initiative. Paper light admissions process. Revised timetabling systems.

The Chief Executive of the Personal Group operates the ‘20 Questions program' where small groups can ‘quiz' him on any topic they see fit. He attends all Quarterly Sales Meetings and events in Singapore, Paris, Edinburgh and Manchester. He has an open door policy and tries to deal with issues as much as possible in the moment. He takes an active role in the significant projects that affect the business. He hosts the quarterly comms where questions are encouraged and chairs the annual Employee Survey process to get as close as possible to how the employees are feeling and functioning. Their CEO hosts the peer to peer reward and recognition program ‘Pick a star' which is based on the company's four values. He invented and hosts the Annual Launch Meeting which includes the Annual Values Awards, where they seek to ‘catch someone doing a good job'.

In September 2014, The Marketing Practice took the whole company to the Bluestone National Park, Pembrokeshire, Wales for a superb 5* 2 day team build event; themed "The Purple Dragon Games". They had 4 house teams and created a magical, memorable 'Harry Potter' adventure, starting with a sorting hat event to decide their houses. The spirit of the theme ran ahead of the games, during the games and created stories and memories that will live long in staff's memories. Zip wire, tug-of-war, archery, a blind fold assault course, shelter building, ball hurling and forest battles are just a few of the activities during the days. Add to that a BBQ in a ravine and a fancy dress gala dinner where their favourite magical tunes played into the small hours, it is fair to say they had a fabulous time, learnt new things about each other and discovered new skills within themselves.

Jenrick believe the term work life balance is an out dated expression, due to the fact that they now live in a world where they are constantly connected through their mobile, email and other electronic devices. As such, Jenrick believes that the expression ‘work/life integration' is a far more appropriate term to describe a modern working environment, simply because an individual's personal life and work commitments will constantly overlap. For this reason, they seek to enhance the wellbeing of employees by being flexible in their approach to working hours. For example, employees who are parents often need to adapt their working hours so they can attend school events such as morning assemblies, sports days and parents evenings. Jenrick are always accommodating when circumstances like this arise. They're not clock watchers and have built a strong culture of trust where it's more about getting the job done, rather than set working hours. They know that if people deal with their personal issues at the time, this will result in them being much more focussed and effective in their work.

Through schemes such as ‘Jenrick's Helping Hand' and the ‘Jenrick Charity Photo Calendar', the company donates in excess of £2,000 per year to charitable causes nominated by staff and the local community. The ‘Helping Hand' charity initiative is run each year and enables any member of staff to nominate a charitable cause that they would like Jenrick to donate £1,000 towards. Once all the nominations are received, an online voting system enables every individual member of the company to decide which cause they believe merits the award. For every additional pound given in personal staff donations Jenrick also doubles the amounts. Every year, The Jenrick Group create a ‘charity photo calendar competition' allowing candidates, clients and their own staff to enter in photos based on a theme. The competition is now in its sixth year and has already raised thousands of pounds to a large number of charitable causes. The final 12 winning photographs are featured in Jenrick's calendar and each winner receives £100 to donate to a charity of their choice. These schemes are so unique to Jenrick, and for a company of their size, it's quite remarkable how much money they have raised over the last few years, often raising awareness for lesser known charities. It would be very easy to 'follow the norm' and nominate a designated charity each year, however, because Jenrick's values are built around ‘People', having two schemes that allow individuals to nominate charities very close to their hearts adds far more meaning.

This year many colleagues have taken part in a coaching course which has been of significant benefit not only to those staff who have been on the course, but to the many colleagues they have since coached as a result of this development. Those coached worked through confidential issues both work and non-work related. Their programme is accredited by the University of Edinburgh.

Employees can apply to study for the Certificate in Football Management - FA Edition. This has proved very popular and the organisation recently sponsored 23 FA employees, 9 international people and 2 from the counties. The HR team complete a review of their core learning and development needs across The FA Group. They identified a number of key training requirements as follows: handling difficult people and conversations, negotiating and influencing skills, advanced project management, essential skills for team members and managing your wellbeing, effective minute taking, unleash your creativity, advanced handling difficult people and conversations, personal effectiveness and managing your wellbeing, recruitment and interview training, disciplinary, grievance and formal performance training.

The TAQA car share programme allows personnel based onshore to share journeys with colleagues who have similar routes to work. TAQA also shares commuter transport with neighbouring companies in the industrial estate at Westhill in order to limit the number of buses needed for the same route. Waste segregation bins and VegWare products are in place to further minimise their impact on the environment and be more sustainable. TAQA recycles waste wherever possible and has waste segregation bins throughout the offices for plastic, cans and compostable waste. VegWare is also used in TAQA's café's to reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfill. VegWare is disposable food packaging and all TAQA café catering products are made from this recyclable, starch-based material which takes 4 to 6 weeks to become compost.

Sue Ryder's flexible approach to development and their varied interventions makes it easy for everyone to access the opportunities that suit them, their role and their development needs. These include training workshops, development programmes, coaching and mentoring, action learning sets, 360 feedback, secondments and a variety of other interventions.

To recognise the hard work of Stateside Foods workforce, the company holds a Family Fun Day for all employees and their extended families each year. The day is held at Bolton Arena, a local sports facility and employees are treated to fun activities and a BBQ lunch free of charge. The event is well attended year on year and the feedback is always excellent with employees really appreciating the opportunity to meet with their colleagues' families and socialise. The event is great for young children, as the company provides lots of entertainment such as a climbing wall, inflatable activities, football shoot-outs and face-painting. The workforce are always keen to hear about the dates for the next fun day and planning and preparation for next year's event will begin soon! Stateside Foods also recently rewarded their Employees of the Month with an all-expenses paid trip to London to see Lee Evans at the O2. The Employees of the Month were able to take their partners away to this event to celebrate their hard work and commitment to the Stateside Foods behaviours.

The HR Manager at St Ermin's created 2 development programmes specifically for the business: For Management: Fish S.U.P.P.E.R (Supports, Unites, Plans, Participates, Energises, achieves Results). For Supervisory Fish S.T.I.C.'s (Strives To Inspire Change). They involve the following: Leadership vs Management, Stages of group development, Behaviour and Motivation Learning styles, Communication Conflict Management, Time Management Problem solving and decision making. Whilst both programmes have the same elements, the Management Programme deals with more complex theories and processes. Both programmes are highly interactive, with a significant range of exercises observing natural and learned behaviours. There are 6 modules, 4 weeks apart with practical work based projects to complete between modules. The course also has a very practical base, where hotel issues are openly discussed with no fear of retribution then analysed and often fixed there and then or a plan put in place by the delegates. The modules are tough and also a lot of fun. At the end of the course, the attendees are then set a project as a group that is work related and needed to improve or launch something within the hotel or help with employee communication. The 2013 project was to make a video that embodies St Ermin's culture, especially fun, love and energy. The pilot courses were run in 2011 and proved such a success that there are courses each year, and to date, 58 employees have attended a course. In 2014, 10 delegates attended the course. The 2015 course is already planned for April.

St Ermin's Operating (UK)'s employee rewards programme encompass the 4 areas within the culture and is designed to reward employees for behaviours that meet the Vision and Mission. Traditionally in hotels, reward programmes are centred on earning credits/points that can be exchanged for items within various company catalogues. The company believe that the most important thing to their team members is the ability to earn extra money outside their normal salary. St Ermin's created a programme called ‘Fish hook', which is split into the 3 of the 4 core value areas, Choose Your Attitude, Make Peoples Day and Be There plus Guest Recognition. The reward is a points based system, 1 point = £1 and the company pays the employee and employer tax on that £1 so that the employee receives the whole £1. Points are issued to employees by way of a personal cheque given by a Manager. All managers are issued with guidelines on what to look for within the business and are able to issue cheques to any employee they see or hear fulfilling the required criteria. Points are totalled at the end of every business quarter and the employee receives the cash value of their points in their salary. The average quarterly cost to the business has increased from £4,000.00 (plus the employee tax) in 2013 to £4,7000.00 in 2014. All new employees receive a travel card wallet with the Vision printed on the back and Fish hook details within.

Spire's Senior Management team 'live' the ethos, principles and values of the organisation particularly on a day to day basis. They take the time to greet colleagues and walk around the office every day and get to know colleagues on a personal level, and not just a work basis. There is an open door policy with no ivory towers at Spire. As is the Spire way, they work hard and always model the positive working culture by remaining in good spirit and not bringing bad moods to work. The Senior Management Team encourages flexibility and don't expect colleagues to stay late and work long hours. If for any reason, colleagues do stay later than normal; Senior Managers will take the time to ask why to see how they can help. A good work life balance is very important to their Senior Management Team who champions the Mi Life initiative and encourages flexibility. They encourage time away from day to day work as it is recognised that this is an important part of the job. They will always treat all colleagues with respect. The Senior Management Team will also challenge where their values are not lived, and encourage colleagues to take appropriate intervention to maintain their positive culture at Spire. The Senior Management Team regularly gets involved in fun activities to generate team spirit.

Senior managers at Spectrum Housing are aware of the values and were all involved in deciding what these should be. All senior managers act as role models and are aware of the need to act in line with the values and lead by example. They are all accountable for their behaviours and the values underpin everything that the organisation does. Senior Managers work in creative ways and have backed a ‘smarter working' project group. This has been trailed in Finance with the senior Finance and IT managers overseeing it. The results have been positive and employees have been allowed to come up with creative ways of solving problems. These groups will be set up in all departments. Senior managers go to all sites every other month to give a presentation on Bigger News. These managers give sessions throughout the day then spend the day at the site. Managers go to sites they wouldn't usually therefore meeting new people and developing relationships. These managers offer shadowing to all staff and take part in back to the floor days. There is the ‘one voice' section on the intranet where managers can update everyone on progress and offer thanks or congratulations. Senior managers use the Spectrum leadership competencies to ensure they act in a professional and responsible manner. All senior managers have or are undertaking a coaching and ILM qualification so every day they act as a role model.

Andrew Barker joined SFS over 22 years ago as their Technical Manager and has subsequently worked his way up to become Managing Director in 2011. Due to his experience of working in SFS, Andrew has extensive knowledge of the whole business and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by staff in each area. With this in mind, he maintains open engagement with his staff at all levels and has launched many innovative staff engagement initiatives such as License to Grill where staff can ‘grill' him in team meetings and License to Chuck. Andrew is committed to attend every Financial Planning Manager Roadshow nationwide and is a guest at department team meetings once a year. He also holds quarterly business update briefings to all HO staff and issues a monthly update email with his personal thoughts. Upon his appointment to MD, he abolished the MD's private office and remains seated with his colleagues. Andrew asked for this room to be used for study purposes to help staff who want to gain further qualifications to enhance their career. Andrew is well liked by many staff due to his ability to engage with people on all levels. Whilst he is already well respected for his knowledge of the business, he is well known for encouraging a ‘fun element' to working for SFS by organising many staff events and competitions and with his references to popular culture, which he often demonstrates in his presentations to staff. At previous conferences, Andrew has taken part in a comedy video and the outtakes often sees him at the end of a joke, and for this, amongst many other things he does, he is respected by staff for not taking himself too seriously and they see him as very approachable.

Shaylor Group's recognition and reward strategy is based around the consistent management approach of praise and thanks for good work and performance. Recognition is seen as a key motivator, hence the focus on praise and encouraging “what can we do better” rather than stifle the proactive and innovative ideas and contribution of individuals and teams. This approach was confirmed during their Investors in People assessment. Recognition is given both verbally and through personal emails and letters from the CEO and Directors. Wider recognition is given in celebrations posted on the intranet, e.g. thank you letters from clients, passing a successful audit, achieving 100% customer satisfaction, attaining a high score in the Considerate Constructors scheme, entry to the national site manager of the year award etc. Examples of press releases, client letters and cards of thanks are often shared to highlight individuals' successes.

Given their size and geographic spread, it's hard to bring everyone together regularly, but they do run quarterly get together's across most of the sites shortly after financial results. These buzz sessions bring people together to find out more about the results and share the stories behind them. It's an opportunity for people to meet senior leaders, ask questions, bring their suggestions and build excitement for the future. They bring together people from different departments or sites into a room together to celebrate success together, these are people who wouldn't normally meet. On the social side, they give their leaders the power and a budget to run events locally to them. For many, this will be a Christmas social event or another kind of celebration. They havealso got a great resource in the Every One Fund, an online portal that allows people to organise volunteering events, get colleagues involved, or find out what's happening locally, as well as share their stories afterwards.

A key driver for Rockpool is employee wellbeing and they seek feedback from the teams. A company wide flexitime policy has enabled employees to balance their work and home life. Rockpool also value their Fridays at Rockpool -they have Cake Friday, a company tradition and Friday Beer o'clock which is an informal get together of beer, wine and food where they chat through the week or have brainstorming sessions around new client ideas etc.

All staff, along with their partners and children (under 18) are invited to an away weekend at a 5 star hotel each Summer. The weekend is informal and all activities, accommodation, and entertainment are provided by the Company. This assists in enabling a growing company to get to know each other informally and enormously improves day to day communication. The employees and their family really appreciate the weekend and feel that the wider family is acknowledged for their support of their employees.

The company have a suite of Management Development Programmes to assist their existing and aspiring managers and supervisors in developing skills and knowledge to equip them for current and future managerial roles. Two programmes are accredited with the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), and tailored to aligned them with their managerial competencies and values. Their third programme is a bespoke modular Leadership Development Programme, coupled with 360 Degree feedback before and after with coaching and support provided. Considerable time is invested for studying, day release, and coaching over a 5 month period for each Programme. Celebrations are held at the end of each programme, with the presentation of certificates and a monetary recognition reward.

The SMT demonstrate all of their values on a daily basis by thanking people when a piece of work is outstanding, by questioning what they do to always find a better way in their processes and by always putting the customers first and explaining why this is to the wider audience. One example of displaying their values was that this year the senior management team of the Trust engaged staff by holding listening sessions as to how they could make the Trust a better place to work. They did this by sharing the results of Best Companies for last year and reviewing what great things had been achieved and by looking at what they could do different/better to make it a better workplace. They did this by choosing the top 3 scoring factors per employment group and reviewing the bottom 3 thus celebrating what that employment group is great at and reviewing what areas are required for improvement. This seemed to work well as it involved front line managers sharing this message with their teams which gave them autonomy and gravitas to show they believe and want to make the Trust a better place to work. This displays 'question what we do to find a better way' whilst also celebrating successes of last years achievements.

Every year Nucleus sponsor a nominated charity, chosen by the staff. Throughout the year they do various different fund raising events in order to raise awareness for the charity. By doing so, this also reaches out to their wider community, and helps them raise large amounts for causes close to their staff. This year they have had three key fund raising events, as well as regular smaller activities throughout the year. In June a large group of staff entered a Dragon Boat race at Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh, and raced against lots of different local companies. Their group successfully raised the most money for charity, despite the fact they lost out on the races themselves! At the end of August, four members of staff risked their lives doing a skydive to raise money for the charity! They overcame their fears, and raised a huge amount in the process. September saw a group of four staff, including David, their CEO, compete in the Great Scottish Run. A couple of people hobbled away from it, but they successfully raised thousands of pounds for their worthy charity partner!

Northwards Housing promote better health and offer quarterly health initiatives such as free flu jabs, signposting people to health websites, raising awareness of mental health linked to national campaigns, providing advice on healthy eating and tips to prevent colds and flu. The company also run a Global Corporate Challenge – this 100 day challenge is the opportunity for their teams to sign up to compete against each other and other organisations around the globe in trying to achieve a daily target of 10,000 steps of physical activity. Access to wellbeing support is available from their Employee Assistance Programme and includes a 24/7 helpline available to everyone.

During the last year North Star have involved all staff in the launch of new services and initiatives including new ways of capturing feedback, their new maintenance services, their approach to value for money, invited all staff to their 40th year celebrations, designed, developed and delivered their Leading and Growing Staff conference with another planned for October 2014. During Octobers event staff will help them to further refine their strategy, funded an annual xmas event and use this occasion to present their “ Staff Oscars”. Staff were nominated by their peers and winners receive an Oscar and a prize. The team of the year receives £200 to organise an event to celebrate their success. The business closes for this celebration, provided £200 per team to enable staff to host lunchtime social events. The first one took place in June and was really well attended with around 80% of the organisation taking part in a “ pub themed “ event with pie and peas and a pub quiz. They also raised £200 for charity. Staff from dispersed offices hosted their own event and connected to the main event via video link, supported the staff nominated charity of the year including the hosting of a big lunch which raised £300.

NHH has an active Health and Wellbeing programme called Nutrition Health Happiness. The programme supports and improves the health and wellbeing of their employees by offering a wide range of activities promoting positive links between health and work designed to reduce absence rates, improve performance, motivation and morale and create a positive working environment. This helps attract and retain the best staff. They deploy a mobile health monitor across their workplaces that measures height and weight, calculate body mass index and blood pressure. It is fully automatic and produces a print out. The printed ticket carries reference information regarding the normal body mass index reading and World Health Organisation recommendations on blood pressure. NHH offer fun ‘tasters' leading to more substantial programmes. The most recent have been Pilates, salsa and yoga, combining fun, team building and health benefits.

Nicoll Curtin's leadership team knows that the best ideas can come from anywhere in the business so they are committed to learning from everyone and implementing great ideas irrespective of where they have come from. The leadership team reviews any ideas that come through and communicates them with the business. Work hard, work together. The Senior Management team understands why their business is successful and it's because of who they hire and how they develop their consultants. Their MD and Sales Director sit with the teams on a daily basis and operate an open desk policy, meaning anyone can go up to them and ask questions. They sit on the floor and hot desk throughout the teams which demonstrates how involved they really are.

One of the most important services offered at Networkers International is their free and confidential wellbeing service provided by PPC Worldwide. This assists employees 24 hours a day 7 days a week, online or on the phone. They help with anything from work worries, to children and home buying. Although they don't know who calls or what for, they do know that the service has been used many times by their staff. The organisation also offer a pension, cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan, sports events, private medical care, discounted gym membership and life assurance.

At the end of every month each of Networkers International's offices gets together to round up the month. Within these meetings they recognise those who have performed particularly well over the month as well as those who have hit personal milestones, be it someone who is new getting some success for the first time, those who have been promoted, or someone with a significant achievement. Within these meetings they also promote social activities, charitable events and everyone gets an update on the progress of the business. The event will culminate in an early finish for the staff and a few drinks together. It's a great opportunity to get everyone together and share news.

The leader of NYAS has an inclusive style of management, promotes a learning culture and not a blame culture. Employees learn from mistakes and move on. She genuinely seeks the views of others, actively listens. When suggestions are not taken up or implemented she always acknowledges them, explains the consideration process and the rational for the decision taken. She keeps to deadlines and has the confidence of staff as the organisational leader.

NYAS employ staff from a range of professions: social work , legal , financial and they support them with a regular programme of Continuing Professional Development training to ensure they are up to date and can retain their professional registration.

Guy Scilly formed Multitech in 1998 and has successfully built it into a customer service focused company with exemplary staff at all levels. Being a Managing Director is often perceived as a barrier to approachability, but this is far from the case with Guy. Multitech is a reflection of his kind natured personality, and Multitech is people focused. Guy Scilly is a Managing Director who knows the name of every member of staff and whose door is always open for anyone needing support, whether professionally or personally. Without admirable continuity Guy communicates with staff and clients at all levels eloquently and honestly. His attention to detail is second to none and his ability to make business decisions is evident in the success of Multitech. However, Guy is not a man to become complacent and continually strives for improved personal development, participating in mentoring groups and maintaining and increasing his knowledge of industry best practices. The staff engagement Guy Scilly achieves is neither contrived nor forced; it is a naturally occurring result of having an approachable, respected leader who genuinely cares and who nurtures mutual respect among staff, and prioritises their welfare through an embedded culture of safety.

Each summer the company holds a themed summer party. This year it was based around the Football World Cup finals. The company provided food, drinks and a variety of entertainments and competitions throughout the day with colleagues positively encouraged to get involved. In the weeks leading up, they also launched a fantasy world cup league competition with prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places - nearly 60 staff took part. This year they were able to provide Segway's for colleagues to "try out" along with some more familiar "games", such as "test your strength", "hoop the ducks", and "crazy golf". On the day employees were encouraged to wear casual clothes and were welcome to sport their favourite football teams' shirts if they wanted to. The party featured a face-painting artist, table football and a penalty shootout competition. On the day a fish and chip lunch was provided and a healthy alternative, and soft drinks. The divisions of the company get fully immersed in the activities of the day, and competition between the various departments can get quite fierce. A full range of photos are provided after the event, and a general round up of the day's activities are fed back via the Buzz platforms.

Montpelier at LLoyd's have Spot Bonus Awards given to employees who go above and beyond throughout the year.

Employee development is key to delivering Midas Vision and the roll out of the CLEAR programme supports their long term commitment to developing their staff. Core elements of the CLEAR programme include: Bespoke management and leadership training delivered to operational, commercial and business support staff , Performance Development Review (PDR) training, Introduction of monthly 1-2-1 meetings between staff and their line managers to discuss progress and development needs – known as CLEAR Catch Ups, Training initiatives covering customer service workshops, commercial excellence workshops and team-specific training aimed at improving team effectiveness and performance. The CLEAR programme, which, is cascaded throughout the business is also supported by the introduction of quarterly People Reviews with the senior managers of each division, ensuring that employee development is discussed on a regular basis at a high level and development themes identified in addition to the TNA conducted as part of our annual PDR (appraisal) process.

McFarlane Telfer have monthly recognition awards "Shout Outs" which are to recognise any person who has gone out of their way to demonstrate the values which has made a positive impact on either a colleague or a customer. These are publicly announced during their monthly communications meetings and each person is recognised with a monetary award. Engineers' pay usually follows a clear structure upon joining to outline pay increments following successful completion of core qualifications. This is an incentive to pursue own learning and development which helps to create the right behaviours for engineers to take ownership and seek the next level.

Marathon Oil rolled out an Employee Workplace Wellbeing Programme in January 2014 open to all offshore and onshore employees and contractors. Their aim is to bring a greater number of health interventions directly into the workplace that can have a positive impact on their workforce's health and wellbeing. Each month different wellness themes are explored with related activities and opportunities for a better understanding of how they can take control of their own health and wellbeing. Underpinning this, a Health Competition was launched open to all employees and contractors to have a number of biometrics recorded (weight, blood pressure, cholesterol etc). This information is stored confidentially then measured around mid-year with final results and winners (best overall improvement in health) being announced early next year.

As part of their Liverpool Hope University's volunteering initiatives, staff and students host "Contact the Elderly" tea parties each summer.

Life Fitness has a unique recognition scheme which is in place to celebrate and showcase employees who put their values into practice. As an ACEp employee you should be: Accountable: Say what you mean, Collaborative: Partner to get it done! Execution: Do what you say with deep commitment (Passion) As they strive to achieve their vision and strategy, all employees at Life fitness UK need to demonstrate ACEp in their everyday working lives. Any employee, irrespective of length of service, location, or position can be nominated for an ACEP award and any employee, irrespective of length of service, location, or position can nominate. If the ACEP nomination is supported by the relevant budget holder, the nominee will receive an ACEP award presented on a quarterly basis at the Life Fitness Company ‘stand up' along with a £50 meal for two voucher.

Life Fitness Maintains a healthy and safe work environment for employees including the Fit for life project which is combating the growing epidemic of limited activity in the workplace, encouraging movement within the walls of Life Fitness. The Fit For Life project will be the catalyst for a cultural shift in their office, creating stronger and healthier employees, and in turn, making Life Fitness a stronger and healthier company. Keeping health and well-being records about staff, e.g. who is off sick, when and for how long for line managers to review regularly to identify problems and then take action to solve them. Encouraging their employees to live healthy lives by organising events with sports and exercise and offering healthy food in kitchen.

Liberty Wines have an open plan office and open door policy to ensure all staff are able to speak freely with senior managers and people are aware of what is happening throughout the business. The company have weekly team meetings that are attended by all senior management where appropriate - this is led by the Managing Director to ensure feedback and issues are communicated between the teams and with customers. Everyone at Liberty is passionate about premium wine and supporting the vineyards where the wine comes from - the senior management encourage the team to share views on recent trips to producers as well as their customers. Staff will often see senior managers and their teams bringing in produce to be shared and enjoyed, such as fine cheeses and olives. This encourages everyone to be interested in the venues where their wine is served and gain an understanding about the regions where the company import wine from.

The Leadership Team are committed to the values of the organisation through their interaction with their staff and clients. KM&T are very proud of the internal talent development of their team members. This is also reflected in the work with their clients as they endeavour to transfer their knowledge to their teams. This is the meaning of the organisation KMT the Leadership Team are committed to the values of the organisation through their interaction with their staff and clients. KM&T are very proud of the internal talent development of their team members. This is also reflected in the work with their clients as they endeavour to transfer their knowledge to their teams. This is the meaning of the organisation KM&T = Knowledge, Management and Transfer. The Leadership Team are all experienced Consultants who have progressed through the organisation. For this reason, they are respected amongst their peers. Equally they are respected by clients for their commercial awareness and professionalism. They conduct themselves with integrity and lead by example.

All consultants are supported by a Practice Manager who is constant contact with them to ensure that they have everything they need on a practical and personal level to perform their role. This is especially necessary in a remote working environment. As careers with Kloud often incorporate remote working this is often a huge benefit to the wellbeing of employees. Being able to significantly reduce or eliminate commuting time enables our consultants to have more leisure time.

The Customer Services team raised funds using their crowd-funding product to help re-plant a community garden in local Southwark area, using their 'Make a Difference' days - 3 volunteer days a year.

JMC has a strong culture of ensuring that staff look after their well-being. All staff are offered a health scheme that can be used to fund a range of health related treatments including physiotherapy. JMC also provide a wide range of resources and support for those that wish to take a break from the working day and improve their fitness and/or relax. Their facilities include on-site gym, circuit training sessions at lunch, two table tennis tables, a badminton court, three mountain bikes that can be used for lunchtime rides, pool table and darts board. Anyone taking part in any competitive activities can do so under the “JMC's Team JMC banner”, and receive a range of free support options including funding, a branded weatherproof gazebo, their Team JMC van, branded clothing. Getting people involved in the above has been hugely beneficial for the business and the people involved. From just letting off some steam at lunch, to developing new skills and interests, through to getting to know people within the business that you wouldn't normally meet. JMC have also uncovered some real stars amongst the team that have gone on to achieve some amazing results including one of their engineers Jason Miles, who has won many 24-hour mountain bike races and Alex Lawton who is now Team GB triathlete.pasting

J N Bentley invests over 1% of annual turnover in employee training and development. In 2014 this totalled over £1.4m. As a company they recognise the importance of building and maintaining a happy and skilled workforce to ensure they are able to readily resource schemes with talented people who can deliver works of a high quality. They work to ensure employees realise their potential and support them in their efforts to achieve their goals. They run their own Apprenticeship Scheme for young people entering the industry, working in partnership with Craven College, Skipton. In 2014, they welcomed 7 new apprentices who have been utilising their new training facilities in Shifnal, learning essential site skills. They have their own in-house development schemes for Civil Engineering, Mechanical & Electricial Engineering and Quantity Surveying for employees that want to learn new skills and responsibilities whilst working towards a professional qualification. Support employees through HE and Professional Qualification. 20 employees are currently working towards a variety of qualifications, including HNC in Civil Engineering, BSc in Civil Engineering/Construction Management/Quantity Surveying, BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and MSc in Geotechnical Engineering. They also support employees who are earmarked to take the next step up or who J N Bentley wants to give additional skills to enable them to fulfil their role to the best of their abilities. This is done through courses like Integral Leadership and ensuring succession plans and suitable talent pools are in place.

IPU recognise team members who have gone the extra mile by publicly recognising them at their company meetings and giving them a 9 foot tall medal. IPU send out company side emails to share in any successes.

The company have a 'Celebrating Success' awards evening. There is an annual Christmas party and a lunch time hog roast event. Company wide initiatives are fully supported and it is encouraged that teams have regular team events. Most departments/teams within the last 18 months have had away days which have included army-type assault courses, chocolate making, Belbin team activities including facilitation by a Belbin facilitator, drumming workshop, Haka taught by a Maori warrior. These have taken place off-site away from the office.

The company have a 'Celebrating Success' awards evening. There is an annual Christmas party and a lunch time hog roast event. Company wide initiatives are fully supported and it is encouraged that teams have regular team events. Most departments/teams within the last 18 months have had away days which have included army-type assault courses, chocolate making, Belbin team activities including facilitation by a Belbin facilitator, drumming workshop, Haka taught by a Maori warrior. These have taken place off-site away from the office.

For a larger organisation, they have a surprisingly non-hierarchical atmosphere and senior managers freely invite staff to contact them directly with questions or feedback, to which they always reply. They are also regularly to be found in the kitchen making tea rounds! The senior managers are the first to applaud a colleague's good work and there are good news stories circulating daily, showcasing the excellent work of local teams and individuals. Importantly, their managers always relate their communications to the benefit their work brings to clients. Respect for each of their colleagues is paramount, as is being professional, ethical and above all, friendly.

In 2013, Informa became more focused on the issue of mental health in the workplace and all their UK HR directors have now received Mental Health in the Workplace Training. As one in four British adults experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any one year, Informa believe this is a valuable focus for them and also becomes a business issue. Flexible working is also supported around the Group and they have had a flexible working policy in place since 2006. Between 2012 and 2013, the proportion of Informa employees working part time increased from 7.5% to 8.6%. In a 2012 survey on flexible working, out of 141 respondents, 112 gave Informa a top rating of creating work/life balance and 84% said they couldn't continue working without the flexible working policy.

imago are involved with 'Business in the Community' - Princes Trust and use a 'Business Connector' to help develop and direct their local community activities/plan. They are active in an award winning 'Bridge to Work' Scheme through Loughborough College which works to improve the employment prospects of local students by bringing together schools, colleges and employers. imago are involved with both the steering group and employers forum. They have introduced their own 'Apprenticeship Programme' this year and currently provide employment to eight young adults. Each employee is doing an NVQ qualification through Loughborough College. They are currently working with three charity groups two of which are based in the local community. Along with fundraising and cash donations they offer skills volunteering, donate lost property/equipment and provide facilities for off-site meetings/activities. They have sponsored the Leicestershire and Rutland Oldest Athlete Awards for two years and recently hosted their annual celebration event/awards ceremony.

One of the initiatives they introduced in 2012 to give something back to their staff and thank them for their ongoing hard work was their sports and social club. The club aims to provide a happy and healthy working environment, with plenty of opportunities for people to relax, enjoy something new or favoured past time in the company of colleagues, friends and family. As a company they acknowledge their duty of care as an employer to provide their staff with different ways to improve their health and well-being but, with the sports and social club, took this one step further to empower staff with ownership and an increased range of activities that staff truly enjoy. Employees are regularly asked which activities they would like to be offered by the company, which are then all employee organised. iCrossing contributes between 50% - 100% of the cost. These complimentary and subsidised activities, open to all, aim to promote a healthy and balanced working life. We've been sailing to the Isle of Wight, gone go-karting, regularly take part in football, basketball and volleyball leagues, visited the opera, comedy, plays, then music festivals, beer festivals, poker nights, gone Back to the Future at the Secret Cinema and chilled out with yoga and massages.

The Health and Wellbeing group are a sub group of ICAS' main staff committee which aim to support staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle and will therefore focus on issues of concern to their employees. Following on from the success of the Global Corporate Challenge they again sponsored as many of their staff who wished to participate in the 16 week, GCC event. This year they had 28 people in four teams, one more than last year. The aim of the challenge is to improve staff health, wellbeing and performance at work. The teams covered either walking, swimming or cycling, an overall distance of 33,213km over the 16 week period. In the feedback received 91.4% now exceed the 10,000 steps recommended. They promote healthy eating and supply fruit to their offices for all their staff to enjoy on a fortnightly basis. While they provided tea, coffee and water to all staff, following requests, ICAS have now added herbal and other decaffinated teas to this selection.

The Health and Wellbeing group are a sub group of ICAS' main staff committee which aim to support staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle and will therefore focus on issues of concern to their employees. Following on from the success of the Global Corporate Challenge they again sponsored as many of their staff who wished to participate in the 16 week, GCC event. This year they had 28 people in four teams, one more than last year. The aim of the challenge is to improve staff health, wellbeing and performance at work. The teams covered either walking, swimming or cycling, an overall distance of 33,213km over the 16 week period. In the feedback received 91.4% now exceed the 10,000 steps recommended. They promote healthy eating and supply fruit to their offices for all their staff to enjoy on a fortnightly basis. While they provided tea, coffee and water to all staff, following requests, ICAS have now added herbal and other decaffinated teas to this selection.

By creating an environment that is informal and friendly, and where people genuinely love coming to work because they get on with the people and like doing the work.

By creating an environment that is informal and friendly, and where people genuinely love coming to work because they get on with the people and like doing the work.

Hitachi have recently implemented visual performance boards. These help teams plan their workload, share their vision/mission, cross train and celebrate success. They have enabled workload to be levelled across team reducing pressures and enabling them to deliver a better customer experience. Other new working practices include Qbuster, refreshed Star awards, incentives, call evaluations, career progression structure and functional plan sharing.

All teams within the organisation take it in turn to hold events called 'Thirsty Thursdays,' which occur every 6 weeks. This event is usually themed and hosted by a different team on each occasion. The hosting team will welcome new starters and introduce them to existing staff members across the organisation. The event is paid for by the company and a wide selection of food and drink is available to all. The event is always a big success and most importantly allows the growing company to interact.

Directors of each area of Havens Hospice gave feedback and put in place action plans to improve on issues that needed addressing.

Directors of each area of Havens Hospice gave feedback and put in place action plans to improve on issues that needed addressing.

Griffiths & Armour have always taken a view to not only fund raise for local and national charities but help in the form of volunteering. Their local charity KIND has a Christmas campaign each year to raise funds for Christmas hampers and toys for families in the local community and a number of staff volunteer to help pack those hampers and deliver them to the families in need. Staff members have also taken part in bag packing events in local supermarkets.

Grand Union Housing have so many community initiatives as their organisations have a strong social purpose and one of their key corporate strategies is building and maintaining sustainable communities: ‘Project Mackenzie Community Cafes', two food bank partnerships, strive wheels to work, community kitchen, credit union partnerships, charitable donation funds, environmental improvement projects and ‘Giveagift'.

GGHT runs a trainee programme, taking 25 local residents aged between 16 - 19 and providing them with 12 month paid work placements based on the local estates and doing visible improvement work there, along with training to enable them to become more employable.

At Global Reach Partners they ensure all of their staff receive a comprehensive induction programme, to give them all the skills to be successful in their role as well as giving them the training and exposure to understand what the organisation does and how departments work together to produce the end result via their job swap timetable. Their induction programme is made up of a variety of line manager training, departmental job swaps, education on company policies and procedures and a session about the companies mission, vision, core values and culture. Global Reach Partners' sales team are currently going through an internal, in-depth training programme which has been hosted by a number of senior sales managers and team members. So far they have covered off communication filters, buying signals and will cover products and security of funds for the remainder of the year. They encourage their sales team to continue their own development by using the resources and experience around the business by planning training such as call coaching and meeting preparation.

GLH are more than happy to make any necessary adjustment to employees' working hours, conditions and arrangements, including installing a BT line, providing a laptop and network access to support employees with working from home. Again their Second Eleven meetings are important component of this work – employees are invited twice a year to give feedback directly to the Directors. They provide subsidised memberships to sports clubs and have company wide tennis and football teams.

Gentoo believe in celebrating all of their successes as well as the hard work and dedication of their staff. Each year their Chief Executive hosts their annual Grafta's black tie dinner. This year's event saw 190 of their staff attend and some receive awards from one of nine categories which include the Phoenix Award, the Bright Spark award, the Facilitator Award, the award for Collaboration, an award for Blue Sky Thinking, the Acrobat award, outstanding leadership and the One to Watch award for their up and coming stars. The awards have been designed to inspire the right behaviour in their employees. At the event they also celebrate the academic achievements of colleagues and the long service of colleagues. The Housing sector has faced a very challenging year and like many organisations both within their sector and across the UK in general, Gentoo has had a tough year but they've survived. In fact they've grown, and continue to make a huge difference to the lives of the people who live in their properties. In order to do this Gentoo's staff have given all they've got to deliver their challenging goals. In recognition for this hard work the Groups Chief Executive has given all staff an extra days holiday which is not only to recognise their hard work and commitment but also to improve their art of living by enabling them to spend more time away form work with their family and friends.

The company look at reducing their electricity consumption wherever possible, with measures such as the ‘Switch-Off' campaign, which promotes employees to switch off all non-essential equipment outside office hours e.g. printers, lighting and IT equipment. They encourage staff to switch their laptops to the eco or power saver mode and do quarterly audits to monitor this. Their IT team has installed the relevant technology which enables them to provide data on energy consumption across the various equipment within the office, from laptops to servers. This provides greater clarity on current consumption levels and better use of equipment to reduce consumption where possible. They look at business travel and try to encourage staff to use low carbon methods when travelling to and from work and client meetings. This is measured by an annual survey of staff travel patterns and recording the business travel to each client meeting. The company also have a policy to encourage staff to cycle to work, so if a new bike is required, employees can purchase one through our cycle to work scheme. All of our paper is 100% recycled and they measure staffs printing consumption on a monthly basis. They recycle as much of their waste as possible and this includes confidential paper waste which is measured and recycled, and goes towards reducing their carbon footprint. The company have an annual carbon footprint survey and offset their equivalent carbon emissions via a donation to Pure the Clean Planet Trust.

GB Group carried out an innovation workshop as part of the business year kick off staff conference. GB staff take part in a physically gruelling challenge to raise money for charity. This is called the GB Challenge and this year it was a 26 mile hike across the Shropshire Way.

The company provide personal rewards for their employees. Upgrade holiday booking, upgrade hotel, upgrade flights. They also do spontaneous parties on top of the quarterly, monthly and weekly socials. Training - they allow employees to do training that is not necessarily linked to their role.

The Association holds an annual dinner and all staff are invited to this. It is paid for by the Association and during the evening staff are rewarded with a certificate and financial reward for the five different categories relating to the Association's values. During the evening a special award 'Learner of the Year Award' is presented to an employee who has demonstrated a willingness to learn whether this be through their job, education or training.

FinancialForce.com offer rewards based not just on performance but on effort and contribution to the team and overall success of the business. They give everyone the flexibility to run their personal and professional lives, supporting people to make the right decisions good and bad. FinancialForce.com offer financial and stock based incentives that link to their Monthly Recurring Revenue.

The Financial Ombudsman participated in National Fitness day, focusing on simple ways to inspire their people to be more active. They ran free power half hour sessions in their on-site gym every hour from 7.00 am and made these available to non-members. They had a high take up and more people have taken up membership of the gym as a result of this. They also ran a series of lunchtime walks for people; they had a number of walk leaders who took their groups on a tour of the local area of between 30 and 60 minutes. These were very popular and also a networking event as people met other people from the organisation. A number of people that took part in the lunchtime walks now meet regularly to go for a walk. They have impacted people at the ombudsman by taking part in this initiative as people are taking exercise that they were not before. They ran a Back Care and Posture Awareness Event in partnership with Nuffield Health and their health and safety department. They put in place a demo desk set up so that their health and safety advisor could show people how to make adjustments to their own work stations for better posture. They were also made aware that they could have a desk assessment. Nuffield did back check with a spinal mouse and there was a physiotherapist to give advice and demonstrate strengthening and relaxing exercises.

Team building takes place at both company and departmental level and includes their annual Christmas party, their 20th Anniversary Staff Reunion, staff quiz and talent nights and team away days. They have provided time management training, work life balance talks, and nutrition talks. This initiative was designed to encourage staff to work more efficiently, to take breaks and to eat healthily - all of which should help productivity.

This year they have offered work-life balance and healthy-eating workshops. They offer a weekly yoga class and monthly massage sessions during working hours.

Fairpoint have set up a charity committee containing 16 self nominated charity champions. The purpose of Fairpoint's charity committee is to make a difference in the local and wider community through fund raising, volunteering and taking part in activities that help their community. The role of the charity champions that make up the charity committee is to organise fund raising events across the business They will lead and promote fund raising activities across the business, contribute to the monthly charity newsletter, attend monthly charity meetings, promote the Making A Difference framework across the business, produce promotional material to promote various charity events, encourage ideas across the business to help make a difference in the local community and promote and organise any social events across the company. A charity calendar is produced at the start of the year created by the charity committee based on feedback from employees on what charities should be supported this year. This meant that the company has a set charity or charities to support each month. Fairpoint set a target to reach £15,000 through fund raising activities, sponsorship and workplace giving in 2014. They were on target to reach this as they raised over £13,000 to September 2014 with more events planned during the last quarter of the year. The fund raising events and sponsorship that takes place in the company encourages employees to work together as a team and also makes employees feel proud to work for a company that helps the local and wider community.

The nature of Excelian's business means that they have a variety of career paths open to staff. This may be as a technical subject matter expert, project manager or future leader of a division/practice. For this reason, they have introduced ‘Excelian Academies'. These are a series of long term L&D programmes designed to support their staff in whichever career path they choose. The Excelian Leadership Academy is a two year programme for those wishing to follow a management career path, the Excelian Project Management Academy is a 12 month programme for those who wish to develop their project management skills and possibly become project managers in the future and the Excelian Capital Markets & Commodities SME Academy has a selection of courses available for staff to choose from to allow them to develop the skills required to continue to develop as an SME in their chosen field. This is open ended, with courses being repeated throughout the year to allow for attendance between client assignments. The Technology Leadership Academy is a three year programme open to all consultants working within the Technical Consulting Practice. Those enrolled within the Leadership, Project Management or Technology Leadership academies are assigned a mentor from their ranks of senior staff to provide additional support. For ad hoc courses, relating to business objectives or client requirement, Excelian offer both classroom and online options, allowing the flexibility required in a consultancy business.

Energy & Utility Skills' staff play a vital role in contributing to the overall success of the EU Skills Group, delivering objectives as an organisation, as a team and as individuals. Their Performance and Development Review process places importance on ensuring that everyone who works at the EU Skills Group understands how the work they do contributes to the overall delivery of their Vision, their Business Plan and their business success. They want their staff to share the success of the organisation. Alongside the Annual Review Process, their Performance-related Bonus Scheme recognises and regards employees' collective contribution to the delivery of the EU Skills Group's financial and business objectives by providing the opportunity for them to earn a personal bonus.

East Thames invests heavily in the training and development of its employees in order to maintain and improve the quality of service delivery. Through their achievement of the Investors in People Bronze award, and their ongoing commitment to its principles they have acknowledged the importance of developing staff skills to meet the long-term organisational objectives of the Group in ways that are consistent with their core values. The strategic priorities of the Group include a commitment to improve their capacity to manage their business and sustain growth. This can only be realised with a competent, motivated, and committed workforce. This is achieved by ensuring that staff have the materials, tools, personal development plans and training to do their job.

The H&S Forum meets every 6 weeks and includes wellbeing as part of its agenda. Actions that have arisen are improving the environment so that employees can make the most of their break times, sharing information on mental health and well-being as well as promoting seasonal flu jabs which are funded by the organisation.

Colchester Borough Homes continues to support employee development and employ a Training Co-ordinator. A wide suite of training is available to Staff and the most highly praised and valued is that of the annual ILM L3 First Line Management programme for new and aspiring managers. Managers carry out annual appraisals identifying objectives and L & D required to meet objectives and regular 1-2-1s to measure performance and identify ongoing training or support required and to listen to employees aspirations. CBH have a strong commitment to Health and Safety training and the multiskilling of their trades workforce where practical and possible. Professional qualifications supported by Colchester Borough Homes include University degree courses, AAT, CIPD, CIH, IOSH, NEBOSH, M.A, ILM3, ILM 5 and ILM7.

Colchester Borough Homes continues to support employee development and employ a Training Co-ordinator. A wide suite of training is available to Staff and the most highly praised and valued is that of the annual ILM L3 First Line Management programme for new and aspiring managers. Managers carry out annual appraisals identifying objectives and L & D required to meet objectives and regular 1-2-1s to measure performance and identify ongoing training or support required and to listen to employees aspirations. CBH have a strong commitment to Health and Safety training and the multiskilling of their trades workforce where practical and possible. Professional qualifications supported by Colchester Borough Homes include University degree courses, AAT, CIPD, CIH, IOSH, NEBOSH, M.A, ILM3, ILM 5 and ILM7.