Purpose Boosts Engagement

Coastal Housing's decision making process is bottom up which means on most occasions employees don't need to feedback ideas or suggestions as they are empowered to make decisions themselves / try new things, without the need to consult with managers first. However, there are a number ways thier employees can feedback ideas and suggestions to the wider organisation if they so wish. These are both formal and informal. Many ideas come from discussions between colleagues within the office. Employees are encouraged to get away from their desks and discuss ideas over a cup of tea in the kitchen. We have a number of social business platforms staff can use to present ideas and gain feedback from members of the whole organisation. Staff can share ideas and suggestions on the intranet and Yammer as well as comment on posts from others. Employees can setup cross-department working groups for specific initiatives/projects. This is extremely important as opinions are sought from each department and means ideas are not just confined to one area. Each department holds regular team meetings. Furthermore, individual staff members have a chance to feedback ideas and suggestions to their managers at their monthly one-to-one meetings. They also have a cross organisational communications group, made up of representatives from each department, which meet once a month to discuss ideas relating to communications within the organisation. This is a chance for all departments to feedback ideas and suggestions. Staff can also present ideas to the heads of service which are then presented to the management team.

Coast and Country Housing know that their people are their most important asset. They have a Health and Wellbeing focus group that meets regularly. The group have set up bike maintenance workshops so employees can have their bikes maintained and fixed. Also, the wellbeing group also suggested the Laughter yoga and Hypnosis sessions. These have been a great success with high take up. They support employees who take part in races, sporting activities. It is also acknowledged that focus on health and wellbeing and excellent customer service go hand in hand. People who are engaged in work are able to offer better quality service. As such Coast and Country Housing offer excellent opportunities for flexible working as they realise they are a huge help to people with children and those responsible for caring for others. They recently paved the way with their partnership with Carers Together. They are a local charity who seek to support Carers. Since this partnership was formed they have been able to support two Carers to remain in employment with Coast and Country Housing. This includes a year long sabbatical so the employee can take time to care for their disabled child. By supporting employees with a holistic approach Coast and Country Housing find the overall wellbeing of their workforce is vastly improved.

Annual summer and Christmas events, allows Clinical Professionals to be updated on their aims and objectives and to share in their vision moving forward. This is split between their locations in London and Reading, with all employees in attendance. They run a number of games days throughout the year, for employees to be able to give to charity and for incentives for the business. They also support local charities, and have entered teams into triathlons and candidate social events run by the employees.

Clinical Professionals hold daily WIP meetings, they have an open door policy for Associate Directors, ongoing training and provide support for all employees.

The organisation seeks to enhance the wellbeing of employees through access to a number of events such as fitness clubs, shopping events etc. on the business park. They also have an employee assistance programme, a bike to work scheme and an internal coach.

Civica UK Limited reward employees by giving them awards, C Star Points and thank you boxes.

CIPD are passionate about developing their people and highly committed to the learning and development of all their staff. They have an annual cycle of performance and development reviews and action implementation to address any areas of need. Their internal mentoring scheme exists for five years, received very positive feedback and has now been extended to include external mentors. They make available approximately 15 different training programmes to meet the tailored needs of their employees according to their personal development programmes. They have also recently launched an online training tool accessible for all staff which contains all their mandatory programmes in addition to approximately 250 additional online tutorials, case studies and self-assessment tools. They believe the best example of employee development and encouragement to take ownership for personal development is their annual Personal Development Allowance available for all employees. They can spend money on development related to their role or a future aspiration in addition to access to programmes.

CAP reuse scrap paper. Many of their employees car share and are encouraged to do so. They have switched to energy-efficient hand dryers. They switched to Mac minis from PCs as they were more energy efficient. They also have a “sleep” policy for the computers at night, as with Mac minis the difference between “sleep” and off is negligible. CAP have an ethical action team (EAT) for all environmental issues. Matt Barlow, their Chief Executive is part of this team. They have implemented a number of charity-wide environmental awareness days, educating and informing employees of how they can become more environmentally friendly in their work and personal lives. Matt Barlow is also leading a consultation into environmental travel to work. They also ensure that their tea, coffee and biscuits are all Fair Trade.

Senior Management at ChapmanBlack demonstrates their commitment to the values of the organisation through everything that they do. Every member of the Senior Management Team has come from inside the company and they would not have got to the position that they are in now, without demonstrating the values that the company holds dear. Their attitude every day is the best daily practice they use to demonstrate their commitment to the values of the company. ChapmanBlack have a strong ethos around leading by example, which sees senior managers prepare to, for example, mark up a Whiteboard with gridding tape or create a PowerPoint document; there is no job too small to not apply the values of the company to. This willingness to "get their hands dirty" and to perform even the smallest task with excellence, is the best daily practice.

During transition, Stephen Bell, the Chief Executive, has managed to maintain a consistent leadership style. Time is prioritised to attend every corporate induction not only to outline his vision but also to engage with new starters about their previous experiences and feelings about joining Changing Lives. He also attends every national staff council meeting. He champions the involvement of all employees in generating ideas and suggesting improvements. Stephen Bell remains highly visible, visiting each of their 38 projects at least once a year and spends time with not only managers, but also colleagues and service users. He also takes retiring employees for lunch. Stephen Bell is highly committed to encouraging the employment of ex service users into employment aiming to increase the levels from 26% to 33% in the next three years.

Cerner via First Hand Foundation gives back to community as much as possible. First Hand Foundation does various fundraising activities such as internal cake sales, movie nights to associates entering competitions such as Tough Mudder and The Strongest Man. There is also First Hand Foundation Football series and last but not least The Three Peaks Challenge. All the physical challenges resonate Cerner's efforts, as a health company, to keep associates healthy and active. Funds raised go to qualifying individual cases that have been referred to First Hand Foundation or on regular basis to Stephen Hawking School for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties where they primarily fund Sensory integration therapy that would otherwise not be available at the school. The company have also done a couple of nonmonetary activities - The Buddy Bag programme, which provides and helps children begin the process of restoring a sense of security and safety into their lives easing their transition through tough situations. The bags provide children with belongings they can call “their own”. The Christmas Wish Tree for Stephen Hawking School where the school identified appropriate gift for each child, this got then transferred onto a little card, put on a little Christmas trees around the office and each associate could pick up the card and buy a particular present for a particular child. All the presents were delivered to the school for their last assembly before Christmas.

Along with regular team meetings, the firm holds an annual employee communications event, which features presentations from the partners and senior managers. Amongst the topics covered are the performance of the various fee earning departments, information on future plans for the business and strategic projects. There is a question and answer session with employees being able to put forward questions and suggestions to the partners leading the discussions.

Calyx have a strong apprentice scheme in place offering work opportunities to school leavers in the local area. Their HR assistant and finance assistant came through the scheme three years ago. They have a service desk analyst who finished her training before the year and now has a permanent role and a few others coming through the ranks. In addition, their chosen corporate charity, Francis House, is a local charity and was chosen by the staff because of this reason – the team wanted to support a local charity.

Service, service, service, this is what C P Hart's Chairman believes sets them apart from the competition at all times. He sees himself as a customer within their business and provides an immense amount of insight into the customer journey, which helps them strive towards the highest level of service for all of their customers. He is passionate about them getting it right and has tremendous energy and drive, which is infectious. He genuinely cares about how their people are feeling and is always receptive to offering more incentives to motivate them.

Instant recognition: Employees are nominated for and awarded a bottle of champagne or a gift voucher for exceptional performance contribution, in particular living the Firm's values. Awards are communicated on the intranet.

The Wellbeing breakfasts, eight per year, are a huge hit with staff. Everyone gets to socialise with colleagues and improve their health and wellbeing! This year the ‘Wellbeing Champions' developed the concept of ‘mind-body link', looking at ‘the energies', raising awareness of the negative effects of stress on people's bodies, recognising that people are human-beings with different personalities, energy levels and interests. Successful new initiatives have been a visit by The Energy Doctor to re-energise lives! Establishment of a weekly yoga group. The ‘No Skills Required' staff choir, recognising positive effects on wellbeing of music and singing. Training ‘Wellbeing Champions' to deliver ‘NHS Health Chats' to motivate colleagues to make small changes to their lifestyles to benefit their long term health. Mental Health Awareness training sessions for Leaders. Following staff feedback the usual Wellbeing Day was transformed into ‘Feed Your Soul Fortnight' with taster Qui-Gong sessions, holistic therapies, wellbeing walks, health talks, ‘Mindfulness' sessions, staff lunch share, a health quiz, culminating in a morning of laughter with the Laughter Clinic! An added benefit was that all staff were allowed time out to attend two sessions during their working day and everyone was given a voucher for an extra hour in bed! Although a simple idea, but probably the most important thing bdht do, is to encourage people to have fun. Furthermore BDHT expect that this is part of the working day. The more they promote fun, the better they perform.

Everyone across the agency impacts on the success of their business, whether cost-savings, improving cash flow or creating award-winning work, so each month individuals can nominate themselves for the Impact of the Month Award. The board short-lists the best nominations, they then present their work to the rest of the company at the first Monday morning meeting of the month. Each member of staff is given a voting sheet with a list of the nominations so that they are all able to vote on a winner of each category. At the following Monday morning meeting the winners of each category are announced, and presented with retail vouchers from one of the Co-Founders. This contributes to the Star of the Month. Each month the Board vote for the Star of the Month. Star of the Month recognises employees from across the agency who have gone “above and beyond “to achieve success at work. At the end of the year, each month's winner's name is placed into the Star of the Year draw to win a chance to work in the international office of an Oriella PR network partner for two weeks. Previous winners have chosen Australia, India and San Francisco.

Brandbank receive approximately 125,000 product samples a year. They have ‘staff shops' where staff are asked to donate at least 30p per item, and in the past 12 months they have raised over £47,800 for charity. Brandbank give a lot of products to local housing trusts and soup kitchens. They give Easter eggs, toys and chocolates to local Children's Hospices, animal food to animal shelters, etc. The local East Anglian Children's Hospice (EACH) receives a weekly donation of products, which has helped them to cut their costs significantly. Staff are invited to nominate charities to whom they would like to send the money they raise. Staff are all invited to take part in things such as Children in Need and Movember during work time. They also do fundraising activities throughout the year at work to help raise funds, such as fancy dress days, MacMillan Coffee Mornings and cake sales.

Box UK hosts external events and activities on a quarterly basis, paid for by the organisation and to which all employees are invited. In the past 12 months these events have included a company BBQ, end of year party and go-karting. They also hold quarterly internal company ‘mingles' where employees are encouraged to take time away from their desks to get to know each other and celebrate successes. These events are catered for by the organisation and company time is also allocated to facilitate them. These mingles often coincide with internal competitions organised by the Personnel team. Previous competitions have included a photo competition, caption competition and “guess who?” competition, with the results revealed at the mingle so all team members are encouraged to participate and share in the celebration.

The construction of BMW change groups has created a mechanism for collecting real life feedback from key individuals and also the opportunity for those giving the feedback to also have the power to make recommendations for improvements and the authority to bring these recommendations to life.

Biogen undertook a community project this summer to refurbish a former local pub in order for it to be used as a tea room and training centre for a charity that supports adults with learning difficulties - Beds Garden Carers. Employees from across the business were able to take part, giving up their time both inside and outside of working hours. Biogen also supports the local Bedford Christmas Food Bank where staff are encouraged to donate food that goes to the homeless at Christmas.

Big Ideas' staff are important to them and so is their development. Line managers meet with their team members regularly to discuss their personal development. Each person is issued with a training road map containing set objectives. These objectives are always decided with the employee and if training/certifications are involved the company will reimburse the cost upon successful completion of the training/exam and they will also receive a £200 salary increment per exam they pass. Big Ideas also take an interest in staff participating in non-work related training. Each term they offer to pay for a range of evening classes. Each person can pick one course each term and these range from languages to art, dancing, sport and massage.

BHA's annual Star Awards is now the most eagerly anticipated event of the year. It combines an afternoon of fun with a series of individual and departmental awards, voted on by customers, colleagues and board members. This gives high visibility recognition to BHA's people's efforts. Throughout BHA they have a culture of saying ‘thanks' and recognising instantly those little deeds and efforts that can go unnoticed. All their managers and team leaders are trained to do that.

In July 2014, all Dealerships and Head Office at Benfield were asked to hold a social evening with their teams to discuss their dealership results. Firstly to understand the results, but also for the group to put forward suggestions to overcome the issues being raised. The main purpose of the evening was for each dealership to create an Action Plan which would have the biggest impact for them at a local level. Examples of actions included more flexible working - early starts/late finishes, to address work/life balance issues. Benfield are only 3 months into the Action Plans and this year's survey results will hopefully reflect a more engaged workforce. They intend to follow this same process when their 2015 results are available.

BDRC Continental has held a variety of team building events. These have included a Christmas Party; a summer day out and charity work with their favourite charity.

The best example of how the organisation supports employee development is through a supportive and approving culture.

As a result of strong performance across the teams in June 2014 the entire UK team from Bazaarvoice travelled to their headquarters in Austin, Texas for a global ‘All Hands' meeting which mixed receiving company updates with recognition of people, celebrating and socialising. As well as this day long event, the team were able to stay a whole working week to spend time in the US office collaborating with colleagues from around the world.

The business is completely transparent in respect of business performance to turnover, margin parameters and targets. When the business has experienced good or exceptional performance, rewards and recognition are given to all staff. For example the business achieved a record month in August and everyone had the attached thank you Rapper style poem from the Directors together with a bottle of Prosecco. The thank you was headed 'Record Month Rapped Up!' in a Rapper style theme and involved a poem. Each one was signed by the Directors with 'Rapper' titles. This type of reward is common place and can vary based on Company performance or to reward individual performance. The one off individual rewards can be anything from spa days, one off bonus payments, theatre tickets and hotel breaks to more public recognition and reward for high sales performance in front of peers with a themed awards ceremony.

Talking to the people. As a family orientated firm, the directors have recruited their senior people on the basis that they will be able to engage with their employees and positively impact their day to day working lives. As strong and effective communicators, they hold ‘morning huddles' and weekly ‘team briefs' that set up the day with a positive outlook and share key information to provide employees with a feeling of management transparency. Asons truly believe that their new management structure has provided employees with a means to engage with the firm.

Senior Managers and Directors are available and accessible, listening to ideas and feedback and genuinely doing something about it. Face to face feedback and collation of more ideas via the we are ASK Italian engagement tour. You can never over communicate, continuing to evolve their communication processes, checking how to reach all employees by testing new communication channels and asking what works and what doesn't for their teams. Striving to increase their green credentials and sustainability and telling everyone what they have achieved. Focussing on what they do well including team events, team and individual development, non hierarchical inclusive culture personal contact in restaurants, making time for everyone. They have a clear career path, they continue to make it as visual as possible. Adding in new elements regularly to the ASK Italian journey, to keep it fresh and providing opportunities for promotion.

Senior Managers and Directors are available and accessible, listening to ideas and feedback and genuinely doing something about it. Face to face feedback and collation of more ideas via the we are ASK Italian engagement tour. You can never over communicate, continuing to evolve their communication processes, checking how to reach all employees by testing new communication channels and asking what works and what doesn't for their teams. Striving to increase their green credentials and sustainability and telling everyone what they have achieved. Focussing on what they do well including team events, team and individual development, non hierarchical inclusive culture personal contact in restaurants, making time for everyone. They have a clear career path, they continue to make it as visual as possible. Adding in new elements regularly to the ASK Italian journey, to keep it fresh and providing opportunities for promotion.

Asidua works closely with the Simon Community in order to help the homeless. This includes raising funds and also providing gifts such as scarves, hats, gloves etc. for distribution. The company promotes a 'switch-off' policy for all electrical equipment not in use and energy efficient practices are included in all employee induction programmes. Equipment such as the photocopier, printers etc. have low power stand-by or sleep features enabled. The purchase of energy efficient equipment is kept under ongoing review and considered at the time of purchase in line with business needs. Asidua has also undertaken a server consolidation programme to switch off servers which are either older and inefficient or no longer required.

The senior management team actively look for ways to embrace and show their dedication and commitment to the staff and Group as a whole. The Executive Team have an open door policy and many chose to regularly work out in the open plan space so they are visible and approachable to staff. Further the Executive Team meet monthly to discuss the business and the current big topics, following these meetings the Executive communicate to all staff via e-newsletter and in team meetings on what was discussed, celebrating the successes as well as advising any actions being taken to address issues. Further, the Executive supports the Best Companies initiatives by getting involved/participating in the desk hops, email free days and meeting free week. Recently a ‘Meet the Directors' induction day took place in October. All new entrants who joined the Group this financial year were invited to the all-day event in Head Office. The initiative was hosted by the CEO and involved a number of presentations by the Directors and Executive Team. The aim of the day was for the Directors to meet the new entrants and for the new starters to gain more information about the different Director's roles and responsibilities and the parts of the business that they are responsible for. It is an initiative that the Group are keen to undertake twice a year so that new starters get the opportunity to let the Directors know what it feels like to be a new entrant.

Arrow Global has a multi-tiered learning and development framework, which starts at core skill training, progresses through tailored training and top talent development, and peaks with executive development. In addition, internal knowledge sharing is key, the company runs a series of lunchtime master classes where leaders from different teams across the business give an overview of their area of responsibility to employees from other areas. The free lunch provided is a bonus. They also offer team specific breakfasts, mini master classes where technical skills/best practice is shared.

With 2,300 employees across 60 sites in the UK, Europe, the USA and Asia getting employees physically together is a challenge Arqiva believe is worth taking on. They increasingly think of their employees as belonging to a series of communities looking for ways for employees to develop their knowledge and understanding as well as great working relationships within those communities. Three specific companywide team building events designed around distinct communities in the last 12 months are: Annual leadership conference for 450 employees from first line leaders up to their Management Board. Each has one or more direct reports or contributes to the development of leadership capability across Arqiva. This is a critical event as Arqiva strongly believe that great leadership is a fundamental component of being a Great Place to Work. Annual Sales and Account Management conference for 150 employees from around the world, each of whom supports or develops the relationships with their customers. This included commercial line management up to their Management Board. This key event focuses on inspiring great customer care, collaborative working, maximising opportunities to help customers prosper and succeed, and development of their people through sharing best practice. Safety, health and environment conference with over 100 employees attending from across all levels of the business from field engineers to senior management. This provides an overview of important safety, health and environmental topics related to their SHE strategy. Safety, health and environment is a key element of being a great place to work.

AgilityWorks have annual training budgets of £2500 for every employee and encourage training and development at all levels. They encourage employees to book training courses to ensure they use their allocated budget.

AgilityWorks have annual training budgets of £2500 for every employee and encourage training and development at all levels. They encourage employees to book training courses to ensure they use their allocated budget.

Adobe has a unique 'KickBox Innovation Workshop' programme that gives employees free reign to bring an idea to life. KickBox is a new approach for empowering employees to innovate inside an enterprise. KickBox is a way of innovating. The KickBox Workshop teaches it in fast-paced, hands-on fashion. Employees are given a red box. Inside is everything they need to become an Adobe Innovator including $1,000 on a pre-paid credit card with a step-by-step process to originate an innovative new concept and then use that money to validate the concept. No proposal, no committees, no approval. You just do it. KickBox is not limited to one idea. Employees learn techniques and gain skills that will be useful throughout their career.

Actavis have an employee reward & recognition scheme that promotes recognition through demonstration of the values and rewards employees with vouchers. Employees can be nominated by colleagues or managers.

Allowing the people of AMV to have a voice, is embedded in the company's culture. They have several processes in place to enable people to feedback ideas and suggestions. One example is the Account Management department suggestion box, in which everyone within that department is encouraged to post suggestions for improvements. The box is regularly checked and all suggestions are considered. Secondly, all employees at AMV have a free voice. It is engrained in their culture and everyone is supported and encouraged to share their ideas, thoughts and feedback to members of the management team. Thirdly, AMV use Survey Monkey surveys to conduct reviews of particular AMV offerings, which provides everyone with the opportunity to share anonymous feedback and insights and to share their thoughts on possible improvements.

For the past 2 years 1st Credit have been visiting Oakwood School in Horley to provide financial awareness training as part of the educational curriculum. Nine sessions were delivered this year by employees who volunteered their time to provide lectures on Credit and Debt awareness, Credit Scoring and Credit Histories, as well as how to be aware of managing Credit as a young adult. In addition to this they also support a work experience programme as well as a kick start your career programme where they offer support and careers advice. Oakwood School is an important project for 1st Credit as it's not just a community initiative, but an opportunity to contribute to the future of their local community by providing sound career advice, debt management awareness and an opportunity for the students to experience a real working environment. 1st Credit hope the partnership that has developed with Oakwood School, will continue for many years to come.

In the the first Wulvern Staff survey in 2011 only 47% of staff felt that they were paid fairly so Wulvern Housing have worked to improve this and in the 2013 survey they have improved this response to 67% of staff now feeling they are paid fairly in comparison to the external market. They have made this shift over two years by firstly in 2012 providing all staff with an information leaflet explaining how they benchmark salaries with the external market and how their budget is used across the business for pay awards. Feedback on this leaflet was that it was useful but staff would have preferred to have discussed it face to face and ask any additional questions there. Wulvern Housing accepted this and this year they held a series of drop-in pay workshops for staff. At these sessions they explained the process for benchmarking and calculating pay rises and then gave staff the opportunity to act as the leadership team and using a set of money make their own pay decisions for the business. The workshop concluded with a questions and answer session where staff could ask any questions or they could stay behind to ask specific questions about their own pay.

They have monthly awards for staff who have demonstrated the behaviours which fall in line with their values, passion, integrity and partnership (PIP). The Managing Director presents the winner with an award and they promote it through their news magazine, News at the Core, and the monthly company up date held for staff members. They have mugs, stress balls, stickers and posters all promoting the values.

Walsall Housing Group have a recognition scheme called Going the Extra Mile (GEM). “Going the Extra Mile” is defined as activities that have a positive impact on WHG's customers, colleagues or both. The recognition is not for ‘doing the day job' but for activities that are seen to be above and beyond what would normally be expected. GEM in the Community is a colleague recognition scheme that promotes community benefits and rewards positive, community-minded behaviour. The scheme is based on colleagues' voluntary involvement in groups or activities outside working hours. The Emerald GEM recognises teams who go the extra mile to protect and improve the environment by minimising the impact of the company's activities, promoting sustainability initiatives, or suggesting innovative ways for them to become a greener organisation. Colleagues can be nominated by anyone within the business and, if approved by the individual's line manager, their achievements are shared their ‘outstanding colleagues' wall in the main office. They also receive a prize, tailored to the team or the individual and have included restaurant meals, gift vouchers, flowers and days out.

The way W L Gore & Associates do business within their unique culture means the individual makes their own choices and is able to take control of themselves and the work they do. On a practical level and for real peace of mind, for every single associate they provide private medical insurance, dental insurance, and on site occupation health nursing as well as on site massages. They also have a PHI scheme, and an EAP for every person and EAP covers family members too. Another key aspect of wellbeing is via their sponsor, who gives focussed help for their development. Sponsors are chosen by the individual and in 95% of cases a strong personal trusting relationship develops where you can go and talk about anything such as work or personal matters in a safe and confidential environment.

During the London Olympics and Paralympics 2012, the company's North West Victim Care Unit ran a programme of events focusing on team work and performance, showcasing the Olympic spirit. The units ran events for ‘best commissioned services' for victims of crime and ‘most commissioned services' by a Victim Care Officer to boost individual performance. The team event ‘The Olympic Race' included a competition which promoted increasing performance based on the number of referrals for support that each team made to their community branches. The number of referrals made by individuals was added together to create a team total and was updated daily on the ‘Olympic Race' track. At the end of the 14 day period the number of visits was totalled and the winning team were crowned Olympic champions. Each team also adopted an Olympic country. All team members worked together to represent their country in the most innovative and creative way. They decorated desks and the wider offices in line with the theme. At the closing ceremony each team represented their adopted country and one team from each site was judged ‘the winner'. The results for the competitions were announced and medals awarded to individuals and teams during a spectacular closing ceremony. The event focused on effective team working to support the aims and objectives of Victim Support and services that they provide. Another example saw the finance team undertake a number of events based on MBTI and increasing individual and team awareness to support the team working together.

As a charity, Victim Support's purpose is helping victims find the strength to move on after crime. The work that they undertake focuses on giving back to local and wider communities by providing support to victims and witnesses of crime. Since Victim Support first began in 1974, they've helped well over 25 million people affected by crime. Over the last year we, they made almost 74,000 visits to see victims; made more than 1,167,700 phone calls to talk to victims of crime; organised 45,800 pre-trial and 124,034 on-the-day court visits to help witnesses prepare for giving evidence; supported 26,700 witnesses who were vulnerable or intimidated witnesses and identified a further 15,600 people who they felt needed special help at court. Delivery of their services depends on the skills, knowledge and time of their volunteers, supported by their employees. They have over 6000 volunteers undertaking work for Victim Support. They invest in development for their volunteers through training. This is imperative for delivery of frontline services but for many volunteers it also gives them access to skills which will support them in their wider life, whether in paid work roles, whilst studying or as life skills that they can use every day. In the last year they also launched their first apprenticeship programme and are currently supporting apprenticeships for circa 7 paid apprentices; supporting them to gain valuable skills that we hope they will be able to continue to grow and develop with Victim Support.

UKAR utilise the expertise of their colleagues by working with the Young Enterprise organisation to have a positive impact on young people in the local communities by sharing financial knowledge and experience through the delivery of the Young Enterprise Programme in local schools. UKAR are working with Young Enterprise to deliver the Personal Economics Programme which aims to inspire young people with the confidence, ability and ambition to succeed in a challenging and changing economy. At each stage, pupils and students work directly with UKAR people and through 'life map living' students are asked to consider money management, employment and their own financial futures.

Trustmarque structure their annual appraisals to ensure that development and support needs are identified, and these are followed up by the Learning & Development team. Guidance on the completion of appraisals and the format of one-to-one is provided. The organisation have rolled out 360 feedback for their sales team this year to support them in understanding where they are doing well, and where they need more development. Managers do not ask employees to do anything they are not prepared to do themselves; this gives a good understanding of the pressures faced by employees.
Managers assist employees in identifying individual development plans, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. They adapt their approach according to personal circumstances.

Triodos Bank continually gives something back to the local and wider community through their very existence and business model. They only finance organisations that can demonstrate a positive impact on the environment, society and culture around them locally and globally. Through their lending and customer relationships, co-workers and customers are aware of their local and wider social engagement and impact. The point is it's part of their DNA as opposed to a CSR exercise. As such, they find that both co-workers who are already socially minded, and those who are less so, after spending time working at Triodos almost become more engaged with their local and broader communities simply by osmosis. Community participation, engagement and social impact by co-workers is encouraged, and supported by the bank though away days, social events, customer visits. Their co-workers take part in local sporting teams pitched against other organisations. Many co-workers volunteer at local organisations, and their procurement processes seek to use local, community and/or fair trade suppliers where possible, for example the twice-weekly local organic fruit delivery, the fair-trade tea and coffee supplied for co-worker and visitor refreshments.

The managers are the people who manage the performance management process for their teams and they are instrumental in keeping this process alive and effective. They have regular catch-ups with their teams outside of performance reviews – this allows them to have an in-depth understanding of what support their team members require. They have absolute discretion in working with their teams to develop their own team culture based on what works for them as individuals and meeting operational requirements of the business. As an organisation, they have a strong culture of personal communication, they have no one manager managing more than 10 people, therefore the personal touch and knowing what is going on their teams is very strong at Trayport. Their office environment has been designed to encourage open communication throughout all teams with space for break-outs, scrums, stand-ups. They are empowered to reward by giving ad hoc thank yous to their team in the form of team dinners, drinks and Amazon vouchers etc.

Throughout the year, many Rooflight staff support charitable events such as Children in Need, The Nasio Trust and Nets for Malaria by organising events that are fun and raise money for the nominated charity. The company will match any funds raised by employees and also sponsor 14 children through their school years at an orphanage in Aligarh, India which they got to know through a relationship with one of their suppliers. They have an environmental policy including movement sensors so that lights are not left on, measuring power consumption, recycling of waste materials and the sustainable sourcing of food.

The Real Adventure Marketing Communications Ltd reward their employees in a number of ways, including recognising and rewarding outstanding work through their monthly ‘star awards' for individuals, and regular ‘team awards' for groups. However they believe their most unique approach is their end of financial year reward, as this is a package made up of different elements. The package applies to all employees and comprises one day's extra holiday, a gift of £75 to be spent on a meal or entertainment activity which is taken in employees' own time, a performance related or ‘stretch' bonus (for example in FY13 payments ranged from £250 to £3000), and an after-work evening party at a local venue, with drinks, food, and entertaining presentations by senior management and team members, reflecting on the year past. As the event usually ends after midnight, they provide taxis home or hotel accommodation for those who live further than 30 miles from the office. What makes The Real Adventure Marketing Communications Ltd a unique is that the package combines universal rewards, the holiday, meal gift, and evening out, with individualised rewards, the stretch bonus. It also combines celebrating as an organisation, with celebrating with friends and family, something their employees say they much appreciate.

The two owners are both incredibly hands on and available, even when they have a lots of their own work. They are fun, likeable, fair and encouraging and they work hard and lead by example. They get involved, whether it means getting up at 5am or partying with everyone until 2am. They do not forget their roots and strongly believe that their staff make the company what it is.

At The Midcounties Co-operative, openness is one of their key values. They try to be transparent with each colleague about what benefits there are to being employed by Midcounties. One way they can see this is by logging onto their colleague portal and viewing their Total Reward Statement (TRS). Their TRS shows all their benefits over the year including salary, uniform, health benefits, service awards, training, discount savings and more. TRS were launched in 2013 and was supported by a huge communication campaign and is backed up by ongoing poster campaigns at sites. They've chosen Savvy Sam as the face of Your Benefits and created a brand to have consistency in their communications to colleagues. Sam is a friendly reminder of what is available to colleagues and where to find their benefits. Sam's website has been set up for each colleague to provide a place where they can get discounts with external businesses online, read about Society news, see what events are coming up, hear about new benefit schemes, enter monthly competitions and chat to other colleagues across all of the businesses on the forum.

The Glenmorangie Company off assistance to quit smoking which is provided with support through occupational health. There is a Healthy eating programme provided in the staff canteen. Losing weight is supported through occupational health. There is support for managing stress through self help and counselling available through the private medical help line. Support can also be prrovided by occupational health.

Graeme is an approachable leader who leads by example. He is often seen chatting with all members of staff asking about their work and also about their personal lives. He has an open door policy and all staff feel comfortable in approaching him. Graeme's relaxed leadership style influences how the Senior Management team support him in leading the organisation, ensuring that staff are supported and encouraged to be creative and innovative within their work. Staff are encouraged to bring new ideas on how they can deliver better services to their customers. Graeme has been recognised for his strengths in leading Five Lamps by being awarded the North East VCS awards for his outstanding leadership and more recently was the winner in the North as Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Also during their recent IIP Assessment the assessor stated 'It was interesting to note that some of the descriptions of top managers chimed with the recognised features of inspirational leadership. Inspirational leadership is a quality attributed to leaders who are able to create a culture of motivation and commitment. Investors in People UK defines inspirational leaders as those “who create an environment of trust in which people can be creative and motivated to fulfil their potential. They tend to: Have passion, Have a sense of purpose, Be honest and trustworthy, Encourage others to share their vision, Inspire others to achieve their potential.”

The most effective thing Five Lamps does to give something back to the wider world is to help their customers and the local community address social/economic and financial barriers. Each year they will work with over 20,000 people living in the most disadvantaged communities of the North East. Five Lamps is structured with four business divisions. The performance and impact of these divisions are included in their social accounts 2011/12.

Managers set realistic personal objectives at appraisal and review these periodically during 121 meetings. Every 121 meeeting to to include time for mutual expectations – for the line manager to express how they want their reports to behave and for the line report to express what they want and need from their manager.

The organisation looks after and manages 3,000 acres of Triassic Pebblebed Heaths which enables over 500,000 visits a year by the local community at no cost to them. They gave over 270 local school children a chance to visit the Heaths and learn about its "240 million year old Triassic past", even meeting their own 240 million year old Triassic repile - the Rhynchosaurus! They also use wood fuel to heat their office and they are rolling out this green energy approach to other buildings this year. They have installed a 50kw solar PV array next to one of their business parks to encourage use of solar power by their business tenants and they have just applied to install a 4 mega watt scheme next to a larger business park in Exmouth to power all the businesses with renewable energy. They also provide "ride to work stabling" at Bicton Arena for employees who wish to travel to work by horse.

The organisation hosts "Skip Sessions" - i.e. skipping layers of management where each quarter five employees meet informally with the leader of the organisation for a two hour session where anything can be discussed and ideas and thoughts on how to improve the way they work can be put on the table and discussed. The only rules are that those attending may not discuss anyone not present and there are no formal minutes but the Director takes away the key un-attributable messages and ensures that they are followed up.

The central ‘Learning and Development Bursary' Fund – a commitment of between £10 and £15k is made annually by the Trustees to support professional development and the acquisition of qualifications by employees. Application is open to all, and an independent panel sits to assess applications.

Any issues or trends that come out of the survey results will be taken very seriously and meetings with Senior Leaders and Local Leaders of all zones will be held to discuss them. Depending on the results they may set up working groups to look into how they could make this better next time. The Challenge is very flexible and is not afraid of change. The staff's well being and happiness is more important to them than anything else.

Each new starter has a departmental induction which involves spending time in the various departments to understand how their role fits with the team. We ran a "Wanted Programme" where the successful candidate was awarded with our management trainee placement. As a management trainee, the team member spends a few months within each department in the hotel to have a comprehensive understanding of the hotel operationally. They receive one to one coaching sessions with the Hotel Manager and also participate in our Management Development programme. They receive reviews in each of their departments in order to track the progress they have made. The hotel is also partnered with Purple Cubed who administer the appraisal process and also conduct training sessions within the hotel. The Talent Toolbox appraisal system enables the organisation to identify and place greater focus on development needs.

TSL are very conscious about the well being of thier employees particularly as they have such a high growth company. They offer the usual well being initiatives such as paid for private healthcare benefit, employee assistance programme and a cycle to work scheme. However their private healthcare benefit is exceptional, their cover includes pre-exisiting conditions. It is great when they are able to offer colleagues with an ongoing health complaint excellent medical cover. This helps remove some of the stress of dealing with the medical condition. Following the feedback from their last years survey they have engaged EnergiseYou to run monthy seminars on a variety of different topics such as nutrition, sleep and how to achieve high energy. They are also looking at other topics such as worklife balance so they can extend this across the year. The new seminars have been well received by colleagues. They also provide free fruit, drinks and smoothies to give colleagues and added boost during the week. They also offer an annual free flu vaccination.

Stride Treglown offers university placements for those conducting environment/sustainable research projects and continue to work closely with schools, offering work experience for pupils whilst telling them about architecture, design and environmental issues within the built environment. A number of their senior staff also lecture at local universities and all staff are given time off to undertake voluntary work and/or trustee duties.

In order to build a capable, engaged and motivated workforce Story Homes believe they need to speak and listen to all colleagues at all levels. This is something they have built on since their first employee survey in 2010. The Aspire Performance and Development framework provides a robust foundation to build on and deliver throughout their workforce.

The senior management team work incredibly hard to demonstrate that their staff are valued within the organisation. Examples of this include an open door management style; regular walkabouts to chat and communicate with staff; being visible to staff in all locations, by doing regular visits to satellite offices and field workers and organising an annual away-day event for all staff which is purely about meeting colleagues and having fun away from the office.

Shopzilla run wellbeing awareness weeks, offer subsidised gym memebrship and other activities such as yoga and football. They also give quarterly massages.

The Saville Consulting Social Club organises an annual Sports day and BBQ. It is a highlight of the social calendar and sees cross functional teams competing intensively for the overall team winner's prize. Events include Cheerleading, Tug of War, Relay, Ultimate Frisbee, Softball, Dress the Cowboy and Fishing.

Save Britain Money have a Green 12 scheme, which is a performance management scheme which sets benchmarks for their new starters over a 12 week period. The aim is to allow staff to develop within the organisation and provides tailored support and 1-2-1 coaching for those in need. They have an improved retention rate and they feel that this is a direct result of this scheme.

SAS is committed to enhancing individual, team and organisational effectiveness in order to help SAS UK accomplish strategic goals. Providing access to cost effective, high-quality learning programs, resources and services tailored to the needs and requirements of the organisation. The aim is to encourage a culture of learning and knowledge sharing that supports the aspirations of employees and the organisation. There is support and guidance available to help employees and team take ownership of their own development. There is not an open programme of courses if the employee or team require anything from technical to soft skills, personal development to business skills, support and guidance is available and provided using the most suitable learning interventions.

A comprehensive induction programme, followed up by weekly training sessions, development workshops and ongoing e-learning ensures that Retail Human Resources's people are continually developing, learning new skills and staying ahead of the game in the recruitment industry. The fact that many of their people are approached by their clients to work for them and that in fact around 30% of their client contacts are ex-employees is testament to how skilled our people are when they leave them, usually having joined with no recruitment industry experience whatsoever.

Reed Smith financially (and with volunteers and pro bono legal services) support a number of key charities. Their primary charity partners which they have supported for a number of years include,Street League, The Prince's Trust, Providence Row and Create.

In April 2013, Redcats announced to all employees that they wanted to ‘make a difference to employees' and to ‘thank them' for their hard work so they developed a challenge. If they could beat last years turnover in sales (between April and June 2013) they would close the business for one day and take every employee to Alton Towers for a day out. The finance team developed a dashboard so everyone could track business progress as well as weekly verbal updates by line managers. Employees got involved and excitement grew as the weeks got nearer the provisional date in July. Two weeks prior to the provisional date they were able to announce they had reached the target and were able to have a day off work to have a treat and go to Alton Towers for the day. The fun team got on with organising the details of the day. Transport was organised via coaches, bingo games were held and football cards (monies raised for company charity) on the bus as well provided bacon or egg butties. When they reached their destination they received ‘fast track' tickets so no queuing on certain rides. Everyone could have a go on any ride they wished or do whatever they they wanted during the day. A private markee was arranged for lunch where there was an extensive buffet with hot and cold food. The weather was kind to them so sitting outside in the sun was a great option. The feedback was fantastic, everyone had a great day out, thoroughly enjoyed it all and didn't spend a penny!

Reaseheath College have found the annual staff survey to be a very helpful way of listening to employees and to seek their opinion on all matters relating to the College. In particular, staff felt the staff partnership forum was, in its previous guise, not as effective as it could be. This being the consensus highlighted by the survey a project was undertaken to review the structure and purpose of the Forum. The staff partnership forum is now a more formal channel for employees to give their views, raise concerns and share ideas with senior management. The results of the survey and the actions from it are shared with staff in a “You Said, We Did” format allowing staff to see how their views have been heard and acted upon.

In addition to its paid employees, the Hospice is supported by over 1,000 volunteers both at the Hospice itself, and in its retail outlets. The social capital created by these volunteering opportunities makes a huge contribution to the local community. Research by the Charity Retail Association highlights the very positive impact that charity shops have in their local community.

Pharmalink Consulting Ltd set SMART objectives. With these they allow a timely consistent follow up and development opportunities from both internal and external sources.

It was suggested by one of Pearlfisher's Strategists that a good way to ask people for their feedback would be to use Survey Monkey. They now use the anonymous questionnaire email tool to ask for staff feedback about all aspects of the company from where they should host their next First Thursday social event to lectures their team would like to attend.

Pagan Osborne have held several social events throughout the year, from quiz nights to a fireworks night at the end of the Edinburgh Festival. They recently put on a pizza and wine night to celebrate the successful move into their new Edinburgh office, and to thank colleagues for all their hard work. Probably the most memorable and talked about event was their participation in the CHAS beat the borders day. 15 staff members of all ages from 4 of their 5 offices, took part but even those who didn't enter were still talking about it. The day was physically challenging but the team raised over £5,000. Some of them are already asking if they can do it again next year! The most recent internal event was held by the manager of the Executry team – Fiona Shields. Fiona planned a half day team event in the Edinburgh office, where part of the day was spent looking at personality types within the team to help them communicate better by recognising each other's strengths and adapting their communication style to suit different personalities. After the session the team were taken out for lunch and then enjoyed the Edinburgh Festival. Additionally, several managers and teams have organised team events over the weekend, for example, drinks and dinner at one manager's house and an outdoor barbeque which the whole team, their partners and children were invited to.

North Highlands spend approx. £150,000 per year on our quarterly ‘Action Days' and social events that follow. They bring the entire company together, taking them off client work and forfeiting revenue, for a day of brainstorming sessions, team building and competitive games (eg: sports day activities, scavenger hunts, treasure hunts) and business updates. There are regular team-building events for the Director group. These are usually two-day off-site events which focus on developing camaraderie and community amongst leaders. They include both interactive business sessions and team-building exercises in the form of outdoor pursuits, eg – tree-climbing in teams. Additionally, everyone in the organisation is part of a North Highland ‘Family', to encourage social belonging, a close-knit feel, and help individuals to establish networks across the business. Each family is given a budget per quarter for organised social events, they choose and arrange them. Events range from breakfasts and dinners, to activities like cooking lessons, laughter therapy and circus skills training. This year they introduced a competitive edge whereby families worked together to win points (called “Puppals”) throughout the year based on events they organised and competitions at Action Days. There was a leaderboard promoting the number of Puppals won, this culminated with a sports day at their r 10 Year Celebration event where large amounts of Puppals were awarded. The winning Family was announced, and the prize was an extra day of annual leave for each family member with money to spend on treating an actual family member!

Managers undertake a review of their teams and individual employees and recognise when new employees are required or when a role needs to be changed to reflect the needs of the organisation.
They continually review the role of the individuals in their teams and consider appropriate ways of ensuring that what is required is completed. They support new employees during their probationary period with reviews at 1, 3 and 6 months in order to ensure they have all the required support they need. In addition to this, all employees have 4 weekly supervision meetings which are clearly documented with their manager and approved by the manager's manager. They also hold regular team meetings with team members along with other members of the senior management teams as appropriate. In addition most employees have a regular one-to-one meeting with their manager during which any issues they have can be raised and discussed. Managers will invite feedback from employees at team meetings and one-to-one meetings which are formally recorded.

MWH's chosen corporate charity is WaterAid which they chose to support as it is a charity which reflects their vision of Building a Better World through delivering clean water supplies. They have appointed a Steering Group and a network of WaterAid Reps within each MWH office. The steering group and reps organise a diverse range of employee fundraising events within their local offices throughout the year. Fundraising events include activities such as dress down days, cake and sweet sales. MWH also auctioned surplus office furniture with the proceeds being donated to WaterAid. We have an increasing number of individuals and teams who take part in WaterAid National events such as The Great North Run, 6 peaks and other sporting challenges. During 2012/13 they raised £15,660 for WaterAid.

The organisation encourages employees to take part in raising funds for charity. They normally match what they raise up to approximately £500 but in special circumstances, such as natural disasters, they have given £10 for every £1 raised by employees up to a maximum of £5000. As well as this the company would subsidise fund raising activities by way of supplying food and prizes for raffles. The company has a Charitable Trust where 10% of the company's profits go to different charities, mainly to help third world countries. They continue to support a hospital and school in Burkina Faso and a Children's Recovery Unit in the Philippines. Money is also given to support missionaries working in third world countries. The workforce are very generous and caring and are always doing collections for charity and taking part in charity events to raise money. Recently when one of their employees who was terminally ill was in hospital receiving treatment, the employees and the company raised money for the cancer ward of the hospital. They had a company BBQ which raised £1000 and with a whip round and company sponsorship the final total was nearly £2000.

Moneysupermarket.com encourage all teams to arrange team building events throughout the year. This year their marketing team (130 employees) took a day out for team building. Part of the day involved project updates and for the remainder of the day the team were able to enjoy dancing at a Salsa bar. Other team building events have included Go Ape and Go Karting.

When you consider that the stereotypical CEO of a fast growing, ambitious tech company are often aloof and sometimes downright scary, Peter Bauer strikes a very different note at Mimecast. Although the company now employs more than 500 employees globally, 253 staff in the UK and growing, Peter will know each staff member by name. Peter, together with his co-founder Neil Murray, continue to represent the DNA of the company, despite its rapid growth, and that creates a sense of togetherness and 'team' that makes the company feel small. Peter has a strong sense of personal responsibility for the future of both the company and the people he has hired to work in it. He is incredibly driven, works tirelessly, and expects the same commitment from Mimecast staff. It's not a place for a quiet life, but Peter has created an exciting, vibrant workplace where each employee feels they have a role to play in the company's future.

When you consider that the stereotypical CEO of a fast growing, ambitious tech company are often aloof and sometimes downright scary, Peter Bauer strikes a very different note at Mimecast. Although the company now employs more than 500 employees globally, 253 staff in the UK and growing, Peter will know each staff member by name. Peter, together with his co-founder Neil Murray, continue to represent the DNA of the company, despite its rapid growth, and that creates a sense of togetherness and 'team' that makes the company feel small. Peter has a strong sense of personal responsibility for the future of both the company and the people he has hired to work in it. He is incredibly driven, works tirelessly, and expects the same commitment from Mimecast staff. It's not a place for a quiet life, but Peter has created an exciting, vibrant workplace where each employee feels they have a role to play in the company's future.

Memex Technology Ltd believe that employees with good work-life balance are happier and healthier employees which is critical to the Company achieving its goals. In demonstrating their commitment to health and wellbeing they offer benefits that proactively encourage health and wellbeing, these are: £500 lifestyle benefit, which can be spent on enhancing any of the default benefits on offer or purchasing other benefits such as gym membership or dental cover. Should employees become unwell, they offer a free Employee Assistance Programme, which includes six free counselling sessions per year, free private medical insurance for employees with subsidised rates for dependant and family cover, life insurance, income protection and a 2nd medical opinion service through Best Doctors.

Memex Technology Ltd believe that employees with good work-life balance are happier and healthier employees which is critical to the Company achieving its goals. In demonstrating their commitment to health and wellbeing they offer benefits that proactively encourage health and wellbeing, these are: £500 lifestyle benefit, which can be spent on enhancing any of the default benefits on offer or purchasing other benefits such as gym membership or dental cover. Should employees become unwell, they offer a free Employee Assistance Programme, which includes six free counselling sessions per year, free private medical insurance for employees with subsidised rates for dependant and family cover, life insurance, income protection and a 2nd medical opinion service through Best Doctors.

Marlin Financial offer flu vaccinations and occupational health support.

Make is a 100 per cent employee-owned organisation; each member of staff shares in the profits each year. This business model engenders a genuine sense of ownership and entitlement and encourages commitment from all partners as they are guaranteed to be rewarded for their motivation and efforts. As a result, they are able to attract and keep the very best talent. Make encourages this ‘sense of ownership' to translate through into the practice operations. For example, all partners are encouraged, regardless of length of tenure or experience, to take on an active role in progressing the profile of the practice. Traditionally in architecture, it is the more senior architects that are permitted to network and to pursue new business, but at Make they actively shun this approach, instead encouraging all employees to network, attend events and to go after the clients and projects that excite and inspire them. They find that this trust pays real dividends in helping Make stand out from the crowd - both for the individuals who feel empowered and for the benefit of the company. This trust is also applied internally within the practice with broader ‘practice-wide' job roles rotated within the firm. For example, architects can volunteer to review CVs of new candidates before selecting those for interview. These roles usually rotate on an annual basis to ensure no one gets overloaded and that those interested can each get a chance to apply themselves.

At Magenta Living their unique, partnership approach brings positive benefits to the local and wider community as well as securing value for money. Through partnerships they are able to offer an extensive programme of resident training and capacity building, all of which is free to participants. Local organisations such as Wirral Met College, Lifelong Learning and Union learn work with them to provide training in a wide range of topics from dressmaking to computing to key skills such as english and maths. They are able to provide accredited training at their community properties which leads to qualifications assisting residents to become more able to access employment as well as building skills confidence and self worth. Accessing employment opportunities is important within the challenging environment many of their residents face. Their innovative partnership with Job Centre Plus through their Wow (Working on Wirral|) project sites an employment skills advisor within their team, again at no cost to residents accessing the service. Four residents have found jobs within the first month of this exciting pilot project. Their partnership with Partners Credit Union (also sited within their building) has enabled them to set up their Digital Deal scheme where they offer cheap, recycled computer equipment to residents with the option to access affordable credit. This is accomplished by budgeting training and IT qualifications to combat digital exclusion. Partnerships with social enterprises address local issues, put money into the local economy and assist in employing local people. They support a range of social enterprises including 14-19 Wirral which specialises in youth consultation. A member of Magenta Living's staff sits on its board.

Mike Sunley has been the driving force behind Lexington since establishing the business in 2002. His determination, positivity and motivation have ensured that the company has grown year on year both in terms of turnover and people. From the start Mike wanted to do things differently and this has enabled Lexington to develop a strong culture. It's more than Mike's tireless approach to the very best food, people and service; he's also ensured Lexington is recognised as one of the UK's leading contract caterers, with an enviable reputation as one of the best employers in their sector. In a recent Investors in People audit, where Gold standard was achieved, employees commented that Mike is 'visible, communicative, professional, fun, approachable and recognises people!' Mike was also named the 'Foodservice Caterer of the Year' at the 30th anniversary of the prestigious Catey Awards in July 2013. The Foodservice Caterer award recognises an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the catering and wider hospitality world, who has combined innovation with sound financial performance as well as demonstrating clear business achievements. Mike was praised for driving business innovations across the company and operating Lexington with strong people focused policies at the heart of the business. In a time when many companies were cutting back on investment in their people it was made clear that Mike's continued investment in training and people retention has paid dividends for the company's growth and wider business success.

In Legal and General their drive to create a transparent and straightforward place to work where all employees can perform at their best, is supported by the reward structure which is aligned to the performance management process. Their performance and reward process recognises how employees go about things, as well as what they achieve. A great performance is about delivering results in a way that lives up to the Legal and General goals, brand and demonstrates the six behaviours. An individual's performance influences their salary and bonus. Salary is reviewed each year against how they have performed in their role and the bonus reflects how they have got on against their objectives and how they've gone about achieving them. Their salary and bonus pots always take into account company performance and the economic environment. Salary and bonus are part of the Total Reward package and sit alongside a wide range of financial, wellbeing, community benefits and staff discounts.

Key Travel have a charities policy which allows employees to ask for time off to volunteer, be that their own time which we will then match or work time. They also match funds raised by the employee for a charity. There is no upper cap but their charities policy requires employees to seek authorisation for time off and fund matching before an event to enable them to ensure any potential monies to be matched are within their budgets and each case is considered on its own merits. No case has been declined to date.

The family fun day is a company funded event to say thank you to all staff at ITW and their families. They hire a venue and this year it was a pleasure boat cruise along the Thames. It's a great party, always well organised and it's great for team-building. The inclusion of family members extends the thank you to husbands/wives/partners and children of all hard working and loyal staff. Their team bonus fund is based on target achievements and allocated to an event for all employees as part of continued team building and recognition.

As an organisation, Irvine Housing Association believes employee development is extremely important. Some of the training they do, whether in-house or off-site is compulsory, but staff are encouraged to participate in any other training that they feel may benefit them or support them in the role that they are doing. All requests for training are fully considered. A new learning and development matrix has been implemented to record and highlight all training requirements for each post within the association. In addition to general training, the association supports staff that wish to undertake college courses. Several of their housing and customer services staff are currently working towards their level 4 diploma in housing. One staff member is studying towards a master's degree and another towards a marketing diploma. The association supports these staff by paying the full cost of the course, time-off to attend and also time-off to study and take exams. Some of the other courses undertaken by staff include NEBOSH, EPC assessing and talent management assessment. Staff also have the opportunity to attend appropriate conferences which include finance, CIPD, CIH housing, repairs and maintenance. Again, all costs, whether it is a day conference or overnight stay that is required is met by the association. Irvine Housing Association over the last couple of years has participated in the North Ayrshire housing careers trainee programme. New trainees undergo an extensive training programme and spend time in each department. Recently one of their trainees was successful in being appointed to a permanent full time customer services officer.

Sports & social teams are in place at each of IRESS' six locations to arrange a variety of events. The company provides funding for each team based on a per head sum of money. All of the sports and social teams work in close liaison with people at their respective locations to determine the type of events people would like to attend. They are then responsible for allocating this money in support of events. These social occasions engender a real sense of team spirit enabling their people to enjoy one another's company and interact with each other outside of the office. Each team organises a summer event and this year these included the previously named Avelo X-Factor night, a Poulton Palooza and a fun day for Cheltenham employees and their families. Smaller events are held throughout the year and in recent months, have included monthly meals, quiz-nights, inter-office cricket, football matches and trips to sporting fixtures, ten-pin bowling and the theatre.

The organisation created the IHG Academy - a public:private partnership model, helping local people develop their skills and take a first step into employment. One model is sector based work academy that is delivered in partnership with JobCentrePlus and targeted towards those not in education, employment or training. The model includes a City & Guilds qualification, work experience in their hotels and an interview with the opportunity to secure employment and continued development. During 2013, 27% attendees of an IHG Academy have 'graduated' into employment in our hotels. The IHG Academy won business in the community work inspiration award for work on the academy programme across the UK&I, specifically in Leeds, for the excellent work the academy programme does in the local communities, providing learning and job opportunities. Graduates follow a robust training programme to develop their careers which is aligned to nationally recognised qualifications. Hence, the IHG Apprenticeship programme started where employees can gain an NVQ level 2 and be assessed by their line manager whilst completing daily tasks. IHG's apprenticeship scheme has been recognised at the National Apprenticeship Awards 2013. The company achieved ‘highly commended' in the ‘new employer' category for the Thames Valley Region because of their commitment to offering new apprentices and excellent career opportunities, with over 100 places offered to date. A video of candidate success stories has been produced to promote this initiative.

Impact's vision is to be a great place to work, to be the best experiential learning provider on the planet and to be a model of sustainable enterprise. Being benchmarked in the marketplace as a Best Company to Work For is positive proof that they are working effectively together to make their vision reality and they are all incredibly proud of this achievement. At Impact they love to celebrate success. They have been lucky enough to be placed in the Times Top 100 List since 2005 and have attended every awards dinner. They know that their people are key to making Impact the best company to work for (even if we aren't placed number one!) To say thank you to their people they offer a number of places at the dinner to the entire organisation. They have awarded places to people who are nominated by colleagues for outstanding work, or simply by putting names in the hat. This approach is very popular with their employees as it recognises that their people have all paid a part in our success.

Due to the nature of their business many of their people work away from home, so to balance this, Impact extend social event invitations to partners/families wherever possible. Employees organise all social events, with time for organising and attending daytime events, given during work hours. In so many words they can't tell you all about their Christmas Party, the Impact Kids Christmas Party, complete with a visit from their Santa/CEO!, weekly Friday lunches, Silver Screw award or the End of Financial Year lunch but they can tell you about their Family Fun Day and Quadrathlon, reflecting the fun and inclusiveness of their social events. Their summer event is scheduled in the school holidays and they close the office for the afternoon to maximise attendance. Activities include bouncy castle, traditional games, crafts, a homemade piñata, canoeing and speedboat rides. Their CEO cooks a BBQ lunch and Impact Aid, their internal fundraising team, hosted a Great Impact Bake Off to raise money for their chosen charities. Their Quadrathlon is a four-part triathlon, including a lake-swim, cross-country run, mountain bike and canoe course. The course was designed and marshalled by their staff within their own hotel grounds. The competition was not just about fastest times, but also about the best fancy-dress outfits. Whilst there are small cash prizes the ultimate goal is personal glory!

IGD provides a freshly prepared two course lunch which is fully subsidised. This is a great benefit to all staff and is a great opportunity to encourage healthy eating. During the year different campaigns have been run highlighting the value of low salt diets, 5 a day and diets low in saturated fats. These activities are run in conjunction with careful menu planning demonstrating different food choices. During saturated fat awareness week all colleagues were offered the opportunity to have their blood pressure checked.

Hospice Isle of Man views learning and development as a vital part of its service provision. A life – limiting illness affects the body, the mind, the spirit, the social wellbeing, the family, and the care team. They strive to improve the skills, knowledge and attitudes of staff in all of these areas through the commitment to the theory of lifelong learning for all and work to continuously improve the quality of the services they provide. As well as providing courses internally for their staff and volunteers, they aspire to fulfil palliative care learning needs of those working in other health care settings. All staff have appraisals and this is an opportunity for them to identify training needs. Nursing staff have been supported to undertake degree qualification so that they have same qualification as new graduate nurses. This gives them the opportunity to apply for more senior positions when they arise. Everyone is actively encouraged to attend training in-house and elsewhere, they run communication skills courses, workshops related to palliative care and feedback sessions from international conferences as well as bespoke management training and mindfulness courses. This year staff have completed certificate in education, leadership and management courses, masters, counselling courses, advanced symptom management courses, palliative care conferences as well as fundraising and volunteering conferences in the UK.

Hospice Isle of Man views learning and development as a vital part of its service provision. A life – limiting illness affects the body, the mind, the spirit, the social wellbeing, the family, and the care team. They strive to improve the skills, knowledge and attitudes of staff in all of these areas through the commitment to the theory of lifelong learning for all and work to continuously improve the quality of the services they provide. As well as providing courses internally for their staff and volunteers, they aspire to fulfil palliative care learning needs of those working in other health care settings. All staff have appraisals and this is an opportunity for them to identify training needs. Nursing staff have been supported to undertake degree qualification so that they have same qualification as new graduate nurses. This gives them the opportunity to apply for more senior positions when they arise. Everyone is actively encouraged to attend training in-house and elsewhere, they run communication skills courses, workshops related to palliative care and feedback sessions from international conferences as well as bespoke management training and mindfulness courses. This year staff have completed certificate in education, leadership and management courses, masters, counselling courses, advanced symptom management courses, palliative care conferences as well as fundraising and volunteering conferences in the UK.

Managers are given simple to use performance setting template and guidelines to take their teams through. Each of the leadership team go through the business objectives at the start of the year to enable them to intergrate them into their planning for the year. Managers attend regular leadership away days to understand where the business is going and what is needed to get there. Each business area and region have their own deciaded HR teams that work with them through out the year to plan. Some departments have quartlerly people surveys to sense check where they are in terms of plans. With the help of the HR team managers are given guidelines and help to conduct team plans, including succession planning. The exec have set out their stall in terms of what they expect from their management team and have worked together to bring it to life.

Managers are given simple to use performance setting template and guidelines to take their teams through. Each of the leadership team go through the business objectives at the start of the year to enable them to intergrate them into their planning for the year. Managers attend regular leadership away days to understand where the business is going and what is needed to get there. Each business area and region have their own deciaded HR teams that work with them through out the year to plan. Some departments have quartlerly people surveys to sense check where they are in terms of plans. With the help of the HR team managers are given guidelines and help to conduct team plans, including succession planning. The exec have set out their stall in terms of what they expect from their management team and have worked together to bring it to life.

Harrier LLC have over the past 2 years delivered a 95% reduction in landfill waste and whilst this has increased employment through the management of the project it has also saved the business over 100k and has been recognised in a recent national award by DS Smith .

Harrier created a voucher system for outstanding achievements; this includes the "Employee of the month awards" and is delivered with all staff in attendance on a monthly basis; this not only includes the EOM but any other voucher awards made for special one off acheivements. This is then presented on the notice boards, intranet and newsletter.

The Green Room's most recent team building event took place at their last Vision Day. It involved splitting the teams in cross-functional groups and setting them a task which incorporated elements of each of their roles whilst encapsulating creativity (the focus of our business) at it's core. The aim of the session was: *Embed some of the key themes shared in the morning sessions * Encourage team members to 'think freely' and come up with initiatives that could positively impact the business * bring the teams closer together * enhance individuals' understanding of one another's roles in the business and how to work with one another's strengths to maximise results across the board * develop some competitive spirit in a fun way * Encourage teams to look at issues and opportunties for the business and come up with new solutions & initiatives The event was a complete success in terms of bringing the teams closer together and enhancing understanding and overall working relationships.

Line managers are charged with continuing to reinforce including making the link between each employees personal objectives with those of the business in order that all can see their role in delivering the business ambition. Creating a culture of openess where all are encouraged to express their views - in 121's, small groups/teams, functional and all employee sessions. Mechanisms to name the "elephant in the room" so that all conversations are transparent no matter how uncomfortable they might be. Constant ongoing training/workshops; recognition through peers twice yearly Special Achievement Awards, leaders, Breakfast Club, emails, thank you, functional sessions, line manager thank you, performance rating, feedback etc . Coaches/trains line managers re role/expectations; Encourage work/life balance policies/communications.