Purpose Boosts Engagement

The senior management team at Foundation involved all staff in the development of the organisation's three year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015. This involved meeting staff and customers at a series of "World Cafés" at which issues facing the organisation were discussed, and staff had the opportunity to put forward their ideas, comments and suggestions. Some staff also accompanied customers to customer meetings to assist them to take part.

Exponential have a number of recognition schemes in place. These include: Exponential-e stars – this allows employees to nominate their peers for good practice. All nominations are publicised on the intranet and particularly note-worthy candidates receive a gift voucher reward. Exponential-e annual awards – employees are nominated by the Senior Management Team for their contributions and achievements over the last 12 months. Awards include, Best sales order, Best Sales Person, Outstanding Contribution and the Directors Award. Sales achievers lunch – Every quarter, the sales team members who have achieved 100% or more of their target are invited to a meal with the CEO. Sales incentives – on top of the commission plan, the CEO runs a number of tailored product incentives which see Sales people win bonuses or prizes such as an iPad.

Exponential's Academy programme has been running since 2008. This provides an opportunity for individuals outside of sales to gain a first step into Telecoms sales. All candidates attend an assessment day and those hired attend an intensive eight week training programme on their products and service as well as core sales skills with follow-up and refresher training over their first six months. However training does not just come at the beginning of their career. On a wider scale all sales people have attended a training programme either to up-skill on Cloud or Voice technologies or their sales skills tailored at a selected vertical. The training team are currently researching providers for an advanced sales skills programme for next year.

Core manager classes giving needed skills to new and newly hired managers as required. Managers are measured on how well they coach and develop their employees as well as business results. Managers are eager to meet business results and often allow employees flexible work arrangements to accommodate both business and personal balance.

Directors and managers in the business are approachable and open minded, such that staff are able to bring opinions or suggestions to them to discuss. It is well known within the business that if processes become outdated that suggestions for improvement can be made and will be reviewed at the top level. An email account is setup so that suggestions and questions can be submitted electronically. The company also tries to integrate questions and suggestions into company meetings and conferences.

Directors and managers in the business are approachable and open minded, such that staff are able to bring opinions or suggestions to them to discuss. It is well known within the business that if processes become outdated that suggestions for improvement can be made and will be reviewed at the top level. An email account is setup so that suggestions and questions can be submitted electronically. The company also tries to integrate questions and suggestions into company meetings and conferences.

Having been re-accredited for ISO14001 as an organisation ESOS continue to recognise that they have a responsibility to ensure that the impact of their activities on the environment is kept to a minimum. The company encourage activities that reduce the environmental impact on both their local and wider community including: paper, mobile phone, printer, battery, stamps, aluminium and plastic bottle recycling. All PC hardware is recycled in line with the WEEE directive. ESOS also encourage car sharing where possible. This, they believe, ensures that everyone remains aware and active in the efforts to recycle. They also have a very active Charity committee who arrange a number of fundraising events for their chosen charity. Events in 2012 so far have included, fancy dress days, bikeathon, quiz night, summer family party and various raffles.

The rewards and recognition scheme provides a wide range of benefits ranging from financial bonuses, flexible time, caring for their health and well being by providing health insurance and gym membership as well as genuine help and support through any difficult personal times. Awards are presented at the annual awards ceremony. Similarly, the company also arranges team dinners for well performing teams and monthly social events for all members of staff to enable them to realise that the company value the contribution they are making towards the growth, development and expansion of the company. Financial assistance is provided for further education to different members of staff and time off for exams and study is also given. Staff are also invited to attend external functions throughout the year.

Each year, staff from across the UK choose a Charity of the Year that they will fundraise for. Staff are particularly fond of this initiative as the company also gives them the opportunity to take time out of their roles each month to volunteer for them. There are also countless opportunities for staff to host or take part in events. This year, the Charity of the Year was DebRA and teams from across the country really got on board with the volunteering and fund raising opportunities available. Events and fund raising initiatives included a PC Health Clinic whereby IT staff provided a drop-in service for faulty IT equipment to be fixed, an ‘Adrenalin Rush' day where employees took part in thrill-seeking adventures for sponsorship, volunteering in DebRA shops, a London to Paris bike ride and sack collections to donate stock to the charity's shops. Staff collectively raised over £50,000 for the charity, with a contribution from Crown.

Their corporate behaviours of Empowering & Motivating and Striving For Excellence both set the corporate expectations of how Managers and staff should perform and when they should challenge unrealistic expectations. The corporate PDR process outlines the number of performance objectives that should be set using the SMART principle. The HR team conduct a sample of all PDR objectives to ensure that they are fair and consistent across the organisation and free from any bias towards staff. Effective performance is rewarded within the PDR process with the bonus payment scheme. A corporate validation exercise process is undertaken to ensure that the performance ratings given to staff are evenly distributed and also free from bias.

Caerphilly County Borough Council recognises that its employees are its most valuable asset and as a result it is strongly behind looking after the health and well-being of its employees. This is evidenced by the fact that the Corporate Management Team (CMT) are fully behind health and well-being initiatives and receive quarterly updates on the strategy, progress and initiatives that the Council runs. An Employee Health and Well-being Group has been established to develop and progress the strategy across the whole of the Council. The representatives of this group are cross Directorate and include representatives from the Council's recognised trade unions. High level briefings have also taken place to all Senior Officers within the Council, so that they have not only been made aware of the Employee Health and Well-being strategy but have also been briefed on the Corporate Health Standard. Another initiative to show how seriously the Council believes in the employee health and well-being agenda is the fact that all employees have been given time off during working time to attend employee health and well-being events.

Caerphilly County Borough Council recognises that its employees are its most valuable asset and as a result it is strongly behind looking after the health and well-being of its employees. This is evidenced by the fact that the Corporate Management Team (CMT) are fully behind health and well-being initiatives and receive quarterly updates on the strategy, progress and initiatives that the Council runs. An Employee Health and Well-being Group has been established to develop and progress the strategy across the whole of the Council. The representatives of this group are cross Directorate and include representatives from the Council's recognised trade unions. High level briefings have also taken place to all Senior Officers within the Council, so that they have not only been made aware of the Employee Health and Well-being strategy but have also been briefed on the Corporate Health Standard. Another initiative to show how seriously the Council believes in the employee health and well-being agenda is the fact that all employees have been given time off during working time to attend employee health and well-being events.

Browne Jacobson recognise that people work hard on their behalf and they aim to provide them with recognition for their efforts. They provide a range of core benefits available to every employee from the day they join the firm. These are income protection, a group pension and life assurance which give their employees peace of mind during their time with the company. In addition to these core benefits they also offer a range of flexible benefits and the employees were consulted on what they wished to be able to flex their salary for before the scheme was launched. The flexible benefits are the pension, private medical care, childcare vouchers, cycle to work, critical illness, dental insurance, travel insurance and the ability to flex their life assurance up or down. If someone reduces the amount of life assurance they enjoy, the firm gives them the money back into their salary. Brown Jacobson also hold annual Wellbeing and Benefits Fairs. This year all of the benefit providers were able to attend to inform and educate as well as to pamper. Free manicures, cycle repairs, commute planning, head massages, healthchecks and hand massages were offered. The feedback was excellent.

British Gas' people enjoy regular opportunities to air their views on subjects important to them. Working as a team to address the issues raised is essential to maintain good workplace relations. To create a culture of ongoing feedback, the company not only coach their managers but also have more formal feedback processes in place. Their annual engagement survey gathers feedback from right across the organisation. The survey has developed over the years and now really focuses on those factors they know drive their people's engagement.

Visitors to Boots' Support Office in Nottingham are greeted by a “Hall of Fame” that extends along numerous walls. This shows the names and faces of the hundreds of their colleagues in the Stores, Support Office, Logistics teams and Opticians who have been recognised for their exceptional performance. The achievements of these individuals and teams are celebrated annually at the company ‘Best of the Best' awards and whilst not everyone in the business can attend these events, Boots make sure everyone gets to hear about their achievements through cascades and magazine articles that follow soon afterwards helping showcase the great work that goes on across their business.

Visitors to Boots' Support Office in Nottingham are greeted by a “Hall of Fame” that extends along numerous walls. This shows the names and faces of the hundreds of their colleagues in the Stores, Support Office, Logistics teams and Opticians who have been recognised for their exceptional performance. The achievements of these individuals and teams are celebrated annually at the company ‘Best of the Best' awards and whilst not everyone in the business can attend these events, Boots make sure everyone gets to hear about their achievements through cascades and magazine articles that follow soon afterwards helping showcase the great work that goes on across their business.

The Club organises and facilitates many events and opportunities throughout the year, predominantly aimed at their service users who are disadvantaged children and young people. These events benefit the whole of Bolton and its many highly deprived communities and although the events require lots of hard work and additional voluntary hours from staff, they are hugely enjoyable for all. A perfect example of this was Christmas 2011, when the Club's Staff and Volunteers made Christmas Lunch for 100 disadvantaged children and their families, complete with Father Christmas and a present for each young person and also Christmas hamper for each family. It was a fantastic and overwhelmingly worthwhile day for all staff and volunteers, local business donated funds and resources free of charge, and of course the children and their families.

Michael Saunders, the MD, has an open door policy and is genuinely open to ideas from everyone in the business. He gets out and about to all the teams in the business and gets involved in projects from the largest to the smallest. Once a month Michael hosts a group discussion where a small number of randomly selected employees get together to ask him questions about the company and make suggestions. Michael has a policy of sharing as much information as possible with the whole company which many employees have noted that the level of transparency is reassuring and they feel like trusted and valued members of the company.

To encourage BCM employees to report safety violations or close calls. They incentivise a periodic reporting system by raffling £100 every 4 weeks.

BAM have introduced various benefits for staff and identified and dealt with any issues identified within individual teams. Full analysis and a debrief of the Best Companies survey will be completed and all senior managers will be given feedback and asked for ideas on improvement. Reviews will be undertaken to evaluate the impact following any improvements implemented.

As an organisation asb law are committed to the well being of their people. This is apparent by their very effective family friendly policy which allows for flexible working/homeworking/flexi hours. Over the past two years every flexible working requests received have been granted and many of their people work from home or work an informal flexi hour arrangement. The company recruit part time employees, which is unusual in the type of environment they work in and have a sabbatical scheme to support those individuals who wish to pursue other interests for a period of time. They also offer first class benefits including a health care cash plan, which focuses on supporting their people for common ailments/conditions, provided for all staff. Cover can also be extended, at cost, to their families. A significant proportion of staff also have private medical insurance. The company encourage and support a variety of sporting activities from badminton, to 5-a-side football, to beach volleyball and operate a ‘Cycle to work' scheme.

Armajaro run a not for profit organisation called Source Trust that supports and promotes sustainable farming pratices throughout the developing world. They focus on solutions which enhance the farmers ability to trade, help farmers living in poverty to improve crop yield and quality, to create sustainable livelihoods and improve the long term welfare of themselves and their communities. Armajaro also own a company called 'GeoTraceability Ltd which creates transparency around the sourcing of commodities to ensure that their customers can reassure consumers that products are fair trade.

Arcus employees are wholly involved in projects concerning upgrading homes for various Housing Association clients. In this respect they are an integral part of providing decent affordable homes for people across the UK. Each employee also has the opportunity to volunteer for a charity of their own choosing for one day each year to help and support in any way they want. Offices are able to take a working day out to support specific initiatives in their local community if there is something they want to get involved with. Arcus have signed up to ProHelp which allows Arcus to commit their professional time as Project Managers, Architects, Building Surveyors and Cost Managers to making a difference in their local community by providing free advice and professional support. For example, we gave 250 hours of professional time to assist the development of a Community Centre and Synthetic sports pitch in Droylsden, Manchester. The centre will be used by various community groups as well as providing a learning centre for local adults and others within the community.

All staff receive BUPA care and have subsidised gym membership open to them. The firm is generous in its approach to staff illness and personal problems. The firm is able to offer flexibility regarding working hours either on a one off basis or as a longer term arrangement.

AmicusHorizon state their people constantly challenge them as an organisation to rise to the occasion – and what better occasion to rise to than the London 2012 Olympics? Claire, a Customer Service Team Leader at the time, pitched ambitiously that the organisation should hold their very own AmicusHorizon Games. With her appointed panel, Claire raised internal and external funding to make her vision to life. And so the weekend of July 7/8 was a weekend of sporting highlights - the British Grand Prix, the Wimbledon finals, and their very own AmicusHorizon games! Everyone got into the spirit of the day, proving they've got healthy hearts and minds. The AmicusHorizon band provided the entertainment and BBQ refreshments kept everyone's strength up! Thanks went to everyone who attended the AH games and made it such a success – especially Claire. And incidentally, they have now promoted Claire to Customer Services Manager!

Managers hold regular weekly team meetings to ensure mutually defined objectives are clearly understood, individuals are clear on why they are important and have the support they need to achieve them. The company empower their managers and employees to feel comfortable raising issues with senior management, as well as adopting their own flexible approach to recognising individual achievements. All managers receive training and development support to assist them in running appraisals, coaching for high performance and to understand how to motivate and develop their teams. Managers across the business go out of their way to get to know staff and take an empathetic approach to their needs and the Executive Team also makes a point to get to know all new starters individually which builds the foundation for the open-door approach.

Add People have various social events throughout the year. One memorable event was in November 2011 a team went Paint Balling. Ideas for the various social events are fed back via consultation with the employee reps committee. It was extremely enjoyable as most of the group had never taken part in paint balling previously, and again working in two teams which were mixed from all the different business areas, it allowed individuals to put a name to a face and get to know others from other departments, which ultimately breaks down barriers and aids communication within the business.

At ACPO Criminal Records Office, when staff return after a long period of sickness, they refer them to Occupational Health. For any staff who disclose they have problems at home that may impact their work, the organisation offers them the assistance of the Employee Support Line. Where necessary, they also make reasonable adjustments to enable them to work effectively.

Acclaim Housing Group state that due to the dispersed nature of their workforce, often social events are combined with work events. Last year during the Olympics, a number of sport themed events were held, one example being a Family Fun Day in Harborough and Lutterworth. Members of the team took part in traditional sports day activities such as family tug of war, football and sack races. Colleagues really enjoyed spending time together and as this event was combined with a customer event, they valued the opportunity to meet and talk with customers. The organisation's customer services team, who often are at the end of the phone but don't meet customers face to face, really found the experience to be valuable.

At WWF-UK they strive to create an open culture and people are actively encouraged to put forward ideas, suggestions, proposals or problems. As well as having an open door policy where people feel comfortable talking through their views with colleagues, managers and senior managers, people get the opportunity to attend all employee talks at least six times a year where they can ask questions of the senior managers, directors and others in the organisation. They run drop-in sessions with project teams and directors so people can go along and chat through their thoughts and ideas on particular areas of work and/or topical issues. They recently ran a ‘Question Time' event where members of the Management Team answered questions as a panel. They also seek feedback through facilitated workshops and informal networks on key events and issues.

Supporting local residents to transform their neighbourhoods through environmental projects such as multi award winning Kingfisher trail project. In the 1960's this 1.75 mile area, known as ‘The Brook' was a place of beauty, where local people would often go to escape the bustle of urban life. Over the last few decades, the area was neglected and it became overgrown and a dumping ground for rubbish. The stream clogged up and became filthy and foul smelling. Four years ago, a group of local residents decided they would bring the area back to the place of beauty it once was. Working with the local community, Trent & Dove Housing, the Heart of Burton Partnership, East Staffordshire Council and Staffordshire County Council, they have achieved a tremendous amount. The area has now been transformed, and is once more a place where local people can come to relax, enjoy and escape from the stresses of urban life.

Supporting local residents to transform their neighbourhoods through environmental projects such as multi award winning Kingfisher trail project. In the 1960's this 1.75 mile area, known as ‘The Brook' was a place of beauty, where local people would often go to escape the bustle of urban life. Over the last few decades, the area was neglected and it became overgrown and a dumping ground for rubbish. The stream clogged up and became filthy and foul smelling. Four years ago, a group of local residents decided they would bring the area back to the place of beauty it once was. Working with the local community, Trent & Dove Housing, the Heart of Burton Partnership, East Staffordshire Council and Staffordshire County Council, they have achieved a tremendous amount. The area has now been transformed, and is once more a place where local people can come to relax, enjoy and escape from the stresses of urban life.

Last Christmas The Children's Society had a carol singing initiative in their London office where they attempted to raise funds for their charity amongst the local community and shoppers.

Claud Regnard, one of Consultants has just received a Lifetime Achievement award from Help the Hospices - the national umbrella organisation representing the hospice sector. Claud is renowned regionally, nationally and internationally for his expertise in specialist palliative care. He is also known for sharing his knowledge and learning with colleagues within palliative care. Claud has devised A Guide to Symptom Relief in Palliative Medicine, which is used by professionals aross the world, as a bedside textbook. Claud helped establish the UK's first Macmillan Nursing post for people with Learning Difficulty and they pioneered the development of DisDAT (Disability Distress Assessment Tool). It has been validated by Northumbria University and is now used by over 15 LD and mental health trusts, as well as by university research teams. It is included in the Mencap website and has its own website – www.disdat.co.uk In 1999 Claud developed CLiP. CLiP - Current Learning in Palliative Care – is a flexible education programme aimed at healthcare professionals. CLiP is now widely used in palliative care settings. It is available free online at www.helpthehospices.org and has been formally evaluated by Open University, which showed that it is an effective means of delivering learning and improving learning outcomes. Finally, Claud also devised a clinical response to the potential threat of ‘Pandemic Flu', which was shared with other hospices and and subsequently shaped Help the Hospice advice, as his paper was made available online to all members during the Swine Flu crisis in 2009.

St Nicholas sets an annual operational plan with clear objectives for each department which should then link to team and personal objectives. Budget setting for the year is done collaboratively with managers e.g. fundraising targets are set by what the team believe they can achieve.

There is an open door policy by managers and a robust staff forum chaired by the CEO who can initiate meetings with management. Last year, St Nicholas delegated response identification to the various directorate groups. Results are displayed in chart format around the building. Actions became an agenda item on Staff Forum and Management Meetings.

St David's seek to enhance the wellbeing of their employees by offering Occupational Health.

Norcare Limited has a staff forum and a communication group meeting which allows employees to share ideas and best practice. Norcare also provides staff with the opportunity to raise issues through a confidential blog. Points are noted by the Senior Management Team and the Chief Executive and where required action will be taken.

Norcare Limited has a staff forum and a communication group meeting which allows employees to share ideas and best practice. Norcare also provides staff with the opportunity to raise issues through a confidential blog. Points are noted by the Senior Management Team and the Chief Executive and where required action will be taken.

Mosscare's culture and approach to staff engagement is to: - Consult - Listen - Respond - Act. Following this approach develops the trust of staff and gives them confidence to come forward with ideas and suggestions. Mosscare provide three examples of where this approach to engagement has led to positive change: - in the consultation on their 2011-16 Corporate Plan, a staff member encapsulated the approach of Mosscare with the suggested phrase "Pride in our past and passion for our future". These words resonated with the wider staff group and the boards of Mosscare and Mossbank. They were embraced within one of their strategic challenges and featured as the title to the 2010/11 Annual Report; - Their Mosscare in the Community Day, described later in this submission reflected the innovative ideas and suggestions provided by a range of staff from within the group. The success of the day was to a large extent, due to the belief of staff that their ideas had been taken seriously and were making a real difference and impact bringing benefit to local residents and neighbourhoods; - In 2010-11 a proposed staffing re-structure of the organisation was changed significantly following consultation with staff who responded with positive and constructive ideas for a revised structure which was embraced by the organisation as the best way forward. Success has been achieved through the revised structure.

The leader of Mosscare has a clear passion for and pride in the work of The Mosscare Housing Group. In leading the organisation he seeks to include, engage and listen to staff, customers and other stakeholders so together they can fulfil their vision of “achieving excellence in all they do”. Currently he is undertaking a shadow placement with each of the teams within the Group.

Llamau operates a core competency training matrix. Clearly listed is the employer's position with regards to employee development. In the last BEST Company survey they won an award based on the principles of how they operate this development programme throughout Llamau.

The organisation operates an open and transparent management style and their 'flat' structure allows quality communications at all levels. The Chief Executive offers free lunches to all employees three times a year when she is willing to explain and outline proposed changes to service delivery, changes that affect staff and any question which employees feel they want to ask. Since the last survey they have ensured all teams have a breakdown on the results and that they share ideas and suggestions to improve the working lives of employees. Examples have been the installation of water coolers and a tuck shop for staff.

Hospiscare supports employee development best through its comprehensive Learning and Development Programme. This in-house programme offers 71 separate training opportunities between April 2011 and March 2012. These range from one hour sessions on a ‘hot topic', to essential updates to support staff in their roles, to four day courses on Bereavement and Loss. The programme is needs-led and responsive, with managers and employees regularly being consulted on their learning needs. This programme is also informed through analysis of appraisals and the training needs identified within them. Needs are responded to quickly either by provision of an in-house course if demand is great enough and there is capacity within the organisation, if the need cannot be met in-house an appropriate external course is sought.

In addition to regular supervisions, all staff have at least two personal development reviews (PDR) with their line manager per year. At these meetings, along with a review and assessment of objectives, their development needs are also discussed. Development can be in the form of formal training, e.g. training courses, attendance at events or conferences or informal training e.g. mentoring, coaching and shadowing. Staff are encouraged to take responsibility for identifying, planning and fulfilling their own learning and development needs through the appraisal process and highlight any training that would be beneficial in their development, whilst meeting their need for job satisfaction and career progression. Possibly the most successful employee development programme is their mentoring scheme. A number of managers have undergone mentoring and coaching training so that they can mentor new managers, but also any staff wishing to develop particular skills or progress into a management role. Mentoring is a learning and development process which allows a mentee to discuss any issues or development needs they have with a more experienced mentor.

As an organisation, they have been looking at a holistic approach to Healthy Workplaces and considering what effect health has on work and work has on health. They plan to run a series of educating campaigns around healthy hearts e.g. eating well, smoking cessation, encouraging 5 minute desk workouts etc. and healthy minds e.g. managing stress and anxiety, challenging behaviours, seeking support, etc. Examples of some of the things they already offer to enhance employee wellbeing are flexible working, independent counselling sessions and a cycle to work scheme. There are also healthy options within the Goodwin Café. They recently conducted a Healthy Workplace Survey to find out what improvements staff felt they could make. One of the suggestions included making it known what the ‘points' values of meals served in the Goodwin Cafe are for those participating in Weightwatchers which has been put in place. Other suggested initiatives included pool bicycles to get to meetings and between sites, a fun group dance and sport leagues which are being considered.

Looking Back, Looking Forward staff presentation days, including ask a Director session. There are Presentations to management executive and all staff teams on the results of the survey and areas for improvement. EACH undertake presentations and discussions with teams on the survey results and ask staff for their ideas on how they can improve as well as the management team taking actions.

During the past year the CEO, Mark Molden, has held a series of workshops, incorporating all members of staff, examining and considering their organisational values and the behaviours that they want to encourage within Care for the Family that are reflective of these values. These sessions have been enormously valuable and have seen staff engaging thoughtfully and passionately with what it means, in practical terms, to live out the values of the organisation. The leader sets the tone for the rest of the organisation and empowers managers to move from being risk averse to risk taking. He is distinctive in that he shares his personal story and openly acknowledges his own weaknesses, which engenders a culture of honesty and authenticity in the organisation.

Individual supervision sessions are held with a line manager every 4-6 weeks where agenda items include a review of any work/personal issues affecting their work and identification of effective/ineffective competencies. Managers are explicit about what high performance looks like and focus on the results required from actions and tasks. They meet regularly with staff as a team to create a clear vision for their project area. They attend to individuals within the team, to ensure they understand their role in the performance of the organisation and feedback is provided regarding service level key performance indicator. They meet with their team regularly to share information and respond to staff questions and suggestions. They also take the time to relay information that could be confidential or impact in particular roles or individuals in the most sensitive way possible.

Their mission, vision and core purpose as a charity of beating breast cancer is a life changing method of giving back to which all staff buy-in and actively contribute. With this in mind, they recognise the importance of funding medical research, without which the charity would not exist and the key role the supporters play at every level to contribute to this. Staff are encouraged to volunteer at events and to fundraise themselves, for Breast Cancer Campaign and for other charities or causes. This year, all staff were asked to volunteer in October for one event outside the day job, an example set by the Chief Executive and Senior Management Team and recorded on a Wall of Wonder in the Fundraising Department.

In addition to flexible working opportunities, ASDAN also provides Work Life Balance days for staff to compensate for overnight stays (one day per three nights away). Centrally they have also responded to interest expressed in the Staff Forum and approved a Pilates class which is now available to colleagues on site after work.

A key part of Action's culture is that they have no hierarchy. Therefore words such as Senior are not used. Instead they have a Strategic Leadership Team. In the past year this group has undertaken its own review and development through surveying the needs of team/individual development and also shaping the content and purpose of the Senior Management Team. As a result of this the Senior Leadership Team now only meets six times per year and the items discussed are purely strategic and operational matters are dealt with locally or through regional teams. Stephen is a unique Chief Executive. He aims to meet as many employees as possible, operates a truly 'open door' policy and is accessible to every member of staff not just his direct reports. Despite being at Action for a number of years, he is constantly striving to make people who are blind or partially sighted at the centre of everything they do, through challenging and motivating staff to make them question they are doing the best they can and changing and shaping the organisation so it is able to meet the future needs and challenges.

Neal's Yard Remedies manage an employee forum that is designed specifically for employees to be able to get their business ideas heard. Representatives attend the forum from all parts of the business. In addition to bringing all the ideas directly to the table, and into the hands of the Director team, they also operate as a sensory panel to give feedback on all new product development. Monthly briefings are delivered by the Director team to all employees in the Head Office and the London Offices, to make sure that everyone is up to date on the company's performance and strategic direction. This presentation is then sent out to all stores.

As a multi-national corporation there are many initiatives that focus on giving back. In fact Medtronic have a Medtronic Foundation which provides over US$60 million in grants and donations to charities and causes over the last year such as the Japanese Tsunami but it is the motivation and enthusiasm to give something back at a local level which makes us stand out. Every UK employee is given one day paid to volunteer or do something worthwhile for a charitable cause. Around Watford where their UK HQ is based teams have been involved in landscaping gardens for the New Hope Trust. Medtronic are co-sponsors of the Great Watford Walk which most recently raised £12,000, giving Watford Mencap, The Peace Hospice and Watford New Hope Trust £4000 each. Sometimes an employee comes up with a great idea which Medtronic are able to support. For example, one of their customer service team suggested running a curry and quiz night for a local girl who was trying to raise money for a defribillator. Forty employees turned out for a curry and quiz night paid for by Medtronic and all proceeds generated from the tickets went to little Maisie's campaign.

Every staff member is treated with respect and as an individual - so everyone will have different needs as an individual with regard to personal wellbeing. As Greenworks Solutions Ltd are nationally based and most staff only visit the office weekly, the organisation cannot provide extensive on site facilities as most people would be unable to take advantage of them. They have staff members whose families have, or had, ageing family members and Greenworks Solutions have developed flexible working and reduced hours specifically to allow them to spend quality time with their family
Greenworks Solutions encourage work sharing, and part time work to fit individuals.

After the 2011 Best Company survey, Greenworks Solutions presented the conclusions to all staff and explained where they thought the business could learn, but asked for feedback on the areas where they felt the company could improve.

Bank Machine has a number of ways in which it rewards its employees but one of the most effective is their 'Employee of the Quarter' awards. Nominations are provided by employees for employees (not necessaily from their own department) who they believe have gone the extra mile in their job. Nominations have to be well detailed with explanations of specific instances or situations that have prompted the nomination. The winner or winners each receive £1,000 whilst the runners-up receive £500 each.

Bank Machine has a number of ways in which it rewards its employees but one of the most effective is their 'Employee of the Quarter' awards. Nominations are provided by employees for employees (not necessaily from their own department) who they believe have gone the extra mile in their job. Nominations have to be well detailed with explanations of specific instances or situations that have prompted the nomination. The winner or winners each receive £1,000 whilst the runners-up receive £500 each.

Almac's late Founder, Sir Allen McClay, supported by their CEO always considered their employees as an extended family - "the Almac family". That sincere belief in the Almac people is what sets them apart and makes the company a special place to work. Almac's CEO is hugely active and visible in all aspects of the business. He remains on first name terms with everyone regardless of position or stature and his informal manner is highly motivational and encourages an easy flow of communication across the company. Due to his friendly, approachable and flexible attitude he is known, liked and truly respected by everyone. He is involved in every major business decision right throughout the organisation, ensuring all aspects are resourced adequately and their potential is maximised. He is a true leader who relentlessly drives the company forward with confidence and passion.

They have an annual employee of the year award, voted for by staff and have a 5 and 10 year service award which amounts to a £500 bonus after 5 years and currently an Omega watch at the 10 year mark. These are awarded by their MD at company events such as the annual conference or Christmas party

We have an interative break out zone with amongst other things, a Nintendo Wii! Staff are encouraged to take a breather from their desks to use this area to clear their head and return to work with a clear and calm perspective.

Renaissance Personnel operates flexible working patterns to enable employees to strike a fair balance between work life and social life. There are free annual medical checks for all employees, free health assessments for Night Workers and staff are allowed time off to attend sponsored walks or the London Marathon. All staff are offered free basic healthcare which comprise of vital signs checks. If there is anything unusual, they are referred to their own GP. The employees are encouraged to take regular exercise which does not only have to be about paying gym membership.

powerPerfector serves as a platform for the voice of future generations. As the sponsor of www.footprintfriends.com, powerPerfector has made a commitment to taking an active role in supporting the climate change conversation for children. Their belief is that young people should be encouraged to be actively involved in the climate change challenge and that there is urgency in enabling them to actively make their own impact at school and in the home. An outcome of this partnership is a highly successful national schools initiative called ‘Wipe Out Waste'. This involved school age children presenting ideas to a panel of green dragons in aid of removing wasteful practices in the school environment. Over 15 members of staff were involved in this event.

Napp believe that the most important way to feel that they are rewarded, is for them to receive immediate feedback and thanks, from whomever their efforts have supported. Individuals who perform well are given the opportunity to take on more responsibility or become involved in different projects in the future. Whilst this is not a formal reward, it is motivating for individuals to be recognised in this way.

Napp believe that the most important way to feel that they are rewarded, is for them to receive immediate feedback and thanks, from whomever their efforts have supported. Individuals who perform well are given the opportunity to take on more responsibility or become involved in different projects in the future. Whilst this is not a formal reward, it is motivating for individuals to be recognised in this way.

Merck Serono have personalised performance related bonus scheme for each employee who encompasses their individual performance and also has an element related to the overall performance of the whole team in the UK. Numerous recognition schemes and award schemes to recognise their employees contributions and successes e.g. Ambassador Award, Gold Club Award, Best Pharma Award, Shine Award, Innovation Award etc. The performance of both individuals and teams is also recognised and celebrated both at department, team and company meetings both verbally and in presentations as well as such other channels as internal communications, publications, plasma TV informational update screen's in their Head Office to name but a few.

Merck Serono have personalised performance related bonus scheme for each employee who encompasses their individual performance and also has an element related to the overall performance of the whole team in the UK. Numerous recognition schemes and award schemes to recognise their employees contributions and successes e.g. Ambassador Award, Gold Club Award, Best Pharma Award, Shine Award, Innovation Award etc. The performance of both individuals and teams is also recognised and celebrated both at department, team and company meetings both verbally and in presentations as well as such other channels as internal communications, publications, plasma TV informational update screen's in their Head Office to name but a few.

Great Places has a charity fund which is set up to provide charitable aid to residents and tenants. The charity fund is managed by the Great Places staff committee and residents and tenants bid for this money via applications intended to make a positive difference to their lives. Examples can include supporting educational needs, life time ambitions or purchasing items that will help them in independent living. Decisions on applications are decided at monthly staff committee meetings and feedback is promoted to employees through a variety of internal communication channels.

Great Places are very proud of their "can-do positive" culture and this can be seen throughout the organisation at all levels. Employees regular receive emails of thanks from directors and managers which is gratefully received. Great efforts are made across the group to ensure that they continue to be a great place to work. One recent example was a scheme opening but on the day of the event they discovered rubbish strewn on the development in Blackpool. Staff from the nearby office all volunteered to help clean up the mess in time for the opening, a fact recognised by the chief executive and head of communications in an email to their manager.

Employees at Dolphin are allowed time off at the beginning and end of the day for medical appointments. When their employees are required to work over their usual daily hours, they may arrange time of in lieu by arrangement with their manager. Office hours are also limited by Dolphin from 8am until 6pm; they are also usually closed at weekends. Informal monitoring of hours takes place by staff within the company.

Dolphin recently invited a group of trainers from Africa over to receive a week of free training in conjunction with sight savers. Dolphin tries to ensure their environmental impact is kept to a minimum, they also have 'green police' in each office, responsible for ensuring people use the correct bins to allow recycling of rubbish. The company keeps a close eye on the amount of rubbish sent to landfill each year. By doing this they have managed to more than halve their amount over the last 6 months. They also try to ensure offices are not heated or cooled above or below 22 degrees and encourage people to switch things off at night, or when they are not needed.

The event that staff are taking part in this year is Race for Life. They also take steps to recycle office based materials such as paper, plastics and ink cartridges and the staff in the lab recycle solvents. They are moving to new offices with CRUK situated at the Angel in Islington. This will consolidate all office based activities in one place reducing their carbon footprint. CRUK encourage employees to use public transport whenever feasible and they operate a cycle purchase scheme for those who wish to cycle to work.

CRUK give merit based salary awards and bonus payments to their staff, the latter is based on a mix of company and individual performance. When staff have achieved 10 years service with CRUK they receive a certificate and pen. After 25 years service, they receive a £400 gift voucher and a certificate. They also include all those who have achieved a service milestone of 10 or 25 years plus in a celebratory lunch. Staff can receive up to £25 in John Lewis vouchers as a “thank you”.

Beckton, Dickinson UK recognise employees' contributions by the following; Local Awards Sales Person of the Year and Customer Representative of the Year. Associates can also recognize their colleagues instantaneously after a job well done or simply thank one another by handing out little recognition token cards called ‘Fish Cards'. These cards are available to everyone and the card giver highlights the reasons why he/she is presenting the card to the receiver. BD-UK also have a Special Achievement Recognition Award or SARA which is a programme designed to recognise associate/s that make meritorious contributions that exceed performance and service expectations.

The organisation are involved in the ‘Healthy Lives at Work' initiative and this will be rolled out at the new HQ. Employees are given more in depth financial information during staff days to reassure employees of their current financial position against their competitors. Lunch Seminars are in place to provide employees with an opportunity to understand what other departments do and focus groups are introduced and lead by senior managers to understand employee views on survey results and where ROSPA could improve.

Fairbridge holds regional seminars usually every two - three years and a National Seminar which all employees attend over a few days in alternate years. At these events activities such as sports tournaments, dance, quizzes, team building, encouraging employees to mix with others from different teams and job functions. Central Office and Teams also hold their own team away days, for which the focus is fun and team bonding. An example of a recent team away day included a walking tour of the new Olympic site followed by boules in the park and a pub quiz written by Fairbridge team members.

Performance recognition is being introduced as is rewards for ideas or innovation. There are increments for milestone recognition and instant recognition is awarded as appropriate. There are long service awards.

Staff can undertake one volunteering day per year. This can be associated with any RSPB activity, for example working on a reserve, greeting visitors, clearing shrubbery, bird counting. Many staff are involved with other conservation charities and networks, as trustees, local organisers etc and undertake at least some of this in work time.

Oldham Sixth form college support charitable causes in various ways such as Wear it Pink day, Children in Need, Comic Relief, Cake dates (staff bake cakes and sell them all for charity) all monies raised go to charity, Race for Life, Healthy College week etc.

Oldham Sixth form college support charitable causes in various ways such as Wear it Pink day, Children in Need, Comic Relief, Cake dates (staff bake cakes and sell them all for charity) all monies raised go to charity, Race for Life, Healthy College week etc.

Performance is awarded through the ‘Performance Management System' which links to the annual pay award. Natural England also operate a recognition policy which enables managers to recognise individuals or groups of people for contributions to Natural England. The pay and benefits package includes an annual pay award which is linked to individuals' performance. The company also listen and take steps to introduce additional flexible benefits which employees value. Some of the further benefits that have been introduced include career breaks, discounted gym membership, buying annual leave and salary sacrifice schemes to enable people to buy childcare vouchers or bicycles.

To encourage healthy eating, fresh fruit is available in the office for all staff. Employee Assistance Programmes are in place for managing stress and mental health issues. Staff are very sports minded and several of them have run in the Westmonster Bridges monthly run at lunchtime programme. They also have a Cycle To work Scheme which more than 10% of staff have taken advantage of. The company have also offered membership to the Civil Service Sports Council.

The Chief Executive is open and honest, consults with her staff and engages in regular dialogue with them. She moves easily from dealing with strategic to operational matters or personal matters - to meet the needs of the situation. She is happy "getting her hands dirty" and will not ask anyone to do anything she would not do herself - this is evidenced by the level of her involvement with staff and residents on her "Back to the Floor" days.

The Chief Executive is open and honest, consults with her staff and engages in regular dialogue with them. She moves easily from dealing with strategic to operational matters or personal matters - to meet the needs of the situation. She is happy "getting her hands dirty" and will not ask anyone to do anything she would not do herself - this is evidenced by the level of her involvement with staff and residents on her "Back to the Floor" days.

Keep Britain Tidy's most outstanding fun/social event is their annual Christmas Lunch, where they continue to raise funds for their chosen Charity of The Year. They also hold Charity Dress Down days, sometimes in conjunction with their own Big Tidy Up events. Part of their annual staff conference is devoted to fun/social events where again they raise money for their Charity of the Year.

There is internal management development training comprising of developing leaderships skills, influencing and negotiating skills, motivation, coaching and mentoring.

The leader/senior management interact with employees on a day to day basis in and around Head Office. They visit schemes, there are meetings which more junior staff attend and there are regular staff briefings. The Leader puts clients at the forefront of leadership, decision making and strategic developments and champions marginalised groups.

Global Action have a Christmas party, quizzes and evenings out and a Swish event.

Eildon hold the Healthy Working Lives Bronze Award and they are currently working towards Silver. Eildon appreciates the health and wellbeing of staff is important. There is free fruit in the staff room and various health initiatives are promoted through the monthly newsletter and displays on notice boards. Staff can choose to join an in-house staff walking group or book club.

As an environmental organisation, Earthwatch recognises that their day to day operation has an impact on the local, regional and global environments. They are committed to continuous improvements in their own performance and have development policies that enable them to put in place a strategy and process by which their efforts towards sustainable environmental improvements can be measured and monitored on an on-going basis.

There are live Q&A sessions through staff meetings and in service training events. Many managers work in open plan offices alongside employees and the CEO adopts this approach as well. There are regular updates by Senior Managers and the CEO via internal newsletters.

Careers South West has a reward and recognition policy and through this maintains a reward and benefit structure that is both fair and market competitive in the South West. A fair fixed point and broad banded salary structure is in place. The organisation offer flexible working, such as working from home where required, urgent family leave, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, parental leave, term time working and casual hour contracts. Overall their reward and recognition methods help to ensure employees are able to maintain a good work/life balance which in turn supports employee wellbeing within the organisation.

British Red Cross matches funds raised by their employees for charity with no set upper limit. They protect their local community by; Providing community based first aid projects educating people in life-saving skills, enabling them to respond to emergencies in their communities and providing first aid cover at public events and Working with the schools and community education department to develop children and young people's confidence, ability and willingness to help those in need, to be more resilient and support the principle of everyone getting the help they need in crisis. They have networks across the UK, and work with area youth managers and territory youth managers in their local delivery.

The force encourages and participates in many community focused events such as cricket matches and other community cohesion opportunities which are 'no cost' engagements. The Force has a sports and social club which has a wide membership with a minimal subscription which is active in organising social events such as a recent sports day at Headquarters. On occasions where a specific team are given an award of some description the force supports them in attending the ceremony to collect the award and are accompanied by a senior officer.

The force encourages and participates in many community focused events such as cricket matches and other community cohesion opportunities which are 'no cost' engagements. The Force has a sports and social club which has a wide membership with a minimal subscription which is active in organising social events such as a recent sports day at Headquarters. On occasions where a specific team are given an award of some description the force supports them in attending the ceremony to collect the award and are accompanied by a senior officer.

The Open University has established itself as the dominant provider of open and supported distance learning in the United Kingdom and a leading player internationally. It is a vibrant academic community that combines excellence in teaching, research and logistics to provide a unique brand of supported open and distance learning to a large and diverse body of students. They are consistently achieving high rankings both in research and teaching quality assessments and are in the top three Higher Education Institutions in the UK for student satisfaction. As such, the University is a stimulating place to work for academic and support staff alike. As you might expect from an institution with a strong commitment to social justice and education for all, their employees consider themselves closely aligned to the mission of the University and are proud of its achievements.

They have developed a wellbeing pack which has been distributed to all staff highlighting the benefits and services available to all staff on their physical, emotional and financial wellbeing. Compressed working weeks, flexible working and part time working are offered where possible.

Each office across the entire organisation has its own environmental champion who is in charge of maintaining and building the commitment to sustainable working policies. They monitor closely and record all electricity, gas and water usage across each site as well as any business mileage and the amount of waste they generate. They have also introduced a cycle to work scheme in an effort to increase the amount of ‘green travel' that the business undertakes.

Employee success is recognised in monthly and quarterly reviews. For successfully achieving a large deal a ‘ring the bell' email is sent out. To bring out the best in people, staff are given flexibility and are encouraged to work in areas of ability and confidence. Solarcentury are keen to listen and engage with employees and conduct an annual survey, where results are presented and discussed at quarterly review meeting and then posted on the shared drive and intranet site.

Employees are encouraged to take part in charitable activities and are given up to 3 paid days off per year to assist them. They have taken part in a number of events including sponsored cycle rides, Big Chill festival and a PR trip to Africa which was in support of SolarAid. SolarAid was set up by the Chairman Jeremy Leggett with the companies first year profits. Solarcentury's vision is to make a big difference in attaining a cleaner world and a sustainable future. Every 6 months, the management team meet with the Environment Champion to review progress, set targets and look for ways to improve their performance in this respect. In support of their local community they also offer talks in schools work placements for students.

The company encourages all staff to be involved in fundraising events and such events are supported by all members of staff from team members up to director level. For example, the Company has recently been involved in a Hope House corporate challenge, whereby the Company was given £50 and had to use the money for fundraising events from 1st September 2009 to 30th November 2009, to raise as much money as possible. At last count they had raised over £2,000 with monies still being collected. This was achieved through raffles; name the baby competitions and cooking lunch for colleagues as well as the team of directors matching the total funds raised from the raffle. They recycle and regularly reuse materials where possible, including scrap metal, cardboard and paper. They also support the local community and annually, SmartWater provide work experience to students from local schools who are interested in gaining an insight and deeper understanding of the work they do and experiencing a working environment.

Managers' Charter workshops have been designed to ensure managers are aware of their roles and responsibilities, these workshops are supported by the Managers' Charter and interactive development guide. A 3 tiered approach to management is available to cover the skills needed at various levels of management with a full programme of training available along with an accreditation via the Core Leadership Development Programme. All heads of units have attended an Exec Coaching for Performance workshop which develops their coaching and mentoring techniques as well as helping them to get the best out of their staff with the overall aim being to have more internally trained coaches available.

They are currently introducing a local green focus group at each NPIA site to harness resources and activities and are forming a network of green champions and creating a green area on the intranet. Pool cars have been changed to models with lower carbon emissions whilst conferences have been increasingly performed using video communications to reduce unnecessary travel to meetings. Since April 2007 NPIA have articulated their overall approach to environmental issues in an Environmental Policy Statement made by the CEO which is communicated to all staff through the intranet and defines the broad approach taken across all of the fifteen sites across the UK.

The National School of Government helps to support staff with all training such as tool kits and other resources. They also have access to a wide variety of resources across the Civil Service. A programme is being organised for professional coaches and mentors to be available for the staff.

The National School of Government helps to support staff with all training such as tool kits and other resources. They also have access to a wide variety of resources across the Civil Service. A programme is being organised for professional coaches and mentors to be available for the staff.

The HR department work in strong partnership with people managers in Idis to coach and empower them to be more effective in their roles. To encourage people managers to further develop their skills the company support and fund external qualifications and 360 feedback is provided annually to senior managers, members of the directors team also have access to external business coaches as well as Management and Leadership academies.

The HPA encourages personal growth and many staff use the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) route to ensure that they are up to date. The main centre's run a number of lunchtime seminars on a diverse range of scientific topics. These are open to all staff irrespective of discipline. They have strong collaborative arrangements with a number of professional and academic institutions allowing for the interchange of ideas, some of this takes place nationally and internationally.

The Equality Commission has a dedicated environmental champion who is responsible for driving forward their efforts to reduce the impact they have on the environment. They recycle wherever possible and all paper is sent away for shredding. All divisions have recycling bins on every floor. These include bins for plastic bottles, general waste, non confidential paper and cans. They are currently reviewing their Corporate Responsibility Policy which is to be put in place in 2010.

People managers are given a great deal of support. There is a Management Development Programme in place and the types of training they might receive includes mandatory training, corporate level training and divisional / individual training. 360 feed back is given as part of the Management Development Programme and internal coaching and mentoring is continual.

The organisation awards employees with a High Achiever Reward and Recognition Programme. They also have a Milestone Recognition award that is awarded to employees at 5 year intervals. Instant Recognition is recognised through a choice of small gifts or gift vouchers. Rewards for ideas or innovation are also awarded to staff for special awards, which are part of the High Achiever Programme.

The organisation awards employees with a High Achiever Reward and Recognition Programme. They also have a Milestone Recognition award that is awarded to employees at 5 year intervals. Instant Recognition is recognised through a choice of small gifts or gift vouchers. Rewards for ideas or innovation are also awarded to staff for special awards, which are part of the High Achiever Programme.

This organisation provides a range of different team activities through out the year such as quiz nights and buffet in the local pub and a party at Christmas. They recently had a treasure hunt in Windsor town centre for all employees followed by river boat trip in the evening.

The organisations Green Committee has recently been set up, since then there has been a range of changes within the workplace and they have also implemented a better recycling programme, they have also set up a cycle to work scheme and are trying to actively promote car sharing. Employees are encouraged to take part in various charitable activities and charity days in the office such as Jeans for Genes and Breast Cancer days.

The Baxter International Foundation helps non-profit organisations expand access to healthcare around the world. This foundation focuses on improving the quality and accessibility of direct healthcare services, with a special emphasis on the needs of the disadvantaged and children. Baxter also get involved in a number of local initiatives to support the community including volunteering at the local school which involved planting bulbs in their garden, painting the local sports pavilion, clearing rubbish to give it a general tidy up and sponsoring the local youth soccer academy.

Amnesty International UK values staff opinions and they are a democratic organisation. There are no barriers between grades, so if you are in a B Grade role you can move to a D Grade role if you can do the job. AIUK isn't a hierarchal organisation.

Annually, Amgen supports one national charity plus one charity local to each site. The nominated charities are reviewed annually. There is a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and employees are invited to submit their nominations for charitable support to the CSR Committee. Issues associated with Amgen's impact on the environment are managed through the Facilities Operations team. The team regularly reviews Amgen's environmental programme and looks for new ways to improve their efforts and reduce their impact on the environment. Ideas are discussed at the Staff Consultation Forum. Amgen currently have a recycling programme and have switched many of their stationery products over to recycled alternatives. Amgen monitor the levels of waste that they produce, looking at recyclables versus waste going to landfill. Amgen also monitor their power usage so they can review the impact of any energy initiatives. The travel policy has targets set to reduce things like single car occupancy and Amgen run travel surveys to understand how their staff travel to work.

Their Talent Management Programme help's the company identify, develop and retain talented staff. Managers can undertake structured training and development programmes to stretch them beyond the level they are currently operating and to achieve their identified goals.

Individual departments are able to operate their own employee award and recognition schemes, in addition to this in April, managers may nominate their staff to receive a significant additional contribution payment and each year the Trust's National Star awards recognises the particular achievements of their clients, employer partners and staff.

They offer a cash back scheme to support employees with cost of dentist, optician bills, certain treatments and provision of counselling service. Contributions are given towards gym membership or other physical activities of choice. There are also relaxation areas and monthly visits from a practitioner providing on-site chair massages.

They offer a cash back scheme to support employees with cost of dentist, optician bills, certain treatments and provision of counselling service. Contributions are given towards gym membership or other physical activities of choice. There are also relaxation areas and monthly visits from a practitioner providing on-site chair massages.