The organisation has 17 trained Mental Health First Aiders across the business and its Employee Assistance Programme gives staff multiple avenues to discuss their mental health in an open and confidential manner. The HR Team also run Mental Health in the Workplace sessions for Managers, which are compulsory for them to attend.

AJ Bell publish a regular series of interviews with its CEO and other members of the Executive Committee to its staff intranet. The videos cover business and performance updates, as well as personal reflections, and support the organisation’s work on an open and accountable culture. They also ensure staff receive a consistent message from leaders.

It has introduced regular 1-1 meetings with each employee which gives the opportunity for each person to discuss their goals and for managers to check each person is ok. It also has a suggestion box to be raised at each SMT meeting for discussion.

Just Digital has a golden ticket reward and recognition scheme. This is peer-to-peer recognition and employees are able to award a ticket to another colleague and for that, in exchange, they receive a small gift. That ticket goes into a quarterly draw and then in turn an annual draw to receive bigger prizes.

The company uses a platform called Fourth as a way to communicate rota and employees can check their payslips and other relevant information. It uploads any new benefits, policies and procedures, and communicates good news stories and general updates. Fourth has been used for less than a year but has been well received.

‘Time doesn’t stand still and neither do we’. This is why Rudding Park Hotels approaches talent with an emphasis on ROI - Return on Individuals. People are the key ingredient to the company; people collaborate to create timeless memories, empathise with those around them, and trust others to do what they say will do.

Seed introduced a 'buddy system', where every month employees would be buddied up with a colleague and have 20/30-minute weekly calls where they could catch up about anything non-work related. It introduced this as a way of imitating the 'water-cooler chats' that would happen in the office.

One of its recent employee engagement surveys identified how Seed should support the team with progression; the organisation created a clear development guide which gave staff a clear view of how to develop. The structure gave focus on development in the areas employees wanted without being restricted by a single job title.

RSM UK has an annual wellbeing campaign called ‘JanYOUary’ which is designed to help its people to invest time in themselves, supported by a month-long calendar with activity ideas. Each year, the campaign’s focus is adapted to keep it relevant. The organisation has also signed the Global Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health pledge.

The organisation utilises open communication between all levels of the business through its Employee Voice Champions (responsible for improving the employee experience at RSM UK), Talk to the Top (employees meet with the leadership team to discuss issues), and Diversity and Inclusion Network Groups (helping to shape the organisation’s EDI policies).

Employees at The Pedder Group have a clear pathway mapped out that demonstrates how progression can be attained and how the organisation will provide the tools and support to do this. It has established a ‘Fast-track to Manager’ programme which provides year-round training and clear targets to help the employee towards management positions.

The organisation values communicating clearly to employees who it is, what it does, and how it does it. To achieve this, it maintains open lines of communication from the top to the bottom through its Brand Book and Corporate Brochure. These resources are regularly updated ensuring employees have access to the latest organisation information.

Care, compassion, and commitment are the values that the senior management team tries to instil into every employee at PJ Care. They all support their individual teams but also work hard to build strong relationships with other teams across all areas of the business, whether that's the frontline staff or the support teams.

The average hourly rate for PJ Care’s staff for males was £12.35, and for females, it was £12.81, showing that gender has no bearing on pay. Almost all of the company’s registered managers and senior clinical staff are female, selected solely on merit, with development plans in place for all to achieve higher positions.

The organisation offers a recognition award of up to £500 to employees who make an extraordinary effort, contribution, and/or sustain an exemplary level of exceptional performance. As some of the company’s projects remain open over the Christmas break, it has introduced a payment for staff who cover Christmas Day.

Visibility and communication is essential to the organisation. The results of the last internal pulse survey were shared with staff in January through a company-wide video call by the Chief Operating Officer. The company culture is driven by these surveys, so communicating them with staff is treated with the importance it deserves.

The organisation provides gym membership for its employees which includes access to the flagship Fitness First gym in the basement of the building. It also launched the Listening Squad to offer support and guidance to employees in need. They are available for regular support and promoted the Time to Talk Week.

All teams have morning meetings to get them motivated. Activities include spinning a wheel to win a prize. Team nights out aren’t just about drinking, but also doing competitive activities or games such as bowling, escape room and shuffleboard. On a Friday each month it holds a fun activity within the office like ‘X-Factor Friday’.