Giving Something Back - The extent to which employees feel their organisation has a positive impact on society
Giving Something Back focuses on the organisation’s social responsibilities. If key factors such as ‘Leadership’ and ‘My Manager’ are performing well, it can influence the improvement of all the other factors, boosting your overall engagement.
New starters get an induction session and ‘welcome box’ related to their new role, including a notepad, gloves, travel mug… and a sweet treat! They also get a buddy to support them while learning their new position. There are also plans for an ‘onboarding’ portal, bringing together helpful documents and FAQs.
The Group promotes internally whenever it can, supporting its people with training to gain the skills and confidence to go for the next level up. There are apprenticeship schemes and a graduate scheme giving individuals experience in the departments they want to work in. And the organisation will fund professional and degree-level qualifications.
Jigsaw Homes Group aims to be carbon neutral by 2050 through its ‘Be Zero’ sustainability plan. It has a sustainability coordinator who will deliver training to all employees during 2023 on how to be more environmentally responsible, such as through carbon literacy training, so they can channel this into their roles.
The agency's helping its employees through the cost-of-living crisis. There've been special salary increases for more than half of staff, and a senior manager-donated 'Energy Fund' offering a one-off, interest-free emergency loan to help with bills. There's also been a 'Talk Money' week with advice sessions, and staff have access to a free-of-charge financial advisor.
ITGers have "focus, spark and drive", and they're supported to realise their potential and hone their skills. Development opportunities include apprenticeships, management training and ITG's in-house digital and creative academies. The agency's Circuit programme rotates students around the business over 12 months to help them find their passion. Most go on to secure permanent roles.
The Enterprise scheme helps developing companies – often championing good causes – grow by volunteering expertise, helping them build a website, mentoring or leading workshops. The agency also chooses an annual charity to support with time, resources and cash. And its community team keeps its ear to the ground for local causes in need.
Cobalt wants everybody to achieve by setting realistic goals and targets. Its bonus scheme offers high financial rewards to all levels, including more junior ones. And there's a range of recognition awards with sought-after prizes, from a trip to NYC for Manager of the Year and a 'Dream Team Lunch' afternoon out for top performers.
A new People & Development Manager ensures employees know of all the opportunities available to them, from support to develop new business opportunities to taking the next step into management. There's also a mentoring programme pairing employees with a more senior colleague in another team to help build broader relationships.
Cobalt works with the Future Frontiers education charity. Its programme matches volunteers from the company with students from disadvantaged areas who may not traditionally have the same career opportunities. The project shows staff how to take the students on a four-week course to help them explore their options and broaden their horizons.
Annual awards recognise team members who exemplify the charity's values of "empowerment, respect, collaboration, compassion and passion". They are announced at an awards ceremony at the organisation's annual conference.
In July, Medaille gave all staff who were earning less than £30,000 a year, a 10% pay rise to reflect the rate of inflation at the time. The charity has also reviewed its job descriptions and pay structure to ensure they are fair and transparent.
At the Mersey service, an area of wasteland has been turned into an allotment, where residents plant and grow vegetables. Gardening is known to be good for mental and physical wellbeing, so it benefits residents but, on top of that, excess produce is donated to the local food bank.
To help with living costs, a staff travel loan allows staff to borrow up to £250 at a time to cover costs such as new tyres, repair costs or a multi-trip travel ticket. It allows staff to spread big costs over six months. A season-ticket loan scheme of up to £3,000 is also available.
The trust launched its first management development programme last year. It also piloted a line-manager induction and development scheme. The training introduces key processes line managers are accountable for, as well as developing capabilities in the areas of coaching, feedback and development.
To further its aim of reaching net zero by 2030, the trust carried out energy audits of venues and provided energy-management training sessions to help staff build the skills and knowledge to implement energy reduction. It also undertook a biodiversity study to identify opportunities to manage sites with green space in a nature-positive way.
Regular support sessions reflect real workplace concerns thanks to input from the employee voice Partnership Council, the organisation's four Inclusion Networks and the latest absence and turnover trends. Recent sessions have included a myth-buster on vaccines and infection control, and balancing work and family commitments.
There are development opportunities for every stage of leadership. These include courses for aspiring managers in partnership with University College Birmingham, front-line manager training and a 12-month Cranfield University training programme for senior leaders. Managers also benefit from ongoing support through coaching, mentoring and cross-functional management meetings.
Midland Heart is an early adopter of the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing to benefit its communities and the wider environment. It also looks to recycle wherever possible, whether that's the maintenance team separating waste before disposal or its development partners reusing old roof tiles when building new homes.
Employees can recommend candidates for advertised positions, receiving £2000 if the person is successful and passes their three-month probation period. It benefits EMJ as it sources great-fit candidates via people who know the roles and the skills required. And staff feel trusted and valued by supporting the company's growth and success.
New and existing managers are supported through the new Manager Skills Toolkit. It involves monthly sessions with an HR professional, and covers a variety of content in bite-sized chunks, including handling difficult conversations, situational leadership, managing performance and personal effectiveness. The company also runs a Future Leaders Programme focused on building successful teams.
A dedicated Charity Board organises fundraising events for the team, including those for its community charity Kids Inspire, which awarded EMJ' Corporate Supporter of the Year' for raising more than £20,000 in 2021. Fundraising activities have included the 100k Thames Path Challenge and a fancy dress Halloween event.
In addition to a company-wide 3% inflationary salary increase, staff received a one-off cost-of-living payment to recognise the challenging times. The company also introduced innovative benefits that help employees' money go further and invested in targeted pay increases for roles it believed were falling below the industry benchmark.
The monthly company-funded lunch is popular with office-based and visiting staff, as it gives them the chance to socialise and interact with people from other departments and teams. TetraMapping workshops help employees to understand their nature and that of others. They provide a learning experience that strengthens understanding of others and improves collaboration.
The Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal was chosen as CitNOW Group's charity last year and various fund-raising events took place, including bake sales. Staff from across the globe also ran, cycled or swam the distance between Stirling, in Scotland, and Kyiv, in Ukraine — an impressive 3,070 miles — to help the cause.
Employee support takes many forms. It includes training so they feel more confident handling demanding customers or challenging safeguarding or domestic abuse situations. There are also more informal opportunities, such as virtual 'open space' sessions where managers can share their experiences and knowledge, and the Wednesday Wellbeing Walk. Counselling services are also available.
All staff, from Board to team members, are encouraged to develop their emotional intelligence. A colour-based psychometric tool helps them better understand their style, strengths and the value they bring. It also supports managers in building high-performing teams. And employee development is continually reviewed through one-to-ones and appraisals.
The Trust provides two community hub buildings for groups to use free of charge for holiday and social activities, youth clubs, food banks and warm hubs. Through its social value project, it's also supported the set-up of a community laundry and an outdoor learning space and has helped deliver anti-social behaviour impact awareness sessions.
Staff collaborate at TLC Open Forum, an all-agency meeting to brainstorm ideas and initiatives to make the marketing agency a better place to work. A sports club on the Strava app brings people to share and take part. Both encourage cross-business teamwork.
In the summer, staff volunteers took 60 families with seriously ill children who are supported by the Rainbow Trust for a day out to Whipsnade zoo. The event gave families the chance to spend time together and allowed carers to have a break, because TLC Worldwide staff did all the leg-work.
The TLC People Academy programme offers skills training to each part of the business. The courses are designed as bite-size sessions of 45 minutes, followed up by a quiz. Those who pass qualify for a badge and once they've gained a certain number, they receive a TLC Worldwide reward.
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