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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.
As well as a generous leave allowance, with extra days at Christmas and Easter, employees benefit from a subsidised fitness and wellness subscription, which gives access to classes, gym sessions and experiences worldwide. Discounted gym membership is also available through the company’s private medical insurance provider, alongside mental health support.
Interns are welcome at Brandpie. A new recruit is hired quarterly – bolstering the team in any department from design to project management. They get a ‘buddy’ and are involved in all aspects of project work, from insights and research to client presentations. They also have skills training in areas like communication and IT.
The company helps young people from underrepresented backgrounds get into managerial and leadership roles through a mentorship programme with the Aleto Foundation. And Brandpie’s supporting those affected by the war in Ukraine. This has included the London to Kyiv challenge, where its team walked, swam, cycled or ran a collective 1,340 miles for sponsorship.
An internal network working together as a People Engagement and Wellbeing Team, run by the organisation’s employees, helps with educating and running events on a range of topics and creating a network where colleagues can support one another. Quarterly socials and regular lunch and learn sessions helps bring teams together and drive employee engagement.
Communication is at the heart of what Dufrain Consulting does. Quarterly CEO calls with all employees to discuss its sales, financial, and other business updates. Furthermore, it has regular people updates to discuss the progress of the organisation’s goals and how it support its employees. Leadership also record regular videos on progress for all employees.
The organisation has attended and supported Cash for Kids and local foodbanks. Recently Dufrain Consulting started producing branded merchandise where it purchased t-shirts and hoodies at a higher cost, sold them to employees for a discounted rate, and gave the full amount to charity. Through this approach, the organisation raised over £1000 for three charities.
The ‘Alchemmy Sport’ initiative encourages colleagues to participate in group running, football and squash sessions, with plans to add more activities. There are also ‘comfortable conversation’ sessions where mental health issues can be discussed in a group setting. And mental health first aiders are always on hand for one-to-one chats.
Employees now benefit from greater transparency around the competencies they need to progress through the ‘Grades Reimagined’ scheme. It splits everyone into sub-levels within their job grade, showing what they need to do to move up the grades. The initiative has involved benchmarking with recruitment agencies and across the marketplace.
‘Alchemmy Gives’ has been set up to help local causes. Alchemmists donated coats to the ‘WrapUp London’ campaign and ran a charity raffle raising more than £1,600 for Breast Cancer Now. And there’s a half-day company-wide volunteering session every year, with the last one supporting the upkeep of a community garden.
Reduced mental health-related sickness has saved the organisation more than £90,000 thanks to a range of wellbeing initiatives, including the We Care employee healthcare portal, which provides services including 24/7 GP access and counselling. There's also a dedicated month-long initiative championed by Mental Health First Aiders, a bi-monthly HPG Wellbeing newsletter and an intranet mini-site.
New managers – new to management or new to the organisation – are supported through a bespoke management induction, including toolkits to get them up and running quickly. And the Group offers two management development programmes – one for aspiring managers and one for new or future heads of service focused on leadership and strategy.
The Group's Homes Plus My Community Fund provides grants of up to £30,000 annually for grassroots organisations looking to make a difference to communities. This has included sponsoring the Best Kept Village Community Competition in Staffordshire, helping young people make music in a Scout and Guide Band and supporting a group of women taking-up football.
Cornish Bakery runs a Mental Health First Aiders course for all of its teams. Every new employee completes a level one MHFA as part of their induction. Additionally, the organisation has created the Hardship Fund to help its employees with the cost-of-living crisis by enabling them to lend money from the business interest free.
Every year, the organisation takes its teams away for a night and two days of fun, camaraderie, and competition. Employees participate in fun activities, enjoy excellent entertainment and food, and stay in 5-star accommodation. There is also an awards ceremony that celebrates the teams’ successes and colleagues leave feeling rewarded, bonded, and motivated.
With 50 bakeries across the country, Cornish Bakery encourages each bakery to fundraise independently for local charities. In 2022, employees walked 20 miles in Cornish pasty outfits, created village-wide treasure hunts, cycled over 185 miles, sky dived, and shaved their heads to raise money. The organisation’s bakeries also donate leftover food to foodbanks every day.
In 2022, Stanton House raised over £20,000 through bake-offs, auctions, and physical challenges for Harry’s Hat. And it has raised over £67,500 for medical supplies and to help refugees escape the war in Ukraine, directly contributing to the evacuation of over 400 women and children.
Stanton House has a dedicated Learning & Development team and five development programmes specifically designed for different stages of its employees’ careers, and as 1:1 coaching sessions. It also provides companywide situational support workshops which supports its diversity agenda. Stanton House additionally supports employees by funding external qualifications and providing additional time off to study.
A large part of Stanton House’s success comes from the open communication it has with its teams. The organisation has appointed a Board-level Director of Change & Communications, whose remit includes inviting junior staff to participate in Board and Management meetings to ensure input towards discussions and decision-making from every level.
In 2022, Ghyston implemented two pay rises to counteract the cost-of-living crisis, and reviewed its employees salaries against the market place to ensure that they were being paid fairly. An additional inflation pay increase was implemented in January 2023. All of the organisation’s employees are paid above the living wage.
Employee Innovation Days, which happen every quarter, mean all staff stop paid work to explore, learn or nail down something that interests them. These are great days to work with others from across the business on whatever is important to them.
In 2022, the organisation raised over £15,000 for charity, supported local code clubs, and provided pro bono development work for charities. It launched The Ghyston Foundation which offers STEM outreach, supports employees’ charitable endeavours, and is committed to donating 10% of its annual profits to charity – with a target of £1million donated by 2032.
Daily 'Energisers' of fun and fast-paced games get employees geared up for the day ahead. There are virtual quizzes and competitions, and teams enjoy monthly social events, including all-expenses-paid meals and nights out. And every Friday, there are free lunches from popular high street eateries encouraging colleagues to sit together and reflect on the week.
Designed in-house by Seven Resourcing, UGrad+ is one of the UK's only undergraduate recruitment courses. It allows sixth-form and college leavers to learn at degree-level while earning postgraduate pay. It recognises that university isn't for everyone and that recruitment careers aren't often highlighted as an option for teenagers.
Community and charity are fundamental to the agency's work. It offers free recruitment for charities such as Ormiston Families, which works with families affected by offending or poor mental health and has donated more than £10,000 from events and challenges. It's also provided mentoring for primary school pupils and funded renovations and learning materials.
The company takes a holistic approach to wellbeing from early finish Fridays and weekly meditation and yoga sessions to private healthcare and an enhanced Employee Assistance Programme. This offers colleagues the reassurance of paid leave in various circumstances, such as undergoing fertility treatment or when needing support through menopause.
A monthly ‘Glee Update’ is an opportunity to share important information and celebrate employees’ stand-out work over the past month. It includes the ‘Gleeson Lottery’, where staff can nominate supportive colleagues for prizes. It’s also a chance for the team to get together in the new office bar for post-meeting drinks.
Every team member gets a day off a year to volunteer for a charity of their choice, and the company rents its rooms for a charitable donation. And Gleeson Recruitment Group is proudly more than two years ‘climate positive’ – on target to have helped plant 25,000 trees by the end of 2023.
Millwood provides long-term employability initiatives which increase work prospects for marginalised groups, such as those with additional needs, ex-offenders and the LGBTQ community. Through these experiences, individuals receive their very own MeMovie - an evidenced-based, personally created video cv which is then shared with the UK community and its partners.
Leading by example is Millwood Servicing’s mantra, achieving this from its values of being ‘Honest, Open, Balanced, & Fair’ in everything it undertakes. Whenever the company receive invites to awards nights, client entertainment etc. The CEO, Matt always offers this out to the entire firm first, on many occasions giving up his place.
Offering careers not jobs, Millwood’s holistic ethos to personal and supported development ensures that every member of staff gets the chance they deserve. Offering 1:1 monthly check-ins across the firm, one example of this is its work with ex-military personnel and in 2021 it became an Armed Forces covenant member.
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