What are companies doing with regards to 'Giving Something Back'

Responding to the Black Lives Matter campaign Bravissimo create digital listening groups to hear personal accounts of discrimination experienced by employees and has launched a Diversity & Inclusion committee to ensure it is more representative in all it does from its marketing and models, product range, recruitment and team diversity.

Christmas hampers were to every employee to thank them for support and efforts over the past year and retail and customer service teams held a range of events from quiz nights to dress-up & exercise classes to keep teams motivated and positive.

The results from staff surveys have been shared with employees and in 2020 the company tackled feedback about hiccups in communication by ensuring that all staff members can raise issues directly with the leadership team.

Before Covid-19 restrictions, staff enjoyed getting together out of work for karting and white-water rafting. Although social events were forced online during 2020, team members have stayed on their toes by competing in fitness events, and relaxed by sharing virtual Friday afternoon drinks.

Managers are given free access to LinkedIn Learning and other platforms to enhance their leadership skills with effective practices and tips passed on during monthly management meetings. Senior managers were given the opportunity to attend a Business Mastery event which focused on studying innovative approaches used by successful industry leaders.

Senior managers made the decision to move to bigger premises to ensure futurecompliance with social distancing at work. With social responsibility high on the agenda, it recently invested £4 million on manufacturing equipment that will cut dependence on overseas products and reduce its carbon footprint.

BCHG launched its Learning Academy in 2020 and despite the pandemic has managed to deliver its training programmes albeit mostly virtually. The organisation has also continued to support staff who are undertaking profession qualifications and apprenticeship programmes, and to enrol employees on courses relevant to their role.

In addition to weekly emails encouraging staff to remain positive during adversity and reminding them they have access to help and support if they need it, BCHG provided resilience training and ran virtual events including a laughtercise session, yoga and Monday night socials to combat loneliness.

An employee forum, Your Say, with representatives from all offices meets regularly to discuss and feed back questions to senior management. Through Yammer, staff are invited to post positive updates, ideas, activities and the way they are handling lockdowns to ensure they keep connected to colleagues.

Wellbeing food and drink boxes were given to staff during the pandemic to raise morale. They also received a luxury Christmas food hamper, delivered to their homes, as well as a £250 bonus for working hard throughout a difficult year.

A new interaction and communication platform, called Connect, has been created to bring all managers together virtually. This allows them to contribute and discuss business priorities, but also provides a “safe space” for them to discuss challenges and support each other.

Best Companies survey feedback indicated that staff wanted better organisational clarity and an understanding of how each team contributed to Benenden's objectives. In response, each employee now receives a document that includes strategic objectives, key results areas, key performance indicators and each department's objectives for the year.

Baringa's female development programme supports women as they climb the career ladder – and helps male leaders understand how to be supportive. All senior managers, directors and partners have Baringa Adviser Training every two months so everyone knows what great looks like and all are committed to doing what it takes.

Teams have held virtual walking competitions, counting steps to race from London to Paris. Online yoga and fitness sessions have also kept people on their toes. As well as providing a 24-hour employee assistance programme, Baringa has trained people across all grades as mental health first aiders to spot signs of burnout.

Every year we take on young people from local schools and colleges and either fund their qualifications directly or place them on an apprenticeship levy-funded scheme. At any time, approximately 10% of the workforce is being assisted through a qualification by Baily Garner.

Staff are regularly encouraged by management to switch off from work, go for walks and engage in virtual social events whenever possible. Employees are also encouraged to make calls to colleagues they have not spoken to for a while and to continue to listen to and support colleagues.

Leaders have access to bespoke coaching to grow their skills. To support them with coronavirus-related challenges, 217 hours of bespoke coaching took place. This included a focus on traditional leadership topics with a remote angle, such as maintaining team culture remotely and running a virtual team meeting.

An intranet and communications platform called GWEN (Got What Everyone Needs) was developed and rolled out during the pandemic. This enabled the business to provide instant updates to staff in addition to the weekly videos from the chief executive, which became known as Corona Comms.

The Leadership Team has been producing weekly vlogs to keep staff updated and maintain visibility. A number of executive team Q+A sessions have been held and all leaders have regularly attended virtual team meetings, not only in their own teams but with others too.

Virtual exercise classes and 'tea breaks' have given staff the opportunity to come together to chat to people they don't often come into contact, helping them stay fit and socially connected. Flu vaccinations have also been provided for those who want them.