Leadership - How employees feel about the head of the organisation, senior management and the organisation's values and principles
Leadership has the biggest influence on how employees feel about the organisation.
Leaders need to create inspiring visions and provide clear direction to positively Impact the My Company factor.
When it comes to Wellbeing, no amount of free fruit or stress busting classes are going to address an imbalance. Employee Wellbeing is a by-product of the leadership and management culture.
If there’s pressure at the top of your organisation, it won’t take long to be felt throughout.
At the monthly breakfast club, staff get together and chat about non work-related subjects. They are asked to talk to someone new and offer topics of conversation as ice-breakers. It means people socialise outside of their circles and it's a great way to introduce new starters.
Senior management believe it is important that staff feel empowered and trusted. They are given the autonomy to make decisions. The leadership team has a "door always open" policy, meaning they are on hand for advice and support whenever it is required. That gives staff the confidence to challenge themselves while feeling supported.
Every year, top performers take part in the annual Disney trip which showcases the company's top-selling products. They stay in luxury accommodation throughout their two-week stay and enjoy the experiences that clients would have, such as meals from a private chef, a Disney firework cruise or a glass-bottomed kayak tour.
To encourage a good work-life balance, the leadership team demonstrates that employees' home lives are just as important as work. Leaders bring their children in on company calls, make a point of doing something personal during the day and set the tone by promoting the idea that no one can do it all.
At SF the environment is high on the agenda. The organisation has ditched single-use plastics in favour of bamboo, a more sustainable material. Plastic water bottles and cutlery is banned, along with straws, bubble wrap and business card boxes. Stricter recycling methods have been brought in at all of its offices.
Staff can decide when they work their contracted hours so they can balance their work and home life more effectively. Greater emphasis has been placed on choosing to work when they are at their most productive. The 30 days’ annual leave entitlement is supplemented by ad-hoc company days off, especially when the workload is high.
Last year, chief executive Adam Stroud had mini-exchanges with each employee across the globe and the chats provided a platform for staff to ask questions and be answered directly. The move improved engagement with staff across the company. Breakfast with directors sessions are run virtually via Microsoft Teams.
Sessions that are run as part of the managers’ network allow leaders to bring a challenge to share with their peers and support one another to find creative solutions that drive consistency across the company. The sessions include training on topics such as salary-review conversations.
Paxton aims to have an all-electric car fleet next year. All new company cars ordered last year were electric or hybrid and the fleet is now 87% hybrid or fully electric. Biodegradable packaging is used in the company cafe and a "green team" looks for new environmentally friendly ways of working.
To support staff during the economic crisis, free food is being provided in the kitchens ,and staff can help themselves to breakfast and lunch. The company also supplies free hot drinks and sanitary products.
Chief executive Anthony Pearlgood stages regular town hall meetings with staff to update them on company business and he encourages senior leaders to do the same. Pearlgood and the HR and talent manager also meet staff in groups, to determine what the organisation can do to improve terms and conditions.
As well as in-house recycling and a cycle-to-work scheme, the company's efforts to combat climate change include a drive-to-work scheme. It encourages staff to car-share and allows them to claim £1 per person for each journey.
Hydrock's management team always make time to listen to employees, providing direction through formal meetings, regular communications and informal interactions. This attitude is exemplified by chief executive Brian McConnell, who hosts induction events, the annual all-company event, regular live webcasts and annual roadshows.
Become a Time Jedi, Personal Resilience, Our Mental Health and Becoming Consciously Inclusive are the titles of some of the webinars staff attended last year. A programme of events was launched by the learning and development manager and a hub containing resources has been set up to support personal growth and wellbeing.
Online courses, such as The Conscious Communicator, are provided for non-management roles, along with a graduate development programme. For those progressing towards or in management roles, there is a six-month programme and aspiring or existing leaders are provided with a four-month course. One-to-one executive coaching is offered to divisional, departmental or regional leaders.
They have a Moving on Together Group, a group of staff from across the organisation who champion team interaction and communications. They group new leads on the annual staff event and have developed a communications framework based on staff feedback.
They work closely with Mencap by providing garden space for their service users to build and establish a vegetable garden. The produce they grow is used in the hospice kitchen and food waste from the kitchen and cafe is composted for use in the garden.
To improve employee engagement they introduced a monthly 'ideas hub' to generate discussion and feedback on what is going well and what is not going so well within the organisation. During these hubs, staff were encouraged to identify and introduce the topics for discussion.
There's an extensive social calendar! An awards ceremony celebrates colleagues who've gone the extra mile. There are Christmas parties and summer BBQs paid for by the firm, and each team has an 'away day,' anything from pasta making to go-karting. The wine club enjoyed a trip to Champagne, and there are regular fundraising events.
There's an 'open door' policy led from the top by Managing Partner Peter Winter. He leads bi-monthly all-employee meetings, personally welcomes new recruits, introducing the firm's vision and strategy, and attends all departmental away days. And partners sit amongst employees, so they're readily available and to strengthen the company's 'family feel'.
The firm is doing its bit to help young people become more financially literate by creating content for all school leavers that come through its doors. This includes articles and podcasts on topics including what payslips are, why National Insurance numbers are so important, and student loans, savings and pensions.
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