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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.
A ‘Think Green’ campaign put a focus on the environment thanks to its aim of improving the energy efficiency of buildings through engagement programmes for both employees and student residents. The campaign included both e-learning and building technical programmes, as well as encouraging better recycling and simple tips for energy conservation.
Leaders consistently refer to iQ’s values through communication, live events, or business updates and play a key part in recognising when the values are being demonstrated. Recently, the Senior Management Team sponsored and supported the development and rollout of a behavioural framework aligned to the values, which is now being adopted across the business.
As well as an extensive catalogue of learning provided via our LMS, every team member has access to an unlimited number of funded Level 1, 2 and 3 qualifications in a range of subjects such as Mental Health, Customer Service and Fitness and Health. There are also talent programmes, apprenticeship schemes and a high-performance coaching programme.
The charity has a good mix of senior leaders who have been in the organisation for up to 20 years and those for fewer than five. This keeps some of the history and narrative of Young Devon in balance with the constant need to develop to meet young people's needs.
Young Devon has developed a set of annual workforce commitments and in the past year these have included improving public awareness of its work – achieved through changes to its marketing and partnerships with the BBC and local companies – and reviewing pay and benefits, including implementing the national living wage.
Employees get 30 days' annual leave – in effect 38, including bank holidays and the like. This amounts to 10 days more than statutory and five days more than UK average. The charity believes this is crucial recovery and rest time for staff who undertake demanding work with young people.
Senior management led a series of engagement campaigns after the coronavirus emerged. These included a video series called Desert Island Lockdown, with chairperson Justine Markovitz in the finale. She also took part in 73 “Meet Justine” Skype sessions for all staff.
A graduate recruitment app is being developed to help Withers reach a wider pool of diverse candidates. The app will also help the firm meet the need to recruit differently, which became apparent during the pandemic. Social media is playing an increasing role in the search for talent.
The Withers World Tour set staff the challenge of walking the equivalent of the distance between all the firm's offices, a total of 23,000 miles. They exceeded the miles target and raised more than £30,000 for charity, including the Mental Health Foundation.
Senior leaders have held have held regular and ad hoc Teams calls to individuals, regardless of their line management – and live recorded sofa sessions with the CEO and team members have discussed current projects, plus veered into light-hearted chat like your favourite takeaway, film, and more.
The last engagement survey showed results consistent with previous years – at more than 90% positive sentiment. The feedback was shared with everyone during business update sessions. The group also shares results of the UMi Pulse survey and makes people aware of any relevant changes it may undertake in response to feedback.
The so-called Positive Posse creates ideas, as well as the time and space for them, to encourage wellbeing. Offerings have covered virtual meditation sessions, coffee and catch-ups, lunches, socially distanced dance routines and quizzes. The posse also pushes out top tips on how to keep motivated and active.
Thrive Homes switched quickly to being a remote business last March. The Chief Executive, Elspeth Mackenzie, took to the internal social network OneThrive to provide business updates and advice on public health guidelines. Workplace by Facebook was also used to keep staff informed.
The Lumina Spark programme is used to develop people's understanding of themselves and others. It provides tools to constructively share, challenge, debate and give feedback, and to enhance emotional intelligence when interacting with colleagues and customers. Managers draw on its insights in the growth of their teams.
Inspired by a two-minute video from New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, managers took part in a 15-second challenge, #PrideinThrive. Each of them filmed themselves talking about what they were most proud of and grateful for. The clips were posted on the firm's internal social network.
To encourage teamwork and create an understanding of what TDS does, new employees are introduced to the executives and key members of staff. Employees are trained to do other jobs in their department and encouraged to help out in other departments.
Staff have been sent regular gifts through the year, including a Christmas hamper – the perfect accompaniment for the virtual Christmas party. Other events included quiz and bingo evenings. The wellbeing team supports managers with any mental health issues in their teams and counselling is available through an employee assistance programme.
The TDS Charitable Foundation promotes education in the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords. It has awarded grants of £54,725 to five organisations since January 2020 and £808,1000 in total since 2014. The most recent round of funding took into account the effect of the pandemic on the sector.
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