Leadership Drives Engagement

The Management Development Academy is run in cohorts which are chosen so that participants have similar levels of seniority and share challenges but come from different teams across the business. This is done so that the participants develop a network across the business that operates after the course is completed.

On a daily basis the leader walks the office floor, engaging with all staff to take a genuine interest in their work and wellbeing. They have an open door policy and employees are free to meet with them to discuss any issues or suggestions.

Rather than structured Learning and Development pathways, Mount Anvil focus on truly allowing people to lead the way in terms of their own development. Teams proactively organise activities to support knowledge share, and cross-functional training is regularly organised.

MOD Pizza use 'team banks' to provide funds towards team activities and events outside of work. Individuals and teams can earn credits towards their team banks through over-achievement.

Marwell provide on-site yoga and pilates, support a workplace choir, subsidise fresh food provision on site and give discounts at the adjoining hotel's wellness suite.

Loreburn utilises Protected Learning time which is dedicated paid time that they operate every 3rd week where staff can down tools and catch up on their learning and development.

The Chairman makes weekly visits to construction sites to talk to site operatives about the progress and the challenges being faced.

iHASCO's 12 week induction for new starters includes the completion of an organisation map to ensure they get to meet everyone else. It also includes spending time working alongside those in other teams.

Carbon offsetting is an area Honeycomb Group are currently making improvements on. Their new build developments and any retrofitting of existing properties help support their carbon offsetting.

HIT offer a variety of career options that give their team members the opportunity to build upon their existing roles, increasing their skill set via additional responsibilities.

Fordway provide employees with flexible benefits, free private healthcare, profit related pay and staff discounts.

Each new employee at Focusrite Audio Engineering is given an induction by reception, HR and then they walk around to meet everyone, plus a company wide email introduction.

Five Guys believe that everyone is part of the family and that nobody is more important, regardless of the role they hold in the business. Senior managers spend time working with teams in the kitchen with teams during busy shifts. The senior management team will also on occasion join the teams to do a closing shift.

Fife Housing Group reduce energy usage through solar panels installed at their office and have improved recycling with the removal of individual waste-paper bins in favour of larger recycling-segregated bins.

All employees are eligible for the FGH Athlete programme. This consists of personal sponsorship for participation in sporting or charitable events. The programme is designed to reward and encourage personal development activity outside of the work environment which has a positive, holistic effect on the employee through increasing health, fitness or confidence.

Everard actively use Social Media channels as a recruitment tool to attract new talent - not just by posting traditional adverts, but using posts of their offices and current employees and events to spark interest and intrigue with potential new employees.

Elliott Wood provide an array of benefits to employees, including: an Employee Assistance Programme; Free private healthcare; Performance related pay; Profit related pay; and Free life insurance.

Ella's Kitchen have trained 5 employees to be qualified mental health first aiders. Their job is to support open and honest conversations in the workplace and offer help to anyone that needs it in times of stress.

Community activities are connected to the organisations mission, and they continue to promote "Veg for Victory" and raise the awareness of the importance of vegetables in weaning and the long term impact on little ones.

Edmond Shipway give employees the opportunity to support charities/community projects of their choice by volunteering or providing support to the numerous local campaigns.

Employees are rewarded for their efforts in a range of ways, including the Employee of the Year and People Manager of the Year awards, announced at the end of year party. Customer Care recognise the employee of the month, with employees nominating their peers. Winners receive an additional day of holiday, and a caricature drawing of the winner is displayed in the office.

Each employee has a Personal Development Plan, which is supported by their manager and Learning & Development Manager. This is reviewed by the manager at various touch points through out the year and more formal during the year-end and mid-year appraisals.

Bytes invested in a small onsite gym which provides for running, rowing, cycling and incorporates a few weights. The company often run a "challenge" which is open to anyone in the business to join and can be a motivator for those who want to improve their fitness but don't have the funds or opportunity to join a gym.

Success at Brightstar is down to their people. They value the team and reward loyalty, commitment and hard work. To support this belief, they introduced the 'Brightstar Partners Programme' in 2019. Any Brightstar whom has completed 5 years of continuous service becomes a 'Brightstar Partner'. This status identifies and elevates their longest standing team members and affords specific benefits, opportunities and responsibilities to the individual.

The senior management team at Brightstar Financial live and breathe the mission, vision and values of the company in all that they do. They love what they do, they work tirelessly to secure and enhance partnership, they actively encourage, lead and place huge value on people development, they work ethically, always safeguarding standards and practices to ensure this and implement and encourage practices to make it easy to work with Brightstar.

Management Development programme rolled out to all people Managers in 2018, this is being followed up in 2019 with additional modules focusing on Performance Conversations, Coaching skills and giving feedback. They've placed a special emphasis on getting more comfortable with feedback in 2019, it's a topic that comes up in their SLT meetings as well as feedback from their reviews so they've been really keen to help everyone be more confident with feedback conversations. Managers have already completed one day training on Performance Conversations and will be following up with workshops covering Everyday Feedback and Coaching Skills.The People Team are already thinking about what the next phase of learning is for the Management Team in 2020, they want their Managers to be ready to grow into amazing Leaders.

Assura have an array of environmental practices in place, such as: Encouraging working from home, a cycle to work scheme, Carbon offsetting and discouraging business travel.

The Sustainability Group at Assael Architecture helps to maintain the ISO14001 certification achieved in 2016, and push forward greener initiatives, including organising the annual Green Week that engages employees, clients and consultants in tackling environmental issues.

The leader holds team briefings twice a year, where all employees are invited. They are given business performance updates, as well as being able to ask questions, both openly and anonymously.

AFG LAW are dedicated to the development of its employees. They provide e-learning, paid time off for study and support for non-work related training/ qualifications to any member of their team.

The management team has regular meetings and also an annual off-site event where retrospectives are carried out and strategy on areas of improvement is defined. They use the company's values to manage and assess performance, ensuring team members strive to develop and live up to them.

Success is celebrated at least twice a year and there's a zero-tolerance approach to poor performance. The Principal appoints every single member of staff and has introduced a PRP system. Staff who have left for more money often return, citing his leadership.

They have monthly and annual employee awards, rewarding these individuals with perks such as afternoon tea at the Shard or Red Letter days. Four separate groups of employees also enjoyed an European holiday destination of their choice as reward for their hard work.

Wellbeing Week includes workshops on nutrition, minimalism, resilience and coping with stress. They also offer manicures, pedicures, massages, sauna, acess to a gym, and yoga - all free. After four years, staff can take six weeks' paid leave plus £1,000 spending money.

Chief Executive Tim has an open door policy, meeting new team members to share the TLG story. Staff pray every morning and the senior team conduct termly staff meetings and visit education centres once a year to engage with the work happening on the ground.

The ONE Group partner with Vivacity, a provider of local fitness and sports facilities, who visits their offices to undertake health and fitness assessments of employees. Other perks include free golf lessons, massage sessions and an annual rounders tournament.

The company introduced a Medicash scheme to allow employees to pay for wellbeing-related costs such as massages and physio appointments, while a number of games give people an outlet to take a break and socialise together. Staff can also receive mental health advice and guidance when needed.

Information security and data protection training is provided annually for all staff, as well as additional training as and when required. The company also offers role-specific training, which is dependent on the type of data accessed for the proper performance of the role.

Management training is discussed and agreed on an individual basis during appraisals and monthly lunches. Training can take many forms, from attending courses to self-study, with regular meetings organised to measure the performance of the leadership team throughout the year.

Their core values are: we work together; we make things better; and we do the right thing. GCE Boris Worrall slept out at Worcester Rugby Club to raise awareness of homelessness, while senior management take part in resident events and get involved in colleague celebrations.

Staff regularly meet as a team and also cross functionally in order to aid communication, collaboration and the harnessing of the collective effort. In addition, employees attend updates, learning and community events together to share learning and, more importantly, have fun together.

Employees often volunteer for charities or take part in events to help out in the community. The organisation is also supportive of staff taking extended time off, including sabbaticals, to travel the world and do sponsored events for charity.

The organisation is proud to ‘grow' its own talent. Managers use feedback from partners and commissioners, service reviews, internal audits, risk analysis and outcomes to identify learning needs. Senior managers are visible and attend roadshows in the spring. Staff who do well in appraisals get incremental pay rises.

Each year team members from across the organisation take on the Dragon's Glen, an entrepreneurial challenge designed to help raise funds for children's charity Children 1st. The team wrote a cookbook that featured recipes from different team members, raising £11,500.

The senior leadership team visits projects across the country to see first hand the organisation's values in operation. Staff are encouraged to get involved in the running of the organisation through participation in working groups, quality groups and consultations.

OEE Consulting offer monthly sales awards voted for by the whole company, as well as an annual top three ranking of memorable and unique staff contributions moments that are showcased at the Christmas party. Winners receive prizes to show the company's recognition of their efforts.

Agile working is enhancing staff wellbeing. With multiple bookable desks at sites across the district, staff can reduce their travel time. Other practices include Workplace Stress Risk Assessment, flexible working, workload discussions and access to free confidential counselling.

Innovation within the organisation contributed to them winning Best Not-For-Profit Team and Best Intranet at the Institute of Internal Communications Awards. Managers get a monthly toolkit of core messages they tailor to their teams, while the annual visitor experience awards celebrate the year's most inspiring work.

As part of their values-based recognition, NAH award colleagues who have demonstrated their continuous commitment to the company's values with a £250 scholarship. This can be used to develop themselves in whatever way they wish.

To ensure everyone feels part of a team, they host ‘Speed Dating' events - opportunities for staff and volunteers to meet others across the organisation with themed chats in pairs or small groups every six months at all team meetings.

Their values are grounded in their work, to be human, future-minded and to make things happen. Certificates of Achievement are awarded to staff who demonstrate these values in their behaviour, attitude and achievements.

Matrix Networks look to promote a safe working environment for all staff through the continued development of safe-working practices. Employees are also encouraged to develop in line with company objectives.

The brand is dedicated to sustainable working and has joined the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, which places the business among the front runners in the shift towards a circular economy for plastics.

This is a values-based business, with new starters introduced to the Purpose Statement, culture statement and values on day one. They're then woven into day-to-day life, assisted by a number of initiatives, including the 25 Culture Champions in the business.

Becky operates an open-door policy and is very approachable to all levels of staff. She is very much the face of Jane Lewis and took time out for their Nurses' Day celebrations to personally thank nurses at the company for their hard work and ongoing commitment.

Since 2014, itison have raised more than £1 million for homeless charity Social Bite, which provides hot meals and employment opportunities for the homeless. itison also supported the charity's Sleep in the Park initiative for the second year running.

Inspired Outsourcing regularly introduce incentives that encourage good performance, attendance and dedication. The organisation recently launched the Inspired Awards to reward outstanding work and demonstrate the brand's commitment to staff.

Haven House are keen to reduce one-time-only plastics. All staff get a water bottle and one-time-only plastic cups are minimised. Green initiatives include an instant boiling water tap, recycling toner cartridges and sensor lights. The garden is planted to attract bees.

The company has invested in building a learning and development team that offers cutting-edge training for employees at all stages of their career with Harnham. This includes gamified and action-based learning, alongside regular performance reviews.

Their most recent team development session involved setting up four teams of approximately six cross-functional managers per team. Their challenge was to set up inclusive social extracurricular clubs for the organisation, with a budget of £10,000.

HR and managers complete a ‘training needs analysis' for each individual. Where staff express interest in opportunities beyond their team, the charity seeks out roles in projects, cross-charity groups and secondments for them. What's more, 30% of all roles last year were filled internally.

Genie Ventures strongly feel easing workplace stress starts from the top, so have made a conscious decision to avoid a culture of long hours. The only people who work late are those whose lifestyles are better suited by this arrangement.

As part of their positive workplace initiative, they offer all employees the chance to be a member of the nearby gym, encouraging them to take advantage of exercising by providing a 75-minute lunch break. Filtered water, tea, coffee and squash are also provided for free.

All managers that attend leadership training have a follow-up meeting to agree a development plan with their line manager. This is reviewed alongside their objectives from their annual review to ensure they are on track and working towards the same vision.

The company introduced a flexible working policy in response to employee feedback. This has been a very popular addition to their working practices, as it is helpful for staff with external domestic commitments, such as children and pets.

A birthday afternoon tea with senior managers to improve communication has bred trust and connected employees to the overall vision of the organisation. One day a month, senior management work from different sites, which increases engagement between employees and makes the senior team more approachable.

Their focus is on their communities, and colleagues have been involved in the development of allotments, vegetable growing schemes, wild-life gardens and Britain in Bloom. They also launched their Cleaner Greener project with the aim of promoting wellbeing and healthy living for residents.

Their ‘Personal Best' process enables employees to create a year-round plan with clear and specific goals for their role and career. They link short and mid-term goals to their learning hub and specific learning programmes to help staff achieve and succeed in their roles.

Over the last 12 months, CCFS have rewarded employees for their efforts by providing food to celebrate key business achievements. At Christmas they provided a bottle of wine and a personalised company annual of 2018 for all staff, as well as a fully funded annual Christmas party.

Alongside providing competitive market salaries and benefits, Buckingham Group operate a staff bonus scheme linked directly to company profit and to personal performance. When company profits exceed the profit used for the calculated bonus payments, top-up payments are made.

This year the company continued with the summer working hours scheme, which meant that staff can work additional hours during their working week to earn an extra half day off a week, or an extra full day off every two weeks.

Wellbeing is an important focus of monthly one to-one conversations with line managers, in which staff can talk about management and personal issues, as well as working relationships and workload.

Tim has a strong belief in the principles of White Cross Vets. He always listens to ideas and suggestions and welcomes every new member of the team on their first day. Each year, he organises a mystery day out to thank the support office team for their hard work.

The Annual Congress brings the whole company together for three days. The theme for 2017 was ‘Learn, Make Friends, Have Fun' and included an awards dinner and ‘Medieval Mayhem' teambuilding session.

The Chief Executive Officer Jay does not have an office, opting to sit on a desk with the rest of the team. This way he is easily accessible to everyone, can join in conversations and get to know everyone in the team well.

Through a passion for energy, UK Power Reserve plans to become a major energy player by consistently winning and effectively executing contracts, innovating to find new customers and exceeding their expectations. They have recently instituted an internal customer service feedback mechanism.

Senior managers are encouraged to demonstrate the Two Circles' Vibrant Spirit - a set of company values and commitments. This is completed through in-person company updates, one-to-one catch ups, a scoring system, participation in the company's forums and sports clubs, and people-first resourcing.

Two Circles have been able to create strong relationships and communication within their team through away days, hot desking, learning forums, sports clubs, and building an informal office space with areas for interaction and activities, including table tennis, pool and darts.

Their senior leadership team communicate with all staff, irrespective of job function or seniority, to set an example of openness and transparency. They have numerous methods of inclusion, including their company bonus structure that is based on open reviews, trust, revenue and growth.

Since 2016, they have introduced strategies to improve communications between Operational Managers on key issues such as health and safety, HR matters, information security, IT and feedback from SMT meetings. This has enabled improved communication with their teams.

Their aspiration is to be a ‘good company', which means being a great company to do business with and a great place to work. This is underpinned by their values of empowerment, excellence, fairness, innovation and teamwork.

In Tobermore's mission statement, they recognise that their staff are their most important asset and, as a result, the management team meet monthly to discuss succession planning, talent planning and further training and development of staff.

Coaching is provided for managers to receive practical help on day-to-day issues, while mentoring offers support and direction when they are dealing with broader concerns, as well as personal issues that managers and team members might need support with.

Goodwood are owned and run by The Duke of Richmond who highlights the company's responsibility to the local and regional community to hold the estate together, not only as a beautiful place, but also as a generator of vital economic value.

The organisation run 230 Breathe Easy support groups for those living with a lung condition in the UK, which are staffed by volunteers. Employees attend at least one of these groups per year to gain a better understanding of the people they support, as well as informing the attendees about their work.

Star's senior management team are expected to lead by example at all times. Whether it's in a review, a team event, or just day-to-day communication, they will always refer back to the Star core values and act accordingly.

The company supplies free fruit to staff on weekly basis, operates a cycle-to-work scheme and considers all flexible working requests. In addition, a series of ‘Keep in Touch' days are available to staff who are on maternity leave.

As a family owned and run business, co-founder and CEO Lewis Field takes pride in treating staff as family and showing interest in them, their personal lives and their families. Lewis very much has an open door policy and welcomes ideas, innovation and suggestions from all staff.

Formal annual reviews happened twice yearly at the end of year and mid year. Outside of this the Managing Director has frequent one-to-ones with the management team and KPIs are monitored. Employees are encouraged to give feedback on their own managers as part of the annual review process.

Roc have an employee share scheme, with everyone owning part of the business. The firm also has a quarterly review meeting where it awards gold disks for exceptional 'Roc Star' performance combined with a dinner voucher at a fancy restaurant and a parking space for a month.

There's a cycle-to-work scheme and Redington use black-and-white, double-sided printing. They upgrade their PCs every three years and have introduced flexible working. RedSTART is the firm's own charity dedicated to financial education.

Mitesh fosters an atmosphere of open communication. The firm keeps employees involved in decision-making. There are New-Joiner Breakfasts, one-to-one catch ups and lunches. He does floor-walks in the open-plan office and is always available for discussion.

Each new starter has the mission, values and vision described. At each quarterly kick-off, the values are referred to along with the ProClinical Ethos, which includes every principle by which they expect employees to behave and reminds staff of what they offer them as an employer.

Senior management are committed to the company's values. They take new starters for coffee and operate an open door policy. Everyone had an input into the company values and quarterly update videos and team meetings keep employees informed about events within the business.

The three founders personify the company values. They're hands-on, working closely with staff at all levels. They sit in the open-plan office and foster an open, honest, collegiate, entrepreneurial, ambitious and fun working environment through their approach.

One of the core principles is ‘we are all lucky generals' - this means no discipline outranks another. There's no hierarchy or politics, no one is above plumping cushions or making tea. They don't encourage greedy competitiveness and are always a team.

The leadership team are formally measured twice a year against entrepreneurship and teamwork. They also have an initiative offering further clarity on brand priorities and culture, 'Senses and Culture', which includes detail on their three brand priorities and the key words that represent the shared values.

The company interacts with the community to clean up local areas and support their selected charity in preparing for Christmas and other key functions. Raising money for selected charities includes bake-off competitions, summer fun days, selling raffle prizes and volunteering time.

Action Against Hunger gave the company four problems to solve, one for each floor. The company also tackles issues that other companies avoid, including a session on the gender pay gap where innocent shared data and took questions from the audience.

Leaders are approachable and accessible – they sit with everyone else at open-plan desks. Douglas is often there and can be quizzed. They're visible in leading sessions at company meetings, and lunchtime ‘chatwiches'.

Departmental strategies are based on the company values, which are used in meetings and talked about regularly. Management also attend annual fun activities to get them involved and interacting with people outside of work.

Departmental strategies are based on the company values, which are used in meetings and talked about regularly. Management also attend annual fun activities to get them involved and interacting with people outside of work.

Everyone gets £100 each year to spend on anything that involves learning something new. There's one day off per year for charity work, and the winner of ‘Wader of the Month' receives £200 to spend on an experience.

Handle Recruitment's consultants work with the Amy Winehouse Foundation to deliver ‘Employability Workshop Masterclasses'. They also back Music Support, a start-up charity helping musicians and individuals to overcome addictions, and Haringey Shed, a performing arts company for young people.

Handle Recruitment's consultants work with the Amy Winehouse Foundation to deliver ‘Employability Workshop Masterclasses'. They also back Music Support, a start-up charity helping musicians and individuals to overcome addictions, and Haringey Shed, a performing arts company for young people.

Many employees opt for home working, or a home-work balance to help accommodate childcare and their personal circumstances. Staff also benefit from shifted hours that make caring for loved ones easier, or simply make the commute to work slightly more bearable.