WaterAid's vision is clear, short and concise, and they frequently communicate it in the concise phrase of “everyone, everywhere by 2030”. This phrase is a constant presence across all internal and external communications, and a particularly effective way of embedding their mission in the consciousness of all WaterAid employees. In their most recent global employee survey, 95% of staff reported having “a good understanding of WaterAid's overall vision and mission”. The company share stories from their work on the ground in their bi-weekly newsletter, at their weekly meetings and via Yammer to ensure that all employees are kept informed of progress and see the impact of their work on achieving the company's mission. WaterAid's mission and vision, and particularly their values are reinforced constantly, for example in their physical office space via posters and other resources, through activities such as their values awards and My WaterAid Week. This is a celebratory week in May, which is themed around their values and including, amongst other things, a cake-baking competition.

All company staff has free access outside of office hours to the onsite gymnasium, with cardiac, weights and strength machines. Ok, other companies have a gym - but the real innovation at Checkatrade is that they also employ two full time Personal Trainers and every member of staff can have a free Wellness Session in work time every 2 weeks. The take up on gym and nutrition initiative is significant - anecdotal evidence suggests around 80%. Members of staff can chose their own activity at Wellness sessions which include: Personal Training sessions Individual eating plans and nutritional advice Shopping for the right food, Yes the trainer will take staff shopping! Fitness planning and home workout plans Sports injury and general massage Sea swimming sessions .Bike rides Circuits training and regular running sessions. There are Company cricket and football teams, spin classes and self-defence classes. The company have entered running teams into the Chichester Corporate Challenge and regularly organise staff sport challenges. A recent initiative was to open a Common room for employees, free PC and print access, table football, snooker, play station. People use the ‘Hub' for weekly therapeutic craft project evenings and just to relax. It brings people together, and many friendship groups have formed through the gym and the Hub. Mutual support is very strong in the company and doubtless underpins people's wellbeing.

In addition to a discretionary annual staff bonus and an additional bonus once an engineer completes their Chartership, the Directors rewarded staff with a unique event to celebrate their 40th Anniversary. All UK staff were taken to the Wyboston Lakes Hotel in Bedfordshire on Thursday and the celebration started with a gala dinner on that night. The next day there were a number of team building exercises followed by a barbeque before the staff headed home for the weekend. This inevitably adds to the high level of engagement within Tony Gee and, in turn, a lower than average staff turnover rate. In a feedback survey after the event, the company received many positive comments including the example below: “Just a little note to thank you for a brilliant get together for the 40th Anniversary celebration. As well as having a lot of fun, I especially enjoyed meeting up with colleagues I deal with on a daily basis, it really has enhanced the working relationship. It's good to be a part of Tony Gee.”

The company encourages employees to participate in charitable events and have a policy for matching employee donations which is well utilised. Staff initiatives have included cycle rides, coffee and cake events, marathon running, movember participation etc. The company have also developed a volunteering policy that encourages staff to take two days paid leave to volunteer in the local community. The CEO is a trustee for the Stevenage Community Trust, a voluntary organisation who raises funds and promotes charitable giving in order to enhance the quality of life of people living in the Stevenage area.

Team ‘Speed Dating' is a regular activity taking place once a quarter. Each team member gets involved and is randomly given a number and matched with someone they would not usually work with day to day. The company then takes a team of 5 ‘couple's and then each couple are given topics to discuss. Sharing insights about their; favourite places to visit in the world, aspirations, big idea, big dream and one fact that no one would know about them. Friday 4.30 Fun: On Fridays the company officially close the office an hour earlier to have some team fun. It's not about leaving early on a Friday but rather about team building. Each week one department is responsible for ensuring the whole team get together to interact, engage and get to know one another. The fun activity can be anything, as long as it brings teams together. Activities covered show the range of fun: The Egg Challenge, Salt & Pepper, where people have to blindly find their perfect pairing to find their team, Silly ‘It's a Knockout' type office activities, a quiz and softball in the park. The company buys beers / wine / nibbles for these events. Tuesday Team Lunch: Each Tuesday one department is responsible for organising lunch for the whole team. The entire team then dines together it's a great way of bringing people together and a great way for teams to do something nice for fellow colleagues.

Their Community & Charity Committee sponsor a nominated charity which is voted for by employees. In 2015 they supported Rainbow Living which is a charity which supports adults with disabilities, mainly learning disability and their families by providing accommodation so that young and older adults with disabilities can live with peers, often moving out of the family home and into supported living. There are currently 2 houses, 1 in Exeter and 1 in Torquay, and they are helping to raise funds for a 3rd house in Exeter. They've supported Rainbow Living by attending a fashion show at John Lewis, baking cakes for sale, dress down days, a charity cycle ride of 72 miles, running a tuck shop, helping shoppers with their grocery packing in Sainsbury's and a car boot sale.

Over the past three years the company has successfully worked towards the Better Health at Work Gold Accreditation and are now focusing on Continuing Excellence. During this time have introduced advice on healthy eating, alcohol intake, cancer awareness, exercise and introduced free fruit Fridays. Have in-house Yoga and keep-fit sessions heavily subsidised by the company as well as a walking and running group. This year they upped their game and offered free Indian head massages to all staff. 57 took up the offer and we received overwhelming feedback: - 'It was lovely, it cleared my head for the afternoon and helped me to concentrate'. Staff are encouraged to take part in events and in March supported the Homes for Britain campaign taking a lead role in the north east section. Around thirty members of staff took part in covering the route from Alnmouth in Northumberland to the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle either by cycling, running or walking all or part of the route. During Stoptober hypnotherapy was offered to members of staff who wanted to stop smoking. Offer annual health checks that cover; weight, blood pressure, body composition, spirometer, oximeter, blood glucose and cholesterol with 95 members of staff taking part. On receiving Better Health at Work Gold Award, they were complimented on the innovative approach to improving workplace health.

Last year the company engaged an external consultant to work with the Senior Management team, alongside the rest of the company, to participate in various workshops. This allowed the company to take a step back and re-evaluate the previous values of the company, reworking them into 7 new TAB Principles which can be applied to daily life at TAB. Since then, the Senior Management team has embedded these core TAB Principles into the following processes; -Interview assessment to ensure all potential hires can demonstrate their adherence to company values; -On-boarding sessions focused solely on TAB Principles from one of the Founders within the first 3 months at the business; -To help articulate feedback at the end of probation periods, and use this as a guidance for highlighting improvement needs; -Guidance for ways of working in the daily work of Senior Management team members; -During retrospective sessions with clients to ensure the team builds on delivery and continuous improvements; -In the weekly Senior Management meetings to steer decision-making and problem solving; -End of year annual reviews where salary reviews are based upon fulfilling these principles.

Teach First has an Agile Working culture whereby employees can be flexible about their working environment and the hours that they work whilst prioritising the delivery of their objectives. The policy boosts interaction and communication between teams as employees essentially 'hot desk' around the building. Teach First organises regular socials and check-ins which allow employees to communicate, interact and socialise within their division.They also operate an org-wide intranet, community Website and various newsletters to keep employees up to date.

The senior management team sit within the main office, this makes them approachable and engaging both on a personal and professional level. As a team they are constantly looking at new ideas and innovations to help move the business forward. They have recently been experimenting with Google Glass. The team regularly communicate their thoughts and ideas in a clear and none jargon fashion and encourage feedback and suggestions on these. They will regularly arrange lunches and dinners with the teams across the business and use this as an opportunity to engage personally and professionally.