What are companies doing with regards to 'Leadership'

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.

At Bernicia they really value staff and created the Bernicia Staff Awards to recognise some of the brilliant work they know goes on every day, reflecting the determination, dedication and professionalism of the staff with over 40 staff nominated from across the business: Going the extra mile – someone who doesn't just do what's required and is willing to go the extra mile; someone who is proactive and takes things to the next level without being asked. Inspirational Colleague –regularly inspires others with their positive and enthusiastic attitude in the workplace. Best Team/Campaign – delivering something innovative that has improved quality, performance, efficiency, services or the work environment. Rising Star – recognising potential - someone showing promise and talent, an inspirational leader of the future.

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.

To ensure that the company's principles, mission and their ambitions remain core to how The App Business operate rather than an abstract ideas, the company maintain regular and open communication of them. It is both the values and vision which shape their annual mission statement, formulated and revised by the Co-Founders with input from our Senior Management. This mission is presented to the team by the Co-Founders. It then cascades down to each Community Practise e.g. iOS to establish tangible goals and initiatives for how their department will deliver again the mission for the coming year. Team members will refer to this mission at the start of each initiative to give a perspective and focus for their work and ensure it remains front of mind. The company principles are communicated extensively in our working day and life at TAB from a new starter's first day induction sessions to their welcome meeting with the Founders focusing solely around our principles, which ensures their recognition from the outset. Self-organising project teams use them to set goals for each sprint cycle to drive direction and efficiency as well as retrospectives which aid future problem solving. Findings from these retrospectives are offered shared in their Friday ‘Wrap Up' meetings so everyone can benefit and remain true to the Agile environment. The Principles are also used as a basis of who they hire as well as how they assess individual's progress and development areas.

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.

At Teach First they have a community of past participants who have been on the Teach First Leadership programme. They organise and stay constantly in touch with the past participants who become ambassadors for Teach First in the community raising awareness of the company's mission and values. Many ambassadors go on to start entrepreneurial charities and initiatives which outreach in to local communities and across the Teach First network.

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.

The company has identified a group of high potential managers in the business that are seen as the next generation in leadership: the Simply Business Leadership Network (SBLN). They develop a broader leadership network in the organisation that will help everyone be more effective and work closer together towards their goals; To invest in top performers in the organisation and their development; To encourage peer support and learning; To ensure that the person they report to on the Management Team is getting the support they need; To improve the business as a whole – encouraging the next layer of management to think and work cross functionally in the same way that the Management Team do; To identify and support succession planning.

In 5 years' time the company aim to be twice as big and twice as profitable with both existing and new products, and intend to double the amount of staff they currently have. Helping you make a difference™ is about using the values that they have listed through demonstrating their behaviours by behaving in a way that demonstrates the belief in the 8 values. The company's mission is to adapting our behaviours to match our beliefs.

Instead of sending Christmas cards the company usually donate money to a local charity or supply a gift to a local women's refuge. They also have a Christmas raffle and any money raised from this goes to a local charity which is chosen by the staff. The company is a major contributor to Whizz Kidz and they are now in the process of setting up their own charity, "The Arnold Haase Charitable Trust", to help the local community. They are also a major sponsor of our local radio station Red Shift Radio and are patrons of the South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce.

Every Monday morning at 8.45am every team member meets in the sales office for a kick off meeting. The London team skype in from the office so that all team members know what is happening across the UK. This boosts motivation for the week and allows all departments to update the rest of the company with the main highlights from the previous week and what they are looking forward to that week. In addition to this and to encourage interaction between departments and offices, Select Property Group holds regular social events both in and out of work time to allow all team members to participate, regardless of personal circumstances. Examples of this have been a series of summer lunch parties at both the Alderley Edge and London office – Paella Day, BBQ Day and Pizza Day are just three examples. All events are run simultaneously in both Alderley Edge and London with group images and video calls made in real time in order for the two offices to bond.

Their vision as a business is to become a global provider of investment property brands, renown in each market they serve for their ability to successfully align investor returns with brands that exceed end users' expectations. Their values centre around their team members being committed to excellence, always demonstrating integrity and showing respect and being passionate, active and take pride in everything they do. Their esteemed management team do this from leading from the front and demonstrating superior conduct and professionalism. The management team acknowledge the success and talents of individuals but also realise that true excellence is delivered through the combined efforts of team members so rewards tend to be team based, such as department trips to Dubai. This also enables global teams to meet and interact which cultivates a positive working relationship.

Robert Woodhead Ltd value their employees and their supply chain immensely and the ‘Good to Gold' programme is a pathway through which they offer them the support they need. In whatever area support is required, from health and safety, project and work management, recruitment and human resources, business compliance to best practice, the ‘Good to Gold' programme is designed to help them learn, improve and grow. They are putting their core values, their knowledge and expertise into helping them go from 'good' to 'gold' standard. The program consisted of workshops aimed at increasing the employees' knowledge and understanding and so growing their business and their supply chain.

Robert Woodhead Ltd allowed their local Scout Group to stay in their building overnight, using the facilities available, to enable them to complete several badges. The Scout Troop held an award presentation evening where Robert Woodhead Ltd provided them with the funds to cater for all Scouts, their families and members from the Scout movement. Robert Woodhead Ltd have also engaged with communities around their construction sites, this included the BIG Initiative Programme (Building to Inspire a Generation) which has been set up with the purpose of addressing the skills gap of both on site and office based roles across the construction industry. The purpose of the BIG Initiative was clear and focused on two areas: They wanted a robust strategy, method and brand to inspire people of all ages to join the construction industry. Secondly they wanted a vehicle to drive training and development for people who were already in the industry. The B.I.G Initiative is a companywide commitment to training and development.

A high percentage of the company's managers are home grown and the company therefore ensure they have the opportunity to receive training prior to promotion, to enable them to take on new responsibilities and tasks. The company have two training courses that are aimed at supervisors and assistant managers specifically, Ambassadors in Management (AIM) 1 & 2. They cover subjects such as, workplace communication, motivating a team to perform, induction and coaching, dealing with change, time management, problem solving skills, influencing and negotiating amongst others. Once managers, there is a range of foundation management courses they must attend, such as Health & Safety for Managers, Appraisal skills, Recruitment & Selection, and how to manage people and their performance. We call this AIM 3. For Heads of Department, senior managers and general managers there is a course called “Championing our Elite” which covers project management, managing a budget, leadership and management skills. The company has mentors for junior managers and for our graduate programme participants which helps support, nurture and challenge the managers of the future. All those on the graduate management programme have quarterly meetings with our Managing Director which is both a great development opportunity and support for individuals as they progress through their programme.

A high percentage of the company's managers are home grown and the company therefore ensure they have the opportunity to receive training prior to promotion, to enable them to take on new responsibilities and tasks. The company have two training courses that are aimed at supervisors and assistant managers specifically, Ambassadors in Management (AIM) 1 & 2. They cover subjects such as, workplace communication, motivating a team to perform, induction and coaching, dealing with change, time management, problem solving skills, influencing and negotiating amongst others. Once managers, there is a range of foundation management courses they must attend, such as Health & Safety for Managers, Appraisal skills, Recruitment & Selection, and how to manage people and their performance. We call this AIM 3. For Heads of Department, senior managers and general managers there is a course called “Championing our Elite” which covers project management, managing a budget, leadership and management skills. The company has mentors for junior managers and for our graduate programme participants which helps support, nurture and challenge the managers of the future. All those on the graduate management programme have quarterly meetings with our Managing Director which is both a great development opportunity and support for individuals as they progress through their programme.

The company reminds employees of the vision and mission every time we meet at every town hall so they are constantly focussed on the bigger picture.

In addition to recognising a 'team player' as voted for by the entire company and a 'top performer' as voted for by the senior management team, each quarter, the compamy also hold regular team building days and company wide celebrations for employees and families, so the entire organisation can celebrate achievements and success together.

The company has a very clear set of values that provide the foundation of their culture and behaviour. They have been written down and communicated since the company was founded. The values are reinforced from the top by company founder, Ian Hellens, who leads by example and demonstrates them in action at every opportunity, illustrating the difference the values make to their team and their clients. The senior management team spend time with recruitment partners and with candidates during their three stage interview process to ensure every recruit has the right DNA, in other words, that they naturally live the company values with integrity. The senior management team also bring the values to life at the start and end of the four day induction for new joiners, ensuring that the values are at the heart of the organisation from day 1. During the quarterly regional events, the senior management team present awards to members of the team who have demonstrated the values in action. They hold people to account for living the values and encourage the whole team to embed the values in our day to day business.

The company has a very clear set of values that provide the foundation of their culture and behaviour. They have been written down and communicated since the company was founded. The values are reinforced from the top by company founder, Ian Hellens, who leads by example and demonstrates them in action at every opportunity, illustrating the difference the values make to their team and their clients. The senior management team spend time with recruitment partners and with candidates during their three stage interview process to ensure every recruit has the right DNA, in other words, that they naturally live the company values with integrity. The senior management team also bring the values to life at the start and end of the four day induction for new joiners, ensuring that the values are at the heart of the organisation from day 1. During the quarterly regional events, the senior management team present awards to members of the team who have demonstrated the values in action. They hold people to account for living the values and encourage the whole team to embed the values in our day to day business.