What are companies doing with regards to 'Leadership'

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.”

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.

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.

As well as walking meetings, team members are encouraged to work standing up. The company have dedicated areas where team members can take their laptops and work standing up. Stand up meetings are also commonplace and encouraged. Fresh fruit is supplied daily. This year the company is also running a Wellbeing Week, starting the day with team meditation, yoga daily. The company arrange for Nutritionist to talk to all team about nutrition and wellbeing. Mindful colouring books available at lunch and breakout areas. Counselling as part of company benefits, they offer a 'mental wellbeing' counselling service for anyone that wants to take it up.

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.

The organisation has an exceptional achievement award programme. Employees who are nominated for this receive a personal letter from the Chief Executive, and awarded either a bonus, vouchers or a weekend away. There is no limit how many times an individual can be nominated.

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.