Leadership Drives Engagement

Week-long team building exercises are held where employees are put into teams, mixing with different departments all with the same goal to win the tasks set. Prizes for the team winners and for individual winners include weekends away and all-expenses-paid dinners.

The management team are role models for the values and demonstrate them in their engagement, both internally and externally. They have led on the evolution of the values, empowering employees to determine what each value means.

Employee wellbeing is supported with free sports massages, acupuncture and osteopathy. The company also offers full health screenings to staff, as well as an annual, free flu jab to all staff in the office.

Each year, Elvis holds a summer event, which is attended by the whole company. The build-up to the event includes a month-long theme selection process that encourages cross-departmental collaboration and creative thinking across all levels.

The company has introduced a range of initiatives for employee engagement, including enhanced long service awards, a coffee club, increased communications and mindfulness sessions for all office-based staff.

To ease workplace stress, the company encourages breaks to be taken at regular intervals. Additionally, a mental health policy is in place and a team of sourced councillors are on hand for staff who require extra support.

Employees are able to submit recognition shout-outs to other employees, which are then displayed on the internal intranet page. Each year, one winner is chosen to receive a bonus and a trip to the annual conference in America.

As part of learning and development incentives, Content and Code award cash bonuses to employees who successfully complete Microsoft Competency exams.

The college supports employees from different and varied roles to obtain qualifications to develop themselves. For example, they supported teaching assistants to obtain teaching qualifications and teachers to obtain leadership qualifications.

The company has been trialling aluminium straws at their restaurants and look to roll this out so they can be 100% plastic free across all sites. Most recently, one site has started producing its own herbs and vegetables, helping to reduce carbon emissions.

To highlight the culture they want to achieve and maintain, the company created their six behaviours with help from employees. These include: Show the Love, Only Accept Awesome, I Got This, Do What Scares You, Tell It Like It Is and Open Up & Listen.

All staff appraisals have a section where they are asked to provide examples of their performance that relates to the Company Values. Staff have a guide based on the ‘Values' workshop to remind them how they might live the values.

Creative breakfasts are an opportunity for people to get together and share what inspires them and excites them. The breakfast is open to all and helps people avoid getting too focused on their work and repeating themselves.

60% of Bates Wells work is for charities and not-for-profit organisations. The company regularly encourages employees to become charity trustees, holding 100 trusteeships and giving paid time off to employees for their charitable services.

Staff are encouraged to take part in charitable activities for Anthony Nolan outside of their usual roles. This includes helping at stem cell donor recruitment events, acting as a courier transporting stem cells for transplants, and volunteering at fundraising events.

The Wellbeing 100 programme consists of a variety of activities and events for employees to participate in, such as the Virgin Pulse Global Challenge and workshops on mental health, mindfulness, nutrition and yoga.

Each year Cambridge Online take two students on a work experience programme. Each member of the Leadership Team spends time and shares their views of what it is like to run a team within a company. The students then spend time with each member of those teams to bring to see how it works in reality. This gives them a great insight into what work is really all about and how different teams interact and the views and needs of companies and their managers or employees from a real employer's perspective. The Managing Director spends time giving an overview of the pressures of managing a business and bringing together how all the departments need to work together to effect this. Additionally, there is a session on making a difference as an employee and instructions as to how companies interview and guidance on how to approach the job market. They offered a week's work experience to someone known to the Company who has recently fallen on hard times. This has given him the opportunity of regaining some self-respect and feeling valued again, giving him the benefit of a good reference and hopefully giving him the inspiration to seek further employment. They also have a team who organise various charity events for staff to attend throughout the year. These events are funded by the Company and raise a significant amount of money for a chosen charity. Cambridge Online are proud of their continued support of the apprenticeship scheme and each year aim to continue this.

Xero UK receive support from their own Learning and Development Specialist. Some employees have had further coaching than that given at the beginning of employment. They have a monthly People Managers Meeting and PX are there to support and advise. Some employees are going on to do a coaching qualification themselves. 360 degree feedback is given annually. There is increasing use of Workday to initiate feedback. Engagement is measured by Officevibe and reported real time on a weekly basis to ensure that employees are happy at work. The company work hard to maintain a two-way flow of information.

Employee engagement and interaction is critically important to the day to day competitiveness and the culture of our business. X4 Group understands that positive interaction between all members of staff boosts morale and improves performance. They have a digital leader board visible to all teams in the office to share every team's performance and showcase their position on the leader board with updated deals. This information system provides employees with instant updates of the whole company's performance, allowing a transparent working environment which they have found greatly improves efficiency and competitiveness between teams. The company encourage weekly competitions among different teams in different markets and have monthly nominations for Team, Deal & Consultant of the month where each winner gets a prize. Prizes include team lunch, night out, West End show, champagne etc. Every team in the company is eligible to win every month so it encourages team members to support each other. They are highly focused on attracting and hiring the right people so have a very collaborative approach, involving employees in the hiring process. Under this process candidates interact with future teammates improving team interaction from the very beginning. They have several team building days out annually to encourage company interaction. Recently the company did a Mud Run Assault Course followed by an all paid for company party. They also do things like go-karting, charity sports days etc. In addition to this they have several sports teams and play competitively in tournaments against other companies!

At Unicef, different teams adopt different practices according to their needs. These include weekly stand up meetings to share priorities for the week and to ask for assistance if they need it using a red /amber / green status flag, which indicates their workload to colleagues. There is also the use of instant messaging or communication apps such as WhatsApp to share information, updates and to ask questions, plus the use of Skype or FaceTime to dial colleagues into meetings. Each year, Unicef bring all employees together for an all staff away day. This is an engaging event which gives real meaning and purpose to everyone's jobs by connecting people to the impact their efforts and Unicef's work is having for children around the world. 2016's event was themed around Children on the Move. They had informative presentations from colleagues working in their Jordan and Lebanon country offices and heard from inspiring young people about the positive impact one of their UK Programmes 'Rights Respecting Schools' is having on their lives. Staff also had the opportunity to participate in a humanitarian emergency simulation and take a virtual reality tour of a refugee camp.

Specsavers are passionate about giving back to and working with many local, national and international causes. The company are involved in a vast number of activities to raise money for charities, for example their continued work with Vision Aid Overseas to safeguard the nine eye clinics Specsavers established with them in Zambia. The company also help to deliver a range of hand-crafted quilts made in Guernsey to an orphanage in Johannesburg, South Africa. Also in its 20th year, the annual Spectacle Wearer of the Year competition has raised £80,000 for UK anti-bullying children's charity Kidscape. New starters can donate a 'coin' to one of the charities that Specsavers support at the end of their induction, giving them an early understanding and participation in the organisation's charity work. Through the 'Giving back to our local communities' policy, staff are also encouraged to spend one working day per year helping out in the community. Specsavers also have staff nominated charities in each office and encourage staff to raise money for them. Last year the company raised almost £190,000 for these fantastic charities.

Part of the Southpaw culture is to be open and honest with every member of staff. As part of this ideology the company hold a quarterly company meeting that welcomes new joiners to the agency, celebrates the best strategic and creative work, rewards individuals who have represented their BOB values most consistently and also explains how the business is performing commercially. Southpaw celebrate the highs and lows together in order to stay united as a pack and to progress forward. They are very transparent on gross income generated, performance against budget, profit generated to date and forecasted profit. They feel this transparency gives their talent a real sense of ownership and empowers them to make a significant difference to their commercial, creative and cultural development. All employees are also given laptops, which allows them to work collaboratively and to not be tied to a specific spot within the building, which really helps promote team interaction for effective working and relationship building.

Prospectus is a community that participates and has an impact on the larger communities that are within the recruitment space, the beyond profit sector and society. Their impact can be felt in the way the Prospectus team work together to connect thousands of talented individuals with hundreds of beyond profit organisations every year. They work with a range of organisations, from small grass-root community-led local charities, to large-scale NGOs operating in hundreds of countries. All of these organisations and all of the talented individuals that the company place helps to bring about global change. This is reflected in the recent accreditation as a B Corp organisation. Other community initiatives include the fundraising that takes place including two upcoming events, the Big Sleep Out for the Big Issue and a team cycling for the British Asian Trust. The CEO is trustee and patron for several organisations, and the company are pioneers for the Trust Youth initiative. They a team run in the British London 10K raising money for various charities. Every employee gets 6 volunteering days a year. Examples of volunteering can be seen in the attached copy of Beat. Prospectus is a pioneer of Advantaged Thinking, a philosophy that underpins the Trust Youth movement, an alliance of organisations and individuals working to promote an asset-based approach to young people. As part of this they are dedicated to ensure young people are given the right opportunities to thrive and prosper. In addition, they have made a commitment to offer at least two weeks of work experience to young people each year. This reflects previous experience of supporting initiatives assisting this who might have difficulty gaining or regaining employment.

Two-way dialogue and transparent interaction is openly encouraged at Pegasus. In fact, some of their pivotal changes in recent years have been the result of staff feedback, such as the creation of the five Pegasus behaviours and the company's move to Brighton. The company have established countless regular channels for people to feed in their suggestions, from contributing at internal peer group meetings, being invited to provide formal feedback on new initiatives or simply meeting Simon the MD for lunch and a chat. To strengthen staff insights further, Pegasus have recently invested in a formal online engagement tool called ‘HIVE'. HIVE sends bi-weekly micro surveys to all staff, providing real-time data and acting as a barometer for the overall engagement of people on a range of workplace matters. The company also run an internal group called Culture Club, which acts as a working group focusing on staff wellbeing, social and charity events.

One Way is a respected and rapidly growing recruitment company for the construction industry, with specialist expertise in the built environment, rail, civil engineering and heavy plant. They place top quality construction professionals, technical and management staff, and trades and labour roles right across the UK. They are building an enviable reputation for uncompromising professionalism and integrity, setting new standards for the industry. Their strength is their ability to match the right people to the right jobs. They take the time to understand thoroughly what they are looking for, and then use the extensive database and industry knowledge to find exactly the right combination of skills, experience and accreditations. They are known in the construction industry for being thorough, well prepared and professional. Every candidate is carefully vetted for their eligibility to work and compliance with required standards. Each Team Member is given a Welcome Folder when they join the One Way Team which includes details of the company's Unique Selling Points, Core Values and Cultural Values.

Nix Communications offers discounted BUPA health insurance policies to staff after a period of employment of 12 months. Wellbeing is important to NIX for all its staff. Various activities including ‘Tone Up Tuesdays' take place in the office. A member of staff is also a qualified Personal Trainer so she leads the sessions. They also run Lunchtime Fit Clubs. An open and communicative approach is adopted to the mental wellbeing of their employees allowing staff members to talk and discuss any concerns or workload issues to members of the management team, without prejudice. A recent addition to the NIX office, is a Shiatsu Massage Chair, this chair is the real deal and cost several thousand pounds. It is free to use and is positioned in NIX's breakout area, along with all the movies, PS4, Pool Table, Sonos Music, and arcade games machines! They always have music in the office which everyone can change. The company have a fantastic breakout area and encourage people to use this. They also encourage people to be active, providing people with headsets so they are not tied to their desk when on calls.

Collectively Needlers respect and treat everyone fairly; they hold team meetings which encourages working together and provide opportunities for people to put forward their ideas. In these sessions they also provide performance feedback, recognise individual efforts and those who are ‘going the extra mile', for example, they will send congratulatory emails highlighting which value the individual has demonstrated. They invest in people by providing training courses, such as NVQ's, excel courses etc. They also like to check-in on each team, just spending time just asking how they are, what they've been up to etc. so that it creates an open and approachable culture. Alistair has a very visible presence within the organisation and is central to the positive culture, plus the organisation is small enough that he is able to speak to each member of staff on a daily basis.

The overall reward package at Moorhouse is unique because it is completely open and transparent. Salaries are set according to market rates, at the same level for everyone in a grade peer group and are published and available to all staff. Salary rises are awarded to all staff in the grade according to changes in market levels or to specific individuals on promotion to the next grade. New recruits are hired at the same salary as everyone else in their grade peer group. There are four bonus schemes. All employees are eligible for two bonus payments. The first is the Company bonus which incentivises collaboration by rewarding the business performance of Moorhouse. The second is the Personal bonus which recognises individual achievement by rewarding performance against objectives. Two further bonus schemes are in place for eligible staff. The Sales bonus which rewards contributions to business development to those involved in the sale of new client engagements. The Utilisation bonus rewards consultants for billable hours. The policies and processes around the four bonus scheme are published and distributed to all eligible employees. Potential bonus awards are clearly communicated at the start of the financial year so that everyone understands how their contribution will be linked to their reward. Individual eligibility is accessed and communicated at six month intervals through the performance review process. Bonuses are paid every six months, so reward is linked to achievement in a timely manner.

Marketing Sciences have monthly whole service meetings, in addition to regular team and individual meetings, where everyone gets together at the end of the day for drinks and nibbles. Directors and others provide a brief update of what has been happening and what is coming up within the business. As part of this they collect “shout-outs”, where colleagues and clients provide praise for a job well done, which is highlighted at the monthly meetings. They also have quarterly “values awards”, which recognises achievement and anyone who is working in accordance with company values and going the extra mile. The values are communicated and discussed with all staff via one to one meetings, as part of appraisals and on top of this all new joiners are given all information necessary. Meeting rooms are named to reflect the company values. Finally the Managing Director meets all new starters to provide an overview of the company and share the values.

HomeServe have supported over 150 community groups across the West Midlands. A share of £35k has also been put towards their partnership with Midlands' newspaper, Express & Star, on its ‘Cash For Your Community' initiative for the third year running. Volunteers across the business gave over 1,750 hours of volunteer time for the Sport Relief 2016 campaign, with HomeServe answering a phenomenal 2,369 donation calls and raising over £72,272 on the night. The company's people volunteered 14,000 hours, served 8,300 meals and made 6,900 food supply bags for The Midland Langar Seva Society, a local charity that provides food for the homeless. They have even provided the charity with a van to distribute food donations that HomeServe contribute to weekly from their own site. The company are also working with Career Transition Partnership and Armed forces, for example the company have recently taken on Gas Engineers who have worked with engineers to gain experience, even resulting in a job offer. To provide further opportunities for HomeServe's P&D engineers, a Level 3 Gas Apprenticeship is also available.

Before detailing how the organisation supports and develops its managers it is worth noting that 90% of Team Leaders and Managers within Gopher Money have been promoted from the ranks. This in itself is a clear indication of the value and trust that they invest in all their staff. They support the leadership team by ensuring they are involved in all decisions relating to their teams and offering them along with their teams the opportunity to develop themselves. For example, every Team Leader and Manager within the company bar one is currently undertaking at least one qualification. This is indicative of the need to 'Continue to Progress' and is demonstrated from the top of the company to the bottom. Initially this is done via KPI's not just surrounding performance but also quality and how they feel that their managers demonstrate the company values. Initially they discuss this in one to ones where all aspects of their performance is documented and from here they also complete at least 2 employee engagement surveys per annum where staff are given the opportunity to confidentially express how they feel about all aspects of the business including their Manager. Ultimately low attrition rates are one of the best measures as to how Gopher Money managers are performing as statistics show that employees who leave a company have done so principally due to a change in personal circumstances, rather than being dissatisfied with their role or the way they have been managed. This demonstrates that employee's loyalty to Gopher Money begins with how they are supervised, which has been supported in the results of the employee surveys.

All Directors are committed to preventing injuries to both employees and also everyone else that Fichtner work with, hence their adopted policy of 'safety in everything we do'. Directors are committed to providing the highest possible quality of service delivery to their client base, commensurate with the expertise and experience that reside within the organisation. The Senior Team acts with integrity in all of their actions and interactions with colleagues, clients, contractors and suppliers. John the MD has an open door policy and will talk to any of the employees at any point during the day without a prior appointment. He drives health and safety behaviour, sits on the health and safety working group, chairs the monthly team leader's meetings and also the Friday weekly staff meetings whenever possible. He makes himself available to everyone and will provide support and guidance with both work and, where appropriate and with HR support, personal issues as well. John also continues to undertake an element of fee paying project work. Overall Fichtner has a flat structure and is not hierarchical in culture.

DPD's Senior Management Team supports a number of its strategic initiatives, which demonstrates its commitment to the values of the organisation, with the main two examples being the Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) Programme and the Corporate Induction. The SMT supports CSR through the work that they do with a local school called Phoenix Collegiate. The SMT attend a ‘Dragon's Den' competition where they meet and review students' business plan ideas that they have worked on during the year. The SMT then give marks on different aspects of the business plan and an overall winner is announced. As part of their Induction Programme new starters are invited to meet the SMT at an event called Corporate Induction, where they have the opportunity to discover more about the business. They are introduced to the company's DNA (core values) as well as meeting DPD's CEO, Dwain McDonald. Each member of the SMT delivers a presentation about their function, followed by a Q&A session to give new starters a better understanding of DPD. Dwain also engages with colleagues within the business through the Winter Conference and DPD's annual business communication cascade called DNA. At the Winter Conference, Dwain cascades upcoming strategies for the business. DPD's DNA is an annual cascade of information to all employees within the company. Its objectives are, like the Winter Conference, to communicate business priorities and strategies. Dwain records a number of videos that are played in meetings throughout the business. The message given is always clear, with key points and a focus on the benefits of the message. Dwain also uses the Company Newsletter to engage with staff, as all employees and pensioners receive a copy. As well as all this Dwain's ethos is about getting back to 'grass roots' and he has spent a day in the call centre and he also spent a day with a collection and delivery driver, all so he could experience these roles first hand.

Darwin's CEO Paul sits on the sales floor amongst the consultants, this way he ensures that he is constantly accessible all day every day. Paul's sentiment and commitment is fully reflected in the new Darwin strapline; Collaborate and Evolve. The company collaborate with staff to help them evolve within the business. Every six months Darwin hold “15 minutes with Paul”, which takes place over a number of weeks. During this time, Paul travels around the Darwin offices and meets with every member of the business at every level. Staff are encouraged to speak to Paul about any concerns or questions they have and to offer suggestions for improvements to the working environment and business processes. The ideas and feedback is then shared with the board and Senior Management/operations teams who, in turn, take responsibility for driving through the relevant changes. This proves to staff that Darwin value their feedback.

CNG are a new and proud supporter of the Princes Trust. The Senior Leadership have just entered into a three-year partnership with the charity. Currently CNG have recruited and continue to recruit for volunteers to take part in the scheme. Roles are varied from short term roles, centred around a day on specific skills or more long term mentoring roles for which CNG will allow employee volunteers time away from their day role to meet with a young person on a regular basis to provide guidance on achieving goals, searching for jobs and supporting with interview processes. The CNG Charity Committee also come together regularly in conjunction with in-house events team to organise their part in numerous projects. Most recently the team were encouraged to support local charity shops by pairing up and purchasing an outfit for one another to wear in the office. The company have also done charity fund raising for Help the Homeless and Guide Dogs for the Blind. As detailed above the Princes Trust Partnership will provide an opportunity for CNG employees to support people who are struggling in the community to get into employment due to their past. The Works Charity are currently working on a project to build a solar school, this would be a space that would provide young people with a number of practical activities that will form their learning and skills to secure employment in the future. CNG have made an initial investment of £28,000 to the project in order to get the building and creation of the school underway. Volunteers and mentors at the works charity will then be working with young people who have struggled in mainstream education and find difficultly entering employment due to lack of qualifications.

Every single person across Celsian puts the child at the heart of every decision they make and this is within their DNA. As specialists in education recruitment, Celsian have been matching exceptional teachers and support staff with fantastic primary, secondary and SEN schools for more than 20 years. From Southampton to Gateshead, they have branches all over the UK with in-depth local knowledge and specialist insight. For teachers and support staff, they offer unique incentives like their Guaranteed Pay Scheme, Celsian School Heroes and Core Subject Bonus. And for schools, the industry-leading Children and Young People Guarantee offers a quality assurance that the people we place will improve outcomes for your pupils. Celsian are a member of APSCo which means we have been recognised as a recruitment agency you can trust, and have confidence in.

All of Celsian Consultants who are keen to move into management are invited to nominate themselves for the "Leadership Academy" which is a one-year course providing them with the skills and competencies to become leaders in the future. This is an in depth programme which sees people from across the Impellam group brands come together to develop into future leaders and learn about each other's markets to promote cross brand promotions. There are quarterly training sessions to help them achieve their aspirations. Each training day covers the tools that they need as leaders to be job ready for the challenge ahead. Managing Directors from across Impellam attend every session and deliver an informal presentation on themselves, their business and how they achieved their success. The programme culminates in a "Big Idea" project. Delegates are tasked with solving a business issue that will help add value back into their business. They present their ideas to the various Managing Directors across the group and have six months to bring them to life. Previous ideas are still alive in the business and have helped Celsian to save time, money and increase revenue.

The Senior Management Team are extremely visible to all staff and also have a friendly approach. They have an open door policy and lead by example. As part of the company's induction a corporate presentation is delivered to all new staff members, which is always conducted by a member of the Senior Management Team. During these the values of the business are described in more detail. Regular meetings are also conducted with all staff to keep them well informed about the business. Due to the various office locations and offsite training each month a webinar is presented by the Senior Management Team called Teamtalk, which informs the business about progress, profits, HR, sales, events and anything else they should be aware of. The webinar is recorded so if any staff were unable to dial in they are able to view it later. Cadline want everyone to feel engaged, regardless of their remote location, and therefore ensure regular visits occur to all offices by Senior Managers and HR alike.

Because Blue Chip Customer Engineering's mission, vision and values are intrinsically inked to all business activities, they are always on the employees' minds. The mission and vision govern the key business objectives that are set out annually and reviewed quarterly. All new starters are educated on the Company's mission and vision during the induction and all employees receive updates on how the objectives are being met throughout the year. The company values, on the other hand, support the employee performance appraisal and personal development plans tools. These are reviewed quarterly for each employee and therefore every three months each employee revisits how they display the company values in their day to day work and interactions with the customers and colleagues.

The senior management team sits with the recruitment teams in the open plan office. They do not shut themselves away in private offices. They are extremely visible and have an “open door” management policy. The whole of the senior management team, including the CEO, handle recruitment assignments and are client facing so they genuinely lead by example and thereby actively demonstrate their hands on commitment to the values of the organisation. The senior management team jointly present to the business on a quarterly and bi-annually basis to update employees on company performance, initiatives and objectives, linking all activity back to the vision, mission and values of the organisation. By so doing, they are able to demonstrate their commitment to the values of the organisation by showing trust, sharing insight, demonstrating their talent, celebrating the talent and results of the employees and proving their agility. The CEO is extremely approachable and committed to retaining Argyll Scott's talented employees. He participates in the selection process of all UK based employees and senior international employees, taking a personal interest in ensuring they can attract, hire, train, promote and retain the best talent for the business. The CEO participates in the corporate induction programme, personally explaining the mission, vision and values of the company and thereby demonstrating his commitment to them. On a daily basis, the CEO walks the floor, talking to employees, listening to their suggestions, achievements and feedback on initiatives and advising them on how to handle challenges and obstacles. The CEO hosts monthly lunches with a group of employees from across the business which provides an informal opportunity for him to gauge internal sentiment.

World Vision UK have a dedicated development programme for new and experienced managers and leaders, that aims to develop and support them in carrying out their roles within the organisation. The programme includes The Leadership Development Programme, which is designed to provide World Vision UK with a cadre of leaders who are aligned, equipped and enthused to deliver their organisational priorities, by consistently living out the company's values and Christian identity against a set of core behaviours. The Motivational Manager is a modular programme developed to support managers, at all levels, to become highly effective people managers and enable them to manage and lead their teams well. People Management Skills Workshop - a number of workshops are provided throughout the year that up-skill new managers in the use of the company's people management systems, and the way we do things, e.g. recruitment and performance management. Coaching: all senior managers are given the opportunity to receive coaching with a qualified external coach. In addition, internal mentoring and/or coaching is available for people managers at all levels. HR Business Partner Meetings: HR Business Partners provide support to all people managers through monthly one-to-one meetings. These meetings provide managers with the opportunity to seek advice, discuss development within their teams and raise any concerns they may have regarding people management. Acting Up & Secondments: when opportunities arise, managers are encouraged to act up into more senior positions and/or take up secondments into roles, which will enable and encourage their personal and professional development.

Workplace Systems Ltd believe the key to communicating the vision is firstly to involve the entire company in the development of the vision in the first instance and secondly to regularly re-enforce the vision with both new starters and existing employees. Consistent with the company culture, Workplace Systems Ltd engaged the entire company in the development of their vision statement and values. They revisit the vision annually to evaluate whether they need to pivot in certain areas; again, feedback from the entire Company is considered when making changes. Workplace Systems Ltd believe the key to communicating the vision is to discuss it regularly and to make it available in multiple media formats. The company communicate it in a number of ways: Face-to-face: the vision statement and values are communicated at offsite company events, at CEO ‘All Hands Briefings' and as a core part of the induction process, on the company intranet: the vision, business plan and values are all available on the intranet (called ‘The Bridge'). Workplace Systems Ltd use other tools, such as TribeHR, to bring the values to life using a recognition/ feedback tool called ‘Kudos', which provides an ongoing opportunity for colleagues to publicly recognise each other's efforts and identify which of the company values those efforts align with by awarding Kudos badges. During the last quarter of 2014 Workplace Systems Ltd held a ‘Values in Action' initiative to promote and recognise the colleagues who had embodied/ delivered the values in the business. These were then promoted via an on-line ‘Values in action' advent calendar.

This Christmas will be Whitespace's third charity fundraising campaign. In their first year, the team of Whitespace Elves sourced an arcade grabber machine, and worked out how their clients could control it from their own desks to program the claw to grab and deliver presents. For everyone who had a go, the company donated £1 to charity, but for skilled operators who grabbed and delivered a present, Whitespace donated £5. This all helped deliver real presents to kids who might not have received anything else. With thousands of site visitors and hundreds of participants, in only two days, Whitespace were able to donate £1,670 to Forth 1's Cash for Kids charity appeal. In 2014, Whitespace started working with global charity Mary's Meals and they realised that by joining forces, they could increase the impact of their Christmas fundraiser. The company gave Whitespace time for free and some Whitespacers also donated their own personal time out of hours. The result was the ‘One More for Christmas campaign'. The cost of a typical Christmas dinner is £16 per person. But for just £12.20, Mary's Meals can provide food for a poverty stricken child in a place of education for an entire year. So Whitespace created a virtual Christmas dinner table and invited people to set a place for £12.20. In a month the company raised over £47,000 - enough to provide 3,300 children with a daily meal for a year. For Christmas 2015 Whitespace are planning to build on this success and reach a higher target.

WaterAid do a number of different activities as part of Giving Something Back and are currently considering a 'volunteering' day for their staff to get further involved with the local community. The company have a collection annually for the local food bank (this is usually close to Christmas) and many people use their office space to raise funds for their own charities and WaterAid allow the use of their communication channels. They are also part of the Business Improvement District for Vauxhall; this is a group of local businesses who support initiatives to improve the area. The company have recently had a payroll giving day, where they became the first charity to win a platinum award for their management sign up of employees on the scheme. They had 33 of their staff sign up to this on one day. This is a way for staff to contribute to a charity via their salary, under a salary sacrifice scheme, which is tax free. This can be any charity, not just WaterAid.

This year the company completed a £350,000 project for Redwood Park School for mentally challenged young adults. It was a complete rebuild of sports changing facilities and swimming pool refurbishment. The company actively promote their generous charity leave policy whereby staff can volunteer for up to a week. One staff member has recently returned from a week at a holiday camp for adults with disabilities and said it was incredibly humbling, rewarding. Through the Checkatrade Foundation, the company support local, national and international causes; they funded a life-saving defibrillator and training for 12 staff at a primary school near their head office in Selsey. Seal School is where many staff went to school or have children there now and the company were delighted to help. They organised a football match at Crawley Town football ground raising money from staff and the public who wanted to play and spectators and raised £1280. This was divided equally between Chestnut Tree House children's hospice and the Nepal appeal following the earthquake. The cheques were presented to both at a recent game. North East: office took part in the Edinburgh 10k while there is a team running the Great South Run at the end of October. They have sponsored local football teams in Newcastle and Chichester with new kit. Staff play on the teams and it's great to see them come together and play regularly.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

Extra Care scheme (for very elderly and vulnerable residents) was recently renovated, including the creation of sensory gardens. In addition to the south garden, which also includes a BBQ area for summer parties, a ‘wildlife walk' has been created with elevated views of Poole Harbour, and a courtyard with beautifully scented evergreen pine, rosemary and euphorbia. Residents are thrilled with the results. This has had the desired impact of encouraging elderly residents to leave their flats and enjoy the gardens and socialise with other residents; with important health benefits. There are now successful community gardens in areas that no-one believed they could work, and local youngsters are getting to understand where their food comes from, and learn about healthy eating. They support the local credit union (Coastal Community Savings and Loans) and offer the time of their staff to support the running and good governance of this organisation.

Core communication to the Pinnacle team comes from James Spencer, MD, who is highly visible to all employees on a daily basis. James has a no desk, no PA policy, ensuring he works from all office locations, sitting amongst staff. He will frequently gather teams to give a "State of the Nation" on Pinnacle's vision and performances. This is always a very open forum, never shying from away from difficult subjects or issues the business maybe facing. Frequent meetings with the management team and personal mentoring and coaching helps those new to the management team accelerate their personal development and performance. The staff newsletter also provides communication of the mission and core values.

Pinnacle's core value is all about supporting their people, and as they are a UK wide organisation, getting teams together is very important to them. Therefore the company organisers departmental conferences eg. Support department conference (held this year in Newcastle), Consultant's conference (held this year in Warwickshire). At these conferences they have the opportunity to discuss opportunities/challenges specific their department and meet up with colleagues who are working in a different geographical area. Another way the company demonstrates this core value is by allowing many of their staff the flexibility to work from home, this helps significantly with their "work life balance".

Throughout the company's portfolio of brands ability, character and loyalty underpin and drive their performance. In order to maintain this culture and ethos the company regularly communicates these values to employees, at all stages of their careers via various media. Prior to and starting employment prospective hires receive “Phaidon at a Glance” Brochure and new hires receive a pack which outlines information about working at Phaidon, including information about the company's mission, vision and values. On induction, new employees are also shown the Phaidon Story video. This enables employees to be well versed on their purpose, ambition, core principles, culture and ethos even before they start work. During Monthly Business Reviews and assessment for promotions, employees are asked to explain how they regularly demonstrate ability, loyalty and character. Monthly newsletter and quarterly round pp meetings awards and mentions for ability, loyalty, character are announced within the monthly newsletter and quarterly round up meetings held by the CEO. Those who are mentioned are invited to attend lunch club rewards. Senior Management Away Days and AGM to further launch a new Mission statement.

The company strategy is aligned to one of their core values - ability, and their primary guiding principle; superior financial performance. The desired outcomes are to drive superior sustainable financial performance and enhance the retention. Promotion and development of high performing staff who live the company values. The company has a progressive pay scheme benchmarked to ensure they pay median basic salaries for the appropriate grades they offer. From the outset they make it clear that talented sales staffs who are successful will obtain superior earnings, however they will never seek to drive a culture of high basic salary low value performance incentives.

The senior management team live, breathe and assess company values regularly, they show their commitment to this through promoting the values daily at team meetings where the values are brought to life. The senior management are also measured on behaviours which encompass all of the Company values, as are all of their colleagues. The senior management team are also very visible on site, once again displaying values such as team work and recognition.

The company's Make a Difference mission has remained true since their GM started in the business. The company is consistent in how they reference this for their consumers, customers, suppliers and employees alike. The Company Values were not defined top down but were developed by a group of employees from across the business. The Company Values are not on a wall, unforgotten or reminded about once a year. Instead, they are integrated tin every day as a reference to HOW they should run the business. The Company has a Values Charter which defines the standards they should expect of each other in reference to the outrageous ambition “T200” was launched two years ago, combined with a profit share scheme which means all employees can gain from a share in the business should the company hit certain profit targets.

Omega is committed to making a difference to their employees by celebrating ownership that inspires them to build their legacy. Omega want to be the company everyone wants to join and no one wants to leave. This year the company developed an organisational development strategy that drove 3 key areas; Insight into self, understanding others, and delivering results. The company created an innovative pilot leadership development program aligned to these 3 areas; that is a blend of classroom, experimental, learning circle learning and supported with coaching. Each delegate was nominated for their personal skills and attributes as well as their alignment to the company's values. The company is currently working with the Institute leadership and Management development to have this program accredited and as it is a pilot program we are working with the delegates to code sign and evolve for cohort 2 in 2016- further demonstrating our commitment to working as one team to drive perfection.

All employees have a good understanding of EVP as they actively particpated in its construction. It is through EVP that they communicate their primary purpose, values and ambitions in a succinct way. The annual sales conference seeks to provide clarity and reinforcement of values, mission, strategic objectives and ambitions for the forthcoming year and beyond. It also recognises outstanding performance and celebrates successes - all are aligned to the mission, values and vision. Integral to how they live the mission, values and vision is to ensure they are always at the forefront of their minds when operating day to day, leading their people, making decisions, engaging with candidates and clients and interacting with others through social media and other media. Through annual employee engagement survey they gain a better understanding of what is important to the people and where we may have become 'out of touch' . This allows the company to address key areas and focus on driving a high performance culture focused on a single vision.

North Devon Homes believe that “culture” and “business objectives” require equal investment to enable them to deliver their vision. They invest a great deal of their leadership time on getting the culture right and have developed “Team ndh” as their culture. Team ndh drives the values, leadership, training and is “the way they do things ”. The company overlay this with their business objectives. They use Great Game of Business principles to help them embed this approach, Principles are based on the belief that to achieve success every employee should: understand the numbers enough to know what business success looks like, be expected and enabled to act on their knowledge to improve performance and have a direct stake in the company's success and risk of failure.

Employee Connect Nationwide has a group of 1,000+ employees called Employee Connect. The virtual group influence business decisions by being consulted on ongoing issues including product design, service improvements, marketing and employee campaigns. The company creates bespoke employee apps to foster greater interaction. For the Annual Awards 2015, the event app had 96% of employee finalists logged in, 796 photos posted, 969 comments, 1,232 status updates, 4,274 likes and over 55,000 visits. The retail division comprises 9,000 employees across 700+ branches and sites. To connect those employees the company have created a Virtual Retail Expo, which enables people to have a better understanding of what other Retail teams do, key contacts, latest news and product information. Corporate cascade Nationwide's five year Corporate Plan is announced internally in April each year. Following a leadership conference for the top 800 leaders, the corporate plan is then cascaded through every division, department and team within the business over a 6 week period. So every one of our 17,000 employees receives a face to face presentation on our latest business strategy.

The company communicates the organisation's Primary Purpose (Mission), Core Principles (Values) and Outrageous Ambition (Vision) to employees at inductions and display it on internal boards, and at training academies.

Every Friday morning they have an all agency meeting. It's an opportunity to share what's going on in the agency, welcome new joiners, allow teams to share the work they're doing for clients and a forum for parish notices. All accompanied by a free bacon / egg sandwich and a hot cup of tea! It's great for encouraging inter-department relationships and is just a great way to end the week. The last Thursday before payday is 'Thirsty Thursday' when a member of the management team chooses a venue and invites the agency out for a few drinks. It's timely because many people are short of funds and it's a good opportunity for people to socialise and unwind together. 'What's going on?' is an email summary contributed to by anyone in the team, a weekly snapshot of the culture, successes, people and news at the agency. Normally compiled by the CEO or another member of the management team it's sent to everyone at the end of the week so if you've been away or busy on a project you can keep in touch with all the goings on.

The values at mcgarrybowen are defined by the behaviour of the management team in all aspects of running the business. Those values are respect, honesty, openness and an inclusive, collaborative spirit. The team challenge themselves to fulfil these values every day in all dealings both with the broader team and their clients. They actively seek feedback on what they're doing as a company and listen. They empower their people to make decisions and encourage people to excel and grow.

Liquid's directors do not have separate offices; they work alongside staff in open plan offices, on the same banks of desks as managers, consultants, trainees and apprentices. They ensure that they are visible throughout the business, and as accessible and approachable as possible. The interview process for any new staff joining Liquid always includes at least one of Liquid's directors at some stage. All recruitment consultants who join the business will face a final interview with their managing directors. The board works hard to speak to potential new employees, to communicate their vision for the future of the business and to really promote the opportunities that are available. The directors hold whole company briefings in the office each month, bringing all staff together in one open space to hear about individual, team and companywide successes, competition winners and major developments. They also personally introduce any new starters who have joined the business and discuss targets and plans for the coming month. The directors developed the internal training programme and occasionally run their own training sessions.

Every month they bring the company together from up and down the country for a knowledge exchange to give different departments the opportunity to update the rest of the team on what's going on in their world. Apart from day-to-day team interactions, their "Dragon's Den" concept is a good example of how LHH works together as a team. Every year employees are put into cross-functional groups and asked to come up with an idea that will either help solve a problem for a client or make LHH a better place to work. The group is given time to work together on creating a ‘big idea' and how they would envisage executing their plan. At LHH UK's annual conference they are asked to present their idea to the Global Head of Strategy and four of their clients, who act as the "Dragon's". The room is set up like Dragon's Den and the Dragons have £15,000 to invest in the idea. The purpose of this initiative is to facilitate true innovation across the business whilst encouraging employees to build and sustain strong cross-functional working relationships.

Staff truly believe in making a difference for every person they help. Over 98% of people understand and believe in the LHH purpose (taken from 2015 engagement survey). All of their values are up on posters throughout the office and in every meeting room. All new employees are shown these core values and vision statements when they join the company and are often tested on them. Throughout the year, staff congratulate other employees using key values. It could be that they completed a difficult project with a smile on their face, or they showed initiative and made something happen - they are praised and congratulated at LHH and all link back to the company values. The company values are on tote bags and mugs around the office.

All managers receive external one to one coaching on a monthly basis. They can use this time to process any issue they wish, it is entirely confidential and for their own personal and professional development. The company have delivered a year long programme of world class speakers to work closely with their senior management team. In order to support their Financial Controller the company engaged a part time Finance Director to mentor her through a period of growth and planning. Their marketing executive has been put through a CIM Certificate funded by the company and supported with paid study days. The senior management team run their own diaries and know that the company place great value on their personal and family lives. They believe that to alleviate stress at senior level it is important that they are present at children's sports days, partner's hospital appointments, school plays and all those things that being present at hopefully give one a really great work-life balance. They do not expect a 9-5 culture, they expect a high performing team who delivers on the goals and objectives of their business and their happiness is key to that. The company treat them like grown-ups and they behave like them -it is a culture of mutual respect.

By not providing a covered smoking area anywhere on or near their site and offering a financial incentive of £100 after 6 months of being cigarette free and another £100 6 months later, the company believe they do as much as possible to deter their employees from smoking and the aim is to provide a positive and supportive environment to do this in. In a similar vein Kelly's Self Storage removed all their vending machines and replaced them with free, fresh fruit deliveries and equipped a full kitchen with ovens, hobs, pans, pots, knives, aprons, chopping boards - the works! - so that staff were able to prepare fresh food from scratch should they wish. Their staff offer each other their training abilities and support when undertaking any of their Charity events. From helping someone who hadn't been on a bike since they were 12 to undertake a 45 mile to running a marathon, their employees have buddied up and supported each other all the way. A sporting theme runs through most things they do at Kelly's so even their family fun days are full of (very competitive) volleyball games, extreme rounders, tugs of war and football bulldog. The company recently brought physios and masseurs in house for all of their staff. The company encourage an active, healthy lifestyle as part of their culture and it is self-perpetuating because they then attract people who are looking to or already pursue this type of lifestyle.

At Gerald Eve LLP they seek to enhance the wellbeing of their employees physically and emotionally, both inside and outside of work, and help them plan for their future. To aid their employees financial wellbeing the company run tailored financial education sessions by age group to assist them with each stage in their life - this financial education strategy has been nominated in two awards ceremonies this year for best Financial Education Strategy. In conjunction with the education strategy Gerald Eve LLP provide benefits that help their employees through life events such as moving home. They are one of few employers who provide an interest free Rental Deposit Loan to staff which can especially help graduates when moving to a new city. To enhance their employees physical welfare, employees have access to private medical insurance and wellness days so they can understand their key health metrics and seek advice on them. The company's private medical insurance provides incentives and assistance to stop smoking and to become healthier. The wellbeing of staff is of the upmost importance to the firm and their policies and practices are designed with this in mind. A bi-annual Firm Away day demonstrates this commitment by enabling all employees to meet each other, get to know each other outside of the office and build relationships, cementing the values and culture of the organisation that promotes and enhances our employees wellbeing.

With a nurturing ethos that supersedes any sense of hierarchy in the business, the senior management team at Gemini People are committed to leading the company through collaboration, fun, inspiration and integrity. They hold Friday wrap-up meetings for the whole company, where they publicly recognise the week's best efforts in the office. They are the first people in the office each morning and the last people to leave at night, they hold regular cross-team meetings, where they share client information and they also run a host of training courses to up-skill everyone in the company. They are always the first to be involved in Gemini CSR initiatives, they have an open door policy and are always there to talk to. The senior management team at Gemini People also lead by example and are the top performers in the business. They would never ask a team member to do something they wouldn't do themselves (even clean the kitchen on their team's day on the rota!) and they frequently use WhatsApp as a quick way to chat about any issues their team members have out of hours.

On Friday night at The Summit (G Adventures' London office) they host regular live news shows, with all news from G Adventures, both people in the London office and G Nation around the world. It is hosted by The Monarchy, four team members who are the ambassadors of culture at The Summit. It includes news updates, sporting events for the office, upcoming global events, birthdays and shout-outs for the team. The CoC is the Circle of Chat which happens afterwards, where drinks and chit chat are shared.

The company has 3 values: Expert, Dynamic, Scrupulous Expert: continuous learning via two Directors being members of two bimonthly peer support groups (Cranfield BGP Alumni group and the Property Academy Leadership Group); speaking at local events; taking part in Sunday Times National Awards as judges to keep in touch with best practice; contribution to industry trends as spokespeople to trade press and national media; proximity to planning legislation via the MD being a Steering Group member of his Neighbourhood Plan. Dynamic: constantly pushing new ideas into the organisation. Other new innovation includes their own bespoke Property Inspection iPad app to streamline arguably the most valued part of their Property Management. Sourcing of new developments and opportunities such as the 24 apartments they bought and furnished for clients in Reading. Scrupulous: honesty and integrity when dealing with clients; fair judgements during the settling of any minor or major customer complaints; walking the walk each day in their demeanour and treatment of colleagues.

Their customer service commitments are based on maintaining a strong, motivated and friendly team. The company aim to attract the best within the industry by offering above market rate remuneration and develop long-term relationships and loyalty by investing in their team. As investors in people, they encourage professional development, offering time off and financial support to study and attend courses in order to further qualifications. Regular appraisals and social events give their team the opportunity to express their views and suggest ideas as to how FC Exchange can move forward and improve intra-company relations and processes. The company are proud of their staff retention rates, keeping a high degree of experience within the company which helps build and maintain long-term customer relationships. FC Exchange has consistently grown year-on-year since 2005, expanding to new markets; presenting new opportunities for promotion. As a result, 75% of their senior management has been recruited from within the company.

The senior management team are committed to developing talent and encouraging their colleagues to be the best they can be. They demonstrate their commitment to the ‘EnviroVent Way' by leading teams by example, and following up on promises made. The company take a contextual approach to business, by making pragmatic decisions based on facts. This creates an environment of trust and mutual respect which encourages an open flow of communication across the business. The senior management team are accessible, there is an open door policy that has encouraged people to stop by for a quick chat to feeling that they are able to raise new ideas or difficult topics. The company believe that this approach to work has created closer working relationships and an overall feeling that they are all ‘in it together'. The senior team cascade and promote new initiatives through 1-1's, huddles, company and regional updates and writing articles for the monthly newsletter with aim of ‘keeping it simple' and providing ‘opportunities for all' to get involved. The company provide merit based awards and recognition for those colleagues who demonstrate and alignment with The EnviroVent Way.

Draycott Nursing & Care seek to enhance the wellbeing of their staff by providing continuous training and they also provide a 24 hour emergency helpline for their employees.

Draycott Nursing & Care have staff appreciation rewards and like to reward their staff in a number of ways. The company appreciates each member of staff as individuals. A recent example of this was when the company paid for flights for a long standing colleague to go home when family member passed away.

The last Friday of every month at DMC Canotec is dress down and this promotes a relaxed working environment. They have a no tie policy which the men the organisation love! The company have a local gym that offers their staff members a corporate discount if they wish to join. DMC Canotec offers their staff corporate prices on AA car membership and also offer staff Costco membership through the company. DMC Canotec has an open door policy and anyone can speak to any senior manager or Managing Director at any time. The Director's Forum helps staff with any issues they may have and DMC Canotec feel this works very well for the company. DMC Canotec's MD walks around their office daily making sure everyone is ok and will even offer to make staff a cuppa!

Workplace Listening We have a devoted team of Workplace Listeners that have been trained to listen to other employees. A Workplace Listener is someone that employees can go to for a confidential chat to talk about something which may be bothering them. They offer a safe haven within the workplace when there is no one else that they can talk to. Employees can expect from a Workplace Listener respect, empathy, acceptance, openness, transparency and honesty. There is a dedicated Workplace Listening Room which ensures that there is always a private, confidential and safe environment for Workplace Listening Sessions to take place.

Cornish Mutual is passionately committed to giving back to their community. This year alone, they have raised over £12k for charitable causes as a result of more than 50 fundraising events ranging from a month of activity coinciding with Comic Relief, to regular “Bake-Offs” and Bingo Nights at Head Office. It's not just about fundraising though, the company also incorporate a “Volunteering Day” into their induction, where a team of new starters give up their working day to volunteer for a local charity – a recent group spent time painting the headquarters of a local children's charity. The company have also raise awareness of issues in their core community – the farming and agricultural sector in the South West. They have recently arranged 3 Health & Safety Workshops for both Members and Non-Members which cover a series of issues, with talks from expert speakers. These events are free to attend and are endorsed by the Health & Safety Executive.

Annually, each year Line Manager at Compassion UK can submit nominations for team members who have contributed in an outstanding way. The formal rewards are given on an employee receiving outstanding on their appraisal. The financial gift for last year was a £250 cash bonus. The company also allow informal rewards up to the amount of £25, which is in the form of a voucher.

At Compassion UK, their primary purpose, mission and values are promoted worldwide throughout all the partner and field countries through the global meeting held every six months. This is also video conferenced all over the world and staff come together to watch this. It is also reiterated through marketing to staff as well as being available in pdf and booklet form through company's intranet and is also included in the company's annual reports.

Many of the company's employees work on customer sites and it is therefore vital that they give them sufficient support to help make them successful and satisfied. The company does this in two ways. Number one is technology. Team members need to have access to relevant resources, collaborate with team members no matter where they are in the world and have up to date information. Along with Skype for Business, Yammer and an Intranet they also use OneNote from Microsoft. This gives every member of the project access to all the working notes, and as it is hosted in the cloud it is always available and up to date. Every project is broken up into sections such as must does, escalations, technical plans, communications, meetings and every one of the project inputs all their information. Projects can last for multiple months and involve many Columbus consultants, plus there are up to 30 projects on the go at any one time. So this collaborative tool has proved to be a great success. We also use a number of mobile apps to help the team, for example an expenses app helps the whole interaction with finance. The second key ingredient is people. The consultants in particular may not see much of their team mates even when they are working on the same project. So it is essential that the company bring the teams together on a regular basis to help build the bonds that form amazing teams. This is done on a departmental level and companywide level.

CHS' face to face training averages at 4 sessions per annum, per employee. With industry standards for Care Certificate being introduced in April this year, CHS have taken the opportunity to look at how they can provide the most practical and interactive induction process for experienced and new carers, in line with the standards within the Care Certificate. They have trained managers and Deputy Managers in Assessment methodology and introduced a 12 week programme that can be tailored to individuals experience and level of knowledge. They have chosen to go further than the minimum requirement to ensure that their staff are equipped with the skills and behaviours to deliver person centred care, in line with the company's Values. They have a policy commitment to develop the skills of their staff through study and a number of people have taken the option to study occupational qualifications. Diplomas/NVQs are actively encouraged and participation in Diplomas, in particular, in Care and Childcare. In the previous 12 months, 25 employees have completed their qualification and a further 52 are progressing, some of which are through apprenticeships.

The company Values Do it Right, Do it Safe, Do it Now. This underpins every decision that is taken in the organisation. This has assisted greatly in the recruitment of new people as it allows the company to qualify applicants based on the cultural fit within the organisation. It also provides a mechanism for the management of existing CDE people and defining what they expect. Commitment to Innovation & the Environment the values say we will continually developing world beating products through innovation and will protect the environment. CDE Global was the first company in Northern Ireland to be accepted onto the Eco-Innovation programme from the EU. This programme supports the development of environmental technologies that have been successful in one EU member state but as yet have not achieved widespread adoption across the EU. Diverse company culture: The company values state they should never be satisfied with the status quo. As recently as 3 years ago English was the first language of everyone in the company. There are now 11 different languages spoken in the office on a daily basis. The company's Health & Safety Culture values state that they keep themselves and others safe. Following a recent HSE inspection the report commented on how Health & Safety was part of the culture in our organisation. Following the HSE inspection the company has joined a group of only 5 companies in Northern Ireland who have achieved the highest Health & Safety standards.

Caritas take the training & development of all staff seriously and recognise not only the benefit to the company, but the benefit to the employees themselves and how valued they feel by the business. Critical to identifying any areas requiring further development, each new starter has a monthly meeting for the first 6 months with their line Manager and their Director. These meetings are essential to monitor performance in line with expectations (new starter KPIs), and to identify any areas where an individual may need further support and/or training. Following a successful six month / probation review meeting, team members have a quarterly appraisal with these individuals in order to focus on achievements and to ascertain future goals and the training plan to underpin their appropriate career path. Underpinning these meetings, are weekly one-2-one meetings with line Managers, again with a view to identifying any training support needs. The company have an annual timetable detailing training courses for all staff for the year ahead, delivered by the in-house trainer, with follow up sessions including role play and refresher scenarios. In addition to the identification of staff training needs through regular one-2-ones and appraisals, the company use regular surveys to request opinions from their customers on their experience, so they can tailor their service offerings at a company level and gauge areas for development at a business level.

Last year saw the introduction of New Ways of Working which has continued to inspire a cultural change in the way the company thinks about agency workflows at an individual and collective level. Essentially, it provides teams with a new set of techniques to approach every day issues experienced. Teams are equipped with a whiteboard, known as an ‘Information Centre', designed to drive discussion at regular huddles. The huddles have continued to be a success in driving team interaction throughout this year, opening up a forum to discuss performance, share successes and highlight any concerns. They have been an integral part of improving communication and ensuring everyone is kept informed of targets and progress against these. Alongside team huddles, everyone at Carat comes together on a weekly basis to share important updates or successes, showcase campaigns, and introduce new starters. Similarly, the leadership team hold On The Horizon on a quarterly basis to communicate how Carat have been performing and what's next for them, as a business. Employees have the opportunity to ask questions and share thoughts to gain the most from these sessions.

They hold annual Health & Wellbeing events, where colleagues can access a variety of services and information relating to their personnel health and wellbeing. These are very popular in the company, and are well attended and supported events. Amongst the things that are accessible to staff are head & neck Massages, advice on quitting smoking, advice on weight loss, taster sessions of sports and activities, advice and samples of healthy food, sight and hearing tests, help and advice on personal safety, help and advice on motoring/driver safety, blood pressure checks, access to help and advice on men's and women's health issues and many more depending on colleague requests, and relevant topics. As a result of their various activities on Wellbeing they were awarded a special recognition from Investors in People.

L&D programmes include: Trusted Advisor (which challenges assumptions they should come up with the right answer in order to build trust with others); Persuasive Communication (challenges a natural reliance on PowerPoint heavy presenting, to instead present in a meaningful, memorable and enjoyable way to the audience); and Coaching Conversations equipping employees with valuable questioning and listening skills so that clients can fully explore their business issues in a supportive way. They also have a programme that aims to equip consultants to feel confident to talk externally about their skills and experience. Shortlisted for CIPD Award Best L&D Initiative, 'Go to Expert' enables individuals to embrace the opportunity to share their expertise, whilst remaining authentic and to think differently about the world of sales - understanding the different stages of the buying cycle, recognising that every conversation is, in some way, a sales conversation and to be viewed as ‘Go to Experts' in their field and effectively equip them to position themselves externally in this way. This programme contributed to achieving ambitious growth targets. Furthermore, they have seen a step change in the way their consultant's position themselves to clients with a greater emphasis on how they help businesses in their terms.

Blandy & Blandy encourage junior staff to pursue qualifications to enable them to become fee-earning legal executives or assistants. Other functions are encouraged to pursue professional qualifications such as marketing and finance.

Being an international company with offices all over the globe, Blackbaud are lucky to be able to offer their employees ‘international placements' as rewards for outstanding performances. It is not unusual for them to have colleagues from their Charleston, Sydney and Brisbane offices doing regular stints in London and vice versa. The company find that this not only fulfils lifetime ambitions for their employee's but it is also a great way of intercompany skill and knowledge sharing.

The values of the firm are integrated into everything they do and the senior management team lead by example. The partners see the values as paramount to the success of BKL. The partners were instrumental to the values launch at Chickenshed; and actively continued discussions about the values through follow-up sessions with team members. The values form a fundamental part of how BKL interview, recruit and select new team members; their induction process involves a partner providing an introduction to their values to all new team members. In the PDR appraisal process, values are integral to setting targets. They also use them in their competency profiles and how they measure behaviours. Partners regularly nominate team members for exemplifying the values of the practice and encourage others within the firm to nominate colleagues. The values are highlighted in the company regular communication sessions - ‘From the Horse's Mouth', to which all team members are invited. They are used in a wide variety of communications within the firm, such as articles in their newsletter, often produced by senior management. Even their tea and coffee mugs help remind them of their values, as well as the art work in the boardrooms, signage in the stairways and BKL stationery. Key decisions for the practice are always made using the values. When faced with difficult decisions on how to proceed, the partners use the values as a framework for deciding on the best possible options for the firm and encourage team-members to do the same

At Bindmans, the business plan has recently been updated for the next 3 years and presented to all their colleagues. There is also a competition for colleagues to describe 'Bindmans in a nutshell', there is a prize for the best catchy phrase that can be used to describe and market the firm.Also, a welcome pack is sent in advance of a new employee's start date that has details of facilities around the firm's location (lunch time venues, dry cleaners etc.), key policies and an introduction to the firm with the induction schedule. New starters have a full day of induction with follow up sessions. There is an organisation chart with photos. New starters are also introduced around the firm.

The company's quarterly offsite meetings are a time to relax and raise consciousness about the fantastic company they are all part of. Over the many years of running QRMs they have experienced a wide range of activities varying from making James Bond films in the grounds of luxury hotels including an evening Oscar ceremony, Watersports, Boat Trips along the Thames, trips to Marbella, Longleat, etc. This is a unique opportunity, within working hours, for staff to interact and communicate outside of the confines of the workplace.

By engaging in the best companies survey process it has demonstrated that engagement is on the strategic agenda for the business. The focus is on receiving employee feedback and acting on it, rather than on the score they receive. An employer branding initiative has been launched by the company.

They have a dedicated training budget open to all employees to develop their careers. Progression plans are put in place, allowing all employees to monitor and track their development in their role. Quarterly and annual appraisals are offered to all staff as well as 360 feedback sessions with an independent, external representative. In addition to this, all employees are encouraged to take part in internal training sessions, from Social Media Academy classes, to French Club, Code Club and professional masterclass sessions in PowerPoint and Excel. Managers are also encouraged to participate in management training courses to help them progress their careers and develop stronger people skills.

The company offers a range of learning and development opportunities. At the early stages they contribute between 80 - 100% of the cost of formal qualifications and provide time off for study, as well as making studio facilities available for colleagues and their fellow students. For mid-level colleagues they offer many opportunities to get involved in the day to day activity of practice life, to gain experience, tap into creativity, and to build knowledge through sharing activities. Activities range from weekly CPD events, evening master classes with external experts, team presentations, external led training workshops, and many different fun design competitions. They run surveys asking colleagues to select the topics and areas that they are interested in learning more about and programmes are created from there to included voice coaching, presentation skills master classes, time management sessions, and leadership training. All of these are developed in tandem with the strategic business plan for the UK each year. Most training is open to all colleagues, however there are a few initiatives which are aimed at certain groups or individuals according to skill level or role within the company. Management and leadership training for example is a perfect example of this whereby learning the ropes of people management and team leadership is important to certain colleagues and not others, depending on the stage they are at within their careers.