What are companies doing with regards to 'Leadership'

They are fortunate enough that they have two opportunities a year where the entire organisation comes together in London. Although they have increased their staff force by a large amount in the past year, the leaders still value the importance of spending time as a whole organisation. This year in April was the 4th anniversary and they held an event to celebrate. The event began in the afternoon with all staff being split into groups and rotating round a carousel of different sessions. Each session was led by a different group of staff. Each local leadership team led a fun and interactive session, such as a quiz or a treasure hunt, around how their office works and their local area. They also had a session with the senior leaders with the opportunity to ask them any questions staff wanted answered. Another enjoyable session was a ‘getting to know you' game to mix all staff together and find out some interesting things about people they didn't know before. This all lead up to the social in the evening where they all came back together for some food and drinks and opportunity to just relax. They had some entertainment provided by some of the local choirs who sang beautifully and even wrote their own Challenge Network version of a Les Miserable classic. They ended the evening with karaoke and dancing at a local bar which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

They are fortunate enough that they have two opportunities a year where the entire organisation comes together in London. Although they have increased their staff force by a large amount in the past year, the leaders still value the importance of spending time as a whole organisation. This year in April was the 4th anniversary and they held an event to celebrate. The event began in the afternoon with all staff being split into groups and rotating round a carousel of different sessions. Each session was led by a different group of staff. Each local leadership team led a fun and interactive session, such as a quiz or a treasure hunt, around how their office works and their local area. They also had a session with the senior leaders with the opportunity to ask them any questions staff wanted answered. Another enjoyable session was a ‘getting to know you' game to mix all staff together and find out some interesting things about people they didn't know before. This all lead up to the social in the evening where they all came back together for some food and drinks and opportunity to just relax. They had some entertainment provided by some of the local choirs who sang beautifully and even wrote their own Challenge Network version of a Les Miserable classic. They ended the evening with karaoke and dancing at a local bar which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Each new starter has a departmental induction which involves spending time in the various departments to understand how their role fits with the team. We ran a "Wanted Programme" where the successful candidate was awarded with our management trainee placement. As a management trainee, the team member spends a few months within each department in the hotel to have a comprehensive understanding of the hotel operationally. They receive one to one coaching sessions with the Hotel Manager and also participate in our Management Development programme. They receive reviews in each of their departments in order to track the progress they have made. The hotel is also partnered with Purple Cubed who administer the appraisal process and also conduct training sessions within the hotel. The Talent Toolbox appraisal system enables the organisation to identify and place greater focus on development needs.

Each new starter has a departmental induction which involves spending time in the various departments to understand how their role fits with the team. We ran a "Wanted Programme" where the successful candidate was awarded with our management trainee placement. As a management trainee, the team member spends a few months within each department in the hotel to have a comprehensive understanding of the hotel operationally. They receive one to one coaching sessions with the Hotel Manager and also participate in our Management Development programme. They receive reviews in each of their departments in order to track the progress they have made. The hotel is also partnered with Purple Cubed who administer the appraisal process and also conduct training sessions within the hotel. The Talent Toolbox appraisal system enables the organisation to identify and place greater focus on development needs.

The company has both a football and netball team and provides sponsorship to these teams for kit etc. They provide the ability through their IT systems to work from home to facilitate flexibility for employees to take home deliveries or who have travel difficulties. Last winter, employees worked from home during the snowfall rather than risk travelling to the office and those stranded at the office were taxied home by the MD in his 4x4.

The company has both a football and netball team and provides sponsorship to these teams for kit etc. They provide the ability through their IT systems to work from home to facilitate flexibility for employees to take home deliveries or who have travel difficulties. Last winter, employees worked from home during the snowfall rather than risk travelling to the office and those stranded at the office were taxied home by the MD in his 4x4.

In 2011 SwiftKey introduced special effort awards. These are peer nominated awards made to employees who have 'gone the extra mile', for example to meet a demanding deadline or just for a job extremely well done. There are no restrictions on who can nominate who; SwiftKey wanted to encourage wide adoption of the scheme and a culture in which all employees think about how they can recognise the contributions of their peers, whether 'junior' or 'senior' to them and whether part of the same department or a different department. All nominations do require at least one seconder, to ensure that they are appropriate for the scheme and to prevent unfair bias. They believe the scheme is both unique and effective because it doesn't rely on a restricted or formulaic choice of gift (such as a cash bonus or shopping vouchers). They get to know their employees and their personal interests and values, so that they can select a well-considered gift that's particularly meaningful to them. This also encourages people to nominate their colleagues, because they know that the gifts are carefully selected. Examples of gifts that they have previously given are jazz show tickets for a music fan; a copy of a hard-to-find author-published book on 'Arch Linux' for an enthusiastic software engineer; a hamper of locally brewed beers for a CAMRA member; and a 'go pro' camera for a tech enthusiast who's always got a new geeky project on the go.

In 2011 SwiftKey introduced special effort awards. These are peer nominated awards made to employees who have 'gone the extra mile', for example to meet a demanding deadline or just for a job extremely well done. There are no restrictions on who can nominate who; SwiftKey wanted to encourage wide adoption of the scheme and a culture in which all employees think about how they can recognise the contributions of their peers, whether 'junior' or 'senior' to them and whether part of the same department or a different department. All nominations do require at least one seconder, to ensure that they are appropriate for the scheme and to prevent unfair bias. They believe the scheme is both unique and effective because it doesn't rely on a restricted or formulaic choice of gift (such as a cash bonus or shopping vouchers). They get to know their employees and their personal interests and values, so that they can select a well-considered gift that's particularly meaningful to them. This also encourages people to nominate their colleagues, because they know that the gifts are carefully selected. Examples of gifts that they have previously given are jazz show tickets for a music fan; a copy of a hard-to-find author-published book on 'Arch Linux' for an enthusiastic software engineer; a hamper of locally brewed beers for a CAMRA member; and a 'go pro' camera for a tech enthusiast who's always got a new geeky project on the go.

Sweatshop believes running is a force for good. They know that they are able to help provide support for runners of all abilities. If you have never run before but want to start, or run but have no one to do it with, they can help by giving people a place to come to, free of charge, where you will have a chance to go running with supportive and friendly staff at Sweatshop plus other runners to share this experience, with a real community feel. They have created the Sweatshop Running Community, the SRC. It's an entry level running group within every store and runners are incentivised for regular participation. The Running Community doesn't just stop at this entry level running group with many stores offering a variety of running groups for all abilities. With over 20000 registered members in 3 years and over 2000 people running with them every week, they are the largest (and probably most inclusive) running group in the country. The community is growing as is the recognition and appreciation from their runners for providing this free community group. For many it has transformed their lives, enhancing healthier lifestyles with both mental and physical benefits.

Sweatshop took a team surfing to Croyde enabling them to spend a day out of store, let their hair down and have some fun. They held an outperform leadership programme in Wales over the course of a few days which helped managers develop key skills and behaviours. The company assisted with the Mo Farah 10K run as they currently support the Mo Farah Foundation and they also worked on a school running event in Woking for a day.

The senior management team work incredibly hard to demonstrate that their staff are valued within the organisation. Examples of this include an open door management style; regular walkabouts to chat and communicate with staff; being visible to staff in all locations, by doing regular visits to satellite offices and field workers and organising an annual away-day event for all staff which is purely about meeting colleagues and having fun away from the office.

The senior management team work incredibly hard to demonstrate that their staff are valued within the organisation. Examples of this include an open door management style; regular walkabouts to chat and communicate with staff; being visible to staff in all locations, by doing regular visits to satellite offices and field workers and organising an annual away-day event for all staff which is purely about meeting colleagues and having fun away from the office.

Somo try to understand what the issues are, get a team together from all areas of the business to come up with ideas on how they can address them and try to agree how improvements can be measured.

Somo have started to record their weekly stand-up sessions so that those who cannot attend or are in different time zones can see what is said. The company has also introduced new wiki sites to accompany this.

Although Seymour House scored quite well in this category last year, it is an area that as a company they are looking to improve on. They are currently building a team section within their intranet which will incorporate links to health campaigns, healthy eating and wellbeing initiatives.

This year, taking on board feedback from employees, the senior management team agreed the introduction of a voluntary benefits scheme. "Seymour Rewards" offers all team members exclusive discounts and cashback deals on thousands of high street and on-line retailers. The take up of this scheme was very high within the first 2 weeks of launch and has been consistently used since then, creating a buzz amongst many staff.

In addition to its paid employees, the Hospice is supported by over 1,000 volunteers both at the Hospice itself, and in its retail outlets. The social capital created by these volunteering opportunities makes a huge contribution to the local community. Research by the Charity Retail Association highlights the very positive impact that charity shops have in their local community.

In addition to its paid employees, the Hospice is supported by over 1,000 volunteers both at the Hospice itself, and in its retail outlets. The social capital created by these volunteering opportunities makes a huge contribution to the local community. Research by the Charity Retail Association highlights the very positive impact that charity shops have in their local community.

In August 2013 Pearlfisher hosted their annual Creative Day. This is an event specially designed for their studio to get out of the office, out from behind their computers, and take part in activities that aim to inspire them in new ways and build team relations. They hire an external venue and provide food, drinks, transportation and materials for all their employees. Pearlfisher covers all costs for the team building creative event. For their team building event this year, they hired an old mansion house on the river in Hammersmith London, organised organic catering for the full day, including breakfast, lunch and tea/coffee/juice/snacks throughout the day. All Pearlfisher employees were picked up from the agency with a bus that they hired for the day and were transported to and from the venue. On the day, the team were set tasks by using the inspiring space/rooms of the Mansion House to fulfil design briefs. They promoted internal collaboration and co-creation resulting in some great future design concepts that have begun to inspire and influence the work they are now doing for themselves and for their clients. As an agency that designs the future, Pearlfisher also close the studio for 2 days a year and host internal days for the whole company in which their Futures Director presents big picture change in 1 of 4 areas – Taste, Luxury, Body and Connection. They are then tasked with breaking into smaller groups to come up with ideas for future design concepts based on the changes they've been presenting. These sessions are fantastic team building exercises because the whole company is encouraged to participate, present and work with people they don't usually work with.

Pearlfisher host regular culturally relevant and inspiring exhibitions in their studio's dedicated gallery space. The exhibitions are open to the public and local community. They invite the schools in their wider local area to visit their exhibitions and give talks and lectures to ensure maximum impact and inspiration. Their recent example is Man&God, a thought-provoking and highly experiential exhibition that explores the relationship between Man and God. In addition, Pearlfisher annually support Peace One Day, a global movement advocating a day of world peace, with a Pearlfisher creative campaign called Create a Masterpeace. Create a Masterpeace asks children – the peace corps of the future – to re-appropriate symbols of violence in the name of peace. For this campaign they work with both local and global children, families, classrooms, communities and volunteers to use creativity to neutralise symbols of violence and display them on streets and screens across the globe. Working with communities in this way, the Create a Masterpeace movement is inspiring an ever growing, shared voice of protest.