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Leadership - How employees feel about the head of the organisation, senior management and the organisation's values and principles
Leadership has the biggest influence on how employees feel about the organisation.
Leaders need to create inspiring visions and provide clear direction to positively Impact the My Company factor.
When it comes to Wellbeing, no amount of free fruit or stress busting classes are going to address an imbalance. Employee Wellbeing is a by-product of the leadership and management culture.
If there’s pressure at the top of your organisation, it won’t take long to be felt throughout.
Wiggin have a monthly Wiggin Wiglet award which goes to the employee who has gone the extra mile in delivering service either externally to clients or internally. The reward involves the employee wearing a brightly coloured wig for the day alongside media related gift vouchers, champagne and their merits applauded at the monthly briefing.
Wiggin carry out a Firm listening exercise asking employees in small groups what they could do to help the firm's strategy.
Wiggin carry out a Firm listening exercise asking employees in small groups what they could do to help the firm's strategy.
Virgin Money's CEO, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, never takes no for an answer and never accepts things at face value. She always looks for the win: win EBO (Everyone Better Off) solution and inspires her colleagues to do the same. Above all, she is a brilliant and engaging communicator whether addressing an audience of 1,500, having a one on one conversation or writing to every colleague every Friday.
Virgin Money's CEO, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, never takes no for an answer and never accepts things at face value. She always looks for the win: win EBO (Everyone Better Off) solution and inspires her colleagues to do the same. Above all, she is a brilliant and engaging communicator whether addressing an audience of 1,500, having a one on one conversation or writing to every colleague every Friday.
Virgin Money's CEO sends an email to all colleagues every single Friday and invites colleagues to email her with their ideas and feedback, which they do on a regular basis. Every month, members of the Executive Team hold informal “coffee and cake” sessions with small groups of colleagues in each of their four major locations – Gosforth, Norwich, Edinburgh and London. This provides a regular, informal way of sharing ideas and feedback and is popular with colleagues.
TCHA encourage their managers to lead by example and to inspire and motivate their teams. Their managers all utilise a company specific competency framework for appraisals and one to ones. They also have 360 feedback in place and regular team meetings and working groups.
TCHA encourage their managers to lead by example and to inspire and motivate their teams. Their managers all utilise a company specific competency framework for appraisals and one to ones. They also have 360 feedback in place and regular team meetings and working groups.
TCHA encourage their managers to lead by example and to inspire and motivate their teams. Their managers all utilise a company specific competency framework for appraisals and one to ones. They also have 360 feedback in place and regular team meetings and working groups.
All Leith's managers, supervisors and senior managers have an open brief to reward individuals who make an outstanding contribution over the course of the year, an example of this is when they have given these hard workers/achievers a dinner or night away with their partner. Over and above this, the company have a long standing and humorous awards night at their Christmas party where all staff have nominated the awards categories and then vote for those they feel should win them. It's entirely democratic and often very revealing ensuring that those who are often unsung get the recognition they are due.
In addition to putting their star performers through the Cello Academy which Leith is a part of, they have regular training sessions at the agency where they bring in external suppliers to give their people all they need to know about print production, the latest developments in technololgy including mobile, Smart TV, tablets and social media. Every year Leith run two formal appraisal processes, one in June and one in December. These appraisal forms help to monitor performance and identify what development is needed for their people to reach even greater heights. Finally their Zeitgeist programme where they establish cross agency teams is a real enabler for their people when it comes to development of products, their pricing and distribution.
In addition to lively Summer and Christmas parties for all staff Leith also hold a Friday night special once every two months on their barge moored in the Water of Leith. The purpose of this is for everyone to let their hair down, enjoy some free drinks - our Leader assumes role of cocktail shaker and maker at the bar and free food. It's always a hog roast. The social committee, a powerful force at the agency, have run these evenings under a multitude of themes including this one for Halloween.
For the past 10 years, The Clyde group has awarded an annual bonus to staff based on the profitable performance of the individual companies and Group as a whole. A personalised letter in advance of the bonus explains why this bonus has been awarded and how each team member has played a role in the success of the Group. To further foster the team spirit within The Group and to reward staff for continued hard work, Dress down/Charity days are held each month with staff encouraged to come to work in casual clothing but also to participate in charity days. Staff volunteer to promote and run charity events within working hours. Staff are also encouraged to submit new ideas for improvements within the organisation either to service provided or working conditions, with the successful ideas communicated via the weekly staff email bulletin.
Given the diverse nature of the Clyde Group and its distinct companies, different managers will have different approaches, but each manager/director ensures they have weekly/monthly meetings with line managers. Through the Intranet and Bi-yearly newsletter they also look to highlight individual and company achievements.
All employees upon successful completion of Probation are offered the chance to enter the BUPA healthcare scheme with the Group paying the majority of membership costs. Staff also have the option to include members of their immediate family at a discounted cost, providing them with peace of mind and in many instances, allowing them to recognise and successfully treat serious illnesses, found due to regular health checks. The Group has also authorised members of staff to form a Slimming Club using company premises and communications platforms to promote and encourage healthy eating and exercise.
Each month, all employees at STEAK are encouraged to nominate their 'most valued player' (MVP). This is somebody that they consider to have contributed most significantly to the STEAK team. The winner is announced at the monthly company meeting, and receives a certificate and £100.
At STEAK, training is incredibly important. All staff are encouraged to communicate where they want to develop and a suitable course is sourced and paid for. Staff are able to seek training at every level of the organisation.
The senior management at STEAK are extremely approachable. New starters are taken for lunch by the CEO and COO so they can introduce themselves properly and to ensure all staff members feel comfortable approaching them. STEAK has a process that seeks to engage all employees in the development of the business plan and overall goals for the company. The management, with the help of an external consultant, spent several sessions defining the overall goal for the business, setting them out in a ‘roadmap', which was then shared with the rest of the company through an all-company meeting. Since then, each team has works together to agree their own ‘roadmaps', including team goals and objectives, and the things they want to achieve to help support the overall business vision. Involving all employees in the process has meant a much greater levels of engagement and ‘buy ins' to the business plan. The team goals and objectives have now also been cascaded down into individual objectives for the coming year through the appraisal process, so everyone is working to achieve a common goal that is understood by everyone.
In a staff attitude survey in 2008, employees informed South Tyneside Homes that they wanted to see the company improve health within the workplace and provide more support around health promotion. In 2009 they undertook a comprehensive 'Staff Health Needs Assessment' with all staff which highlighted that, amongst other things, they wanted the opportunity to have personal health checks, provide support for smoking, the use of an on-site gym, and to make the workplace safer and reduce the number of accidents. The survey allowed staff to have a voice in well-being initiatives and provided the basis for the companies strategy and direction over the following three years. As a result, they have built a free staff gym, which now has over 25% of our staff holding membership. Smoking cessation sessions are held weekly in the workplace with specialist advisors to support staff in quitting. In addition, every member of staff is encouraged to undergo a full NHS Health Check every year within work time and this has led to several staff becoming aware of an unrecognised health condition.
Every year the company holds a week of staff conferences to which all staff are invited for a half day session. With a staff of 657, this works out at conferences of approximately 80 people. The senior Management Team attend every conference and with such a diverse workforce, the conferences are designed to be entertaining, engaging and inclusive. The format ensures all staff have an opportunity to work directly alongside members of SMT and the occasion is used to reinforce the vision and values of the Company. This gives staff an opportunity to express their views directly to the SMT and come up with ideas for improvement.
South Tyneside Homes are not only a social housing provider but are actively involved with the local and wider community they serve. The company is a leader and ambassador for engaging with young people from the borough. By engaging with young people they can gain a better understanding of their needs and requirements whilst passing on information about the services we provide and what the opportunities of employment are within the company. One such initiative is the "Eco Challenge" which is now in its fourth year. The inititave has been very successful as it encourages young people to get involved and its also links in with the school learning curriculum at key stage 3. This years challenge was to plan a development in an open space. Each team was given the challenge of planning, designing and developing improvements for an estate somewhere within the North East of England.
Shine has the most outstanding group of Account Directors who operate between the account manager and associate director levels. They hold an enormous wealth of knowledge on best practice account management, client handling, as well as being great custodians of company culture. In 2012 founder, Rachel Bell, moved to a CEO role and promoted Richard Brett to Managing Director. The leadership team created a 'shadow board' out of the long-standing account director team and Rachel took on a mentoring role to develop the leadership skills and business acumen of this middle management level. The team meet monthly over breakfast with the CEO who plays a mentoring role in helping them hone their leadership skills and business acumen. The monthly meetings allow them to shape and discuss how to progress these plans. It is also a great forum to share coaching tips around negotiation issues either with team members or clients.
The ‘personal growth' of staff is something Shine takes very seriously; all employees are encouraged to adopt an entrepreneurial approach to self-empowerment. Central to Shine's employee charter is to encourage its team to never miss an opportunity to learn. Training and development is a major focus of the agency, with an investment of 10% of annual profit into bespoke training programmes for every member of staff. Every training request from reviews is facilitated in the ‘Shiney Happy People' training programme and Shine Business School. This is further supplemented with a £36,000 fund for individual sessions designed to tackle specific development areas. Testimony to the success of this approach is the fact that 38% of staff were promoted in the year and, perhaps most notably, four new ‘home grown' Associate Directors were welcomed onto the Board. Over and above Shine's structured training programme and its ‘Shine Business School' for senior managers, the company offers all staff the chance to apply for professional development courses such as CIMA accountancy qualification or a CAM Degree (Communications, Advertising and Media).
The annual two day January away day not only allows the whole agency to hear and be involved in hearing, presenting and writing the agency's plans for the year ahead, but also allows for a highly memorable two day bonding event. After a morning of presentations, the agency then broke into teams to play famous TV quiz shows, including 'Deal or No Deal'. In the evening the annual 'Shoscars' took place, an event that celebrates all the agency's work and people over the past year. Ten campaign awards were given, including Campaign of the Year, Account Team of the Year, Idea of the Year and Event of the Year. Then 'people' awards were given in a second round of hotly contested awards called the HotShots which include Shiner of the Year, the Founders Award (someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the agency's values) and Communicator of the Year (outstanding excellence in their work). There is no greater accolade at Shine than being voted for an award by an outstanding group of peers.
The CEO has introduced a quarterly communication session which he chairs and uses this time to deliver business results face to face, encouraging employees to question him directly during those meetings. In addition, any suggestions can be submitted to 'Bright Ideas' which the CEO monitors and responds to directly. Each quarter one of the nominees is awarded £250 for the most innovative suggestion.
Secure Trust Bank encourages all staff to take time off during their working days to volunteer their time for the nominated 2012 charity, QAC. This is reinforced by the CEO who 'tops up' the money raised in events from his own pocket. The events throughout the year are driven by the department managers who are often found at the front leading their team during the event, i.e. the IT team helped re-organise the library and the Lending and Project teams helped redecorate rooms by painting walls. All events although organised by a specific department involve everyone within the business to a greater or lesser extent, often creating a competition between departments.
Secure Trust Bank encourages all staff to take time off during their working days to volunteer their time for the nominated 2012 charity, QAC. This is reinforced by the CEO who 'tops up' the money raised in events from his own pocket. The events throughout the year are driven by the department managers who are often found at the front leading their team during the event, i.e. the IT team helped re-organise the library and the Lending and Project teams helped redecorate rooms by painting walls. All events although organised by a specific department involve everyone within the business to a greater or lesser extent, often creating a competition between departments.
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners was founded on the premises of teamwork and the importance of communication. The management style of the practice reinforces this by providing as many opportunities as possible to encourage direct communication between the partners and employees at all levels. This breaks down the traditional hierarchical boundaries between different groups within the practice and prevents corrupted feedback to the management team.
Aside from giving 20% of profits to charity, the practice is committed to encouraging and enthusing people, both young and old, about architecture and its ability to affect the way we live and work. Last year they took on 20 school age work experience students, gave them a mentor and an architectural brief and asked them to present their ideas at the end of the week. They also sponsored the Mossbourne Academy Architecture Club as well as the Architecture Foundation's Urban Pioneers programme. Both schemes have been a great success and they hope to continue these sponsorships. At university level the practice hosts regular visits, around two a month, by students and practising professionals from all over the world. Staff at all levels share their experiences and discuss aspects of projects on these visits, which last year included groups from Yale, Lausanne, Wurzburg and the Australian Institute of Architects. They encourage staff to work with universities, and six of their staff currently lecture or give tutorials at various institutions. The practice participated in Open House Weekend again this year, during which they welcomed around 350 people through the door for a tour of the building and an introduction to their work and philosophy.
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners was founded on the premises of teamwork and the importance of communication. The management style of the practice reinforces this by providing as many opportunities as possible to encourage direct communication between the partners and employees at all levels. This breaks down the traditional hierarchical boundaries between different groups within the practice and prevents corrupted feedback to the management team.
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