What are companies doing with regards to 'Leadership'

Whilst the team building events always contain a social element and are memorable due to their uniqueness, the most memorable event is the “Monthly Muster”. This is a free form social held at the end of the day on the fourth Thursday of every month in the London office. CloudSense provide simple food and some drinks, but the organisation and content of the get together is run entirely by the employees in a democratic manner. They use the internal collaboration social tools to discuss and promote the "Monthly Muster". The majority of employees work remotely or on customers' premises so this is very much a monthly social, and what makes it so memorable and enjoyable is the enthusiasm people have for it and the bonding it creates beyond normal work.

For CloudSense listening to employees and seeking their ideas and feedback is at the core of engaging with them. The introduction of their social collaboration tool “Chatter” has created a mind shift at CloudSense. All of the senior management team are on Chatter and can post messages, files, videos, etc instantly to the whole company. Any employee can also direct post a message directed to each other, including the senior management team. That message is public so anyone within the company can view the response. They have found that this has created a real time conversation that has driven engagement as it has driven instant public conversations from the management team that everyone can see and respond to. The company no longer use email as their communication tool internally as Chatter has opened up the internal conversation through becoming a social enterprise.

BIU provide subsidised gym membership, free fruit, sports clubs and counselling helplines.

At 5 and 10 years service BIU send staff on luxury holidays.

Bibendum run regular group discussions which are chaired by the Managing Director. These sessions are open forums for a small group of employees to ask questions and make suggestions. A lot of their developments over the years have come about as a result of these sessions such as an increase to the holiday allowance and the introduction of long service awards. The MD has an open door policy and genuinely encourages employees to speak to him whenever they want. Bibendum run a series of values workshops where a group of employees goes away for a few days to discuss the company values and how they affect the day-to-day lives at Bibendum. These workshops are great ways of getting feedback from employees and as a result a number of group-led initiatives have emerged such as reworking the employee reward programme.

Michael Saunders, the MD, has an open door policy and is genuinely open to ideas from everyone in the business. He gets out and about to all the teams in the business and gets involved in projects from the largest to the smallest. Once a month Michael hosts a group discussion where a small number of randomly selected employees get together to ask him questions about the company and make suggestions. Michael has a policy of sharing as much information as possible with the whole company which many employees have noted that the level of transparency is reassuring and they feel like trusted and valued members of the company.

To encourage BCM employees to report safety violations or close calls. They incentivise a periodic reporting system by raffling £100 every 4 weeks.

To encourage BCM employees to report safety violations or close calls. They incentivise a periodic reporting system by raffling £100 every 4 weeks.

Clive is accessible to all staff and still has a hands-on-approach to projects, working side-by-side with staff and clients to keep him fully in-touch with their needs and requirements. Clive makes a special effort to 'walk the office floor' to find out about staff on a personal level and to foster a family atmosphere throughout the organisation. Clive leads from the front and is the official communicator for both good and bad news demonstrating his leadership approach focussed on openness and trust. He is the first to send emails congratulating staff on their promotion or individual efforts in gaining awards such as NVQs, MRICS and MSc.

Arcus employees are wholly involved in projects concerning upgrading homes for various Housing Association clients. In this respect they are an integral part of providing decent affordable homes for people across the UK. Each employee also has the opportunity to volunteer for a charity of their own choosing for one day each year to help and support in any way they want. Offices are able to take a working day out to support specific initiatives in their local community if there is something they want to get involved with. Arcus have signed up to ProHelp which allows Arcus to commit their professional time as Project Managers, Architects, Building Surveyors and Cost Managers to making a difference in their local community by providing free advice and professional support. For example, we gave 250 hours of professional time to assist the development of a Community Centre and Synthetic sports pitch in Droylsden, Manchester. The centre will be used by various community groups as well as providing a learning centre for local adults and others within the community.

The staff obtain direct bonuses linked to profits which encourages quality work in a legal environment. They also offer discretionary bonuses for superior work. Finally, smaller items are rewarded with recognition in the firm's magazine and the giving of a bottle of champagne.

All staff receive BUPA care and have subsidised gym membership open to them. The firm is generous in its approach to staff illness and personal problems. The firm is able to offer flexibility regarding working hours either on a one off basis or as a longer term arrangement.

Adecco Scotland contingent hold an awards night each year, this year marking a social event to build team spirit. As well as being a fantastic team building morale night with 95% attendance of the region the team were able to share success with the event being talked about for weeks after. The awards are a mixture of serious and fun events. This was paid for by the company with a budget of £1000 given to each zone.

Employees have bespoke training programmes devised for their specific job role requirements. These are in various formats, however but follow the ethos of career and personal development. Top Talent is a programme for Consultants to apply for who wish to be promoted to the next level up and devised programme will allow them to gain experience and on the job training and be mentored by colleagues within the organisation to experience what the reality of Branch Managers role is. This development programme is a course to enhance the knowledge and skills of Consultants who based on their current experience and achievements against target are provided guidance and enrichment in their current role whether this leads to promotion to Branch Manager or elsewhere within the Company. Career Ladders is a document provided to all employees to advise them of the expectations in the current role and how they can be supported and what they need to do to get to the next role.

Absoft continue to commit to graduate recruitment and development. They have taken on 10 graduates over the course of this year and as a management team devoted considerable time and energy into a development programme to support this.

Absoft continue to commit to graduate recruitment and development. They have taken on 10 graduates over the course of this year and as a management team devoted considerable time and energy into a development programme to support this.

Everyone is encouraged to take on as much responsibility as they desire and to be accountable for activities within their control. Staff are given flexibility and autonomy and although guided toward reaching agreed goals, are encouraged to find their own way, asking for assistance when needed. Recognise and reward a job well done. Monthly scorecard to provide metric to Agents and allows them to understand their performance against set and attainable goals

Everyone is encouraged to take on as much responsibility as they desire and to be accountable for activities within their control. Staff are given flexibility and autonomy and although guided toward reaching agreed goals, are encouraged to find their own way, asking for assistance when needed. Recognise and reward a job well done. Monthly scorecard to provide metric to Agents and allows them to understand their performance against set and attainable goals

A key message from Jack, the Managing Director shortly follows the fortnightly Senior Management Team meetings to share with employee discussions and decisions made. This promotes transparency and the cascade of important information throughout the Council. He demonstrates through his actions how he wishes to be fairly treated alongside all employees; for example, when the Council tightened up entitlements to payments of car allowances for budget pressures, he relinquished his entitlement to an essential user car allowance and also wrote to the Leader of the Council indicating that because of the economic climate he will not accept any increase in salary for the next 2 years and that, even then, any increase would be subject to the Council achieving its programmed savings for the next 2 financial years.

A key message from Jack, the Managing Director shortly follows the fortnightly Senior Management Team meetings to share with employee discussions and decisions made. This promotes transparency and the cascade of important information throughout the Council. He demonstrates through his actions how he wishes to be fairly treated alongside all employees; for example, when the Council tightened up entitlements to payments of car allowances for budget pressures, he relinquished his entitlement to an essential user car allowance and also wrote to the Leader of the Council indicating that because of the economic climate he will not accept any increase in salary for the next 2 years and that, even then, any increase would be subject to the Council achieving its programmed savings for the next 2 financial years.