Leadership Drives Engagement

In March the company had an away day at Foxhills Golf Club in Ottershaw, Surrey. The day's theme was 'World Book Day Characters' and the whole team came in fancy dress. There were all the characters out of Alice In Wonderland, Charlotte's Web, Winnie the Pooh, Where's Wally? and The Cat in the Hat to name a few. The day's activities focused on developing their Knowledge Management systems and processes as well as sharing information and best practice. The evening's activities involved pre-dinner drinks, team quiz and a dinner. Everyone sat on round tables with people they don't normally work with to increase connectivity. There was a tremendous spirit all day and everyone came away feeling energised.

Boodles genuinely and sincerely care about staff uplifting and motivating. They are 100% hands on and accessible to all staff, setting high standards and leading by example.

Blue Rubicon place a huge emphasis on the sharing of knowledge and thirst for knowledge within their culture – facilitating and encouraging this at the most senior level of the company. This is reflected in knowledge sharing forums that have been part of their DNA for over a decade: Their Thursday lunchtime ‘brown bags' are open to the whole company to come and learn from inspiring internal and external speakers over lunch. The company constantly look for ways to extend this principle to provide new and exciting opportunities for employees – and this was behind the launch last year of Blue Rubicon's ‘Exchange'. This has been established with three different types of agencies within the marketing sphere including advertising and experiential, to provide opportunities for their people to exchange ideas and knowledge. In a formal way this involves shared training on a wide range of topics. On an informal level, the Exchange provides a network of peer to peer contacts to act as sounding boards, test ideas out on, invite to brainstorms and simply create new inspiration and shared knowledge. The Exchange also provides opportunities for mentoring with very experienced senior people from across the marketing mix to explore personal development from a broad perspective

The company provide employees with their own, personalised mug upon joining the firm to eliminate waste from the use of paper cups.

Bank Machine has a number of ways in which it rewards its employees but one of the most effective is their 'Employee of the Quarter' awards. Nominations are provided by employees for employees (not necessaily from their own department) who they believe have gone the extra mile in their job. Nominations have to be well detailed with explanations of specific instances or situations that have prompted the nomination. The winner or winners each receive £1,000 whilst the runners-up receive £500 each.

CSR is integral to the unique culture at Aquamarine Power where they ensure their staff can thrive and have fun while making a significant contribution to the wider community and socio-economic climate. 100% of employees were proud of the CSR activities the company was involved in according to the Staff Survey in December 2010. Since then they have strived to improve CSR on an internal, local and global scale; building partnerships with RSPB, Engineering Aid and the Marine Conservation Society, funded a six-month internship to establish a robust model to analyse their carbon footprint and life cycle analysis and setting the standard for wave energy site consenting with focus on community consultation. Aquamarine Power has a broad framework of activities involving sport, social activity, environmental initiatives, charitable and community contributions, and supplier partnerships. They promote charitable working by supporting staff to take paid time off to do voluntary work.

Aquamarine Power believes their people are their company and that fulfilled people lead to a successful company. They value learning, sharing expertise and expanding their knowledge and skills. As such, they are committed to a range of initiatives which develop their people professionally and personally. One of the key initiatives which they have introduced to support employee development is their accredited professional development programme, which is designed to help the company's young engineers achieve Chartered status. Almost 30% of their staff are involved in the scheme and it provides a framework for the development of the company's junior staff who are mentored by senior members of staff. The main objectives of the scheme are to ensure that young engineers develop the technical and business competence, innovation and interpersonal skills required to contribute to the company's success and to achieve corporate membership of the IMechE and registration with the Engineering Council.

The company provides a heath cash plan, which contributes towards the cost of everyday healthcare treatments such as dental, optical chiropody and specialist consultations up to a set policy limit. They also have a Occupational Nurse, Chiropodist Acupuncturist and Physiotherapist who visit the site on a bi-monthly basis. The company have a long term absence policy, to ensure all employees have the full support they need when suffering from any long term illnesses. They offer counselling to all employees through an independent councellor, which is funded by the company.

Aimia Foods Rewards and Recognition programme has two categories, one for rewarding innovation and the other for rewarding employees who go the extra mile. The annual winner receives a brand new car.

Agrovista's chairman knows everyone's name and is happy to make time to see or call any member of staff if they wish to discuss something with him. He interacts well at all levels and always makes time for anyone who wishes to see him. An example of his involvement is that he always makes a point of contacting every employee on their birthday to wish them 'Happy Birthday'.

To ensure employees feel rewarded they send Thank you letters and hard work is always acknowledged .

Leads by example, ultimate professional, consistent and fair and commands respect without having to ask for it.

The company has an instant policy including things such as Meals/trips/football matches/wine.

The RESPECT Programme promotes positive behaviour in health, education, personal well being, citizenship, relationships and environment. Warings are proud to be the official corporate partner of the programme, allowing them to offer and support opportunities for young disadvantaged people including supporting apprenticeships and accredited training. Since partnering with the Respect Programme, Warings have taken part in a number of volunteering projects including the environmental clear up at Milton Locks, the Portsmouth Games Sports Festival and the Southsea Skate Park refurbishment. Their Health & Safety Advisors also volunteered their expertise prior to the work, undertaking a complete risk assessment of the park's ongoing repair programme.

Village Vets support employees' wellbeing by offering healthy eating advice, Fit club and they also have external organisations to provide help with stress.

In ValueClick we regularly meet up for social events such as Friday beer, Team-lunches and events such as Christmas parties, Summer Parties and Leaving parties.

In ValueClick we regularly meet up for social events such as Friday beer, Team-lunches and events such as Christmas parties, Summer Parties and Leaving parties.

TLT LLP have corporate rates at the national gym chain, Fitness First as well as the local Welshback Squash and Health Club to encourage their employees to stay fit and healthy. The Relaxation Station (a professional on-site service which helps to release muscle tension, alleviate headaches and improve circulation) visits the Redcliff Street Bristol office on a monthly basis to allow employees to have a 30 minute treatment of their choice at a reduced price. They also have quarterly visits from a local chiropractor who offers practical advice or treatment on back pain and associated ailments.

Performance is recognised with annual employee awards. Instant recognition is given with spot rewards through their Moments of Magic programme.

Thomson Online Benefits hold a Company conference, team meals and drinks and a Christmas party. There are various team outings and social events. Team celebrations are managed locally. Team/Reward bonuses are given through the recognition programme.

The cultural approach within The Futures Company is one of trust, transparency and accessibility extended to all. Their recently appointed MD, Sarah King, is enormously respected for her enthusiastic commitment to the business. She has a very collaborative approach, is empathetic and supportive, always makes time for important conversations even when she is very busy. She is an inspiring role model, with high levels of integrity, leading by example.

In addition to their informal and staff-initiated events, The Futures company provides pro-bono services for a number of charitable and other NGO organisations. Examples include: The Teenage Cancer Trust where they delivered a keynote speech on evaluating the impact of the built environment at their annual conference. The Futures Company provide support in a variety of ways offering disadvantaged young people from City Gateway the opportunity for a three month Apprenticeship and offering annual office-based work experience opportunities for a local high school.

The Crown Estate local communities span the UK. They are developing a corporate community investment strategy but already operate in a number of estate based (Rural, Marine or Urban) communities. They work with agricultural tenants to help them diversify or join a prestigious food store's supply chain. They have a Marine Communities Fund through which about £400k p.a. is directed at specific projects. They are a founding member of the Westminster Small and Medium sized Business forum, have provided community halls for various groups and regularly permit the use of their Board Room as a local unit for community events/local groups.

Dom Robertson, Managing Director of RPM, oversees the entire agency, which has grown significantly over this year. As a result, Dom ensures that, regardless of where an individual is or how long they have been with the business, he will spend time with them equally and also devotes a huge amount of his personal time visiting all of our live activity. Whether evenings or weekends, he will ensure he spends time seeing the work of the business and feeding back on successes as well as spending time with people in the field. Dom is accessible and fully engaged with the agency and everyone who wishes to, can have time with him, whether to simply chat about personal issues or to put forward suggestions for the agency. He also lives the company values and ensures his senior team embody them as well as especially ‘leading by example'.

RPM ensures that success, as a result of an indivdual or team, is not only made public to the whole office, but also celebrated. For example, in their weekly news letter they have a special 'thank you's' section,which specifically encourages and therefore recognises hard work or particular individual achievements. Also, everytime there is a new client win, a member of that team will ring the 'new business bell' that sits on the Account Team wall, which lets everyone know of this achievement and helps to bring the office together. Whenever an employee is promoted they are given bottle of champagne by the MD.

The MD Rodney Jackson, conducts quarterly roadshows to give a picture of how the company is performing and what the future business plans are. It is also a great opportunity for all members of staff to have a direct exchange with their MD and ask any questions. All team leaders work closely with their team members in an open plan office environment and they operate an open door policy for all senior managers and MD office. There is a weekly Managing Director Blog where any important news, change, amendment, new project, new client is communicated to all members of staff via this publication.

PSN hold a number of fitness actvities throughout the year including the 'Fit 4 2009 Challenge.' This involves measuring the fitness of the participants at the beginning of the programme and then again 8 weeks later. There are 6 areas to check which include body fat, blood pressure aerobic capacity and flexibility. They continue to maintain their 'Healthy Working Lives' programme. The standards criteria give them a framework to develop a strong health strategy within the business. It gives them a means of tackling not only the 'nicer' topics of health such as general fitness, but also the more difficult subjects such as urinary tract cancer, drug and alcohol abuse, stress and mental illness. Although not easy subjects to tackle they continually get wide support to 'lunch & learn' sessions throughout the year with most being over subscribed.

PSN hold a number of fitness actvities throughout the year including the 'Fit 4 2009 Challenge.' This involves measuring the fitness of the participants at the beginning of the programme and then again 8 weeks later. There are 6 areas to check which include body fat, blood pressure aerobic capacity and flexibility. They continue to maintain their 'Healthy Working Lives' programme. The standards criteria give them a framework to develop a strong health strategy within the business. It gives them a means of tackling not only the 'nicer' topics of health such as general fitness, but also the more difficult subjects such as urinary tract cancer, drug and alcohol abuse, stress and mental illness. Although not easy subjects to tackle they continually get wide support to 'lunch & learn' sessions throughout the year with most being over subscribed.

Due to the nature of the business Patton Group have numerous training schemes happening: Site Safety Supervisors, Microsoft Office/Project Planning software, Management and Leadership, Communication Skills, Appraisals Training, Professional Memberships e.g. CIOB, RICS, CIPD, CIM, MSC Project Management/ BSc Construction Engineering, NVQ 3 Bench Joinery, First Aid, Numerous H&S courses, NVQ's in Plant Operation.

Everyone at Parasol has free membership to the local gym, located very close to the office. The membership provides full access to the gym, swimming and classes at any time. They have a factsheet dedicated to exercise and lots of hints and tips on the intranet. As part of Parasol's charity fundraising they promote and support get up and go activities such as the triathlon and starlight walks. As part of Parasol's health and well being week they also arranged a pedometer challenge where everyone received a pedometer and were given a challenge to hit the recommended daily number of steps and clock up more steps than colleagues in the process.

At Orchid they want everyone to enjoy working with them, both whilst they are at their place of work and also when they are enjoying their personal leisure time. Orchid understand that a work life balance is important and to give you an extra helping hand they have introduced “Orchid Concierge” which is a re launch of the Time & Knowledge brochure. Time & Knowledge are here to give you an extra hand to help you take care of all those jobs you have to do but don't have the time to sort out, or the knowledge as to who are the best people to use. They will put you in touch with suppliers who can accomplish the jobs you need doing, across a variety of services that range from the ordinary to the unexpected. Whether you're planning a party, looking for a plumber, arranging a holiday or searching for the perfect gift, they can help.

Nichols have twice yearly health awareness days at which health and well being professionals hold 121 assessments with all staff. On the back of this they recently completed a pedometer challenge, encouraging staff to increase the number of steps they took each day. They completed this challenge over a 12 week period and collectively they took sufficient steps to walk from their office to Brisbane, Australia (as the crow flies). Employees are encouraged to take part in sporting activities and Nichols have groups of employees who regularly play golf, football, netball and badminton or go running. Employees also go walking or to the local Gym/leisure centre for a swim at lunchtime and others walk or cycle to work. On site shower facilities are provided. For those who are not quite so energetic Nichols have a Wii console and their employees enjoy a game of virtual tennis or golf at lunchtime. Periodically Nichols hold Indian head or arm and hand massage, believing that it helps to relieve some of the day to day tensions.

Newton held a Summer Weekend which was 3 days down in Newquay doing activities that included surfing, coast steering, zip line, assault course/teambuilding, black tie dinner and beach BBQ. Partners were also invited. There was also a Winter ski-trip which was a long weekend skiing in the French Alps. There are quarterly activity days. These have included a spa day, Alton Towers, caving and gorge walking in Wales and go-karting. Bi-weekly Thursday night fun has included a casino night, going to the dogs, fencing, going for nice meals and themed BBQ nights.

Line managers ensure that employees work loads are manageable and also monitor how many hours people are working. Also Metro are organising Personal Energy Workshops for all staff which are designed to investigate their personal energy levels through understanding the factors that either boost or drain one's internal energy battery and how the employee can influence their motivation drive and enthusiasm on a daily basis. There are a lot of flexibility arrangements of an informal nature, in operation. Metro have a flexibility policy which covers carers and people with children under the age of 16 or under 18 where disabled. This is where they grant flexibility on a more formal basis. Additionally, Metro have in the past, given extended periods of absence and/or flexibility for personal issues. A good example of this is where there has been bereavement.

All managers have access to the industry body and seminars which are run for creatives, planners, account handling and finance. For example Meteorite's new Business Manager will attend seminars specifically for new business managers whereby they discuss best practice and how to ensure you get enough support for your company. Meteorite believe that they train all of their managers to manage people not subordinates. The HR Manager is responsible for their 'People Programme' and ensures that line managers receive quarterly training on team management skills and personal development.

The Mace Star awards are in their second year. Employees are given the opportunity to nominate a colleague or a team for a range of award categories. Winners are announced at the annual end of year celebration. Line managers are encouraged, through the Managing People @ Mace programme which this year is focussing on giving feedback, to reward employees informally by ensuring they are thanked for doing a good job and get the recognition that they deserve. Mace believes that this informal approach has a greater positive effect on employee engagement than a formalised system.

Lincolnshire is a co-operative business, owned and run democratically by its members (including their employees), operating convenience stores, pharmacies, post offices etc. which puts them right at the heart of the local community. They have a team of 8 people dedicated to working with their members and the local community which enables them to work with hundreds of charities and community groups each year and they're in the process of recruiting for a new role in each of their food stores to work closer with the local community and to help charities.

Lakehouse have developed the 'Lakehouse Management Academy'. This saw them partnering with an external training supplier to develop a management training programme tailored to the needs and culture of the company. Over 40 of their managers are part of this ongoing programme which includes elements such as 360 degree feedback, personality profiling, performance management, communication skills, time management skills and more. This academy programme sees Lakehouse managing not only their management talent more effectively but also has the knock-on effect that these managers can manage their teams more effectively too, identifying and nurturing the talent they find there. Lakehouse want to encourage everybody's talent so they have created a ‘Lakehouse Legacy'. Lakehouse have committed to training every single staff member to NVQ level 2 minimum. Together, this shows they are investing far more than their industry average in training their people.

Kitcatt Nohr hold regular "Digital Surgeries" when staff can ask their Technical Director and Digital Planning Director for advice on digital marketing. Based on staff feedback the leaders provide openness, caring for staff and a strong sense of values and they are good role models.

Centrepoint is a charity working to improve the lives of socially excluded, homeless young people aged 16 to 24. King Sturge staff are involved in a mentoring scheme, meeting up with a young person for 1 or 2 hours a month (during working day) to provide motivation, guidance and support to help them achieve their potential. They also offer a work experience programme to Centrepoint, which has in the past resulted in a permanent position being offered and accepted by the young person in question.

Employee recognition and rewards are areas that Juniper feels passionately about. Juniper's Total Rewards Philosophy is to recognise company performance and individual performance in the compensation package. To that end, Juniper offers a pay and compensation programme that recognises and rewards employees' contributions toward achieving the company's strategic goals and business objectives. They differentiate and pay for performance simply stating the “better the performance, the greater the rewards”. Salary, bonus and long term incentive allocation decisions are based on performance.

Employee recognition and rewards are areas that Juniper feels passionately about. Juniper's Total Rewards Philosophy is to recognise company performance and individual performance in the compensation package. To that end, Juniper offers a pay and compensation programme that recognises and rewards employees' contributions toward achieving the company's strategic goals and business objectives. They differentiate and pay for performance simply stating the “better the performance, the greater the rewards”. Salary, bonus and long term incentive allocation decisions are based on performance.

Some people in the organisation have their own external mentor and the company will give them time to go and meet with them or allow the external mentor come into the office to better understand the mentees working environment. If an area of development has been identified in a manager and they find a course that they feel will help them to address it then the organisation will either contribute towards or pay for the cost of the course depending on its value. The HR department has created a pack which details how to be an effective manager which is given to all members of the management team. JBW Group will also be developing all line managers this year.

The Managing Director is full of energy and always striving to think outside the box. He encourages others to do the same and his levels of enthusiasm are infectious. He appreciates the efforts of everyone in the organization and always communicates this to them. His level of pastoral care over his staff is second to none.

Popular projects have involved environmental work, regeneration and building improvements. Employees from the market research team planted trees and hedgerows at a National Trust house in Shropshire. Engineers from the Supplier Technical Assistance department helped to rejuvenate a neglected recreation area at a clinic for recovering drug addicts in Warwickshire. A team of volunteers from the Solihull plant created an outdoor educational centre and orienteering course at a residential school for children with learning difficulties.

Innogistic have many team and company wide social events. The two main examples are Innogistic's Christmas party which was held at a local Indian Restaurant. The whole company was treated to a drinks reception, followed by an Indian feast. All food and drink was paid for by the company and for employees that live outside of Bristol, the company also picked up the cost of their hotel accommodation. For the annual summer party Innogistic hired an area of a local public green/park and erected a marquee which was their ‘home for the day' where a team based cookery competition was the highlight of the day. Each team chose a region of the world and each employee was given £20 per person (including partners) to provide the food

Informatica are committed to paying above average base salaries when measured against their peers in the industry. They gather the latest market data from a variety of sources: industry specific surveys, functionally specific surveys, geographically specific surveys, internal and external recruiters and competitors; plus the opportunity for additional rewards when individuals and/or company business objectives are achieved. They provide a variety of compensation components aimed at enhancing employee satisfaction, driving organisational performance and rewarding employee performance.

There is strong communication in the form of monthly staff meetings, monthly newsletter etc. There are staff incentives which could be cash or any other relevant reward. Length of service anniversaries are recognised. There are bi-annual appraisals and every member of staff has a probation period review. There are also staff events.

Hill & Knowlton provide line managers and mentors to provide one to one advice, support and mentoring. In addition they run creative workshops, presentation skills, they hold seminars with broadcasters and journalists and digital acceleration courses. They also send senior management on a range of courses designed to help them manage senior client relationships effectively, complex problem solving, leadership, relationship building skills and accountability.

Employee wellbeing is important to Henry Schein. In 2010, their objective was to launch a wellbeing day which was achieved throughout a number of their UK offices and was very successful.

The Leader interacts socially at Friday evening drinks and at adhoc communication and celebration events. The Leader is inclusive, inspirational, approachable, strategic, vision for the business.

There are Management skill training courses with follow up workshops. Lunch and learns around particular skills needs depending on the business. On line skills sound bites, succession planning discussion and trying to empower the teams.

Harvest firmly believe that employee wellbeing is enhanced through good leadership, clarity of purpose, fairness and support in balancing work life. They recognise that Harvest is a busy place to work and that it is important that they have the time to do other jobs and still enjoy a healthy work-life balance. The company pays for all employees and their families' to have access to reduced healthcare benefits, for dentistry, optical, and specialist consultations and much more. There are also arrangements in place for counselling and support covers stress counselling, legal, debt and household emergency advice.

Guardian Industries actively support local charities with donations. They financially support ‘Goole in Bloom' and care for the garden on a roundabout nearby. As part of their Healthguard objectives they also support a local children's football team, Goole Town Tigers.

Greenlight offer Management training for new managers, interview skills training. Presentation Training, Excel training, Language skills tutoring (one on one) - this is where English isn't first language. They organise individual English Business language skills lessons, Leadership training and Project Management skills.

Great Places has a charity fund which is set up to provide charitable aid to residents and tenants. The charity fund is managed by the Great Places staff committee and residents and tenants bid for this money via applications intended to make a positive difference to their lives. Examples can include supporting educational needs, life time ambitions or purchasing items that will help them in independent living. Decisions on applications are decided at monthly staff committee meetings and feedback is promoted to employees through a variety of internal communication channels.

FT Construction start Personal Growth at the grass roots with an annual intake of apprentices in the traditional building trades (Brickwork and Carpentry/Joinery). To achieve this they work closely with Construction Skills and Darlington College to offer a structured 3 year apprenticeship framework resulting in an Advanced Craft Apprenticeship and NVQ3 qualification in their chosen trade, along with a secure future Many of the apprentices have gone on to represent both their college and WTC at the Regional and National Skillbuild competitions. In addition to this FT Construction actively encourage further/higher education for their existing team at all levels and in many different career paths.

Fast Track Sales Ltd hold several company team events including an annual "sports day" and BBQ in October and an annual Christmas Party. They also have at least one other business focused but interactive fun away day each year. They also endorse and take part in office organised initiatives such as a charity fund raising. Fast Track Sales Ltd also support their company sports teams such as their netball and football team by contributing to their subs.

To ensure that employees feel they are rewarded for their efforts there is an employee of the quarter and staff bonus scheme. F M Conway encourage employees to use their holiday entitlement, they monitor working hours and provide additional part time, temp assistance when required. They discourage a long hours culture.

Douglas & Gordon use psychological profiling for all staff and train Managers in interpreting the results. External coaches are employed for all levels of staff and 3 day courses were held this year for all Managers.The Company support and enhance the development of people managers within their organisation by taking feedback from each Manager's team as part of the regular review process and provide the Manager with any necessary further coaching/training.

Direct Life and Pension have a culture of feedback, communication of benefits, changes, rewards, staff briefings and regular one to one's and appraisals. Their staff are the most important factor in their ongoing success as a company. They have focused on being a great employer by giving their staff opportunities and development, being fair and treating them with respect and honesty.

Everyone is assigned to a HR business partner. Each and every people manager receives some level of leadership and management development, through workshops, 1-2-1 feedback sessions and coaching. Directors train as mentors & coaches and middle managers are trained to coach and give side by side coaching.

Leaders and senior management are approachable, honest, positive, open regular team meetings, project work, client specific discussions and the quarterly 'becoming better managers' forum. They conduct an annual director's road show where they update all employees on the company's performance, targets and plans for the future. They also have a monthly MD forum; employees in small groups of 4/5 meet with the MD on an informal basis to discuss how the company is going and any key issues in the business.

Employees are very personally involved in the organisation's efforts to support charities. It is employees who nominate and organise the charity events with the support of the company. Employees spend a lot of their spare time each month baking cakes for the monthly charity days. Employees often come up with unique, fun ways to raise additional funds like bacon buttie sales, BBQ food for sale or fun runs and charity bike rides, raffles and games or quizzes. CHL likes to take suggestions from members of staff about how to improve CHL's environmental efforts and when suggestions come through they are quick to investigate these and take them on board where they can. There is a sense of team responsibility for being environmentally friendly and CHL has a conscience in this area.

The CEO of Chester & District Housing Trust is described as open and approachable, and a charismatic and inspirational leader. He often delivers briefings and encourages feedback and has a regular internet blog. All managers at Chester & District Housing Trust are easily accessible and all offices are open plan.

An environment project team has just been established as part of the Lean initiative headed up by the Hygiene Manager. He and the Operations Manager have already introduced a number of initiatives to increase their recycling streams e.g. waste paper collection bins, plastic baling, metal collection. In addition they have been working with the Carbon Trust to identify means of reducing our Carbon Footprint.

An environment project team has just been established as part of the Lean initiative headed up by the Hygiene Manager. He and the Operations Manager have already introduced a number of initiatives to increase their recycling streams e.g. waste paper collection bins, plastic baling, metal collection. In addition they have been working with the Carbon Trust to identify means of reducing our Carbon Footprint.

Burgress Hodgson operates an environment of 'positive' reward. Those staff deemed to have performed exceptionally and delivered service quality beyond their job role are remunerated accordingly. They also reward staff for introducing new clients. This is usually a percentage of the first year's client fees.

When employees deserve recognition for high achievements then the Department Head or in some cases the Managing Director will send out a communication to the company to recognise the achievement and ensure that the individual's contribution is highlighted to their colleagues. Ad-hoc bonuses are also used where particularly good work has been done. For example, when ISO 9001 accreditation was achieved, the employees who completed the project were given an additional bonus. Ad hoc bonuses have also been paid out for exceptional sales achievements.

When employees deserve recognition for high achievements then the Department Head or in some cases the Managing Director will send out a communication to the company to recognise the achievement and ensure that the individual's contribution is highlighted to their colleagues. Ad-hoc bonuses are also used where particularly good work has been done. For example, when ISO 9001 accreditation was achieved, the employees who completed the project were given an additional bonus. Ad hoc bonuses have also been paid out for exceptional sales achievements.

For those employees who need to work from home occasionally, laptops and blackberries are provided. The firm's policy is that everyone works in the firm's offices as members of a team, unless there is no alternative, to foster a sense of community and discourage long hours working. In this way Bristows aim to decrease the incidence of depression, isolation and anxiety. Opportunities to work flexibly are widely taken up by staff in all employee groups.

Excellent work is highlighted at staff quarterly meetings as are employee promotions. All-staff quarterly meetings are hosted by their CEO and company update emails from the CEO keep them informed of their progress. Avanti actively welcome new joiners and all new starters are introduced at the staff meetings and an email is circulated introducing them and their role to everyone. Avanti also have an intranet for all employees. They are also introducing a SharePoint based, file sharing infrastructure for all staff to be able to access information through one portal.

Excellent work is highlighted at staff quarterly meetings as are employee promotions. All-staff quarterly meetings are hosted by their CEO and company update emails from the CEO keep them informed of their progress. Avanti actively welcome new joiners and all new starters are introduced at the staff meetings and an email is circulated introducing them and their role to everyone. Avanti also have an intranet for all employees. They are also introducing a SharePoint based, file sharing infrastructure for all staff to be able to access information through one portal.

David Alberto makes it his business to visit centres regularly and speaks to all employees when he can. He is known as an inspirational leader in Avanta. His open door policy encourages all to speak with him whenever they need, take ideas to him and any Suggestions offered are taken seriously. David's invitations to events are spread widely so everyone has an opportunity to attend where possible. David starts any Induction day off with a presentation of the company, with an open and answer question and answers session. He has created an open culture and close family feel to Avanta, and has maintained this through a strong period of business growth. The current SMT started working with David in 2004, when the business started and they have continued to be part of this growing company alongside David, working as a team to build the best possible business that they can.

Managers at Elementus attend a variety of external courses such as ' People Management Skills for new managers'. New managers are trained externally over 1 to 3 days with their current training provider 'LDL' where they tailor the coaching to the specific management role. All new managers are also mentored by a member of the executive team. In 2010 Elementus introduced a new position of Customer Sales and Service Deputy Manager. This has been introduced to bridge the gap between consultants and managers and prepare them for Customer Sales and Service Manager positions when they become available. They currently have 5 people in this role.

A wide variety of training is completed every year, this includes; Internal technical training; which would include new procedures, quality awareness, using equipment etc, internal health and safety training; which would include display screen equipment usage, chemical usage and manual handling etc and internal environmental awareness training. In addition to this employees can also carry out external professional qualifications such as NEBOSH Diploma, AAT Level 4 NVQ in Accounting, BIOH P402 Asbestos Surveying etc, external technical and quality training provded by BSI and external commercial awareness training; which would include selling skills.

Senior managers and the executive attended a 'fit for leadership' course which includes a full health assessment. All staff are offered discounted health screening through BUPA. If employees have a medical appointment they are given flexibility to attend. Angel Trains actively encourage a good work/life balance. They offer flexible working to accommodate personal circumstances. Angel Trains also hold a learning lunch, where they had a nutritionist come in to talk to employees regarding their general health and ways to manage stress. They offer a free employee assistance programme for employees to call for confidential advice. The company are also involved in the cycle to work scheme.

The company encourages participation in the FitNut Challenge which is a programme aimed at encouraging employees to take an interest in their own health and wellbeing. The FitNut Challenge is a team-based healthy eating and exercise campaign where individual participants improve their ‘feel good factor'. It kicks off with each person having their weight, height, blood pressure and body fat ratio recorded. Over the subsequent two months they are provided with a weekly newsletter outlining a diet and exercise regime. The team or person with the greatest improvement then selects a charity to receive a cash donation.

Employees receive on average 40 hours training per year, with an average spend of £1000 per employee. Training activities include Legal aspects of chartering, Sales techniques, Dangerous goods training, CRM systems/Marketing, Time Management, Recruitment and selection, Appraisals, Residential, advanced leadership training. CIMA – Finance, CPD work - Legal department and CRM training – Marketing are supported either through time off, funding or other resources There are strategies in place to manage talent within the organisation include structured salary scale.

?What If! have developed a work experience programme that means they are committed to giving the opportunity to young people in the local area to apply for work experience at ?What If! They have a policy to make sure that they avoid nepotism from the children of clients or our families. They are committed to helping young people to have a start in a company like ours who do not have any contact in this industry.

The organisation actively promotes a healthy work/life balance and the main centre which is open to the general public closes at 4.30pm. Their core hours are up to 4.30pm and staff are encouraged to finish and get away on time. The company have also just been awarded bronze standard of 'Better Health at Work'. This is a comprehensive facility to help them internally promote the message of better health and help to monitor employees. All elements of wellbeing are covered in the better health campaign, brochures, information leaflets and campaign road shows are available as part of this organisations commitment to better health at work.

People managers within Age UK North Tyneside are constantly reinforcing the values of the organisation to help promote the way in which they look for respect to be given to one and other. Their code of conduct policy also helps to create a way of working which is accepted by all. As part of the sustainability of the organisation and the diversity agenda they apply for grant funding and tender opportunities and a number of tool kits are used to support managers to help them prepare applications which in turn supports their business development and understanding.

Fairbridge holds regional seminars usually every two - three years and a National Seminar which all employees attend over a few days in alternate years. At these events activities such as sports tournaments, dance, quizzes, team building, encouraging employees to mix with others from different teams and job functions. Central Office and Teams also hold their own team away days, for which the focus is fun and team bonding. An example of a recent team away day included a walking tour of the new Olympic site followed by boules in the park and a pub quiz written by Fairbridge team members.

The organisation hold charity race evenings, cross country runs, dog walks, cakes sales, and talent shows. Horses for Heroes/Help for Heroes are charity's that the organisation support. Often charity's are chosen in relation to specific members of staff, therefore are more personal. Students monitor use of electricity and water and also monitor the amount of recycling that the school undertakes. Paper, clothes, shoes, toner cartridges, pens, mobile phones, jewellery, plastic, glass and cans are recycled. They have also recently installed solar panels when upgrading the heating system, they are the only school in the area to have achieved two green flag awards.

Although relatively new in post the CEO, has demonstarted his inclusive, consultative leadership style on many occasions. He is not afraid to make decisions, including unpopular ones, when necessary, but does not do so until he has collected views. His passion for nature conservation is evident, as is his understanding of the issues that their people on the ground face. He is family friendly, and has deliberately signalled a change of philosophy in this area. He has made a real impact in the outside world in his first 5 months, but it is early days for him to be fully visible in such a dispersed organisation as ours.

There are regular social events organised by staff. These events continue to be very popular 10 years after Postcomm's creation. They continually get feedback from staff saying Postcomm is the best place they have ever worked, not just because of the opportunities and rewards but because it is the friendliest place they have ever worked.

Oldham Sixth form college support charitable causes in various ways such as Wear it Pink day, Children in Need, Comic Relief, Cake dates (staff bake cakes and sell them all for charity) all monies raised go to charity, Race for Life, Healthy College week etc.

Oldham Sixth form college operates an open door policy in operation throughout the college. They also think the leader of the college is always Highly visible and interested/concerned about individuals and their circumstances as well as whole college issues.

Muir Group have a Supporting Volunteer work in the community policy which gives staff up to 5 days paid leave - one employee regularly supports a Gold Duke of Edinburgh's award expedition. They provide 3 days paid leave for employees who undertake public duties, i.e. magistrate, school governor. They support employees who are members of the Territorial Army by giving one week's paid leave for annual training camp - they currently have one employee who is in the TA and has benefited from this. Staff regularly collect for charities by having dress down days during the working day such as for Children in Need, Genes for Jeans Day.

Although Mayday Trust does not operate a "flexi" working hours scheme the Trust is flexible with staff to ensure everyone benefits from a positive work/life balance. Managers may request to work from home and working hours can be altered to meet business/personal circumstances. The company also offer employees support around quitting smoking, eating healthily and losing weight, to name but a few. All advice is available through Westfield Health which is open to all employees.

Eildon acknowledge and praise for work well done in 121s or team meetings. The working conditions are good, remuneration is benchmarked above average, there is flexible working, there is a Final Salary Pension Scheme, a Westfield Health Cash Plan and subsidised Christmas Party for all staff.

After a recent restructure all Heads of Service and Directors attended an away day/ team building day. The primary aims of this away day was for managers to build as a team, open up communications channels and establish a basis of trust. The event started with a team building activity that involved four seperate teams to achieve a common goal of building a physical bridge. This was followed by a presentation by the Chief Executive on Chorley's challenges and an exercise to identify expected behaviours in line with these challenges and Chorley's values of ‘Forward Thinking', ‘Respect', ‘Professional', ‘Pride' and ‘One Team, One Council'. The event finished with a 360 exercise where every manager and their service area were scored on each of the values.

British Red Cross recognises performance annually through National Awards and every 10 years employees earn 4 weeks extra additional annual leave. The Distinguished, Outstanding, Devoted and Queen's Badges of Honour are awarded by the board, through the National Awards Panel, to volunteers and staff to recognise achievements that warrant special appreciation. The Dunant is a form of recognition for teams within the British Red Cross to recognise the one off achievements of teams who have gone over and above the call of duty.

The leader of the organisation is passionate about what the organisation does, the service being delivered and the staff who deliver it. He operates an open door policy and is happy to spend time with members of staff, valuing their input into making the organisation run. He will walk around offices talking to staff, ensuring he stays in touch with the 'front line'. He ensures issues are dealt with effectively and promptly and throughout the year ensures he visits schemes to see as many staff as possible during the year.

The CEO is incredibly approachable and welcomes comments and feedback from all levels of staff. He interacts with employees and takes part in team events. All of the directors have an open door policy and employees of all levels are welcome to approach them. They all walk the office floor and interact with employees on a daily basis. The CEO holds regular 'Have Your Say' sessions where employees have the opportunity to get their questions answered. At their company conference in April 09, the employees were able to ask the board of directors any questions and they provided immediate answers.

Wynnwith hold a number of internal development sessions for managers covering employment law, attracting talent, managing performance, managing difficult people situations and absence management. These have a practical theme with real life scenarios so the manager can apply what they have learnt to the workplace. They hold development sessions which provide an opportunity for managers to network with other managers in different areas of the business. Guides are available on the intranet for managers on how to complete management activities such as recruitment.

Managers and directors operate an open door policy and employees from all levels can approach them at any time. They are easily accessible and very hands on. They ensure they get to know employees on a personal level and will often walk around the office, stopping to take time to chat with staff on an informal basis. Employees are kept up to date through a newsletter where managers and directors provide updates on the company

Weightmans strive forward as a combined workforce. There is no segregation between their leaders and employees and everyone adopts an open door policy. Their values state that they have a clear approach to teamwork and respect and the senior and managing partners lead them in this area. Both the senior and managing partner carry out road shows at each office to update on firm performance. This also serves as an excellent opportunity for question and answer sessions, in addition to the monthly staff forums at which the senior partner is always present.

The CEO and his executive colleagues hold an annual road show at 3 venues across the country, meeting with over 1000 people and updating them on business progress, strategy and achievements. The road show is an interactive experience. Business Unit Directors hold Divisional briefings at least once a year. Q&A sessions are key parts of these briefing. A speed dating approach was taken this year with each member of the leadership team spending 5 minutes on a table answering questions before moving on to the next table. All the Company offices are open plan. Executive Committee members also sit in open plan at the Head Office. They have a Company newsletter "TeamTalk". The Executive Committee regularly hold meetings on some of the large projects.

The leadership team are keen to get involved with all employees and are always approachable. The managing directors run monthly meetings where employees can attend and have a coffee and a chat. The managing directors also take part in monthly ‘back to the floor' activities which enables them to keep up to date with any issues employees face.

There are various events held to enable teams to socialise and have fun outside of the office. This includes the Christmas Dinner and Dance in the West End in 2008 which was a fantastic event and built on the previous events but at a new venue due to the growth in their employees. Every year they also invite staff and their families to attend Ascot races and interested employees are given free tickets for the premier which includes car parking tickets. As the majority of their work is contract based the teams have milestone celebrations, for example on their Islington contract they had a fantastic celebration event for all individuals involved both from the site and the office.

Managers and directors value their employees and send emails where customer service or performance has exceeded expectations. Length of service is rewarded after 10, 15 and 25 years. They listen and engage with employees through a survey which takes place bi-annually. Company results are published on the intranet which shows previous results alongside current results. The survey results also provide a comparison, where available, to the 'norm'. Department results are fed back by managers via team meetings and all staff are encouraged to submit suggestions for improvements. Results are also included in half yearly presentations to staff.

Staff members feel that they are looked after at Thinktank, with opportunities for career progression and personal development readily available. Support and advice is always on offer so that individuals can attain new skills and progress their career. As Thinktank is always developing new programmes, exhibits and improving accessibility to science, so the staff are encouraged to develop personally and professionally within a forward thinking environment.

The Nichols Group review each employee's contributions on an annual basis to determine potential salary increases and discretionary bonuses, based on company profitability and individual performance. In addition, a variety of social events are organised to recognise, celebrate and reward individual and team efforts.

talkbackThames strive to engage and listen to employees opinions and conduct an internal engagement survey. The results are fed back to employees through presentations, team meetings with the findings published on their intranet. Employees are encouraged to put forward ideas and initiatives. They have held a pitching market open to everyone to contribute creative ideas with prizes including TVs and holidays. They give a spot bonus for exceptional work and send emails around the company to thank individuals for their contributions and reward employees with flowers, chocolates and lunches.

Star Refrigeration support charities by making a donation to top up funds raised either within the workplace or for activities that individual employees have undertaken for charity. Effort is also made to support charities with a personal connection to staff. They follow the basis tenants of reclaim, recycle and reuse in their day to day operations, for example used paper is collected for shredding and recycling and materials are reused/recycled where possible on sites. They also support the local community, for example, they have recruited three young people in the last year through a local regeneration scheme including one who is now a management trainee. They also recruit apprentices every year and are involved in a mentoring scheme at a local school.

The company invest heavily in training and development for all members of the team from directors to site operatives. They are committed to offering career opportunities for people to come into the industry and a number of training programmes, including professional and technical, site management, apprenticeships, graduate placements and work experience. They have developed a coaching culture to ‘grow' the team and ‘unlock' their potential. Southdale would be prepared to consider any employees proposals in regards to their own personal development and where practicable implement them.

Employees are encouraged to take part in charitable activities and are given up to 3 paid days off per year to assist them. They have taken part in a number of events including sponsored cycle rides, Big Chill festival and a PR trip to Africa which was in support of SolarAid. SolarAid was set up by the Chairman Jeremy Leggett with the companies first year profits. Solarcentury's vision is to make a big difference in attaining a cleaner world and a sustainable future. Every 6 months, the management team meet with the Environment Champion to review progress, set targets and look for ways to improve their performance in this respect. In support of their local community they also offer talks in schools work placements for students.

The people who work at Savile Group take an immense amount of satisfaction from their job. Seeing the end result of their efforts when somebody finds their ideal job creates a great sense of pleasure for all who work there. There is an excellent team spirit and the company invests heavily in their staff whilst handing out thank you cards and offering recognition during meetings for excellent performance or great ideas.

The company have a number of schemes in place to ensure employees feel valued and are rewarded for their efforts. They offer an individual performance related bonus and a site wide bonus for manufacturing performance. Employees can also nominate one another for work they have done above and beyond expectations. Points are then awarded which can be redeemed for vouchers and their achievement is acknowledged by all of the senior management team. To provide employees with a more instant form of recognition line managers issue on the spot vouchers for the staff canteen.

Employees benefit from an accessible and visible management team. The company operate an open door policy and employees can approach managers of any level at any time. The Managing Director Dr Alan Mclenaghan is often seen on the shop floor engaging with employees and many mangers participate in social and sporting events with employees from all levels. A management communication session and a team brief are held monthly which gives employees an opportunity to raise any questions.

Rouse & Co believe in personal development for every employee and offer a wide range of external and internal training such as public speaking, risk management and time management. All vacancies are advertised internally and employees are encouraged to apply. They financially support formal qualifications for all employees and allow time off to study and complete exams. Prior to exams senior management will tutor employees during and outside of working hours. Weekly ‘know how' sessions are held which cover internal work related matters. Each team participates and provides opportunities for more junior level associates to improve their presentation skills, their knowledge of anything from recent case law to any new internal procedures.

Rother District Council rewards their employees for their efforts through a reward scheme and recognition emails. The Council relies on the innovation, creativity and lateral thinking of its individuals, as an integral part of development. This also helps them to improve services to their customers. In addition to this they recognise the value of good people and help staff to maximise their potential during their time at Rother.

As a maintained school, every full time colleague must fulfil 195 days in work every year of which 5 days are designated training days. On these days, all maintained schools may close to offer whole staff training on certain whole school themes. Employees are also given the opportunity to attend professional development activities arranged by external private providers. During the course of 2008-2009, a total of 402 full days were spent attending external CPD events. Colleagues may also seek to gain further professional accreditation; this may be professional qualifications which will enable colleagues to gain promotion. One senior leader has gained the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) which enables people to become Headteachers whilst other colleagues have gained the similar qualification aimed at middle leaders (Leading from the Middle). Another person is in the process of conducting research into an area of teaching and learning which will allow him to visit an international destination (Australia) in order to see best practice in action. Other staff have gained financial support from the school to further their academic study e.g. through studying a MA in Education Leadership.

In all of their company meetings the Executives and senior management invite questions throughout, so as to ensure employees are fully aware of everything happening within the company. All employers and leaders are in an open plan office. All leaders are approachable and welcome any interaction. They have employee dinners with update presentations; they also have various adhoc presentations, and team meetings and lunches where senior management attend. As they have an open door policy, if anyone has anything they would like to discuss with him they may and he regularly encourages dialogue with all of their staff. He regularly interacts with all staff, socially and at work. They often attend many of the "fun" functions they hold.

Once a month they wear jeans to work and a donation is made to an employee nominated charity, which can be charities that their employees have a personal involvement with. The organisation use a company called Carbon Neutral to offset their carbon usage. They have paper and cardboard recycling with Shred-it who replant how ever many trees worth of paper they recycle. They have a company allotment, where employees can grow vegetables. They believe that all of the areas described above make them a sustainable company. They have frequently supported Heathrow Special Needs Farm and worked with them for 2 years in their local community which is part of the Business in the Community (BITC) Group.