What are companies doing with regards to 'My Company'

CC have an open air lounge area, which provides a quiet and tranquil environment for their employees to relax in, either at lunchtime or during other quiet times. The company also host free weekly yoga sessions after work. To ensure that mental health is looked after as much as physical, CC have a free and confidential counselling line available to all their employees 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. CC actively encourage employees to use this service if they are experiencing stress or other difficulties, whether work related or personal. Cycling is very popular and to ensure CC employees are safe whilst cycling to and from work the company provide reflective cycling jackets so they can be seen easily by other road users. They also provide them with drying facilities, showers and freshly laundered towels. CC organise for the bicycle ambulance to visit the site and undertake work on employee's bikes to ensure they are maintained properly and roadworthy. The company also pays for their time and the employees pay for any parts they use. They even provide a cycle workshop for staff to undertake minor repairs during the day and provide spare bulbs and other small items. CC also offer to pay £100 towards new glassed if needed for VDU work, which is in addition to paying for the eyesight test.

CC have an open air lounge area, which provides a quiet and tranquil environment for their employees to relax in, either at lunchtime or during other quiet times. The company also host free weekly yoga sessions after work. To ensure that mental health is looked after as much as physical, CC have a free and confidential counselling line available to all their employees 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. CC actively encourage employees to use this service if they are experiencing stress or other difficulties, whether work related or personal. Cycling is very popular and to ensure CC employees are safe whilst cycling to and from work the company provide reflective cycling jackets so they can be seen easily by other road users. They also provide them with drying facilities, showers and freshly laundered towels. CC organise for the bicycle ambulance to visit the site and undertake work on employee's bikes to ensure they are maintained properly and roadworthy. The company also pays for their time and the employees pay for any parts they use. They even provide a cycle workshop for staff to undertake minor repairs during the day and provide spare bulbs and other small items. CC also offer to pay £100 towards new glassed if needed for VDU work, which is in addition to paying for the eyesight test.

CMBC are using the 70:20:10 model of learning to provide a base for employees to shape their learning. The organisation is just about to publish a revised Learning and Development Policy for the first time in several years, which they will use to underpin the development of a culture of self-directed learning. The emphasis is on seeking out learning instead of relying on paid for structured programmes of learning. CMBC also have a coaching and mentoring programme which has been in place for three years. They have built their own pool of workplace coaches and mentors that anyone in the council can request to have time with. They also run a ‘Day in Your Shoes' campaign, which aims to get employees connecting with one another across teams and learning from others about what their services do. This is promoting cross-council networks and helps employees to understand what goes when it comes to delivering CMBC services to the public.

CMBC are using the 70:20:10 model of learning to provide a base for employees to shape their learning. The organisation is just about to publish a revised Learning and Development Policy for the first time in several years, which they will use to underpin the development of a culture of self-directed learning. The emphasis is on seeking out learning instead of relying on paid for structured programmes of learning. CMBC also have a coaching and mentoring programme which has been in place for three years. They have built their own pool of workplace coaches and mentors that anyone in the council can request to have time with. They also run a ‘Day in Your Shoes' campaign, which aims to get employees connecting with one another across teams and learning from others about what their services do. This is promoting cross-council networks and helps employees to understand what goes when it comes to delivering CMBC services to the public.

Cadline's vision, mission and values were agreed upon seven years ago. It was decided not to agree upon these solely at a leadership level, so instead the company organised an offsite company event where they had a primary business objective of letting the team develop their ideas. The morning was spent developing the vision and mission statements and in the afternoon the team decided which core values best represented what the company embodies. As well as this the team went further and developed a set of behaviours, ensuring it was clear to every member of staff how to demonstrate these values in day to day interactions with one another and with customers alike. In order to maintain the team's enthusiasm and commitment Cadline decided to embed the values in the performance management system. Every year within each employee's objectives there is a ‘Values' objective, which requests that at each appraisal point the individual submits evidence of how they have ‘lived' the Cadline values of Integrity, Teamwork, Expertise or Passion. Through this process they reinforce the business statements and values to all. Furthermore new employees have a leadership induction scheduled where they spend a morning with one of the Leadership Team. During this induction the bourness statements and values are presented and discussed. This is then reinforced throughout the wider company induction with the HR Manager and Line Manager.

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

BSD encourage all employees to develop and enhance their CPD all the time, they regularly send employees on courses to enhance their professional knowledge including degrees, HNC, HNDs and such, all paid for by BSD. They also encourage employees to develop their interests outside the business, and they encourage this through charity involvement, they run events throughout the year which allows employees to enhance their skills and abilities and therefore supporting employee development, allowing them, for example, to improve communication skills. BSD also run regular CPD events with clients, enabling the employees to see other aspects of building services design, gather with other companies on the way they work, and bring innovations together

BSD enable all managers and potential managers to coach and job shadow employees higher than them. They also run this for lower staff who wish to progress in the business at all levels, they are mentored and coached by the higher levelled employees. They have also created an external management course which six employees have attended, enabling them to learn new ways to manage and what methods to approach and use. Once completed, this will be used in-house and the experience will be shadowed along to other managers and seniors, to help progress the lower end employees. They believe coaching and mentoring is the best method, particularly in the M&E industry where nothing professional changes much, all the methods stay the same and it is the way in which you learn from others which is the best. Therefore, coaching lower people will provide them with the best possible approach to learn, along with mentoring which will enable them to pick up as they go along. They have performance reviews every 6 months and measure the performance of all employees, not just managers. The performance reviews involve objectives and measures to ensure that the managers are keeping in line with policies and procedures and that they achieve the objectives and aims set for them every 6 months.

The ‘Make it Happen' attitude is seen in all areas of the business and it is never just one stakeholder taking priority. The Stool model is lived by everyone and engages the team to have a full understanding of what is expected of them. Any decisions the management team make need to be for the good of all three legs of the stool. Through this the management have created a caring and engaged team that deliver great service whilst having fun and making money. This is reflected in the great feedback Brooklands receive from guests regarding the team, low staff turnover for the industry and reaching management budget five years in a row. The management are very hands on and offer an open door policy to all staff. This year Brooklands even went against the industry trend and budgeted to pay all of their team players the National Living Wage, regardless of if they met the criteria. The team are quite often heard saying 'we are the Brooklands Family' and this is great to hear. Marco also meets every prospective employee before they start by leading the daily dash meeting, doing an introduction at the team player monthly induction and running the ‘Make it Happen' workshops for all new starters. He walks the property on a daily basis and even cooked the BBQ with chef for the team event. He also judged the Brooklands Bake off, but felt quite sick after tasting over 30 cakes! He'll even do weekend cover, where he can be found serving behind the bar and doing the pass in 1907, demonstrating to all of the team that they're are in this together and that leadership can take on various different forms to be successful.

Brooklands Operations Ltd very much believe in retaining and progressing their managers through the business by offering opportunities, training and coaching to allow them to develop from team players to junior managers and eventually onto departmental managers. They do this through management development courses which are run by an external tutor, one to one mentoring with Senior Managers and further external courses to enhance their development. The company has had the same management team in place for four years and many of these managers came up from team players to managers. As a hotel the business works very closely together on a daily basis, meaning discussion with Senior Managers happens throughout the days and any advice on performance is dealt with on an ongoing basis, with tasks and projects allocated over the months being monitored for their progression and completion. The management team also have offsite meetings a few times a year where they work through an agenda, covering commercial, people and guest feedback, all of which ensures their stool model is fulfilled and the team is focused. Having a close management team helps Brooklands Operations Ltd to understand how to work to their strengths and also how to complement each other when a great job has been done. Another huge positive is that most staff members have worked in other hotel groups, meaning they can bring their knowledge and experience to the table in every decision made.

Blue Chip Holidays run companywide business updates and smaller team huddles regularly in the middle of the office to encourage communication. They divert the phones and give everyone the opportunity to be there or dial into a conference number; they know its successful because team members come in on their days off. Blue Chip Holidays took the decision to collate their two offices into one and break down the walls to create a big open plan space to help communication and team work. Face to face communication is encouraged rather than phone calls and email.

Blue Chip Holidays actively support the RNLI as a charity that means a lot to their team, owners and guests. The majority of their properties are in a coastal location so Blue Chip Holidays support them both locally and nationally. They have put RNLI water safety information in the welcome packs in each coastal property and they also go out to help in their annual yellow welly collection campaign. Blue Chip Holidays also maintain regular contact with PLUSS and St Loyes Foundation, helping those with disabilities to get into employment. They have just hosted a 6 month paid temporary contract in their Finance department via the St. Loyes foundation. Also, the company have provided several apprenticeships over the last 5 years to enable young unemployed people to gain work experience and in most cases full time permanent employment with them.

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

At Blue Chip Customer Engineering they hold events such as cake sales and dress down days. The company also regularly organise charity activities within the company to raise money and awareness for various charities, including Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Parkinson's UK and the partner charity Keech Hospice Care, which is local to the business. There is also employee led fundraising activities and the company support and donates to many employees who undertake such work in their own time, such as Pretty Muddy, Wings of Life World Run and Brave the Shave.

Each quarter, managers get the chance to nominate eight employees that they feel have exceeded expectations within a chosen value. The selected eight employees then get to decide between four reward day options ranging from a balloon ride and dinner in London to a golf lesson and spa afternoon. These employees will take the day out of the office to do this and will be paid as usual. All staff are set around six objectives that are reviewed throughout the year. Employees will be scored against their performance against these objectives. A bonus is provided to employees at the end of the financial year depending on their personal scores and company performance. Each month they welcome all employees to nominate a colleague that they feel has displayed one or more of their four values. Nominations are submitted via a Perspex post box (one located in each office). All nominations are collated and reviewed and four winners are chosen, each will receive a £50 voucher of their choosing and are congratulated in the monthly newsletter.

A key part of Block's strategy this year is to ensure that Block is a 'Great Place to Work'. Each Senior Manager has been designated objectives agreed with the CEO with an aim to improve employee engagement and satisfaction at Block. The group meet weekly to review progress. Once a member of staff has been employed for over five years, Block will set up a video conference and provide lunch for everyone in both offices, award that specific employee with £1000 and a personalised plaque will be displayed at the entrance of both offices. There will also be a special announcement in the monthly newsletter. Each quarter, they ask managers to nominate an employee or employees that they feel have demonstrated one or more of the company values. The company owners will select eight employees out of the nominations that will then go onto to win a reward day. Staff are provided with four reward day options and will have to agree on an option together. Each month, four members of staff will be awarded with a £50 gift card voucher of their choice following nominations from other employees. Everyone who joins Block will meet with both company owners for around thirty minutes within their first couple of weeks of joining Block for an informal introduction. This is a great chance for new starters to get to know the company owners and understand their role and responsibilities and the history of the company. Every month the CEO and CTO take turns to distribute a company newsletter. Both have an 'open door' policy and continually walk around the office to have conversations with staff at their work stations. Both leaders also use Socialcast (Block's internal social webpage) to post personal and business related updates.

BI Worldwide are presently leading the way through a process of refreshing the values and agreeing, through workshops with employees, what behaviours are driven by each of the values. This will ensure full engagement with the behaviours once they are launched. Furthermore this activity is being led by the MD. On a more regular basis, the company's mission, values and vision are embedded in all internal communications, all in-house training and in all briefings delivered by the Managing Director. Employees demonstrating the core values are rewarded through the internal reward recognition scheme, which itself is overtly aligned to the values. Examples of the above are the Internal Intranet, New Starter Inductions, Company Meetings, ENGAGE emails and Questionnaires.

BI Worldwide are presently leading the way through a process of refreshing the values and agreeing, through workshops with employees, what behaviours are driven by each of the values. This will ensure full engagement with the behaviours once they are launched. Furthermore this activity is being led by the MD. On a more regular basis, the company's mission, values and vision are embedded in all internal communications, all in-house training and in all briefings delivered by the Managing Director. Employees demonstrating the core values are rewarded through the internal reward recognition scheme, which itself is overtly aligned to the values. Examples of the above are the Internal Intranet, New Starter Inductions, Company Meetings, ENGAGE emails and Questionnaires.

The Firm has a Recognition Scheme which enables managers to reward employees instantly to recognise exceptional work they have done. Awards can be given for a range of reasons such as working on a specific project, recognising hard work through a busy period, providing exceptional service to a client or making a significant contribution to the department. The scheme is designed to be flexible so managers can either give vouchers between £10 to £200, or they can purchase a gift such as pay for dinner for two, home furnishings or champagne. The other point that makes the scheme unique is that it also provides for peer to peer recognition. So a peer can nominate another peer to recognise support, hard work or exceptional contribution they have made. It is designed to be informal and more of a thank you, so a gift up to £50 can be given in the form of flowers, chocolates or wine. As part of the scheme, the nominator gives the award and the Firm branded thank you card directly to the individual, and thanks them for their contribution. The reason it is particularly effective and unique is because awards can be given at any time throughout the year, there are a range of awards that can be given and also the presentation and card are designed to have the personal touch so the individual feels appreciated for their contribution

Recent fundraising initiatives for Baker and McKenzie's two office charities include a Boss in the Box Challenge, quiz night, inter-departmental walking challenge, 4 participants in the London Marathon, a 10k run, Christmas Jumper Day, abseil and a Bake Off. A Volunteer Day is offered to all staff. Departments are encouraged to use their day either as an individual or as part of a team. Recent group initiatives include a day of boat maintenance with Ahoy!, a day of building refurbishment with City Gateway, and a day of garden maintenance at Richard House. The company organise an extensive pro bono legal advice programme - regular clients include Save the Children, UNHCR, NSPCC, Breast Cancer Care, Oxfam, ARK (Absolute Return for Kids). Around 30 staff are involved in regular school-based volunteering and lunchtime volunteering with homeless charity The Connection at St Martin's. The company provide office space to Amicus (UK charity campaigning for justice for US prisoners on Death Row) and also participate in pro bono legal research and casework for the charity. They also support the Albert Kennedy Trust Youth, a homelessness charity supporting LGBT young people in crisis through sponsoring their annual youth conference. This attracts many and provides a mix of skills development workshops, networking and education to help increase confidence and employability. To ensure internal opportunities are actively promoted to disabled young people. In conjunction with the company's Career Ready partnership, they offered a six-week placement to an A-Level student with muscular dystrophy and covered the cost of a carer to travel to London each day. The scheme has significantly enhanced this young person's career aspirations and employability.