What are companies doing with regards to 'My Company'

B3Living believe the key to people realising their potential is being self-aware and understanding what motivates them at work; therefore the organisation have adopted a strengths-focused approach to help staff identify what energises them at work and how they can stretch themselves to achieve peak performance. This is a different mind-set to traditional performance management, which is overly reliant on identifying and working on their weaknesses. A key theme for the Chief Executive Joe Chambers is "One team". B3Living use a strengths based tool in their team development to help teams identify individual strengths and how these map into the strength profile of the team. It helps them to identify how an individual can optimise their strength and how they can improve the team's effectiveness. This strengths based approach also aids in the development, plus it benefits the individual, the team and the organisation.

Last year B3Living rolled out a Resilience programme. This was open to all staff and focused on the proactive side of stress management. It includes a “strengthscope”, a strengths assessment which ascertained the key personality traits or activities that employees were energised by or had the capacity to become great at. Examples included emotional control, detail orientation and collaboration. There was also a one day Resilience Training course covering topics like managing your mindset, controlling the controllables, stretching yourself, using your strengths and being aware of stress. Where possible B3Living invite in guest speakers to address staff on the topic of wellbeing, as well as inviting brave colleagues who are willing to share their personal experiences. All staff are also invited to attend a course on Mental Health First Aid to help them identify when a colleague or a resident might be suffering from mental health issues and how they might go about supporting the individual.

Since 2010 Axiom has taken part in the Housing Diversity Network's (HDN) Mentoring Programme. The HDN Mentoring Programme was originally set up in 2002 due to a need for a better pipeline for minorities into leadership positions in the housing sector. Over 25 employees have benefited from taking part in the programme, which has helped them develop as individuals through one-to-one mentoring sessions, group workshops and events. The HDN have reported that from the 2015-16 cohort of mentees, 15% were promoted during the time they were involved in the programme. There is no eligibility criteria; the programme is open to anyone who feels they would benefit from extra support to reach their own objectives. The workshops cover a range of topics with the aim of broadening knowledge of the housing sector, as well as developing a self-awareness of themselves through psychometric profiling. Axiom's CEO is a real advocate of the programme and as well as encouraging employees to take this development opportunity he participates each year as a Mentor and is involved in delivering workshops.

Axiom have a wealth of community initiatives in place, such as membership of the Homes for Cathy Group, Cardboard Citizens, Bretton Residents Association Group, week of action, every step counts, foodbank collection, volunteering and charity fundraisers. As a member of the Homes for Cathy Group the organisation has been able to contribute to a series of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the first showing of Cathy Come Home back in 1966. The group are highlighting the continuing needs of homeless people in the run-up to the anniversary of Ken Loach's seminal television drama, which highlighted the plight of a homeless family. Axiom is also organising a range of local events and is working with the Cardboard Citizens Theatre Workshop. The organisation is currently walking its way around the world virtually, raising money for Little Miracles and Axiom Homeless Action charities. So far the company have completed 9,225 miles and even managed to stop off at the Rio Olympics! Axiom also developed the Axiom Academy, which includes Skills and Development Centres at supported projects for the homeless. These were set up in recognition that homelessness rarely occurs in isolation and is often associated with poor educational attainment. It has helped to overcome barriers that these individuals face by ensuring that learning takes place in what is effectively their own home.

To ensure regular team interaction and communication, AxiCom host a lively monthly company meeting at the local boutique cinema. They even provide a yummy breakfast to enjoy whilst the meeting takes place! The meeting is used to showcase the great work each team has been doing that month and to update all on the company's European offices to ensure the communications that are cascaded are not just regarding the UK. AxiCom often invite guest speakers to the monthly company meetings to ignite debate, curiosity and ideas amongst staff. The CEO and UK MD use this monthly slot to ensure the company's vision and long-term strategy is continuously articulated and understood. AxiCom's Global Cohn & Wolfe Group CEO also attends around once a year to cascade the Group vision and strategy. As a company AxiCom promote lots of interaction in the meeting for people to ask questions and seek any clarity that is needed. After the meeting staff have a chance to socialise and discuss what they have learned.

To ensure regular team interaction and communication, AxiCom host a lively monthly company meeting at the local boutique cinema. They even provide a yummy breakfast to enjoy whilst the meeting takes place! The meeting is used to showcase the great work each team has been doing that month and to update all on the company's European offices to ensure the communications that are cascaded are not just regarding the UK. AxiCom often invite guest speakers to the monthly company meetings to ignite debate, curiosity and ideas amongst staff. The CEO and UK MD use this monthly slot to ensure the company's vision and long-term strategy is continuously articulated and understood. AxiCom's Global Cohn & Wolfe Group CEO also attends around once a year to cascade the Group vision and strategy. As a company AxiCom promote lots of interaction in the meeting for people to ask questions and seek any clarity that is needed. After the meeting staff have a chance to socialise and discuss what they have learned.

Atkins are creating a more open, agile and connected business through intelligence forums. These increase agility, empower their people and enhance teamwork across the business. One example of where this has been successful is in the Atkins Transportation division, where their forum enabled the entire Leadership Team to clearly understand the immediate goals of the business. This resulted in productivity going from 74% to 78%, beating forecast and adding to the bottom line. There are now forums like this in 2/3 divisions and HR, with plans to introduce them at UK level and in the third division over the coming months. This Summer and Autumn, everyone in the business will have a face to face conversation about where Atkins is taking the business, helping them to see the personal role and contribution they can make to the company's success.

During 2015 Atkins introduced the Group CEO bonus scheme, which is designed to recognise exceptional effort and contribution by an individual to the business. In any given year there are a handful of really stand-out contributions that individuals make to the business that go above and beyond what is required of them. Whilst most such contributions are picked up by the bonus schemes the company have in place, there are sometimes individuals who do something so special that further recognition is appropriate. For example, they may develop an innovative solution to a client's problem which has brought external recognition or they may have produced a world class piece of thought leadership. The scheme is largely honorific in nature, with a personal letter from the CEO to reinforce the importance of the employees abilities and contributions to Atkins' continued success. The individual also receives a cash bonus to a maximum individual value of £3k and in 2016 there were 37 CEO bonuses awarded.

Aspect Capital work with a company called the Access Project. They are a charity who connect GCSE and A-Level students in London with people who can give them one on one tutoring for an hour a week. Aspect have about six people who regularly provide Maths and Science support to students from the King Solomon Academy on the Edgware Road. Their staff also regularly volunteer to help out with wrapping presents, serving food and manning stalls at St John's Hospice's Christmas and Summer fayres. Aspect Capital and it's employees raise money for a number of charities annually and on an ad-hoc basis. Charities that they have raised money for this year include Access Project, Sands, St John's Wood Hospice and the British Lung Foundation to name just a few. After a company survey about charity the company found that employees were particularly interested in raising money for medical research and so they company set out to donate to the Francis Crick Institute, a Cancer Research centre in near their offices in London.

Although the senior management team are always looking to meet the business goals, they don't compromise the corporate values in order to achieve them. This is regularly demonstrated, whether it be not hiring someone who wouldn't fit with the values of Aspect, doing day trips to far-flung destinations to help out a member of the Sales team at a particularly challenging meeting or getting involved in any of the community and charity events. Aspect's Board members regularly sit in the Staff Hub to have lunch with the wider company and ensure they are listening to issues and they each host two Director Breakfasts every year, these breakfasts are designed to provide an opportunity for staff to ask questions in a comfortable environment. There are usually around 10 attendees. The CTO, Anthony, randomly selects support tasks to take on in order to help out the IT team when they're busy and keep his skills fresh. Anthony has an open door policy, he chairs the weekly Company meeting, gives quarterly updates on progress against the business plan to the whole company and endeavours to introduce himself to new joiners as soon after they start work at Aspect. They also rope in him to push the beer trolley round the office a couple of times a year.

This is Ashford Borough Council's second year of choosing a local charity to support. In 2015/16 the organisation supported Pilgrim's Hospice and this year they are supporting Retreat Animal Rescue. ABC's main fundraising event is their annual staff quiz night, where teams pay to join in and local companies donate prizes for the raffle. Last year the organisation raised £600 and this year £700 on this night alone. Staff donate when participating in fun staff events, such as their bubble football tournament. The organisation also participates in the Christmas tree recycling project that Pilgrim's Hospice run every year. ABC's volunteering policy enables staff to take one day per year to work with a local organisation of their choice. The organisation employs a member of staff to run a Job Club every Monday and will support any resident that is actively looking for work through this. They provide advice on interview skills and techniques, courses and training, support with job searching, voluntary work and job applications, plus careers advice and CV workshops. ABC also work closely with a local charity called Porchlight and fund a part time dedicated member of staff to work with and assist homeless people in Ashford (often including ex-offenders and those recovering from addiction). This year ABC has contributed £30k towards this.

Ashford Borough Council recognise the importance of physical, emotional and financial wellbeing. They run financial seminars, highlight the importance of good mental health and encourage physical activity. Each month their staff magazine has a ‘Wellbeing Wonders' article, which focuses on a different aspect of wellness. Every Spring they also conduct a ‘Workplace Wellness Week'. This year this included mini health checks, mindfulness sessions, cycle checks, free massages, encouragement to take part in ‘On your feet Britain day', body blast classes, information about Mental Health Awareness Week and a lunchtime run. Staff receive a discounted gym membership and every month a company comes and offers staff discounted wellness treatments over the lunch period, from massages to reflexology. They also offer smoking cessation courses annually. ABC's Employee Assistance Programme provides a proactive approach to wellbeing and the organisation also offer face-to-face counselling too (eight sessions and including CBT), couples counselling and telephone counselling for family members. ABC Identify all workplace stressors and conduct risk assessments to eliminate or control the risk from stress. These risk assessments are also regularly reviewed by Managers.

Arthouse support the local Rossendale Hospice charity and regularly hold Friends and Family days whereby they post letters to the local residents and business to encourage their attendance to the Arthouse showroom onsite where they can purchase products that were previously samples or gold mark items. All proceeds are then given to the Hospice. The company support the local college and are working with them to help their students develop their skills by providing materials for their studies. They hold open days for local university students and invite market players for them to meet and develop relationships with.

Arthouse use various mechanisms to ensure that their messages are communicated throughout the business. They have many projects running at any one time and ensure that they include various areas of expertise to run the project in order to bring both a different skill set but also help people to learn about more areas of the business. They feel that this helps to reinforce their messages of communication and growth/development as Arthouse are constantly testing people to learn different things and instilling in them the nature of their business. Arthouse operate a top down communication chain whereby they proliferate key messages from Board to Management Team Meeting to Wider Management Team Meeting to Team Meeting to 1:2:1's to Individual Projects/Individuals. Twice a month, they run briefings whereby the whole business is presented to from one/a couple employees. Arthouse task each of these presenters with sharing knowledge about the business and the area they work within and thus underpinning the culture of open communication that they have here in the business. They have very keen on encouraging activity within the Social side of the business. Using mechanisms such as Yammer they have been able to embrace the social scene even more and encourage the fun in the workplace. Arthouse run a quarterly company newsletter which they fill with messages from all parts of the business and from all of their principles. They operate approximately 16 away days per year across the whole company where staff are offsite completely for focussed workshops.

Managers work the closest to their teams, so they need to be able to have supportive conversations and look out for signs of stress or a general change in their behaviour; therefore Managers regularly have effective one to one's with their colleagues. The company also provide an Employee Assistance Programme for counselling, as well as all round physical and mental health care through health assessments. This covers areas such as weight, blood pressure, nutrition and diabetes. At these appointments employees also discuss exercise plans either for the gym or at home and ARM also signpost them to their Physiotherapist if required. The company also provide resilience training to help people cope during stressful times. ARM are also currently working on a wellbeing intranet page, where all global information will be held here, for example EAP, charities, daily desk exercises, mindfulness and a place where people can leave an anonymous questions if they don't want to talk about their stress to their Line Manager or the People team.

ARM support over 170 organisations in their communities. In 2015, the company donated £2,297,285 to community initiatives at varying scales around the world, from large projects with UNICEF to supporting small local charities. This represents 56% of their total cash and time corporate responsibility spending. ARM support a range of different charities with the purpose of supporting those most in need, including homelessness, addition, poverty, abuse and mental health. In particular their work in the UK with The Prince's Trust saw more than 80 ARM people volunteering a total of 345 hours during the first year of a new partnership, helping to inspire some of the UK's most disadvantaged young people through STEM. Colleagues helped deliver motivational 'Get Started with Technology' courses, 'Workplace Insight' days and 'Presentation Skills' workshops. 'Get Started With Technology' helped support 111 young people to take on immersive learning projects in areas ranging from robotics to apps and also transformed their prospects in life by building key employability skills and confidence.

The senior management team sits with the recruitment teams in the open plan office. They do not shut themselves away in private offices. They are extremely visible and have an “open door” management policy. The whole of the senior management team, including the CEO, handle recruitment assignments and are client facing so they genuinely lead by example and thereby actively demonstrate their hands on commitment to the values of the organisation. The senior management team jointly present to the business on a quarterly and bi-annually basis to update employees on company performance, initiatives and objectives, linking all activity back to the vision, mission and values of the organisation. By so doing, they are able to demonstrate their commitment to the values of the organisation by showing trust, sharing insight, demonstrating their talent, celebrating the talent and results of the employees and proving their agility. The CEO is extremely approachable and committed to retaining Argyll Scott's talented employees. He participates in the selection process of all UK based employees and senior international employees, taking a personal interest in ensuring they can attract, hire, train, promote and retain the best talent for the business. The CEO participates in the corporate induction programme, personally explaining the mission, vision and values of the company and thereby demonstrating his commitment to them. On a daily basis, the CEO walks the floor, talking to employees, listening to their suggestions, achievements and feedback on initiatives and advising them on how to handle challenges and obstacles. The CEO hosts monthly lunches with a group of employees from across the business which provides an informal opportunity for him to gauge internal sentiment.

The senior management team sits with the recruitment teams in the open plan office. They do not shut themselves away in private offices. They are extremely visible and have an “open door” management policy. The whole of the senior management team, including the CEO, handle recruitment assignments and are client facing so they genuinely lead by example and thereby actively demonstrate their hands on commitment to the values of the organisation. The senior management team jointly present to the business on a quarterly and bi-annually basis to update employees on company performance, initiatives and objectives, linking all activity back to the vision, mission and values of the organisation. By so doing, they are able to demonstrate their commitment to the values of the organisation by showing trust, sharing insight, demonstrating their talent, celebrating the talent and results of the employees and proving their agility. The CEO is extremely approachable and committed to retaining Argyll Scott's talented employees. He participates in the selection process of all UK based employees and senior international employees, taking a personal interest in ensuring they can attract, hire, train, promote and retain the best talent for the business. The CEO participates in the corporate induction programme, personally explaining the mission, vision and values of the company and thereby demonstrating his commitment to them. On a daily basis, the CEO walks the floor, talking to employees, listening to their suggestions, achievements and feedback on initiatives and advising them on how to handle challenges and obstacles. The CEO hosts monthly lunches with a group of employees from across the business which provides an informal opportunity for him to gauge internal sentiment.

The company runs an 'Aquila School' every Friday, which lasts for one hour or sometimes more if the topic is larger. All employees Skype into a learning session, which is run by a different member each week. Not only does this help with their presentation and communication skills but it also helps with their internal networking and profile within the organisation by showing their area of expertise. They also run an Aquila Orators session, which is similar to Toastmasters International. They have a different Toastmaster each week. This is a fun but comfortable environment for more junior employees to improve their communication and presentation skills. Within the industry there is continuous learning due to new and advanced techniques and tools. Aquila like their employees to be at the front of this learning so encourage them to write blogs too. They also encourage employees to share their knowledge and experience with local Universities and schools, thereby helping people get into employment in the Industry. Furthermore Aquila also encourage and support employees as 'thought Leaders' to talk at industry events.

Aquila offer the flexibility to work from home and travel to other offices to work more closely with colleagues. Each year all employees get together in one of Aquila's locations. They also have international food days where different nationalities teach employees about their nationalities and bring in a selection of different food and drinks. They also have free fruit available in each office at all times. The office bike to work scheme is highly subscribed and well used and employees often arrange out of work biking events together, which shows how effective this scheme is. Aquila have a quiet room where employees can go and work in a quiet area so they can focus without interruption, as they understand that not everyone likes working in an open plan environment. They have multiple breakout areas with couches so teams' individuals can get together and meet. They also encourage off site meetings, for example popping to a cafe for a meeting and a change of scenery. Finally every office uses Sonos provided to listen to music, which employees find creates an effective stress free atmosphere.