Company Show and Tell + Beer & Lightening sessions take place fortnightly on a Friday afternoon. The sessions promote a culture of shared learning and enhance internal communication across departments whilst enjoying a cold beer and snacks. Development and Operations teams present news around completed features, product updates and roadmap progress as well as new ideas, technologies and learning from conferences and personal self development. Sales and Marketing teams share emerging industry trends, competitor analysis and customer case-studies. HR , Finance and other support functions hold regular slots to provide insight on new-initiatives and processes. A monthly podcast was introduced to pull together interesting stories, interviews and the latest news and updates from across the business - essentially something to bridge the gap between the quarterly company meeting and day to day communications. The most popular podcast to date included an interview with NewVoiceMedia's founder and CTO Ashley Unitt who shared why he started the company and his visions for the future.

Company Show and Tell + Beer & Lightening sessions take place fortnightly on a Friday afternoon. The sessions promote a culture of shared learning and enhance internal communication across departments whilst enjoying a cold beer and snacks. Development and Operations teams present news around completed features, product updates and roadmap progress as well as new ideas, technologies and learning from conferences and personal self development. Sales and Marketing teams share emerging industry trends, competitor analysis and customer case-studies. HR , Finance and other support functions hold regular slots to provide insight on new-initiatives and processes. A monthly podcast was introduced to pull together interesting stories, interviews and the latest news and updates from across the business - essentially something to bridge the gap between the quarterly company meeting and day to day communications. The most popular podcast to date included an interview with NewVoiceMedia's founder and CTO Ashley Unitt who shared why he started the company and his visions for the future.

Networks First believe strongly in giving back, and they currently have a number of initiatives in place to help raise money for their local chosen charity, Birmingham's Children's Hospital. These include: Tuck Shop - a variety of items are on sale to employees via Networks First's own 'tuck shop' including items such as; chocolate, sweets, crisps, popcorn, cans of pop, flavored water etc. Suggested donations are provided, and there is an honesty box for people to make their donation for an item. All profits go to the company's chosen charity BCH. Bake-Off - Throughout the the Entertainments Committee set dates for a bake off between employees in the office. Employees then donate a cake(s) on the day, which get entered into a competition for the chance to win vouchers for the Tuck Shop and a certificate that Mary Berry would be proud of! Employees then make a donation for a slice of cake. Employees can chose to bring in shop cakes, but these are not entered in the competition.

Networks First believe strongly in giving back, and they currently have a number of initiatives in place to help raise money for their local chosen charity, Birmingham's Children's Hospital. These include: Tuck Shop - a variety of items are on sale to employees via Networks First's own 'tuck shop' including items such as; chocolate, sweets, crisps, popcorn, cans of pop, flavored water etc. Suggested donations are provided, and there is an honesty box for people to make their donation for an item. All profits go to the company's chosen charity BCH. Bake-Off - Throughout the the Entertainments Committee set dates for a bake off between employees in the office. Employees then donate a cake(s) on the day, which get entered into a competition for the chance to win vouchers for the Tuck Shop and a certificate that Mary Berry would be proud of! Employees then make a donation for a slice of cake. Employees can chose to bring in shop cakes, but these are not entered in the competition.

They have run internal comms campaigns and postcard desk drops to reiterate the mission, vision and company values. They also feature in appraisal forms to ensure that employees are living and breathing our shared goals.

The company have invested in a bespoke leadership development programme "Talent Unlimited", in order to develop the skills of senior leadership team. The programme focuses on authenticity and both technical and behavioural skills to enhance individual capability. All managers are provided with appraisal training, focusing on the appraisal process but more importantly, how to deliver an effective appraisal so that individuals leave the meeting feeling motivated regardless of the topics covered. In addition to this, they have also recently invested in line - management training, this is for current line manager and those likely to be promoted in the near future into a managerial role. This is to ensure they have the required capabilities before taking on the responsibility. The course covers recognising everyone as an individual whilst highlighting the importance of treating everyone fairly, delegation, motivation and how and when to have difficult conversations.

Employee Connect Nationwide has a group of 1,000+ employees called Employee Connect. The virtual group influence business decisions by being consulted on ongoing issues including product design, service improvements, marketing and employee campaigns. The company creates bespoke employee apps to foster greater interaction. For the Annual Awards 2015, the event app had 96% of employee finalists logged in, 796 photos posted, 969 comments, 1,232 status updates, 4,274 likes and over 55,000 visits. The retail division comprises 9,000 employees across 700+ branches and sites. To connect those employees the company have created a Virtual Retail Expo, which enables people to have a better understanding of what other Retail teams do, key contacts, latest news and product information. Corporate cascade Nationwide's five year Corporate Plan is announced internally in April each year. Following a leadership conference for the top 800 leaders, the corporate plan is then cascaded through every division, department and team within the business over a 6 week period. So every one of our 17,000 employees receives a face to face presentation on our latest business strategy.

Employee Connect Nationwide has a group of 1,000+ employees called Employee Connect. The virtual group influence business decisions by being consulted on ongoing issues including product design, service improvements, marketing and employee campaigns. The company creates bespoke employee apps to foster greater interaction. For the Annual Awards 2015, the event app had 96% of employee finalists logged in, 796 photos posted, 969 comments, 1,232 status updates, 4,274 likes and over 55,000 visits. The retail division comprises 9,000 employees across 700+ branches and sites. To connect those employees the company have created a Virtual Retail Expo, which enables people to have a better understanding of what other Retail teams do, key contacts, latest news and product information. Corporate cascade Nationwide's five year Corporate Plan is announced internally in April each year. Following a leadership conference for the top 800 leaders, the corporate plan is then cascaded through every division, department and team within the business over a 6 week period. So every one of our 17,000 employees receives a face to face presentation on our latest business strategy.

The senior management team at DLKW Lowe demonstrate the company's values through their behaviour and always use the company's terminology in all staff meetings. They also award staff who continually demonstrate the company's values in their day to day working lives.

The senior management team at DLKW Lowe demonstrate the company's values through their behaviour and always use the company's terminology in all staff meetings. They also award staff who continually demonstrate the company's values in their day to day working lives.

Following the appointment of their new Head of Talent, the company began with a major overhaul of the entirety of the learning and development offering. A new company-wide appraisal process and associated documentation was rolled out, in line with the commencement of the new fiscal year. This allowed their L&D team to conduct a full training needs analysis across the company. Their training partner, with Head of Talent, launched a “new starter training programme” for onboarding all new employees. Their mid-level / Senior Consultants were offered a newly designed “advanced sales training course” to enhance and develop their skills, and maximise their potential. Having previously had all management training delivered by external partners, they were able to bring this offering in house and are in the process of delivering a new “Leadership Development Programme” to the entirety of their Management team. They have also assessed and redesigned their promotional process to guarantee transparency and parity at all levels. Their existing competency documents were reviewed and redesigned to ensure complete clarity of expectations for all staff for the level they are currently operating at, but also to convey to them what needs to be done in order to achieve promotion. With this increased investment they are able to create and execute a full L&D strategy, whilst simultaneously being able to create bespoke training packages in house.

The company's Head of Talent post was specifically appointed this year to focus on developing their management team. Given the growth of the company over the past 12 months, they recognised there was an increasing requirement to be able to offer their own bespoke training in house, in order to be flexible to be able to respond to the manager's individual development needs as and when required. A full leadership development programme has been designed and is currently being delivered to the entirety of their management team, including those working towards a managerial promotion. The course offers a blend of leadership development to include effective coaching in leadership, developing emotional intelligence and also core management skills i.e. conducting effective appraisals and competency development. They have the capacity to follow up with managers, and their line managers, outside of the training programme to offer any extra support or one to one feedback/coaching sessions required. They are currently in the process of reviewing and redesigning their mentorship programme, to ensure both the mentor and the mentee are empowered to maximise the opportunity of external support. Their Directors and Senior Managers have recently undergone a Colorworks psychometric profiling in order to understand and improve their own personal performance but also to inform how they work best as a group.

BUPA health screening is available to all Senior Managers and Directors which gives an overview of their current state of health and wellbeing. The assessment of current health and future risks includes: A medical history and lifestyle questionnaire; a physical examination; a consultation with a doctor or health adviser; the opportunity to ask questions and discuss concerns. Many test results are available on the day and a personalised health report and action plan with practical advice to help minimise health risks is produced. BUPA has been extended to a wider number of colleagues (benefit grade C1 and above) and offers private medical insurance which aims to fund medical treatment required. The company offers a discount Gym Membership at one of the leading leisure clubs in the UK, David Lloyd. This is to try and encourage colleagues to keep fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle. They also have a walking club set up where colleagues get together and walk into town at lunchtime. This is encouraged internally to ensure colleagues are taking a sufficient lunch hour and interacting outside the workplace. In every regional office they have a Sports & Social Committee set up. It is the responsibility of the committee members to plan and organise a range of sport and social activities. They also have a Wellbeing Section on their Intranet – this includes workout advice, healthy recipes, tips to alleviate stress.

BUPA health screening is available to all Senior Managers and Directors which gives an overview of their current state of health and wellbeing. The assessment of current health and future risks includes: A medical history and lifestyle questionnaire; a physical examination; a consultation with a doctor or health adviser; the opportunity to ask questions and discuss concerns. Many test results are available on the day and a personalised health report and action plan with practical advice to help minimise health risks is produced. BUPA has been extended to a wider number of colleagues (benefit grade C1 and above) and offers private medical insurance which aims to fund medical treatment required. The company offers a discount Gym Membership at one of the leading leisure clubs in the UK, David Lloyd. This is to try and encourage colleagues to keep fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle. They also have a walking club set up where colleagues get together and walk into town at lunchtime. This is encouraged internally to ensure colleagues are taking a sufficient lunch hour and interacting outside the workplace. In every regional office they have a Sports & Social Committee set up. It is the responsibility of the committee members to plan and organise a range of sport and social activities. They also have a Wellbeing Section on their Intranet – this includes workout advice, healthy recipes, tips to alleviate stress.

At Metapack they are very keen on raising the leadership and people management capability and aligning the MetaPack leadership framework to the new vision and growth strategy. They have set up a programme called the ‘MetaPack Leadership Academy' where the focus is on: strategy, managing change, values and behaviour, influence and communication, planning and organising, structure and process, teamwork and motivation, metrics, results and awards.

Within their Software Development and Product Management practices, they engage with Agile work stream structures, managing work on a team basis, using sprints, work planning and retrospective reviews – which help them manage the constant flow of demand coming into these teams, and helps them turn that work around more quickly and efficiently vs. a linear Waterfall approach.

Medigold has always attempted to pay annual bonuses to all staff as it is believed that all staff contribute to the success of the organisation. They also undertake regular reviews of salaries to ensure not only that they are exceeding benchmarks but that they are attracting the best people in the organisation.

Medigold provide their staff with many wellbeing initiatives including wellness days, smoking cessation, flu jabs, mini medicals, on-site clinician access, a dedicated wellness website, regular health promotion (on noticeboards and walkways), stress awareness, counselling and physio.

The hours of work are 8:45 - 16:45 which enables them to miss a lot of rush hour traffic to get valuable time at home. They also provide hot drinks, cold drinks, biscuits, fruit, occasional lunches, salad dressings, and small things to offer a home from home environment. They have recently had a large office refurbishment which has enabled them to create an environment which allows people a better work environment. There are several areas for privacy, relaxing and thinking to encourage people time away from their desks.

The company communicates the organisation's Primary Purpose (Mission), Core Principles (Values) and Outrageous Ambition (Vision) to employees at inductions and display it on internal boards, and at training academies.