Pride Powers Performance

The values at mcgarrybowen are defined by the behaviour of the management team in all aspects of running the business. Those values are respect, honesty, openness and an inclusive, collaborative spirit. The team challenge themselves to fulfil these values every day in all dealings both with the broader team and their clients. They actively seek feedback on what they're doing as a company and listen. They empower their people to make decisions and encourage people to excel and grow.

They have a 6 month Management Development Programme available called Step Forward. This programme includes modules in Values Based Leadership, Coaching as a Leadership Style, Managing Performance and Recruitment. During the programme managers also have access to an online leadership library and bite size breakfast learning sessions with topics including Managing Conflict and Handling Difficult Conversations. Additionally in the weekly workflow meeting they have a forum for managers to discuss live issues in the agency with the senior leadership team. Outside of this forum, they also create smaller working groups of managers with senior leaders to support them in their daily tasks. An example of this is having the creative services director meet with the CEO and creative directors weekly to discuss resourcing in his department. They also invite their managers to attend more senior training opportunities such as those organised by the AAR and IPA.

The members of the Senior Leadership Team take every opportunity to be hands on, approachable and demonstrate the company's values. The Senior Leadership Team make regular visits to operational sites, and are currently embarking on a ‘back to the floor' programme, where the team spend some time covering a front line role. Maximus have various committees across the business and each committee is chaired by a Senior Leadership Team member so that ideas and feedback can be taken back to the rest of the Senior Leadership Team for discussion. The Senior Leadership Team also get involved in initiatives that are important to the wider company. There is a commitment to always have a member of the Senior Leadership Team present at each company induction so they can welcome new joiners to MAXIMUS. Regular reward, recognition and engagement events (such as Top Performers dinners and our 6 monthly Roadshows) ensure Senior Leadership Team members spend time with employees at all levels and celebrate their success.

Innovation and continuous improvement are really important to Maximus. The company prides itself on being a business where everyone is encouraged to feedback and suggest changes to processes and working practices. In the past few months Maximus have launched an interactive crowd sourcing platform - Idea Lab. This online system allows all staff members to give their opinions on specific strategic “challenges” and post their own ideas for new initiatives for others to vote on. MAXVoice is the employee representative forum which has recently been the conduit for a variety of changes in the company, including the introduction of new employee benefits. Maximus have developed a delivery model called Progress to Success which provides a structure and the tools to support all operational employees carry out their roles effectively. Team Leaders in all sites act as ‘super users' of this programme and ensure their teams are fully trained and supported in using the model.

Local business areas are able to grant rewards, ranging from a free lunch, high street vouchers, additional leave, team meals or meals out with partners.

This year Marshall's have celebrated and raised awareness of a number of different wellbeing campaigns. February: Heart Disease Awareness month May: National Walking Month June: Men's Health Week July/August: Sun Awareness September: Know your numbers, Blood pressure October: Leukaemia We have offered different initiatives to accompany these campaign such as mini health mots. This year Marshalls also offered all of its employees the opportunity to have a flu jab, this is something that had never previously been offered at Marshalls.

Each employee is given a personal development budget which they can spend on whatever they like. This is an annual budget and employee's have spent their budget on a variety of things from drama classes to increase confidence. Life coach, HR training, IT coding, event planning, Prince 2 project management, singing and dance lessons and various software courses

At the end of each project the project team host a 'learning lunch' sharing the project's details and learning's from the project. The team celebrate each new project win by a bang on the gong and follow up with a company-wide email with information on what the project is about, value and a thank you to the team who helped to win the work.

The company hold the Investors in People Health & Wellbeing Good Practice and the Simply Health Healthy workplace award. Health & Wellbeing is integral to the company's culture and sits firmly at the heart of their strategy. The company offer health & wellbeing activities and have policies and practices that support people's wellbeing. There is a strong emphasis on ensuring people enjoy their time at work and be as healthy as they can be. The company offer free membership to Simply Health, a health cash back plan, where employees can claim up to 100% back on a host of medical treatments, that include dental, physiotherapy, osteopathy, homeopathy, chiropody, counselling and gym membership. The company hold an annual health & wellbeing week at work where many activities are provided, free healthy snacks and salad lunches and a team building social. This approach has led to very low staff turnover and very low absence levels, leaving the workforce engaged, committed, happy and healthy. Managers take an active interest in their team's wellbeing and that forms a firm part of the people management culture.

Monthly the company award a spot prize, a bottle of bubbly and a £50 voucher based on feedback they receive. The company recognise nominees as well as winners. The Managers will thank people outside this process too. The CEO also pushes the “beer trolley” round on a Friday afternoon to thank everyone for their efforts or take teams out for lunch if they've completed a particular project or delivered a client event. Most Fridays the company have a company credit card behind the bar at their local pub. Additionally each team has a team entertainment/reward budget. It's up to the team how they spend this; it may be for a project well done or maybe because they have all been working really hard on something or maybe to welcome a new recruit, it's really up to them. On top of the generous benefits package they have an annual discretionary bonus. This is open to everyone who has 6 months service or more and is a set % of their salary to ensure an equitable and fair approach. It's based upon the financial performance of the Company not the individual. The company have also introduced a Christmas bonus too. This isn't about performance or length of service. This is about recognising that everyone needs a thank you at this festive time of year. Everyone gets exactly the same amount, regardless of service, salary, position.

All managers will have attended a ‘Managing At Our Best' two day course by the end of the year. This course focuses on strengthening their culture through everyday actions and decisions. Employees are presented with difficult situations which test decision-making skills and thought processes. Managers learn how to deal with these challenges and how to apply that knowledge every day and how to use these approaches to bring out the best in their teams. They have a talent programme which supports and develops a population of talented managers. It gives them opportunity to network with and have a mentoring relationship with the leadership team and access to more advanced learning courses, for example, Professional Presentation skills and Business Writing courses. For their future managers they have Star. This has a professional qualification element with RBCB (Retail Banking Conduct of Business). Delegates complete a supported business project and Insights Discovery; a personal profiling tool that can be used to support coaching and personal development. New managers receive a tailored training package specific to their role including Coaching for Success (two-days) Authorised Signatory and advanced complaints handling for Team Managers and Bank Managers. Mentoring is widely used as a development tool to support managers, and they are just about to trial several reverse mentoring relationships. Managers also have the opportunity to attend a Monthly Managers Brief (MMB) where they have the opportunity to connect with each other and hear an update on customer experience, strategic projects and people issues.

They provide an on-site subsidised gym, pamper room, subsidised Starbucks, subsidised canteen, with healthy food options, a prayer room and a facilities helpdesk, which arranges services with external parties, such as dry cleaning and shoe repairs. Employees also benefit from an on-site M&S shop which sells a wide variety of food items, wine, cards and gifts. They have a Sports and Social Committee, who coordinate sports clubs, trips, employee discounts and guest vendors, who are invited to sell their products on site. As well as securing priority tickets for local music arenas, they negotiate discounts and this year employees have benefited from over 1500 discounted Chester Zoo tickets, over 6000 discounted cinema tickets and will have access to 350 discounted pantomime tickets. M&S Bank is committed to ensuring their employees feel valued and respected. They have two employee- led networks (Outstanding and RESPECT) which aim to promote an inclusive, open and supportive working environment for all. Employees also have the option to tailor a range of benefits to complement their lifestyle and enhance their wellbeing. For example, employees can opt to buy or sell holidays, as well as opt for an enhanced healthcare package. The majority of benefits are tax efficient. As part of their engagement strategy, they also offer employees the opportunity to attend local events with their friends and families at a subsidised cost for example, race days at Chester Racecourse, local firework displays and polo matches. In 2015 1,220 employees, friends and family have attended these events.

The business has recently launched the My Resilience Assessment and Toolkit which has had a 65% uptake so far. The My Resilience Assessment provides an awareness of how resilient you really are. The report generate is unique for each employee and highlights the key areas they may wish to focus on to bolster their resilience.

Salary reviews are conducted in April of each year and a salary increase is awarded dependent on an individual's performance and contribution made to the organisation over the past 12 months. The salary review process is fair and transparent across the organisation. When an employee passes their probation period they are awarded with a gift by their line manager - for example a £50 gift voucher. This initiative applies to all employees. Spot bonus payments or gift tokens are awarded to employees who have gone above and beyond the remit of their role.

Liquid's directors do not have separate offices; they work alongside staff in open plan offices, on the same banks of desks as managers, consultants, trainees and apprentices. They ensure that they are visible throughout the business, and as accessible and approachable as possible. The interview process for any new staff joining Liquid always includes at least one of Liquid's directors at some stage. All recruitment consultants who join the business will face a final interview with their managing directors. The board works hard to speak to potential new employees, to communicate their vision for the future of the business and to really promote the opportunities that are available. The directors hold whole company briefings in the office each month, bringing all staff together in one open space to hear about individual, team and companywide successes, competition winners and major developments. They also personally introduce any new starters who have joined the business and discuss targets and plans for the coming month. The directors developed the internal training programme and occasionally run their own training sessions.

Liquid's directors do not have separate offices; they work alongside staff in open plan offices, on the same banks of desks as managers, consultants, trainees and apprentices. They ensure that they are visible throughout the business, and as accessible and approachable as possible. The interview process for any new staff joining Liquid always includes at least one of Liquid's directors at some stage. All recruitment consultants who join the business will face a final interview with their managing directors. The board works hard to speak to potential new employees, to communicate their vision for the future of the business and to really promote the opportunities that are available. The directors hold whole company briefings in the office each month, bringing all staff together in one open space to hear about individual, team and companywide successes, competition winners and major developments. They also personally introduce any new starters who have joined the business and discuss targets and plans for the coming month. The directors developed the internal training programme and occasionally run their own training sessions.

As well as regular informal 1-2-1 meetings, Line Managers also conduct formal performance review meetings with their staff 3 times per year. During these meetings staff have the opportunity to discuss training, development and support needs, including successes, challenges, and grading's for Key Performance Indicator's (KPI's) and organisational core competencies . Other performance supporting documentation includes performance development and improvement plans and work programmes. The organisation's core competency framework aids recruitment (person specifications); performance management (performance reviews) and employee development. They deliver their own mandatory training programme (including personal safety, competency, equality & diversity and health & safety), alongside arranging job specific training. There are opportunities for secondments into other areas of the business, as well as with other partnering agencies. Where a training needs analysis has been carried out and a qualification in a specific area is desirable, the organisation covers the costs involved in the course as well as enables the employee's time off for study leave and exams Other examples of staff development include career progression routes, whereby staff are encouraged and supported in working towards promotion to senior positions and by them also actively applying for vacancies within the organisation. Employees also have opportunities to upskill their numeracy and literacy grades and several have participated in on the job NVQ Information Advice & Guidance qualifications, therefore enhancing their skills in this area.

As well as regular informal 1-2-1 meetings, Line Managers also conduct formal performance review meetings with their staff 3 times per year. During these meetings staff have the opportunity to discuss training, development and support needs, including successes, challenges, and grading's for Key Performance Indicator's (KPI's) and organisational core competencies . Other performance supporting documentation includes performance development and improvement plans and work programmes. The organisation's core competency framework aids recruitment (person specifications); performance management (performance reviews) and employee development. They deliver their own mandatory training programme (including personal safety, competency, equality & diversity and health & safety), alongside arranging job specific training. There are opportunities for secondments into other areas of the business, as well as with other partnering agencies. Where a training needs analysis has been carried out and a qualification in a specific area is desirable, the organisation covers the costs involved in the course as well as enables the employee's time off for study leave and exams Other examples of staff development include career progression routes, whereby staff are encouraged and supported in working towards promotion to senior positions and by them also actively applying for vacancies within the organisation. Employees also have opportunities to upskill their numeracy and literacy grades and several have participated in on the job NVQ Information Advice & Guidance qualifications, therefore enhancing their skills in this area.

Staff truly believe in making a difference for every person they help. Over 98% of people understand and believe in the LHH purpose (taken from 2015 engagement survey). All of their values are up on posters throughout the office and in every meeting room. All new employees are shown these core values and vision statements when they join the company and are often tested on them. Throughout the year, staff congratulate other employees using key values. It could be that they completed a difficult project with a smile on their face, or they showed initiative and made something happen - they are praised and congratulated at LHH and all link back to the company values. The company values are on tote bags and mugs around the office.

The EMT is expected to demonstrate the LHH Values in all the decisions they make for the business about employees, clients and the individuals they help. Every member of the EMT commits to living out the values of the business in everything that they do. This may be through regular career conversations they are having with their direct reports, to challenging clients and demonstrating their true passion for making a difference. As part of their on-boarding for new employees, each EMT member is expected to cover culture and values. In all communications the EMT is expected to demonstrate the values and they often refer to the Values when acknowledging the contribution of others in the business. The EMT is proud of the business culture and values and strives to maintain a good working culture.

Krispy Kreme likes to support all of their employees. They are currently creating a catalogue of development courses/opportunities that will be available for their store managers. They have started specific development with their senior managers

Krispy Kreme likes to support all of their employees. They are currently creating a catalogue of development courses/opportunities that will be available for their store managers. They have started specific development with their senior managers

At the beginning of all team meetings at every level, each attendee, shares what has brought them joy over the past week. Or they may choose to focus on a company value and people can share examples of where they have seen a good example of behaviour around this value . It often really transforms the atmosphere at the start of the meeting and creates a positive energy . The company have also created a monthly newsletter called The Cake that goes to all team members. This is backed up by a daily communication called The Slice which also goes out to all team members . It's printed out by managers and discussed in shop /production meetings every day . They also have a company team Facebook page for team members to communicate with each other.

The CEO is funded to be part of a CEO network called VISTAGE. Here he gets one to one coaching , he also is part of a group of CEO peers from whom he gets support and advice . This year a 6 part leadership training course was funded by Growth Accelerator which all managers in the business were able to attend . It was designed to suit K & C needs and included sessions on the knowing/doing/being of leadership, emotional Intelligence, influencing skills, situational leadership, managing performance - delegation skills, feedback skills, coaching skills, & appraisal skills. All K & C team members are eligible to attend for free our Cake School. Here they can learn more about how our cakes are made and are taught basic decorating and baking skills. It's a great team building and development resource that they have available in house.

Work closely with volunteers and community groups to develop solutions to local problems and projects that help meet community needs and aspirations. Support residents to develop the skills and confidence to organise their own community activities. Follow this link to you-tube to see how it is done https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPqKiYU4mnQ. Get online and get ahead in the digital inclusion project, they provide free wifi, access to computers and training, this is run with the support of community groups.

When working with an individual to prevent them having to take sick leave or to help them get back to work quicker, they will look at all options. In the past this has included paying for a college course on mindfulness, gym membership, massage and acupuncture. They acknowledge that different things work for different people and so are open to suggestions from both the individual and from medical professionals.

The company offer Training programmes, mentoring, shadowing and workshops.

The company offer Training programmes, mentoring, shadowing and workshops.

In addition to EAP, and discounted gym membership available via the company's private medical insurance, they also offer membership to all employees of the Edenred voucher scheme. This allows employees to buy discounted vouchers for shopping and leisure activities including meals and entertainment, holidays and spa activities.

A key area of focus for the business has been the ongoing delivery of the Leadership development programme delivered through: A series of internal workshops ,residential course supported by external Leadership coach promotion of one to one coaching and mentoring ,focus during Performance Review process to drive change, demonstrate return on investment as well as identify future development needs. Weekly 'Standing room Only' and monthly senior management team meetings provide a forum for managers to discuss and resolve issues within their departments. All managers have a fortnightly 121 session with the CEO which is a combination of discussing issues, problem solving and mentoring. Management bonus scheme rewards managers for achievement of objectives. Johnson Fleming run team building events periodically, typically annually. Their 2015 event consisted of 8 teams in the company competing against each other to raise as much money as possible for their charity of the year in one day, which resulted in over £4,000 being raised for CLIC Sargant. When planning team building events, the company identify individuals who are currently receiving management training or are identified as potential leaders, to be team leaders, to give them management experience, and allow them to show senior management how they perform in that situation.

Their “Club Excel” programme has been running for some years now. Club Excel is an all-expenses paid 5* holiday, for a period of 4 days and includes excursions, a gala dinner and other special events. The top 5% of employees (32 employees in 2014) are selected from all parts of the business including sales and head office functions to recognise unique and outstanding contributions. Winners are announced as part of a gala dinner at their annual company conference that all employees attend. Winners can take their partners if they wish. Previous destinations have included Monte Carlo, Lisbon, Cape Sounio and Montreaux

Their “Club Excel” programme has been running for some years now. Club Excel is an all-expenses paid 5* holiday, for a period of 4 days and includes excursions, a gala dinner and other special events. The top 5% of employees (32 employees in 2014) are selected from all parts of the business including sales and head office functions to recognise unique and outstanding contributions. Winners are announced as part of a gala dinner at their annual company conference that all employees attend. Winners can take their partners if they wish. Previous destinations have included Monte Carlo, Lisbon, Cape Sounio and Montreaux

The company have a strong culture of learning within the organisation which is built into their cultural values. Their aim is to deliver unique and tailored learning and development opportunities to all levels of their teams. The have a structured training programmes for all levels joining their teams to the teach knowledge and skills required. The company regularly refresh the knowledge of their restaurants teams through their ‘passion sessions' which are designed to refresh existing team and inspire newer employees. These complement the daily ‘pre-shift meetings'. The aim of both is to keep restaurant team's level of knowledge to the required standard but also to keep maintain the passion and culture for excellence. Organised trips to suppliers eg farms, markets, butchers etc, helps develop knowledge, which can be passed onto the rest of the team. This year's focus has been growing their own chef talent. The company now offer apprenticeships to unskilled chef candidates which include an NVQ 2 qualification is professional cookery. NVQs are also offered to existing chefs who would like to further develop their skills. The company are launching a ‘chef olympics' to allow talented chefs to stretch their cooking and creative skills. Jamie's successfully delivering monthly ‘Foodspiration' sessions, run by their most senior chefs for the junior chefs. They are taught new skills and knowledge on subjects not related to our menu e.g. french sauces, butchery. To ensure chef development is continual we have a unique, practical appraisal system to appeal to chefs ways of learning.

The company have a strong culture of learning within the organisation which is built into their cultural values. Their aim is to deliver unique and tailored learning and development opportunities to all levels of their teams. The have a structured training programmes for all levels joining their teams to the teach knowledge and skills required. The company regularly refresh the knowledge of their restaurants teams through their ‘passion sessions' which are designed to refresh existing team and inspire newer employees. These complement the daily ‘pre-shift meetings'. The aim of both is to keep restaurant team's level of knowledge to the required standard but also to keep maintain the passion and culture for excellence. Organised trips to suppliers eg farms, markets, butchers etc, helps develop knowledge, which can be passed onto the rest of the team. This year's focus has been growing their own chef talent. The company now offer apprenticeships to unskilled chef candidates which include an NVQ 2 qualification is professional cookery. NVQs are also offered to existing chefs who would like to further develop their skills. The company are launching a ‘chef olympics' to allow talented chefs to stretch their cooking and creative skills. Jamie's successfully delivering monthly ‘Foodspiration' sessions, run by their most senior chefs for the junior chefs. They are taught new skills and knowledge on subjects not related to our menu e.g. french sauces, butchery. To ensure chef development is continual we have a unique, practical appraisal system to appeal to chefs ways of learning.

IT Lab has a strong culture of ensuring that staff look after their well-being. The company offer several well-being benefits; free fruit, drinks & breakfast, quit smoking programme, on-site gym, circuit training at lunch, table tennis tables, badminton course, mountain bikes, weekly yoga classes, weekly pilates classes, weekly five a side football, tag rugby, monthly massage days, subsidised gym membership, pool table, darts board, non-work related lifestyle course which include badminton, canoeing, gymnastics, swimming and ceramics and jewellery design.

The company are always looking to boost team interaction and have a dedicated social committee to help host a range of fun activities and team building events across each location. Alongside that, they hold company-wide quarterly meetings which give each department the opportunity to feedback their team's news for the quarter. At this meeting, the company present awards such as iPads, weekend trips for 2 and £50 vouchers to what they call their ‘heroes of the month'. The winners are decided by employees and nominations are collected via an internal survey. To ensure communication is flowing in-between our quarterly meetings, we also send out an IT Lab newsletter which each department contributes to.

As part of the Wellbeing initiative they have workplace Therapy Sessions whereby staff can have a head massage, back and shoulder massage or reflexology session during their working day at a reduced prices. The feedback received from staff has been very positive. They also participate in the Better Health at Work Award and through recent assessment were awarded Silver level. One of the campaigns that they ran was the Hydration Challenge whereby they purchased water bottles for all employees and encouraged them to increase their water intake during working hours.

The Isoscars are held annually to reward and recognise employees effort in bringing the values to life. Everyone has the opportunity to nominate a colleague in each category and also to nominate a ‘team of the year'. Once nominations close, a panel made up of the Chief Exec, Assistant Director (People), Chair of the Staff Forum, a manager and team leader, individually shortlist the nominations, they then meet as a group to agree the winners and runners up in each category. All of the individual winners in the values categories are then pooled together and an overall ‘employee of the year' is chosen. Everyone who receives a nomination is commended publically and receives a branded Isoscar card that is addressed personally to them. The awards were presented by the Executive Team and Assistant Directors. This year it took place at the Beacon Centre in Newcastle.

The Teleworking Scheme has enhanced work life balance and welfare of staff, giving them greater flexibility in how they organise their working lives and balance the demands of their career with their domestic responsibilities and personal wellbeing. Staff take part in the annual 'Step Challenge' each year and have to achieve 10,000 steps a day. This is a lot of walking/running to do. If you don't achieve 10,000 steps each day you forfeit £1. Total forfeits are donated towards our charity.

The Teleworking Scheme has enhanced work life balance and welfare of staff, giving them greater flexibility in how they organise their working lives and balance the demands of their career with their domestic responsibilities and personal wellbeing. Staff take part in the annual 'Step Challenge' each year and have to achieve 10,000 steps a day. This is a lot of walking/running to do. If you don't achieve 10,000 steps each day you forfeit £1. Total forfeits are donated towards our charity.

The company communicate via their own communication platform: Pure cloud. This is a system by which they can chat and call and look for specific skills of their employees. The company have a very relaxed and open environment in the office.

The company have department specific recognition programs. for example in support they have engineer of the quarter and engineer of the year awards who get recognition and rewards for their efforts.

Managers reward their team members with gift vouchers when they have gone the extra mile. The company has recently introduced their Above and Beyond awards. Nominations are open to the whole company. One of their software developers won the last award and received a gift of £200 vouchers.

They have recently provided new training initiatives for managers on performance management and have invested in a training scheme called Speed of Trust. They have regular 1-1's with Managers to ensure they are supported in managing their teams.

The company runs an in-house management development program that deals specifically with understanding leadership, coaching and developing people, engaging and motivating people, setting goals and providing feedback. Individual manager needs are also identified and addressed. High performing managers are also given the opportunity to further develop by attending formal, external courses.

Employees are eligible for a profit related company bonus scheme which is determined by the performance of the Division against set criteria. The criteria are set out at the beginning of each financial year and employees are regularly updated as to progress.

IMGROUP have introduced the OpenSpaces format, an exciting and unique new methodology that gives employees the space to create new ideas and helps make IMGROUP a better and more innovative place to work. OpenSpaces happens on a quarterly basis, in which employees are invited to submit workplace challenges in advance. Challenges might include, for example, ‘how to improve the office space' or ‘how to improve project management methodology'. An afternoon is put to one side for the event, and each individual who has submitted a challenge with potential to be converted into a development area (as judged by a combination of their peers and senior leadership team members) takes a space in the office and is joined by other colleagues who are interested in the idea to brainstorm on the challenge. Colleagues can join in on multiple sessions. At the end of each session selected individuals take ownership on moving the idea forward, with time deliberately set aside in the working week to encourage this process. For a less formal submission of ideas for improvement, there is also a Suggestions Box in the main London office which can be used anonymously. Innovation and collaboration across teams and hierarchies is further encouraged by the completely open-plan layout of the office. IMGROUP also runs employee engagement surveys. They are recognised as an Investors in People employer and recently won the Investors in People Silver Award after a representative sample of their staff were interviewed about their experiences. Only 6% of companies in the scheme have attained this accolade. They also received recommendations for improvement from the Investors in People survey, many of which they are currently acting to address.

IMGROUP have introduced the OpenSpaces format, an exciting and unique new methodology that gives employees the space to create new ideas and helps make IMGROUP a better and more innovative place to work. OpenSpaces happens on a quarterly basis, in which employees are invited to submit workplace challenges in advance. Challenges might include, for example, ‘how to improve the office space' or ‘how to improve project management methodology'. An afternoon is put to one side for the event, and each individual who has submitted a challenge with potential to be converted into a development area (as judged by a combination of their peers and senior leadership team members) takes a space in the office and is joined by other colleagues who are interested in the idea to brainstorm on the challenge. Colleagues can join in on multiple sessions. At the end of each session selected individuals take ownership on moving the idea forward, with time deliberately set aside in the working week to encourage this process. For a less formal submission of ideas for improvement, there is also a Suggestions Box in the main London office which can be used anonymously. Innovation and collaboration across teams and hierarchies is further encouraged by the completely open-plan layout of the office. IMGROUP also runs employee engagement surveys. They are recognised as an Investors in People employer and recently won the Investors in People Silver Award after a representative sample of their staff were interviewed about their experiences. Only 6% of companies in the scheme have attained this accolade. They also received recommendations for improvement from the Investors in People survey, many of which they are currently acting to address.

Health Shield, this is a voluntary benefit which is available to all colleagues and is a good start to promoting health and wellbeing in the workplace. Health Shield is a health cash plan, which helps colleagues cover the cost of everyday healthcare needs. From just £1.20 per week colleagues can claim up to 100% cashback (up to annual limits) on health treatments such as trips to the dentist and optician, physiotherapy and many other health and wellbeing therapies including reflexology, reiki and sports massages.

Inchcape UK have now appointed a Leadership Development Manager dedicated to support the development of their leadership capability and to strengthen their talent pipelines to meet the current and future needs of the business. All of their senior managers have this year been taken through an internal development programme entitled iLead. This is a 360 feedback tool from which they gain feedback about them as a leader and from this; they each have had a Personal Development Plan created and learning solutions given. This is reviewed alongside the HRBP team regularly. They hold regular talent reviews to identify capability and future leaders and from this they can support management development according to where the skill gaps are identified.

Core principles are communicated through email using examples of individuals who have demonstrated them, as well as having them on posters throughout all their offices. Although they do not have one defined vision/mission, their plans for the future have been communicated to employees through the annual sales conference and through their Friday night meetings.

Core principles are communicated through email using examples of individuals who have demonstrated them, as well as having them on posters throughout all their offices. Although they do not have one defined vision/mission, their plans for the future have been communicated to employees through the annual sales conference and through their Friday night meetings.

The company strives to create an environment where people flourish so they provide training beyond the basic skillset of their roles. Colleagues are encouraged to engage with colleagues in other parts of the business to understand the bigger picture and extend their skills. Job shadowing and job swaps are a pretty regular feature. They are proud of their leadership courses; Polishing Diamonds and The Leadership Academy. These courses penetrate all levels of the business to provide skills leading self, leading teams and leading strategy. The company has a range of formal training delivered by internal and external trainers covering all elements of the business; fixed and mobile plant operations, HGV driving, safety training, health and well-being, team working, and customer services. They also encourage people to take up these courses even if they don't directly correspond to their roles.

The company strives to create an environment where people flourish so they provide training beyond the basic skillset of their roles. Colleagues are encouraged to engage with colleagues in other parts of the business to understand the bigger picture and extend their skills. Job shadowing and job swaps are a pretty regular feature. They are proud of their leadership courses; Polishing Diamonds and The Leadership Academy. These courses penetrate all levels of the business to provide skills leading self, leading teams and leading strategy. The company has a range of formal training delivered by internal and external trainers covering all elements of the business; fixed and mobile plant operations, HGV driving, safety training, health and well-being, team working, and customer services. They also encourage people to take up these courses even if they don't directly correspond to their roles.

Rising Stars are identified as well in a fair manner and consider for senior development programmes within the business and for future progression in terms of talent management.

Through leadership and empowerment and involving the team in decision making and putting forward innovative new ideas. In addition to this respecting every person who works within the organisation and the value they bring to the success of Holroyd Howe.

At HCSS Education each leader operates an open door policy and encourages employees to have their say through positive feedback in team meetings and performance reviews. All employees are encouraged to attend an Invention and Innovation group if they have an idea or suggestion – this enhances a culture of continual improvement and innovation. Each department head prepares a monthly report detailing any improvements suggested and implemented in their department – no matter how small. This report is submitted to the CEO and feedback is provided to reinforce this behaviour. Employees are always encouraged to ‘have a go' and are supported to take risks in their drive for excellence, there is a no blame culture - the focus is always on what lessons have been learned, what needs to change to make it better next time and what needs to continue. Information is shared openly with all employees on the company's targets and progress. The company hold quarterly team briefings for all employees detailing their progress against the strategic objectives of the business together with a detailed review of their performance against KPIs as detailed in their dynamic scorecard. Regular one to ones are held with all employees and the company values form a key part of these discussions. A quarterly award is presented based on nominations from staff for demonstration of the company values.

To maintain employee well-being, HCSS Education provides on-site flu vaccinations that are funded by the company. They encouraged participation in the ‘British Heart Foundation Pedometer challenge, with 6 teams entering, and a prize giving funded and arranged by the company at the end. This also encouraged team working as teams walked together. The use of ACAS on line materials for well-being is encouraged and Managers are sent links to relevant webinars to support them managing the well-being of their staff.

To help in the company's recruitment efforts and as an added incentive for their employee referral programme, they offered an all-expenses paid weekend trip to Ibiza for an employee and 1 guest for a successful recommendation. Each month senior management recommend their team's 'innovator of the month' to recognise their efforts to go above and beyond. In the summer the company put all the winners names year to date into a hat and drew 4 names who were sent to the Home House Summer Festival for an all-expenses paid trip. The company also offer spot bonuses to mid-level/ junior team members who they feel have made a significant contribution to the business outside of their key responsibilities e.g. as a reward for new business leads or work on projects which are so outstanding they end up being nominated for an industry award. An added perk of working on an award-winning piece of work is attendance to a glamorous awards dinner.

Hanover regularly sends their employees on secondments, in order that they can learn a more holistic view of their role. Currently they have a number of people working on short to medium-term secondments within their clients, e.g one of our Account Directors has just completed a 6 month secondment with Sky. He spent Mon - Weds every week at their office, working with the government affairs team on projects worked on by their agency. He has learned so much as a result of his being 'on the other side' and in a few weeks will be delivering a Lunch & Learn to his colleagues to share his experience. Every 2 months the company also send junior members of the team to their office in Brussels, where they learn about EU politics, get a tour of the European Parliament buildings, meet clients locally and build relationships with their colleagues in this office. Social activities are woven into the schedule and they stay in a furnished apartment within minutes of the office, and sightseeing trips are also offered to those who are not familiar with the city.

Bilfinger GVA provide support to employee's development in many different ways; in the last 12 months they have fundamentally overhauled their training principles, they have driven the training to relate to their values and beliefs and in parallel carried out a gap analysis of training requirements. There are three examples worthy of note that they have created recently and rolled out across the business: Firstly, the introduction of career pathways into the business, allowing clarity of expectations and how individuals can progress within the organisation; secondly, the release of a CMI (Chartered Management Institute) Level 5 accredited leadership programme for middle management, and lastly; a new graduate training programme for their graduate planners; as part of this programme they engaged with both past and present graduates and partnered with the RTPI to establish a training programme to be used as a standard across the industry, this training programme was recently recognised at the annual RTPI awards by being nominated and winning the governing body's Excellence Award.

Bilfinger GVA's people care passionately about the communities they live in and every year collectively and individually they take on a variety of amazing and inspirational challenges in the name of charity. A number these initiatives include: Raffling the reception flowers every Friday, charity dress down days (Pretty in Purple, Comic Relief, Jeans for Genes, Wear it Pink, and Xmas Jumper Day), charity events such as; Breakfasts, Raffles, Quizzes, Back to School, Land Aid and Rainbow Fun Runs, Three Peak Challenge, Children in Need, Bike Rides, Moon Walks, Nightriders, Tough Mudders, Shawn the Sheep Charity Trail, Shwop at Work and Brave the Shave to name a view. They work with local communities on specific community schemes; an example of this is where 13 volunteers from their Glasgow office helped out with the gardens at their local Robin House children's hospice. They collectively contributed over 70 hours of time to transform the grounds in time for the hospices special memorial weekend, they also have a number of senior managers who give their free time as school governors, business coaches or confidents to SME businesses.

The company provides a company-wide health shield plan that is available to all staff. Health Shield is an award winning friendly society and market leading provider of health cash plans and health and wellbeing benefits. The cash plan can be used by children of the employees and includes benefits such as: food and entertainment, gifts, dental, optical, shopping etc.

Guidance Marine Ltd supports employees in participating in charitable initiatives within the community and matches any money that is raised. Guidance Marine Ltd was the largest financial contributor to a local Leicestershire school through supplying and fitting solar panels on the school premises. Guidance Marine Ltd has also previously provided reading material for a school in Brazil showing their intention to help projects both in the UK and abroad.

Grass Roots' has a learning platform which holds sections dedicated to programs which support their manager's development. There is a curriculum of workshops; insights; webinars and various materials, as well as a toolkit of activities the managers can use to engage, develop and inspire their teams. A separate pathway supports those people who aspire to be a manager at Grass Roots'- providing them with the skills and knowledge before they are promoted into a management role.

Grass Roots' has a learning platform which holds sections dedicated to programs which support their manager's development. There is a curriculum of workshops; insights; webinars and various materials, as well as a toolkit of activities the managers can use to engage, develop and inspire their teams. A separate pathway supports those people who aspire to be a manager at Grass Roots'- providing them with the skills and knowledge before they are promoted into a management role.

The managing director at Global Payments holds quarterly huddles whereby all employees gather and he provides updates on key business activities, good news stories, personal achievements and upcoming projects. At the end of each huddle, the floor is opened for questions and the Managing Director along with members of his team will answer any questions posed to them from the rest of the staff openly and honestly.

The managing director at Global Payments holds quarterly huddles whereby all employees gather and he provides updates on key business activities, good news stories, personal achievements and upcoming projects. At the end of each huddle, the floor is opened for questions and the Managing Director along with members of his team will answer any questions posed to them from the rest of the staff openly and honestly.

At Gerald Eve LLP they seek to enhance the wellbeing of their employees physically and emotionally, both inside and outside of work, and help them plan for their future. To aid their employees financial wellbeing the company run tailored financial education sessions by age group to assist them with each stage in their life - this financial education strategy has been nominated in two awards ceremonies this year for best Financial Education Strategy. In conjunction with the education strategy Gerald Eve LLP provide benefits that help their employees through life events such as moving home. They are one of few employers who provide an interest free Rental Deposit Loan to staff which can especially help graduates when moving to a new city. To enhance their employees physical welfare, employees have access to private medical insurance and wellness days so they can understand their key health metrics and seek advice on them. The company's private medical insurance provides incentives and assistance to stop smoking and to become healthier. The wellbeing of staff is of the upmost importance to the firm and their policies and practices are designed with this in mind. A bi-annual Firm Away day demonstrates this commitment by enabling all employees to meet each other, get to know each other outside of the office and build relationships, cementing the values and culture of the organisation that promotes and enhances our employees wellbeing.

The senior management team at Gerald Eve LLP demonstrate the company values on a daily basis through their approachability and engagement with all staff. The company has an open plan office, with no separate offices for senior management ensuring they are open and friendly to all. Managers regularly visit all offices to ensure a consistent message of 'one firm' is felt by all. The board at Gerald Eve LLP host 'Breakfast with the Board' sessions in which small groups of employees are encouraged to give open feedback and ask questions, promoting the values of Integrity, Respect and Friendliness. Senior management are actively involved with clients on a day to day basis, again demonstrating the company's values of Trust and Integrity. The company display excellence in the quality of their work and dedication to going the extra mile for clients. All of Gerald Eve LLP's values permeate the behaviours and actions of all staff and are embedded in the processes and operations of the firm.

At Genesis Associates they ensure that employees in business support have the relevant qualifications and training required to ensure all processes run smoothly and efficiently, 2 examples of this being the learning and development/HR manager completing their CIPD and the Talent Acquisition Manager completing their PTLLS in order to enhance their skills set to training. Both funded by the business and provided with paid time off to study. At Genesis Solutions they also have a learning and development manager who provides a 4-8 week focused induction training programme for new employees, in conjunction with consistent training taking place on an ongoing basis for additional requirements/ refreshers for existing employees. Upon transitioning from the training academy each trainee is provided with a one to one mentor to continue assistance with their development and act as a one to one support. The company also conduct monthly review meetings with each employee where a needs analysis is conducted in order to ensure all training and support requirements are being met. There is also a competency based assessment in place for when employees qualify for promotion. Genesis Associates utilize an e-learning library accessible to all employees suitable from Trainee to Director level accessible 24 hours a day. There is an external course provided to future leaders and current managers to enhance their skill set and transition into a new role. There is also external programme training provided such as Broadbean where businesses come in to train employees on their direct product for optimal utilization. At Genesis Associates they implement PIP- ‘Personal Improvement Plans' these are designed for employees who are behind in terms of targets or competency development level.

First thing every Monday morning at Genesis Associates an activity is carried out based on interaction and communication, this could be a quiz, a team drawing activity or a team model building activity. The company run frequent individual team building events including dinners, lunches and team incentive rewards. At Genesis Associates they have inter-team competitions such as the ‘Premier League', based on performance as a team, a Premier League ranking is updated on a weekly basis with the top team being rewarded, this encourages team members at Genesis Associates to work together in order to achieve a weekly goal. There is external and internal training in place to help employees achieve as best as they can. At Genesis Associates they have away days where the whole office will undergo training or skill development in an alternative location, they mix up all of the teams to ensure full office integration. The company like to go Go-karting where employees are put into teams of 2 from different sectors of the business for a mini tournament, this encourages team communication and interaction. There is a reward and recognition group- this provides employees from different areas of the business the opportunity to interact and work together. At Genesis Associates they use the feedback from meetings to generate projects for employees to work on in small teams, helping again to integrate employees from different areas of the business enhancing cross team interaction and communication.

With a nurturing ethos that supersedes any sense of hierarchy in the business, the senior management team at Gemini People are committed to leading the company through collaboration, fun, inspiration and integrity. They hold Friday wrap-up meetings for the whole company, where they publicly recognise the week's best efforts in the office. They are the first people in the office each morning and the last people to leave at night, they hold regular cross-team meetings, where they share client information and they also run a host of training courses to up-skill everyone in the company. They are always the first to be involved in Gemini CSR initiatives, they have an open door policy and are always there to talk to. The senior management team at Gemini People also lead by example and are the top performers in the business. They would never ask a team member to do something they wouldn't do themselves (even clean the kitchen on their team's day on the rota!) and they frequently use WhatsApp as a quick way to chat about any issues their team members have out of hours.

With a nurturing ethos that supersedes any sense of hierarchy in the business, the senior management team at Gemini People are committed to leading the company through collaboration, fun, inspiration and integrity. They hold Friday wrap-up meetings for the whole company, where they publicly recognise the week's best efforts in the office. They are the first people in the office each morning and the last people to leave at night, they hold regular cross-team meetings, where they share client information and they also run a host of training courses to up-skill everyone in the company. They are always the first to be involved in Gemini CSR initiatives, they have an open door policy and are always there to talk to. The senior management team at Gemini People also lead by example and are the top performers in the business. They would never ask a team member to do something they wouldn't do themselves (even clean the kitchen on their team's day on the rota!) and they frequently use WhatsApp as a quick way to chat about any issues their team members have out of hours.

Freedom Finance has a charity committee. The committee holds various activities and competitions where all proceedings go to their chosen charity, St Anne's Hospice. At the end of each month they hold a dress down day where employees have to pay £1 to participate, the event has proven to be extremely popular with employees. Employees have participated in the Manchester Midnight Walk for St Anne's Hospice and also helped and attended a Quiz Nights and Bake Sales. Other events that staff have organised for another charity called Brainwave are a sponsored 5k run, fancy dress days, and formal dress Wednesdays. Freedom Finance holds an annual event called Freedom Festival, which is run across the entire workforce for their chosen charity. The activities that were in this year's festival included mangers participating in several events across the week such as limbo, races and treasure hunting events.

Manager's competency is assessed so that bespoke training and development can be provided on a regular basis with checks to ensure quality. L+D works to support managers by regularly assessing their training and coaching skills, providing feedback and development to improve this. Managers attend induction training to embed the vision and values and lend valuable context to their work across the business. L+D works hard to coach managers to provide the best feedback, support and development utilising a sports coaching methodology, ensuring that all staff at all levels of the business can expect the same consistent level and format of support. Lead Advisors are supported on their unique development path by L+D Managers to ensure their vision of a new career in management is fulfilled.

All Fourfront employees are enrolled in to the Fourfront Academy and are given a career development training programme, tailored for their specific needs and job role. The company invest three times the national average on training which helps the Group retain and attract some of the best talent. The Fourfront Academy is important not only to individual development, happiness and success, but is vital in ensuring Fourfront Group remains a leading organisation in the industry and, more importantly, delivers excellence to their clients. Fourfront Group also recognises that specific groups can have specific developmental needs, so has launched a number of initiatives. NextGen creates a platform for innovation and networking and gives an opportunity for young talent to feed their expertise back into the business. Women in Fourfront supports women in their career development through a workshop-style learning environment with quarterly meetings and coaching sessions. The company has trained internal mentors support individuals throughout the business in their career development by passing on knowledge and experience. This programme enables the company to bring fresh new talent into the business and give students studying towards relevant degrees and opportunity to learn and develop. Outstanding interns are sponsored during their final year at University with a view to bringing them back as full time employees. Fourfront invests in the learning activities through which professionals develop their abilities and ensure they remain effective and increasingly capable. This is achieved through a programme of accredited seminars, supplier visits and payment for employees' annual professional body memberships.

All Fourfront employees are enrolled in to the Fourfront Academy and are given a career development training programme, tailored for their specific needs and job role. The company invest three times the national average on training which helps the Group retain and attract some of the best talent. The Fourfront Academy is important not only to individual development, happiness and success, but is vital in ensuring Fourfront Group remains a leading organisation in the industry and, more importantly, delivers excellence to their clients. Fourfront Group also recognises that specific groups can have specific developmental needs, so has launched a number of initiatives. NextGen creates a platform for innovation and networking and gives an opportunity for young talent to feed their expertise back into the business. Women in Fourfront supports women in their career development through a workshop-style learning environment with quarterly meetings and coaching sessions. The company has trained internal mentors support individuals throughout the business in their career development by passing on knowledge and experience. This programme enables the company to bring fresh new talent into the business and give students studying towards relevant degrees and opportunity to learn and develop. Outstanding interns are sponsored during their final year at University with a view to bringing them back as full time employees. Fourfront invests in the learning activities through which professionals develop their abilities and ensure they remain effective and increasingly capable. This is achieved through a programme of accredited seminars, supplier visits and payment for employees' annual professional body memberships.

Fortis Living have a strong believe in lifelong learning which support employee development in a variety of offering to suit differing learning styles and ability. These opportunities include:- Professional, Academic and Vocational courses from level 2 to level 7, this will either link to current role or career aspirations, supported financially and with time off as appropriate. Secondments to other departments and teams from 3 to 18 months, workshops and Seminars, Open Courses and networking group to support sharing of best practice. Training courses delivered in traditional style, from 2 hour bitesize course to 8 day programmes spread over a period time to embed the learning. They delivered 365 events last year using internal and external training at their offices. E- learning is used to provide Health and Safety updates and support in house training courses. Toolbox talks for short updates for operatives to give them training updates, coaching is encouraged and supported throughout the organisation, managers are given a bespoke series of training day to give them the skills to be able to support a coachee. 12 % of Fortis Living employees have gained promotion and they have examples of employees starting and undertaking an apprenticeship and progressing to supervisor level.

Fortis Living have a strong believe in lifelong learning which support employee development in a variety of offering to suit differing learning styles and ability. These opportunities include:- Professional, Academic and Vocational courses from level 2 to level 7, this will either link to current role or career aspirations, supported financially and with time off as appropriate. Secondments to other departments and teams from 3 to 18 months, workshops and Seminars, Open Courses and networking group to support sharing of best practice. Training courses delivered in traditional style, from 2 hour bitesize course to 8 day programmes spread over a period time to embed the learning. They delivered 365 events last year using internal and external training at their offices. E- learning is used to provide Health and Safety updates and support in house training courses. Toolbox talks for short updates for operatives to give them training updates, coaching is encouraged and supported throughout the organisation, managers are given a bespoke series of training day to give them the skills to be able to support a coachee. 12 % of Fortis Living employees have gained promotion and they have examples of employees starting and undertaking an apprenticeship and progressing to supervisor level.

Grapevine is an internal employee forum. It is all about 2 way communication and sharing best practice across the business. As they want to be the best, they want everyone's feedback to get there. There are nominated employee's who act as representatives from various different areas of the business who meet quarterly to bring key questions to the table. A representative will pick up the question and look for an answer within a specified time to feedback at the next meeting.

Forrest Futures – This programme is aimed at their blue collar workforce and provides a pathway to management for them. Following a formal application process a number of individuals each year are chosen to take part in a structured management development programme which includes formal training and also work shadowing and secondment opportunities. They have promoted 5 individuals in the last 2 years in to management from this programme. Elevate – This programme is very similar but aimed at senior management and includes profiling and mentoring from an external organisation plus the opportunity to undertake an ILM Level 7 qualification New Leaf – their own Leadership & Management programme validated by CMI. This has been delivered to over 200 people within the business already and will continue to be used to facilitate learning in this area. Customer Connect – A bespoke Customer Service excellence delivery programme. This has been accredited by the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) and delivered to over 150 people so far. Now a mandatory piece of training that all need to attend, it forms part of the corporate company induction.

Every member of the management team has access to the company's leadership pathway to further develop their leadership skills. They hold two Assistant Team Leader and Team Leader conferences every year to support development and offer them a forum to share experiences and ideas. This year, they have also introduced a new training session called ‘New Learning Methods'. During this one-day course, Team Leaders will learn how to better engage their teams and promote understanding by using a number of different learning styles. Management Team are also sent on external courses for job specific training. They also have an entire department dedicated to supporting the management team so they may reach their full potential. Leadership Academy hosts training sessions and one-to-one mentoring with the management team to help them develop their skills and also to support them as they create a succession pool within their team. Finally, financial assistance is offered for external professional training courses and development.

Every member of the management team has access to the company's leadership pathway to further develop their leadership skills. They hold two Assistant Team Leader and Team Leader conferences every year to support development and offer them a forum to share experiences and ideas. This year, they have also introduced a new training session called ‘New Learning Methods'. During this one-day course, Team Leaders will learn how to better engage their teams and promote understanding by using a number of different learning styles. Management Team are also sent on external courses for job specific training. They also have an entire department dedicated to supporting the management team so they may reach their full potential. Leadership Academy hosts training sessions and one-to-one mentoring with the management team to help them develop their skills and also to support them as they create a succession pool within their team. Finally, financial assistance is offered for external professional training courses and development.

First thing every morning the Managing Director runs a daily sales meeting in the middle of the London office. During this meeting all account managers give updates on what they are working on and an overview of important roles they are recruiting for. This encourages all the sales teams to help each other out with roles and share news about clients they are engaging with.

FPG shows it supports employee development by its organic growth strategy. They make clear to employees in the yearly business strategy presentation that opportunities will always be given internally before bringing external resources in. Leading by actions has given a clear message to FPG employees, they open offices around the world but only in locations their staff want to live and work. With each of the 9 overseas offices, the managers of those offices started out in a graduate role in the London office. Training and qualifications are encouraged especially in the support functions such as finance. External leadership and team leading training has been particularly useful to their managers and aspiring managers.

Each year, as a reward for outstanding performance, 10% of staff are chosen to attend the annual “Boat” event. The event takes place the first week of September and sees the top performing staff across categories such as most permanent vacancies taken, most new accounts bought on, best internal feedback, and best customer journey. The luxury boat is privately charted by the company from Hamble Harbour in Southampton. Employees get to spend 2 days sailing around the Solent, before docking on the Isle of Wight taking lunch in Colwell Bay with an overnight stay and dinner in Cowes. Winners of this unique reward are announced at the Annual Company Awards evening in June each year. Feedback from those that attended this year's event included comments such as “What a fantastic way to reward staff for all their hard work and “A relaxing day at sea, time to spend with colleagues and lovely food and drink – a perfect couple of days”

The Circle of success which details their Company values is displayed around head office and at each branch/site in Perspex frames as well as on everyone's welcome screen as daily inspiration of the way in which they work and what success looks like. It's a reference tool to all employees, managers and Directors on the behaviours they expect from others and should display themselves. Employee rewards and recognition are linked to the values within the Circle and are communicated and celebrated at every “Orange Studio” event twice yearly. Event Guest speakers will link their key note talks to a chosen value. Employees are given the circle of success on their first day and the values and vison of the business are discussed in depth to ensure that everyone coming into the business understands their culture and their part in ensuring that their values, vison and purpose are at the forefront of everything they do

Their customer service commitments are based on maintaining a strong, motivated and friendly team. The company aim to attract the best within the industry by offering above market rate remuneration and develop long-term relationships and loyalty by investing in their team. As investors in people, they encourage professional development, offering time off and financial support to study and attend courses in order to further qualifications. Regular appraisals and social events give their team the opportunity to express their views and suggest ideas as to how FC Exchange can move forward and improve intra-company relations and processes. The company are proud of their staff retention rates, keeping a high degree of experience within the company which helps build and maintain long-term customer relationships. FC Exchange has consistently grown year-on-year since 2005, expanding to new markets; presenting new opportunities for promotion. As a result, 75% of their senior management has been recruited from within the company.

Quite simply, the company ask new starters to the business to present what they have learnt about the business.

The senior management team are committed to developing talent and encouraging their colleagues to be the best they can be. They demonstrate their commitment to the ‘EnviroVent Way' by leading teams by example, and following up on promises made. The company take a contextual approach to business, by making pragmatic decisions based on facts. This creates an environment of trust and mutual respect which encourages an open flow of communication across the business. The senior management team are accessible, there is an open door policy that has encouraged people to stop by for a quick chat to feeling that they are able to raise new ideas or difficult topics. The company believe that this approach to work has created closer working relationships and an overall feeling that they are all ‘in it together'. The senior team cascade and promote new initiatives through 1-1's, huddles, company and regional updates and writing articles for the monthly newsletter with aim of ‘keeping it simple' and providing ‘opportunities for all' to get involved. The company provide merit based awards and recognition for those colleagues who demonstrate and alignment with The EnviroVent Way.

EnviroVent works with over 500 Housing Association Bodies and communities on a daily basis all of which are recognising the clear benefits brought by installing EnviroVent products. In addition, they support the local communities in which they operate through employing local installers and engineers. EnviroVent educate Tenant Management Organisations in solving condensation problems and promoting health. Colleagues are committed to supporting various charities. The company is participating in Saint Michael's Hospice You're Inspired Challenge to raise as much money as possible towards patient care. They are doing a sponsored sky dive, held bacon fryday's , dress down days and are holding a raffle all held within company time. Twenty colleagues participated in Pugney's Dragon Boat Race raising £535 for St Michaels Hospice. Mark, Logistics' Manager raised £235 for Epilepsy Research running the Great North Run. Chris, darts player and full time Production Administrator completed a full month of no drinking, a ‘Dryathlon' for Cancer research. Eight colleagues ran Harrogate's Race for Life –raising £600 Ventilation was installed in local community Centre's newly refurbished kitchen. Paul, helped local students at St Aiden's College learn more about what a career in R&D looks like by doing a presentation on what his role involved. In May the company sponsored a table at the Macmillan Spring Ball. 10 colleagues attended who have in some way contributed towards a charity. It was a memorable evening of fine food, live music and prizes.

ABCDE Recognition Scheme (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Employee) As a not for profit organisation the Group aims to have a culture whereby effort is acknowledged, praised and communicated, by saying ‘thank-you'. It is the Group's aim to celebrate achievements at every level and at every opportunity. The ABCDE scheme recognises good performance, link rewards to positive behaviours (that reflect the organisations Values) and motivate staff.

ABCDE Recognition Scheme (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Employee) As a not for profit organisation the Group aims to have a culture whereby effort is acknowledged, praised and communicated, by saying ‘thank-you'. It is the Group's aim to celebrate achievements at every level and at every opportunity. The ABCDE scheme recognises good performance, link rewards to positive behaviours (that reflect the organisations Values) and motivate staff.

All line managers in Egress undergo regular one to one mentoring by the HR Manager. These sessions complement the ‘on the job' coaching sessions in Performance Management, Recruitment and Retention. Additionally, all managers receive monthly direct feedback from their function's C-level executive, as they are a small company, the flat management structure allows them to do this with high frequency. The business is growing fast and as such, opportunities for personal growth – particularly at the mid-manager level – are constantly arising. They do not recruit mid-managers from outside the business, preferring to promote from within and give existing team members the chance to start their managerial careers in a familiar environment.

Whilst some of the company employees have fixed desks, a significant number are encouraged to sit where they like in the office - which is primarily an open plan design with a hot desking infrastructure. For example, rather than having the sales and technical services teams sit in defined spaces, offering them the flexibility to sit next to peers who are working on the same projects means employees collaborate better and produce better results for the business and their customers. In the software development teams – they have recently implemented a version of Scrum (an iterative agile method for managing product development). This has improved communication and resulted in significant improvements to the development process and the quality of the software produced, whilst reducing the time required to produce a customer ready version of the software.

They realise the importance of recognition is essential to an engaged and motivated workforce. People want to be respected and valued for their contribution. Everyone feels the need to be recognised as an individual or member of a group and to feel a sense of achievement for work well done or even for a valiant effort. Everyone wants a ‘pat on the back' to make them feel good. Great performance at Eckoh is recognised both formally and informally. The senior management team will give a ‘pat on the back' to anyone who has done a good job and will email the company to let them know their appreciation

They offer employees to attend free massage therapy sessions and Reflexology. These are held on a monthly basis and employees are able to attend these at the cost to the company.

Draycott Nursing & Care have staff appreciation rewards and like to reward their staff in a number of ways. The company appreciates each member of staff as individuals. A recent example of this was when the company paid for flights for a long standing colleague to go home when family member passed away.

N&C believe in the 4 C's – be caring, be compassionate, be competent and be committed. This is portrayed daily by the leadership team through truly believing in the 4 C's and being examples to all staff in the organisation. Every member of staff is seen as an individual and is supported in every way possible to bring out the best in themselves.

DMC Canotec are part of an initiative called Croydon Commitment, which assists Croydon businesses to support their local community. Croydon Commitment acts as a link between local businesses, charities and voluntary groups. DMC Canotec also actively raises money for Croydon Commitment as the local charity is at the forefront of business community engagement. The company's Training and Development Manager regularly offers training and support workshops for those seeking employment in the local area. Last Christmas, a team of DMC Canotec employees raised funds for Croydon Commitment, they took part in the Croydon 100 challenge, they were given £100 and had to convert this into as much as they could. The team decided to hold a raffle, with the star prize being a signed Francis Rossi electric guitar. They also held a Christmas stall in the local shopping centre, and sold handmade filled Christmas baskets to the passing public. Many of the items for the gift baskets were donated by staff. The DMC team won this competition as they raised over £1300. The company also have their own brand of toner called Planit Green, for each toner sold; 25p goes to the Starlight Children's Foundation, a charity that grants wishes to seriously ill and terminally ill children.

The last Friday of every month at DMC Canotec is dress down and this promotes a relaxed working environment. They have a no tie policy which the men the organisation love! The company have a local gym that offers their staff members a corporate discount if they wish to join. DMC Canotec offers their staff corporate prices on AA car membership and also offer staff Costco membership through the company. DMC Canotec has an open door policy and anyone can speak to any senior manager or Managing Director at any time. The Director's Forum helps staff with any issues they may have and DMC Canotec feel this works very well for the company. DMC Canotec's MD walks around their office daily making sure everyone is ok and will even offer to make staff a cuppa!

Digital Gurus provide industry leading external training for all team managers and directors through Elite Leaders. This great programme is a peer-led mentoring group that not only challenges their managers in their way of thinking, but also provides them the opportunity to step away from their desk and focus on what is most important. They get to listen to and interact with some great industry leaders on a bi-monthly basis. With ongoing pastoral care, they have seen individuals evolve their leadership skills. In January 2015, the company were lucky enough to secure Marcus Childs, who is - in their opinion - one of the best motivational speakers on the UK circuit. He hosted a ‘mindfulness' session with their consultants, clients, and candidates, helping them to face challenges with positivity and to remember that they have the choice in how they let things affect them.

Digital Gurus provide industry leading external training for all team managers and directors through Elite Leaders. This great programme is a peer-led mentoring group that not only challenges their managers in their way of thinking, but also provides them the opportunity to step away from their desk and focus on what is most important. They get to listen to and interact with some great industry leaders on a bi-monthly basis. With ongoing pastoral care, they have seen individuals evolve their leadership skills. In January 2015, the company were lucky enough to secure Marcus Childs, who is - in their opinion - one of the best motivational speakers on the UK circuit. He hosted a ‘mindfulness' session with their consultants, clients, and candidates, helping them to face challenges with positivity and to remember that they have the choice in how they let things affect them.

It's well known throughout the company that if a person has recently contributed to the business or is excelling in their role, Helen and Damian reward their employees for all their recent efforts by inviting them along as guests to support and represent Danbro at awards and community events outside of work. This is the kind of reward which Danbro regularly reward their employees with, as it is a widely received initiative over monetary rewards across the business; it makes their employees feel appreciated and that their efforts are not overlooked. Some of their employees were invited to the Red Rose Awards in early 2015 after contributing to the Employer of the Year application form. To present their case and engage with all of their employees they sent a companywide email asking ‘why you think they should win.' Those who contributed were invited as guests with Helen and Damian to the award ceremony. The table were also lucky enough to collect the award and give a small speech on behalf of Helen, Damian and Danbro. Other events include the BIBA's awards (an evening awards ceremony held at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom), St Georges Day event on Lytham Green (where all those who gave up their Christmas holidays to help with the big office move were invited to an afternoon of food, drinks and dancing) and Lytham Festival Tickets, including VIP/meet and greet with headlining acts. Other non-monetary rewards include office treats and breakfast/meal vouchers in their onsite canteen/coffee shop.

Workplace Listening We have a devoted team of Workplace Listeners that have been trained to listen to other employees. A Workplace Listener is someone that employees can go to for a confidential chat to talk about something which may be bothering them. They offer a safe haven within the workplace when there is no one else that they can talk to. Employees can expect from a Workplace Listener respect, empathy, acceptance, openness, transparency and honesty. There is a dedicated Workplace Listening Room which ensures that there is always a private, confidential and safe environment for Workplace Listening Sessions to take place.

'Introduction to Management' programme provides support to new managers on becoming more comfortable in their role as managers. Recently, the Trust invested in a year long development programme for its senior managers, to facilitate better collaborative working. Peer coaching, action learning and 360 degree feedback were integral parts of the programme, which is based on NLP (Neuro- Linguistic) techniques.

'Introduction to Management' programme provides support to new managers on becoming more comfortable in their role as managers. Recently, the Trust invested in a year long development programme for its senior managers, to facilitate better collaborative working. Peer coaching, action learning and 360 degree feedback were integral parts of the programme, which is based on NLP (Neuro- Linguistic) techniques.

One initiative the company have found to be particularly effective in enhancing the wellbeing of their people has been our Up For Fit team. They provide fresh fruit, organise sporting activities and social events. A combination of both sporting and social elements is the annual beach games which they have taken part in for the last three years. It provides people with an opportunity to exercise, socialise and develop relationships with their colleagues in a fun yet competitive atmosphere.

One initiative the company have found to be particularly effective in enhancing the wellbeing of their people has been our Up For Fit team. They provide fresh fruit, organise sporting activities and social events. A combination of both sporting and social elements is the annual beach games which they have taken part in for the last three years. It provides people with an opportunity to exercise, socialise and develop relationships with their colleagues in a fun yet competitive atmosphere.

Annually, each year Line Manager at Compassion UK can submit nominations for team members who have contributed in an outstanding way. The formal rewards are given on an employee receiving outstanding on their appraisal. The financial gift for last year was a £250 cash bonus. The company also allow informal rewards up to the amount of £25, which is in the form of a voucher.

Annually, each year Line Manager at Compassion UK can submit nominations for team members who have contributed in an outstanding way. The formal rewards are given on an employee receiving outstanding on their appraisal. The financial gift for last year was a £250 cash bonus. The company also allow informal rewards up to the amount of £25, which is in the form of a voucher.

The organisation supports its Senior Managers through external coaching and mentoring schemes along with developing their own coaching skills through bespoke coaching programme. All managers are sponsored to achieve level 5 or above management qualifications. Access to peer support and external coaching if required.

Having a Performance Learning, Supervision system which enables staff to explore every 6 weeks in detail the development support each individual requires within the organisation. All managers have received bespoke coaching training to ensure they work in a way which supports staff development.

Many of the company's employees work on customer sites and it is therefore vital that they give them sufficient support to help make them successful and satisfied. The company does this in two ways. Number one is technology. Team members need to have access to relevant resources, collaborate with team members no matter where they are in the world and have up to date information. Along with Skype for Business, Yammer and an Intranet they also use OneNote from Microsoft. This gives every member of the project access to all the working notes, and as it is hosted in the cloud it is always available and up to date. Every project is broken up into sections such as must does, escalations, technical plans, communications, meetings and every one of the project inputs all their information. Projects can last for multiple months and involve many Columbus consultants, plus there are up to 30 projects on the go at any one time. So this collaborative tool has proved to be a great success. We also use a number of mobile apps to help the team, for example an expenses app helps the whole interaction with finance. The second key ingredient is people. The consultants in particular may not see much of their team mates even when they are working on the same project. So it is essential that the company bring the teams together on a regular basis to help build the bonds that form amazing teams. This is done on a departmental level and companywide level.

Each of the Columbus Senior Management team has worked at Columbus for more than 10 years. The Managing Director, 17 years, the Service Director 15 years and the Consultancy and Sales Director have both been employed by Columbus for over 10 years. They are all passionate about Columbus as a company, the employees and the customers. Throughout that time as the company has grown there has been a common goal around driving continuous improvement into all aspects of the company. The latest goal sums this up, “Employees and Customers for Life”. The management team continuously seek feedback from employees and customers, through surveys, roundtables, face to face meetings, suggestion boxes and brainstorming, and they act on the results. All of the team are extremely approachable and their door is always open. A key initiative for the team at present is a mentoring programme for other managers so that they can gain greater insight in to business and to help them with their career aspirations.

The company hold firm wide updates for employees between twice a year to communicate progress towards delivery of our objectives. They also have a spot bonus/reward programme which recognises employees who have demonstrated exemplary behaviour aligned to our values. Corporate induction is held every quarter.

The company have spot bonuses for a job well done. . Deal Flow, cross selling reward programme, enables employees to benefit personally from any work they refer outside their own team. Personal bonus incentive plans.

The SMT are "hands on" at events, community initiatives, tenant forum meetings and team briefs. Committed to the ethos of social housing, the SMT demonstrate this with an ambitious new homes programme, the creation of a community development function and customer feedback influencing decisions made at strategic level.

Staff have been involved in: Belfast Marathon - 23 staff members took part to raise money for charities including The Welcome Organisation and one of residential homes (De La Cour House) Residents Funds - £1,632 was raised for the Welcome Organisation & £264 was raised for the Residents Fund. Over 60 staff have taken part in the Treasure House Project, a project with the Northern Ireland Museums. This project is about reducing social isolation amongst older people & promoting social inclusion, learning & development of new skills & improving social networks. The Women's Tech Project - In partnership with Women's Tech, the Association delivered a programme called “Tea and Drills” which is a taster programme for those interested in developing skills for employment within the construction industry. This has now developed into an £850,000 funded Programme called SPEC (Supporting People: Empowering Communities), funded by the European Social Fund and Department for Employment & Learning.

They have created their own City Gate Sales Academy. The Academy of Excellence will help ensure they promote a consistent message and best practice across the entire group while creating and maintaining the best possible standards in customer service. In doing this, they will unlock their people's potential, giving them the best tools to succeed and positively influence and shape their careers. With an emphasis on accuracy and quality, the aim of their academy is to deliver a “world class” customer experience, training their teams in such a way that they can also display their own individual personalities. Every sales person in the company has been enrolled into their academy. They have been issued with their own academy learning folder which contains all of the relevant information and the modules they are required to complete to progress in their careers with Citygate. All new starters are issue with the Academy folder on their first day and their file will grow with them as they attend and complete each of the modules / stages contained within the academy. The modules are designed to allow career progress from sales executive to sales management. The learning journey is a mixture of on e-learning, on job coaching, classroom style training and off site training at the national learning centre.

They have created their own City Gate Sales Academy. The Academy of Excellence will help ensure they promote a consistent message and best practice across the entire group while creating and maintaining the best possible standards in customer service. In doing this, they will unlock their people's potential, giving them the best tools to succeed and positively influence and shape their careers. With an emphasis on accuracy and quality, the aim of their academy is to deliver a “world class” customer experience, training their teams in such a way that they can also display their own individual personalities. Every sales person in the company has been enrolled into their academy. They have been issued with their own academy learning folder which contains all of the relevant information and the modules they are required to complete to progress in their careers with Citygate. All new starters are issue with the Academy folder on their first day and their file will grow with them as they attend and complete each of the modules / stages contained within the academy. The modules are designed to allow career progress from sales executive to sales management. The learning journey is a mixture of on e-learning, on job coaching, classroom style training and off site training at the national learning centre.

CHS continue to roll out 'Career Pathway Frameworks' within the organisation, these are job role specific and focus as much as on the behaviours and values of the organisation, as well as empowering the individual to demonstrate areas of high performance to increase reward potential. One of the unique elements of their competency frameworks is the focus on career progression and this has been successful in developing their team leader/supervisor talent pipeline. One of their strategic priorities is to develop their performance management processes to build upon the linkage of corporate performance to individual reward. This includes a review of how competency frameworks can be further rolled out across the organisation.

CHS' face to face training averages at 4 sessions per annum, per employee. With industry standards for Care Certificate being introduced in April this year, CHS have taken the opportunity to look at how they can provide the most practical and interactive induction process for experienced and new carers, in line with the standards within the Care Certificate. They have trained managers and Deputy Managers in Assessment methodology and introduced a 12 week programme that can be tailored to individuals experience and level of knowledge. They have chosen to go further than the minimum requirement to ensure that their staff are equipped with the skills and behaviours to deliver person centred care, in line with the company's Values. They have a policy commitment to develop the skills of their staff through study and a number of people have taken the option to study occupational qualifications. Diplomas/NVQs are actively encouraged and participation in Diplomas, in particular, in Care and Childcare. In the previous 12 months, 25 employees have completed their qualification and a further 52 are progressing, some of which are through apprenticeships.

The company's learning motto is Be the Best I can. The Cheval Promise is: 30 minutes of learning - every colleague - every week.

The company's learning motto is Be the Best I can. The Cheval Promise is: 30 minutes of learning - every colleague - every week.

Cestria are currently working towards the Better Health at Work Bronze level Award and staff have completed a health assessment questionnaire to indicate the areas that the company should focus on. This has highlighted that diet, alcohol use and fitness are the three main areas to concentrate on, and a programme of activities is being arranged to improve wellbeing in these areas, along with campaigns such as Stoptober, Dry January and Mental Health month.

As part of their on-going commitment to developing their staff, and ensuring they have the right people to take the business forward, Cestria have created the Stepping into Management Programme for staff who have high performance in their current role along with the ambition and commitment to work towards their first managerial role. The objectives are: To improve internal succession by developing a pool of high potential individuals, to provide a structured, challenging and rewarding development opportunity that will help to develop some of the core skills, knowledge and experience required to be an effective manager. To further enrich the current performance of high performing members of staff a number of their staff are involved in the HDN Mentoring Programme. The Mentoring Programme offers the opportunity for staff members to access an external Mentor for one-to-one professional development support and to attend Mentoring Workshops focused on a variety of career development topics. . As well as the HDN mentoring programme they have also launched an Internal Mentoring Program for staff who would like to mentor or be mentored by existing Cestria staff members. All staff have been given the opportunity to work alongside and gain experience of the role of another individual, and gain an insight into a particular work area through job shadowing. Cestria are keen to support staff to develop skills and/or gain qualifications which contribute to the achievement of agreed personal and career goals. Recently, with the help of funding, 10 people gained a nationally recognised qualification.

The PayBack Foundation Ceridian UK established their own registered charity, The PayBack Foundation, in 1997. Colleagues are passionate about the Charity, as they know that 100% of all donations go directly to PayBack grant recipients. They feel a connection with the charity as the company share the details of where all of the donations go to. The company help local disabled and disadvantaged children! Colleagues are always thinking of bigger, better and more unusual ways of raising funds. In 2015 the company participated in 3 Tough Mudder events, 2 10k runs, a half marathon, Adare to Survive, a 12 hour Boogie4PayBack as well as the more usual cake bakes, small change donations and more. MacMillan Coffee Morning as well as supporting PayBack, Ceridian also supports a number of nationally recognised charitable events. Each year the offices bake cakes for MacMillan coffee morning, with all donations going to this worthy cause.

Communication Day On the first Wednesday of each month the company hold “communications day”, led on each site by Senior Managers, these sessions are held to ensure all colleagues are fully aware of the Company's performance, are up to date with the latest projects and most importantly have the opportunity to ask any questions they may have and give timely feedback. Technology Roadshow, the technology division is diverse, both in terms of roles and geography. As such they hold bi-annual technology roadshows, giving members of the team an opportunity to hear about what all the areas have been working on, what the focus for the future is, demo new products, hear from subject matter experts, but also have the opportunity to network with their peers face to face. Fun@Work and PayBack The company is enthusiastic about colleagues enjoying their time at work – they do lots of things to encourage teamwork and teamplay, including sport days, Halloween fancy dress and even a 50th birthday party.

Small, simple changes to lifestyle in the workplace and at home represent a huge opportunity to reduce sickness absence and related costs, improve performance, increase engagement and attract top talent therefore The company endeavour to support their employee's health and wellbeing in a number of ways - encompassing physical, emotional and financial wellbeing: Working Parent Support includes savings on childcare through salary sacrifice as well as Advantages and Parent Hub through Eden Red which is a combination of household expenditure savings and an online resource of information and advice on all things parenting. "MyWorkOffers" helps staff fend off the stress of financial pressures through thousands of savings on household expenditure. Ride to Work Scheme which has health, environmental and financial benefits for all employees who wish to enter the scheme. Eye care Vouchers offer eye health support as well as a tool for managing expenses efficiently. Quite Smoking, the company are also looking at initiatives to help staff quite smoking. ‘Lunchtime learning' sessions encourage employees to participate in their office weekly session which is geared around learning a new skills, a language, or fitness etc. One of the company's goals for 2016 is to invest in wellbeing programme for staff whereby they can teach them how to lead a healthier lifestyle and promote wellbeing within their lives personally and at work.

The company doesn't have any community initiatives in place however via their chosen charity CRASH they provide support to their projects through provision of pro bono professional expertise and fundraising. Corporate Social Responsibility is extremely important to the business and their employees and they have found that one of the greatest benefits of promoting social responsibility in the workplace is the positive environment it has created for their employees. This has led to enthusiastic employees who are engaged in their jobs and has built a sense of community and teamwork which brings everyone together. As a result the company are always seeking innovative and effective ways for their employees to give back to the local and wider community.

Details on intranet of various events - bacon butties last week, Movember etc. All details of various events are on the staff intranet, recently the company took part in Movember, had charity donations for bacon baps to raise money for a local lady for cancer treatment in America,they also took part in the NSPCC HACK in the Mourne mountains and sponsored a local primary schools 10k fun run to name a few.

The company Values Do it Right, Do it Safe, Do it Now. This underpins every decision that is taken in the organisation. This has assisted greatly in the recruitment of new people as it allows the company to qualify applicants based on the cultural fit within the organisation. It also provides a mechanism for the management of existing CDE people and defining what they expect. Commitment to Innovation & the Environment the values say we will continually developing world beating products through innovation and will protect the environment. CDE Global was the first company in Northern Ireland to be accepted onto the Eco-Innovation programme from the EU. This programme supports the development of environmental technologies that have been successful in one EU member state but as yet have not achieved widespread adoption across the EU. Diverse company culture: The company values state they should never be satisfied with the status quo. As recently as 3 years ago English was the first language of everyone in the company. There are now 11 different languages spoken in the office on a daily basis. The company's Health & Safety Culture values state that they keep themselves and others safe. Following a recent HSE inspection the report commented on how Health & Safety was part of the culture in our organisation. Following the HSE inspection the company has joined a group of only 5 companies in Northern Ireland who have achieved the highest Health & Safety standards.

CBS Butler take part in various company sponsored health related charitable endeavours including: London 2 Brighton and a football tournament. Celebration and fun are very much at the fore and CBS Butler hold regular events throughout the year to cater for everyone's preferences, including a variety of luxury experiences and great team building events. For example, the company hired Kensington Roof Gardens for a company-wide party, organised a river cruiser down the Solent with accompanying jet skis, arranged a weekend in Dublin and host an annual race day at Sandown Park.

CBS Butler take part in various company sponsored health related charitable endeavours including: London 2 Brighton and a football tournament. Celebration and fun are very much at the fore and CBS Butler hold regular events throughout the year to cater for everyone's preferences, including a variety of luxury experiences and great team building events. For example, the company hired Kensington Roof Gardens for a company-wide party, organised a river cruiser down the Solent with accompanying jet skis, arranged a weekend in Dublin and host an annual race day at Sandown Park.

Through a process of engaging with staff the company have developed a simple set of values that all Caritas employees are committed to. To maintain their personalised quality service to candidates and clients. To build a compliant business they can be proud of . To make Caritas a great place to work. Quality Service: The Senior Management Team each take responsibility for a particular area of the business and act as a Champion to ensure the company is delivering a quality service. These responsibilities include: - Candidate Care - Service to Managed Service Providers - Service to Direct Clients - New Business Development a Compliant Business: As a Social Care specialist recruiter this is crucial to the as a management team. The company have a strict policy that all managers uphold to prioritise safeguarding over profit. As such they strictly enforce their compliance rules and auditing process that ensures that all workers are fully vetted prior to being allowed commences an assignment. This includes a pre-placement audit by the head of compliance. A Great Place to Work: The senior management team are all committed to this principle as it is why they founded/joined Caritas themselves. They understand the value of happy workforce and ensure that they strike the right balance between fun and core work activities, between business rules and empathy for individual circumstances.

Caritas take the training & development of all staff seriously and recognise not only the benefit to the company, but the benefit to the employees themselves and how valued they feel by the business. Critical to identifying any areas requiring further development, each new starter has a monthly meeting for the first 6 months with their line Manager and their Director. These meetings are essential to monitor performance in line with expectations (new starter KPIs), and to identify any areas where an individual may need further support and/or training. Following a successful six month / probation review meeting, team members have a quarterly appraisal with these individuals in order to focus on achievements and to ascertain future goals and the training plan to underpin their appropriate career path. Underpinning these meetings, are weekly one-2-one meetings with line Managers, again with a view to identifying any training support needs. The company have an annual timetable detailing training courses for all staff for the year ahead, delivered by the in-house trainer, with follow up sessions including role play and refresher scenarios. In addition to the identification of staff training needs through regular one-2-ones and appraisals, the company use regular surveys to request opinions from their customers on their experience, so they can tailor their service offerings at a company level and gauge areas for development at a business level.

As a carers' charity, the organisation have made particular efforts to ensure the wellbeing of carers that they employ. They have developed, in consultation with staff, a policy that sets out how they will support the carers that they employ – including up to 5 days paid leave in any 12 month period if needed to deal with caring responsibilities. Carers Trust are also very open to requests to work flexibly / change working hours temporarily or permanently in order to help staff to cope with their caring responsibilities. These types of approaches are particularly important as carers are often under a great deal of pressure outside of work. They also have a regular feature in their monthly staff newsletter on various aspects of health and wellbeing - for example on topics such as back pain.

As a carers' charity, the organisation have made particular efforts to ensure the wellbeing of carers that they employ. They have developed, in consultation with staff, a policy that sets out how they will support the carers that they employ – including up to 5 days paid leave in any 12 month period if needed to deal with caring responsibilities. Carers Trust are also very open to requests to work flexibly / change working hours temporarily or permanently in order to help staff to cope with their caring responsibilities. These types of approaches are particularly important as carers are often under a great deal of pressure outside of work. They also have a regular feature in their monthly staff newsletter on various aspects of health and wellbeing - for example on topics such as back pain.

This year, the company have heavily invested in people's development, so much so that they have doubled their investment in training from last year. Throughout the year they have hosted numerous activities, including: Creativity Week: a week dedicated to getting people's creative juices flowing. Activities included; ballet lessons, Bollywood dance classes, rock choir, improv workshops, a DJ session and talk with Tim Westwood, and much more. Big Dig: a calendar of weekly sessions that allowed everyone to dig into their products and services following some feedback from the quarterly company meeting where they found, on the whole, people didn't have as much knowledge as they'd like to of the various products and services that exist within the Dentsu Aegis Network, and how they all knit together. Wellness Month: an entire month dedicated to wellness activities and inspirational talks to promote the importance of wellbeing. Activities included; boot camp, meditation classes, running clubs, personal trainer sessions, and various healthy mind and body talks throughout the month. PAC: The Company sent their top talent new to the industry for this 3 day highly regarded residential course. It involved working on a live brief for an international client, with the aim of driving debate and discussion whilst developing a deeper understanding of the advertising process.

The leadership team regularly engage in a huddle to talk through business performance, highlight any concerns, and share important updates with one another. They are always very collaborative in their approach, and role model exemplar behaviours in the way they manage and lead the business. They each individually attend team huddles on a regular basis to understand how the teams are performing, listen to their concerns, and provide support and guidance where needed. The leadership team also always dedicate time for an FAQs session at the quarterly Company meeting, On The Horizon as an opportunity for employees to ask questions and voice their ideas or opinions. The culture is very inclusive, and this is driven by the leadership team.

The company have a healthy working lives group led by staff for staff. This group runs information campaigns and events throughout the year and has, for example, led to a member of staff discovering undiagnosed diabetes.

The company have a healthy working lives group led by staff for staff. This group runs information campaigns and events throughout the year and has, for example, led to a member of staff discovering undiagnosed diabetes.

Every quarter the company aim to hold a company-wide activity, BeSocial, which is a way for employees to interact and bond outside of the work environment. The activity is chosen by employees and the company will provide funding for this. BeSocials engage employees and create a positive team spirit throughout the company. For any new employees, the company contributes £20 towards their first lunch – by doing this they are encouraging the new employee to engage with their new team and help them to feel welcome. Every Friday afternoon, the company hosts nibbles and drinks to finish off the week. It allows employees to feel relaxed after their hard work, and also a way for the directors to personally say thank you.

Every quarter the company aim to hold a company-wide activity, BeSocial, which is a way for employees to interact and bond outside of the work environment. The activity is chosen by employees and the company will provide funding for this. BeSocials engage employees and create a positive team spirit throughout the company. For any new employees, the company contributes £20 towards their first lunch – by doing this they are encouraging the new employee to engage with their new team and help them to feel welcome. Every Friday afternoon, the company hosts nibbles and drinks to finish off the week. It allows employees to feel relaxed after their hard work, and also a way for the directors to personally say thank you.

In circumstances where individuals contribute something exceptional that adds value to the success of the business they will be rewarded with an 'on the spot bonus'. The bonus is paid as and when performance is recognised and staff will be told of their achievement by a Director and receive written confirmation of the bonus. It is an effective way of demonstrating to staff that they are valued and that their efforts are recognised at the highest level. It is high impact because it rewards success immediately as opposed to it being recognised through an annual bonus scheme which could be up to 12 months later when with the passage of time it runs the risk of being perceived as less of an achievement. Examples of where 'on the spot' bonuses have been paid in the last 12 months are for: extremely positive client feedback on a high profile project, successful delivery of an internal IT based project within a tight time frame, for hard work and commitment in securing a new client and project when this is not typical for the job level. This type of bonus is in addition to the formal profit share and bonus schemes operated by the company where 60% of pre tax profits are distributed annually to staff through a variety of profit share and bonus schemes.

In circumstances where individuals contribute something exceptional that adds value to the success of the business they will be rewarded with an 'on the spot bonus'. The bonus is paid as and when performance is recognised and staff will be told of their achievement by a Director and receive written confirmation of the bonus. It is an effective way of demonstrating to staff that they are valued and that their efforts are recognised at the highest level. It is high impact because it rewards success immediately as opposed to it being recognised through an annual bonus scheme which could be up to 12 months later when with the passage of time it runs the risk of being perceived as less of an achievement. Examples of where 'on the spot' bonuses have been paid in the last 12 months are for: extremely positive client feedback on a high profile project, successful delivery of an internal IT based project within a tight time frame, for hard work and commitment in securing a new client and project when this is not typical for the job level. This type of bonus is in addition to the formal profit share and bonus schemes operated by the company where 60% of pre tax profits are distributed annually to staff through a variety of profit share and bonus schemes.

They hold annual Health & Wellbeing events, where colleagues can access a variety of services and information relating to their personnel health and wellbeing. These are very popular in the company, and are well attended and supported events. Amongst the things that are accessible to staff are head & neck Massages, advice on quitting smoking, advice on weight loss, taster sessions of sports and activities, advice and samples of healthy food, sight and hearing tests, help and advice on personal safety, help and advice on motoring/driver safety, blood pressure checks, access to help and advice on men's and women's health issues and many more depending on colleague requests, and relevant topics. As a result of their various activities on Wellbeing they were awarded a special recognition from Investors in People.

They work closely with other organisations to make their community engagement more meaningful, and frequently get involved in their activities and fundraising, from a financial and practical point of view. Where they have most success though is where they provide time and resources to help community organisations, who would otherwise not have access to such facilities. The MD donates a lot of his own time in a unique way, he is regularly approached to make speeches and presentations for business events. Their Infrastructure & Shared Services Director is Chair of the Pride of Tameside Business Awards and a member of the local Authorities Prosperous Board which is about sharing the resources and knowledge of a large employer in the local region with smaller businesses, to generate growth and investment in the local community.

Brookfield Rose is very passionate about giving back to the community and supporting charitable causes, and as a result they set up the Brookfield Rose Trust earlier this year, to support young people and provide them with the opportunity to learn new skills, with the aim to help them realise their potential. The Brookfield Rose group has donated and supported lots of charitable activities over the years. Every company within the group donates a percentage of its annual profits to support The Brookfield Rose Trust. In addition to this, they participate in other annual events such as Children in Need, MacMillan's World's Biggest Coffee Morning and Red Nose Day.

Many of our staff have worked as recruiters in previous roles, they believe that as a business, they have strong enough networks to recruit to internal vacancies without using agencies. In the last year they re-invigorated their 'Refer a Friend' scheme to offer a generous referral fee for successful referrals, offering £1,000, £2,000 or £3,000 gross dependent on the starting salary of the individual referred. This is payable on successful completion of 3 months service by the new joiner. Additionally, the referrer is entitled to a meal out for 2 on the company at the time the individual joins. The rationale for this is that the cost of the referral fee is outweighed by the savings on agency costs. This has proved to be their most successful means of recruitment this year, with around 17 successful referrals ranging from apprentices to general managers. Staff are clearly motivated to refer as we have a regular supply of candidates coming through this scheme.

They hold a weekly trade meeting where all colleagues from head office and the distribution centre are invited. These are a great way to ensure all colleagues have the opportunity to receive key information directly from the leaders. They are also a great forum to share, and celebrate, successes for example the great charity work colleagues do and contribute to. They also ensure colleagues hear about great new developments in the business, for example new store openings. Key messages are then cascaded to store colleagues via a weekly ‘Trading Post.' This enables Bonmarche to share information with as many people across the company as possible. Annual roadshows are run across the country and include as many of their Colleagues as possible. The 2015 Roadshows were titled ‘Road to Success' and focused on values, strategy, branding and new product development. The aim of the roadshows are to bring colleagues together, share key information, welcome feedback directly from them and have some fun!

The company offers personal coaching utilising an external coach to develop senior managers - Management Development Coach. This programme supports and develops new managers and assistant managers in stores to deliver in their roles through using existing managers as management development coaches combined with a structured training plan.

L&D programmes include: Trusted Advisor (which challenges assumptions they should come up with the right answer in order to build trust with others); Persuasive Communication (challenges a natural reliance on PowerPoint heavy presenting, to instead present in a meaningful, memorable and enjoyable way to the audience); and Coaching Conversations equipping employees with valuable questioning and listening skills so that clients can fully explore their business issues in a supportive way. They also have a programme that aims to equip consultants to feel confident to talk externally about their skills and experience. Shortlisted for CIPD Award Best L&D Initiative, 'Go to Expert' enables individuals to embrace the opportunity to share their expertise, whilst remaining authentic and to think differently about the world of sales - understanding the different stages of the buying cycle, recognising that every conversation is, in some way, a sales conversation and to be viewed as ‘Go to Experts' in their field and effectively equip them to position themselves externally in this way. This programme contributed to achieving ambitious growth targets. Furthermore, they have seen a step change in the way their consultant's position themselves to clients with a greater emphasis on how they help businesses in their terms.

At their full & half year meetings the company awards to those employees that have gone above and beyond the call of duty. They open up nominations for the entire company to be eligible to nominate a peer for an award. The award can be given for any achievement or behaviour that the employee sees as valuable. The whole company is welcomed to attend the event. They have a “peer to peer shout-out” scheme to enable employees to recognise each other. All employees can be recognised, it is a good way to say “thank you”. Every employee has 7 virtual doughnuts per month to give away and at the end of the month they reward the person who has received the most doughnuts (with a box of doughnuts).

Blandy & Blandy LLP have introduced adjustable desks that rise up and down for those who request them, usually due to health reasons. These desks can be lowered or raised subject to the employees comfort and requirements. It is possible to stand and work if desired. All employees take an on line assessment to ensure they are sitting at their desk correctly and comfortably able to use their keyboard and computer

The company host an annual quiz inviting many businesses in Reading to take part which is increasing in popularity year on year. They take part in the annual ‘Legal Walk' in Reading along with other organisations that have an interest in the law. Blandy & Blandy also submit an annual team to the town's ‘Pancake Race'. Their probate team participate in many initiatives including ‘Dementia Friends' and recently in a Reading event organised for supporting older people. The last Friday of the month is a MUFTI day with employees donating £1 to wear more casual clothing. In addition to this the company have a Christmas jumper day, Jeans for Genes and have a toy collection for Helen and Douglas House hospices.

Blackbaud Europe run a separate calendar of management and leadership training which is available to both their current management population and also the ‘emerging leaders' as identified throughout the course of the year as a part of their succession planning and coaching work. The annual calendar of events includes 2 offsite meetings throughout the year which enable the managers to benefit from leadership training and development which doesn't focus solely on operational tasks but allows for personal development in tandem. In addition to this the company run a programme of workshops throughout the year aimed at the management team which include recruitment training, employee relations and legislation training as well as a series of performance management training courses.

Being an international company with offices all over the globe, Blackbaud are lucky to be able to offer their employees ‘international placements' as rewards for outstanding performances. It is not unusual for them to have colleagues from their Charleston, Sydney and Brisbane offices doing regular stints in London and vice versa. The company find that this not only fulfils lifetime ambitions for their employee's but it is also a great way of intercompany skill and knowledge sharing.

The values of the firm are integrated into everything they do and the senior management team lead by example. The partners see the values as paramount to the success of BKL. The partners were instrumental to the values launch at Chickenshed; and actively continued discussions about the values through follow-up sessions with team members. The values form a fundamental part of how BKL interview, recruit and select new team members; their induction process involves a partner providing an introduction to their values to all new team members. In the PDR appraisal process, values are integral to setting targets. They also use them in their competency profiles and how they measure behaviours. Partners regularly nominate team members for exemplifying the values of the practice and encourage others within the firm to nominate colleagues. The values are highlighted in the company regular communication sessions - ‘From the Horse's Mouth', to which all team members are invited. They are used in a wide variety of communications within the firm, such as articles in their newsletter, often produced by senior management. Even their tea and coffee mugs help remind them of their values, as well as the art work in the boardrooms, signage in the stairways and BKL stationery. Key decisions for the practice are always made using the values. When faced with difficult decisions on how to proceed, the partners use the values as a framework for deciding on the best possible options for the firm and encourage team-members to do the same

BKL want team-members to develop their careers and progress at the firm. The company take pride in being a meritocracy. They have a dedicated talent team, creating clear job descriptions, competency frameworks and targets so team-members receive frequent, useful, on-going feedback. They use a range of tools such as team appraisals, regular reviews and 360 feedbacks to ensure the team get the right level of support. BKL encourage team-members to track their own development and give them the tools to do this, such as work/training passports. Passports help trainees understand expectations for work and training opportunities they have whilst studying with BKL and follow on into qualifications. This provides a detailed plan of what training they should receive and when, the type of work they will be exposed to and responsibilities they will take on. The passports are reviewed on a regular basis with the HR team to ensure each individual's development is kept on-track. This is integrated into their appraisal (PDR) system and is a valuable tool for setting targets. For trainees, they provide full study support, including paid time off throughout their training contract, through highly-regarded study providers. Team-members have access to a wide range of training and development opportunities, including external professional qualification courses, practical skills, management training and CPD level training. There are regular internal programs like Induction sessions, Tax seminars (run by their award-winning Tax team), audit master-classes, IT skills and personal development sessions. All new team-members are assigned a buddy to help support them.

The company has bespoke one-on-one management training, tailored to the needs, experience and skills of each individual manager. As well as looking at the fundamentals of good management technique and practical skills, the training covers the psychology of different management styles, and focuses on fostering emotionally intelligent, open, positive relationships between manager and direct report. Managers are free to be creative, and capable of motivating and supporting their direct reports in a variety of ways. They run a People Manager Development Workshop called ‘Balance Management' which runs over the course of the year. This is mandatory training that all managers attend. The course focuses on people management foundations, being malleable, managing self & others confidently, handling challenging contexts and developing & inspiring.

The company has bespoke one-on-one management training, tailored to the needs, experience and skills of each individual manager. As well as looking at the fundamentals of good management technique and practical skills, the training covers the psychology of different management styles, and focuses on fostering emotionally intelligent, open, positive relationships between manager and direct report. Managers are free to be creative, and capable of motivating and supporting their direct reports in a variety of ways. They run a People Manager Development Workshop called ‘Balance Management' which runs over the course of the year. This is mandatory training that all managers attend. The course focuses on people management foundations, being malleable, managing self & others confidently, handling challenging contexts and developing & inspiring.

At Bindmans, the business plan has recently been updated for the next 3 years and presented to all their colleagues. There is also a competition for colleagues to describe 'Bindmans in a nutshell', there is a prize for the best catchy phrase that can be used to describe and market the firm.Also, a welcome pack is sent in advance of a new employee's start date that has details of facilities around the firm's location (lunch time venues, dry cleaners etc.), key policies and an introduction to the firm with the induction schedule. New starters have a full day of induction with follow up sessions. There is an organisation chart with photos. New starters are also introduced around the firm.

At Bindmans, the business plan has recently been updated for the next 3 years and presented to all their colleagues. There is also a competition for colleagues to describe 'Bindmans in a nutshell', there is a prize for the best catchy phrase that can be used to describe and market the firm.Also, a welcome pack is sent in advance of a new employee's start date that has details of facilities around the firm's location (lunch time venues, dry cleaners etc.), key policies and an introduction to the firm with the induction schedule. New starters have a full day of induction with follow up sessions. There is an organisation chart with photos. New starters are also introduced around the firm.

Charity Initiatives Berneslai Ramblers sponsored challenges. Food Bank. Strictly Fantasy League (latest initiative to raise money and have fun networking across the company). Community Initiatives. Proud Tenant taken up as the theme for National Housing Day November 2015. Camper van tour round the borough asking tenants to tell the company why they're proud to be a tenant, counteract negative media portrayal of social housing. Ambition Barnsley – event to reach young people, promote apprenticeships and work experience with a stall and activities designed by construction apprentices. Greenacre School – spent half a day with local young people with physical and learning disabilities delivering employability skills and enrichment activities. Teen Tech – national scheme to encourage young people into IT and engineering roles which they support in the region. Funding Pots – Young Persons' Funding Pot, Community Chest, and Diversity Community Grants aimed at local groups who bid for funding for their projects and events including healthy eating, allotments, computer classes, Gay Pride. CEO is non-executive Director of Barnsley Enterprise Living Well. They are key partners in the Dementia Alliance, some employees are trained as Dementia Champions, promoting dementia friendly communities in Barnsley.

Charity Initiatives Berneslai Ramblers sponsored challenges. Food Bank. Strictly Fantasy League (latest initiative to raise money and have fun networking across the company). Community Initiatives. Proud Tenant taken up as the theme for National Housing Day November 2015. Camper van tour round the borough asking tenants to tell the company why they're proud to be a tenant, counteract negative media portrayal of social housing. Ambition Barnsley – event to reach young people, promote apprenticeships and work experience with a stall and activities designed by construction apprentices. Greenacre School – spent half a day with local young people with physical and learning disabilities delivering employability skills and enrichment activities. Teen Tech – national scheme to encourage young people into IT and engineering roles which they support in the region. Funding Pots – Young Persons' Funding Pot, Community Chest, and Diversity Community Grants aimed at local groups who bid for funding for their projects and events including healthy eating, allotments, computer classes, Gay Pride. CEO is non-executive Director of Barnsley Enterprise Living Well. They are key partners in the Dementia Alliance, some employees are trained as Dementia Champions, promoting dementia friendly communities in Barnsley.

The company's quarterly offsite meetings are a time to relax and raise consciousness about the fantastic company they are all part of. Over the many years of running QRMs they have experienced a wide range of activities varying from making James Bond films in the grounds of luxury hotels including an evening Oscar ceremony, Watersports, Boat Trips along the Thames, trips to Marbella, Longleat, etc. This is a unique opportunity, within working hours, for staff to interact and communicate outside of the confines of the workplace.

The company's quarterly offsite meetings are a time to relax and raise consciousness about the fantastic company they are all part of. Over the many years of running QRMs they have experienced a wide range of activities varying from making James Bond films in the grounds of luxury hotels including an evening Oscar ceremony, Watersports, Boat Trips along the Thames, trips to Marbella, Longleat, etc. This is a unique opportunity, within working hours, for staff to interact and communicate outside of the confines of the workplace.

As part of their 'Working Together at Bedell' project the company really wanted to encourage positive team work amongst employees. They therefore joined forces with a consulting organisation who offered Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI). SDI is a self-assessment tool that helps people understand what gives them a sense of self-worth and what's important to them when relating to others. It provides a snapshot of who we are, promotes common sense concepts in a visual manner, demonstrates the unique way we each value and prioritise different strengths and how we take different approaches and interpret the actions of others. Each employee completed the questionnaire, and team workshops were organised to analyse the results and talk through what the SDI was all about. All of these workshops have now been completed and the response and feedback has been extremely positive. Throughout the process of SDI it has really helped employees to connect, really talking and listening to each other, thus working together as a team.

As part of their 'Working Together at Bedell' project the company really wanted to encourage positive team work amongst employees. They therefore joined forces with a consulting organisation who offered Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI). SDI is a self-assessment tool that helps people understand what gives them a sense of self-worth and what's important to them when relating to others. It provides a snapshot of who we are, promotes common sense concepts in a visual manner, demonstrates the unique way we each value and prioritise different strengths and how we take different approaches and interpret the actions of others. Each employee completed the questionnaire, and team workshops were organised to analyse the results and talk through what the SDI was all about. All of these workshops have now been completed and the response and feedback has been extremely positive. Throughout the process of SDI it has really helped employees to connect, really talking and listening to each other, thus working together as a team.

The team are true leaders of innovation in changing the way vets work, and continue to lead and inspire the team with how vets use ultrasound. The senior team have developed values that deliver more than simply financial rewards - if they look after the long-term relationship with their customers and continue to add value, then the revenue will follow. Learning is a value of the company, not only through the training of their customers but through commitment to development of BCF employees. Such is the commitment to drive this learning through the business, the Directors employed a Learning & Development Manager six years ago to ensure this happens and further staff development opportunities are encouraged where staff have cross developed, e.g. an IT Engineer becoming Service Manager and a UK Account Manager becoming the MD of their Indian business. The Directors are all extremely approachable to everyone at BCF and take a real interest in the lives of those who work with them.

Dragons Glen is an event created by the Scottish Charity, Children First. Teams are provided with a small fund and challenged to create a business and within 6 months return as much money as possible. Two teams from BCF entered and their Managing Director also contributed by being a Dragon for another team. One BCF team created a company making and selling T-shirts and the other team created, manufactured and sold a board game, 'Escape the Jungle'. They managed to raise over £7,000 for the charity and won awards for the Most Innovative Idea and Most Future Promise. Head office have been involved in helping to create a better environment for some children locally. A local after school club was in desperate need of some care and attention and staff worked for two days painting the entire building. Additionally they donated £700 from their BCF Foundation charity to help with equipment. For the past five years they have supported a group of equipine vets, all keen on motorcycling. They deliver educational talks to raise funds for charities. The company has hosted the Scottish leg of their UK and Ireland tour and donated a brand new x-ray system worth over £17,000 which will be used at the Gambia Horse and Donkey trust. They also sponsor the Vet Charity Challenge, helping raise over £100,000 for animal based charities.

By engaging in the best companies survey process it has demonstrated that engagement is on the strategic agenda for the business. The focus is on receiving employee feedback and acting on it, rather than on the score they receive. An employer branding initiative has been launched by the company.

By engaging in the best companies survey process it has demonstrated that engagement is on the strategic agenda for the business. The focus is on receiving employee feedback and acting on it, rather than on the score they receive. An employer branding initiative has been launched by the company.

Banks Sadler actively encourages cross company collaboration, across teams, offices and countries. All new starters have a BIG - Banks Induction Guide. The BIG usually takes the new starter to lunch on their first day and is around to help them integrate into Banks Sadler during the first few weeks. All new employees also have a lunch with the CEO. They actively encourage new employees to join in with Friday socials or quarterly social committee activities to try to engage them with other teams. They also arrange various new start initiatives, to encourage team interaction. One such past event was a speed dating style networking in the canteen over pizza, with set questions to get people talking to other new and existing employees from across the organisation. As an Event Management agency, they regularly have opportunities for all staff to help on site at events. This not only enables them to develop professionally, but also gives them the opportunity to work with other teams. Apart from the social committee, they also have a charity committee and various focus groups, that regularly work together

Banks Sadler actively encourages cross company collaboration, across teams, offices and countries. All new starters have a BIG - Banks Induction Guide. The BIG usually takes the new starter to lunch on their first day and is around to help them integrate into Banks Sadler during the first few weeks. All new employees also have a lunch with the CEO. They actively encourage new employees to join in with Friday socials or quarterly social committee activities to try to engage them with other teams. They also arrange various new start initiatives, to encourage team interaction. One such past event was a speed dating style networking in the canteen over pizza, with set questions to get people talking to other new and existing employees from across the organisation. As an Event Management agency, they regularly have opportunities for all staff to help on site at events. This not only enables them to develop professionally, but also gives them the opportunity to work with other teams. Apart from the social committee, they also have a charity committee and various focus groups, that regularly work together

The Avecto induction process takes place over a week. All employees go through this process regardless of role or experience. The induction process includes presentations from every department in the business so all new staff have a thorough understanding of the company. Their employees are cut from the same cloth: hard-working, passionate and driven individuals.

They have a dedicated training budget open to all employees to develop their careers. Progression plans are put in place, allowing all employees to monitor and track their development in their role. Quarterly and annual appraisals are offered to all staff as well as 360 feedback sessions with an independent, external representative. In addition to this, all employees are encouraged to take part in internal training sessions, from Social Media Academy classes, to French Club, Code Club and professional masterclass sessions in PowerPoint and Excel. Managers are also encouraged to participate in management training courses to help them progress their careers and develop stronger people skills.

The company offers a range of learning and development opportunities. At the early stages they contribute between 80 - 100% of the cost of formal qualifications and provide time off for study, as well as making studio facilities available for colleagues and their fellow students. For mid-level colleagues they offer many opportunities to get involved in the day to day activity of practice life, to gain experience, tap into creativity, and to build knowledge through sharing activities. Activities range from weekly CPD events, evening master classes with external experts, team presentations, external led training workshops, and many different fun design competitions. They run surveys asking colleagues to select the topics and areas that they are interested in learning more about and programmes are created from there to included voice coaching, presentation skills master classes, time management sessions, and leadership training. All of these are developed in tandem with the strategic business plan for the UK each year. Most training is open to all colleagues, however there are a few initiatives which are aimed at certain groups or individuals according to skill level or role within the company. Management and leadership training for example is a perfect example of this whereby learning the ropes of people management and team leadership is important to certain colleagues and not others, depending on the stage they are at within their careers.

The company offers a range of learning and development opportunities. At the early stages they contribute between 80 - 100% of the cost of formal qualifications and provide time off for study, as well as making studio facilities available for colleagues and their fellow students. For mid-level colleagues they offer many opportunities to get involved in the day to day activity of practice life, to gain experience, tap into creativity, and to build knowledge through sharing activities. Activities range from weekly CPD events, evening master classes with external experts, team presentations, external led training workshops, and many different fun design competitions. They run surveys asking colleagues to select the topics and areas that they are interested in learning more about and programmes are created from there to included voice coaching, presentation skills master classes, time management sessions, and leadership training. All of these are developed in tandem with the strategic business plan for the UK each year. Most training is open to all colleagues, however there are a few initiatives which are aimed at certain groups or individuals according to skill level or role within the company. Management and leadership training for example is a perfect example of this whereby learning the ropes of people management and team leadership is important to certain colleagues and not others, depending on the stage they are at within their careers.

Our mission and vision is communicated via our Induction Process for new starters, via the Staff Update twice a year and it is displayed on notice boards. Success is measured via KPIs.

Our mission and vision is communicated via our Induction Process for new starters, via the Staff Update twice a year and it is displayed on notice boards. Success is measured via KPIs.

Aster's internal training offer via The Academy provides a comprehensive range of short training courses that are open to all employees. Much of the training is delivered by Internal Trainers. They have at least 40 active trainers at any one time. They support this group by providing the necessary skills training. In addition their team of internal coaches are there to provide coaching to any individual that requires it. This team went through rigorous selection and training and keep their skills up to date. This year 38 individuals have had coaching sessions. The company have run mentoring workshops and provide a mentor/mentee workbook for those that wish to pursue a mentoring relationship. Their internal L&D team are available to support team development needs across the business, and last year supported 35 team events, by either facilitating events or advising managers on options. This kind of support is critical for a business such as Aster's where there have been large-scale changes to teams and ways of working. The L&D team have access to a range of tools to support these kind of events, such as Belbins Self-Perception Inventory and Insights Colour model. Their annual apprentice programme allows them to bring up to 12 young people into the business each year. They work with managers to make sure their skills are retained by the business. This programme has been running since 2010 and is now well-embedded into what they do.

Aster's internal training offer via The Academy provides a comprehensive range of short training courses that are open to all employees. Much of the training is delivered by Internal Trainers. They have at least 40 active trainers at any one time. They support this group by providing the necessary skills training. In addition their team of internal coaches are there to provide coaching to any individual that requires it. This team went through rigorous selection and training and keep their skills up to date. This year 38 individuals have had coaching sessions. The company have run mentoring workshops and provide a mentor/mentee workbook for those that wish to pursue a mentoring relationship. Their internal L&D team are available to support team development needs across the business, and last year supported 35 team events, by either facilitating events or advising managers on options. This kind of support is critical for a business such as Aster's where there have been large-scale changes to teams and ways of working. The L&D team have access to a range of tools to support these kind of events, such as Belbins Self-Perception Inventory and Insights Colour model. Their annual apprentice programme allows them to bring up to 12 young people into the business each year. They work with managers to make sure their skills are retained by the business. This programme has been running since 2010 and is now well-embedded into what they do.