What are companies doing with regards to 'My Company'

The business at Saville has several initiatives in place to support the wellbeing of employees. The single greatest impact has been the move from a small, crowded office to a larger office space which includes: - Onsite access to a gym which any employee can use free of charge - 9 hole pitch and putt - Swimming pool - Tennis court - Subsidised restaurant - Easy access to public transport. This working environment encourages employees to take a proper lunch break where they are able to eat healthy food and sit and chat with colleagues in a convivial environment. The emphasis on space and the ability to take part in sport and exercise during the week has made a big difference.

The business at Saville has several initiatives in place to support the wellbeing of employees. The single greatest impact has been the move from a small, crowded office to a larger office space which includes: - Onsite access to a gym which any employee can use free of charge - 9 hole pitch and putt - Swimming pool - Tennis court - Subsidised restaurant - Easy access to public transport. This working environment encourages employees to take a proper lunch break where they are able to eat healthy food and sit and chat with colleagues in a convivial environment. The emphasis on space and the ability to take part in sport and exercise during the week has made a big difference.

SAS is committed to enhancing individual, team and organisational effectiveness in order to help SAS UK accomplish strategic goals. Providing access to cost effective, high-quality learning programs, resources and services tailored to the needs and requirements of the organisation. The aim is to encourage a culture of learning and knowledge sharing that supports the aspirations of employees and the organisation. There is support and guidance available to help employees and team take ownership of their own development. There is not an open programme of courses if the employee or team require anything from technical to soft skills, personal development to business skills, support and guidance is available and provided using the most suitable learning interventions.

SAS UK actively uses the findings from the Best Companies to Work for survey to engage with its employees and show that it is listening to the feedback. Successful areas and those that require focus are highlighted at regular company meetings and departments focussed information is provided to managers to share with their teams. Workshops are run for departments to analyse the Best Company data for their team. An action plan for areas requiring improvement is drawn up and implemented. Focus groups were held to discuss particular areas requiring remedial action.

Managers at Retail Human Resources encourage team members to put forward ideas for social events that they are interested and run with them. One example is what has now become known as "RHR Theatre Club".

Managers at Retail Human Resources encourage team members to put forward ideas for social events that they are interested and run with them. One example is what has now become known as "RHR Theatre Club".

ResourceBank have recently established a colleague forum which is made up of five representatives from across the business. The group meets up with Richard every quarter for a relaxed discussion over a working lunch whereby any issues can be brought up and discussed openly. It is not a decision making forum but ideas are brought to it for consideration and many go on to be implemented. So far the forum has successfully suggested improvements to the induction programme, appraisals, clarity over home working and recognition for long serving colleagues.

Each member of the team at ResourceBank has a detailed job specification which clearly identifies and recognises what their role entails. This is reviewed as part of the annual appraisal process. The whole team is involved in recognising and rewarding a job well done. Each quarter nominations are sought for the elements of excellence award. Anyone in the company can nominate a colleague they feel deserves recognition for going the extra mile. All those nominated receive a £25 voucher and the winner £200.

In 2012/13 Reed Smith launched an integrated masters in business and legal practice course (LPC) unique in the sector which ensured the trainees who completed this and join us from August 2013 onwards have a deep commercial skill set and a more rounded understanding of business strategy and finance in addition to the law. Their teamwork capability – and application of the commercial knowledge - is also enhanced with a 4 week-long “client project” on a business topic of the client's choosing towards the end of their course. One trainee commented “The client project was the best learning experience I can remember having taken part in”. Their careers competency framework and annual evaluation process for lawyers, staff and secretaries has been further linked to the learning opportunities made available throughout the year. The data from the evaluations was analysed to inform what learning programmes they offered, and this resulted in a number of new programmes being developed. For example, a senior associate business development programme, delivered by an external consultant has had strong feedback throughout and is now in its second year. Building on that they are now creating a senior associate management development programme run along similar lines, plus buddy meetings and a learning log to keep track and share success and progress as a result of the learning. For staff and secretaries they have created a range of courses including confidence and assertiveness, listening and questioning skills and stakeholder management, all of which have had positive feedback. Furthermore, they are rolling out a development programme aimed specifically at managers in their support groups.

Reed Smith operate a ‘core values in action', employee of the quarter award. The employee of the quarter award is awarded to employees who demonstrate the firms core values on a consistent basis and who have shown examples of ‘above and beyond the call of duty'. Fee earners and managers may nominate employees once a quarter, and the winner receives £750 and a duvet day. There are also honourable mention awards for employees who were nominated for the employee of the quarter award but the committee decided to award them an honourable mention instead. Those winners receive £150 and a duvet day. Awards are presented at the monthly partner meetings, and winners are also highlighted on their intranet, OurSpace. They also ensure that they pay the London living wage, not only to their staff, but to all contractors in their supply chain. At partner level they also have the Shaw's Lion Award, the firm's highest individual distinction. The Shaw's Lion Award is given in recognition of a Reed Smith lawyer's significant impact on the firm. Symbolised by a 100-year-old bronze lion owned by one of the firm's founding partners, the award is given annually to the partner who, in the discretion of the global managing partner, best exemplifies the dedication, qualities and commitment to excellence at the heart of their firm. They also have the Sean Halpin Award, their highest pro bono honour. This Award, which carries with it $10,000 to be donated to one or more nonprofits selected by the winners, celebrates the spirit of service to the less fortunate that animated the life of their late Philadelphia partner, Sean Halpin. This year the award went to a diverse team who helped in the aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake.

Reaseheath College have found the annual staff survey to be a very helpful way of listening to employees and to seek their opinion on all matters relating to the College. In particular, staff felt the staff partnership forum was, in its previous guise, not as effective as it could be. This being the consensus highlighted by the survey a project was undertaken to review the structure and purpose of the Forum. The staff partnership forum is now a more formal channel for employees to give their views, raise concerns and share ideas with senior management. The results of the survey and the actions from it are shared with staff in a “You Said, We Did” format allowing staff to see how their views have been heard and acted upon.

Enabling individual success in their role is very important to Reaseheath College. To be effective, they believe individual learning must be linked back to the needs of the business. With that in mind, managers and team members work together to identify the skills and knowledge required by the role and use this combined with outcomes from individual 121's reviews and PDRs to form the basis for individual learning plans. The best example of how they support employee development in this way has been to develop a programme or learning for their teaching staff by bringing PTLLS, CTLLS and PGCE training in-house. All of their new teaching staff embark on a period of learning to gain this required qualification studying alongside colleagues in their place of work. The benefits of brining this in-house has meant the training forms a natural extension to the induction of new teaching staff and helps them to shape them to be the lecturers and instructors their students require them to be. The organisation's training budget has been developed by managers allowing teams the flexibility and autonomy to plan and arrange their own bespoke training and away days.

The family fun day provides a platform for all ReachLocal UK employees to spend a day with each other and bring along family members, where they can get to know each other on a more personal level. This promotes trust between each other and stronger working relationships and it's also a way for the company to thank the nearest and dearest of their employees from who they take so much time.

ReachLocal have regular speakers who come in and talk to their employees, most recently they had a speech on perception and how that influences the way they work. They like to encourage employees to look at how they can do things differently so that they can continue to achieve within the business.

Randstad consultants are most inspired and engagement when they can work in partnership with the leadership team; both putting their ideas forward and learning from their role models. The high performance camps channelled this, inviting feedback and acting as ambassadors for consultants. Employees' invitation to a two-day event had already created interest and heightened project awareness and engagement levels. To maximise engagement, the event was attended by Randstad UK's CEO and Randstad business support's managing director. In their employees' eyes, this really added value to the event. Firstly, it actively demonstrated how important the event was. Secondly, it gave employees direct access to senior team members in an informal, fun and inspirational environment. Mark Bull and Ruth Jacobs were actively involved in physical and mental challenges. Their people enjoyed ‘getting their hands dirty' in the team-building events alongside some of Randstad's most senior leaders.

Randstad hosts numerous team building days; these range from more formal training days to inspirational ‘directors day', which are always eagerly anticipated. In 2013, one of Randstad's most successful team building events was delivered within their Randstad Care business line. As opposed to being a tactical team building event – the bespoke and strategic event was created in direct response to external market research report and internal employee feedback. Firstly, the Randstad Care team surveyed both existing current clients and prospective clients. This gave the team valuable feedback on both business perceptions and experiences and helping identify where they were already successful and where improvements could be made. Once the findings were in place, all employees were invited to two-day events to combine the learning obtained from the research and to further build team morale and communication. The engaging agenda ranged from practical workshops to outward bound courses, culminating in a sensational and aspirational Randstad Talent evening. The event offered a superb blend of business benefits and social activation. This activity received exceptional feedback as it gave teams valuable insight into their market and gave them an opportunity to shape what the future of their business would look like. Employees recognised that in addition to the fun team-building element, this unique event also really helped them to further succeed in their jobs and supported their career development.