What are companies doing with regards to 'My Company'

Faststream are using MC3 this year and so will be using this tool to help their management team develop and improve engagement with their teams. They will prioritise improvement in their highest correlating factors and providing regular feedback and updates to the business on what they are doing to improve engagement in the business. They are creating a ‘Hub Page' on Internal Communication Portal -Yourstream, so that Best Companies and Engagement becomes an ongoing process, not just an annual event.

Faststream are using MC3 this year and so will be using this tool to help their management team develop and improve engagement with their teams. They will prioritise improvement in their highest correlating factors and providing regular feedback and updates to the business on what they are doing to improve engagement in the business. They are creating a ‘Hub Page' on Internal Communication Portal -Yourstream, so that Best Companies and Engagement becomes an ongoing process, not just an annual event.

The Leadership of Fairbanks is distinctive through its approachability and work ethic. Every member of the management team lead by example in all areas of their work and make time for employees should it be necessary on a work related or personal topic. Most members of management, at any level, attend and participate in company social events. From the Managing Directors down, all staff are known by name and made to feel valued and appreciated. The company has a ‘promote from within' attitude which motivates employees at all levels to work hard and demonstrate their dedication to the company as this will be noticed. Whilst not everyone can be promoted, events such as award dinners are offered to all staff, recognising that the company would not be what it is today without everyone playing their part.

Fairbanks cares for the well being of all its employees. In addition to encouraging a good work-life balance there are a number of staff sports groups which meet regularly. Organised and run by staff members, teams such as football, netball and the squash ladder are open to all members of Fairbanks staff along with their friends and family. These regular team sports encourage a healthy lifestyle whilst having the added bonus of developing the working rapport for staff. Fairbanks also provides various subsidised schemes for staff to take advantage of; from a pension plan, health care plan, cycle to work scheme and the provision of fresh fruit as well as office based water coolers. These schemes demonstrate to employees that the company care about their health and well being.

Encore's induction course helps to get the staff to 'buy in' to the Encore ethic at an early stage of their career covering modules like their Mission Statement, team building, company culture, the company 3 year plan and company aims and policies. This 6 day course is executed by the Directors who are able to use the time to create the teamwork mindset and pass on best practice from their combined experience of over 65 years. Encore offer Module Training/Induction Training/External Training/Management Training Acadamy. They also offer further education grants of up to £750 per person per year. The Encore Management Training Academy, developed and delivered in house by the company Directors uses the company culture to deliver industry and job related training and fast track individual learning. It's used to identify the future managers from within the business and develop new qualified members of the Management team - it is also accredited depending on modules completed and exams passed.

Encore have enlightened leaders who take a servant attitude. Their goal is to support others to achieve goals. They believe in the maxim that 'I look good if I make others look good.' They attract respect for walking the walk, they see the importance of growing people. They recognise the importance of empowering successors. Annually the MD of Encore holds branch workshops, discussing and agreeing the ENcore business plan with all staff. After this is a 'Dragons Den' suggestion scheme, for anyone to present an idea which will save the company money or improve the efficency, the idea to be outside of normal daily activity, with cash rewards for the successful ideas.

To use it as part of EducationCity's journey towards continuous improvement, together with other sources of information and feedback. They believe it will be particularly helpful to have access to the benchmarking data that will be provided after the survey has been completed. They have worked extremely hard in the last 2-3 years to become an employer of choice and apply the same excellence they use on their product, to the way they treat and develop their employees. EducationCity have won two local business awards this year, including SME of the Year for Stamford and Rutland. EducationCity view the feedback they will gain through participating in the survey as essential in helping them on the next part of their journey. They are already evaluating Investors In People as the next possible step but wish to build on what they learn through this process first. Any action taken will be set within a framework of meeting strategic need and cultural and ethical fit, together with the smart use of resources available to them.

Managers and team leaders are responsible for conducting 6 monthly reviews with their individual team. Depending on the various job roles within the business, managers or team leaders will provide evidence to support what they are discussing with the employee, for example, in the sales department they are able to produce KPI figures for each employee, these are in turn rewarded with bonus payments based on their achievements. Performance reviews set out achievable and realistic goals and objectives for the next 6 months, and both the manager and employee set agreed timescales to achieve these in. There are many opportunities for more informal feedback, both face to face, via announcements in meetings and via whole-company or departmental emails.

Duplo's building has sun scoops, air scoops, solar panels and heat pumps. Duplo International are a founder member of the Two Sides organisation. It shows that the print and paper industry is one of the only truly sustainable industries that exists.

Duplo's building has sun scoops, air scoops, solar panels and heat pumps. Duplo International are a founder member of the Two Sides organisation. It shows that the print and paper industry is one of the only truly sustainable industries that exists.

The most important thing NextiraOne does in terms of giving something back to the community is to encourage all employees to create a culture that enables and supports the taking of time to give something back. NextiraOne employees are currently involved in various projects and activities both locally and nationally in their own time and within working hours. An example of this is where NextiraOne facilitated music lessons over a series of weeks for 'novice' musicians so they could learn to play a musical instrument. The music lessons were provided by one of their employees who is also a music teacher. Each 'novice' paid a tuition fee for these lessons and this fee was donated to a local special needs school. The Company matched the fees paid by the employees who donated via this programme amounting to a total donation of £480 to the school. The money is being used by the school in order to provide music education to the pupils.

The most important thing that the NextiraOne senior management team does in terms of employee engagement is to support the Company's culture and their people. All the senior management team display the values of the Company and are concerned for their team members and their development which is illustrated in the way they operate. The Managing Director's leadership style reflects the Company's vision, mission and values. He is an excellent example and role model of the Company values that he most certainly lives and breathes. He leads the business with respect, authenticity, honesty, compassion and humility. Such a leadership style has created a special culture and environment that is built on these characteristics; that in many ways feels like a family with high levels of trust, honesty and communications. The Managing Director is very organised and efficient in how he operates which creates a very calm atmosphere. He is a very influential figure, but he is totally undemonstrative and approachable to everyone. He also recognises the importance of people at all levels and he is extremely keen to develop the employees and support ‘home grown' talent.

REWARD AND RECOGNITION SCHEME: The company run an innovative and highly popular recognition and reward scheme, which is open to all colleagues. Individuals can be nominated for doing game-changing work or going over and above their day job. Colleagues are invited to nominate people who have delivered against an element of their skills profile, which covers four core areas: delivery and innovation, craft, people and client and commercial skills. They have a monthly budget of £10,000 for the scheme and they award more than 50 people each month in the following categories: Diamond (£1000 reward), ¬Platinum (£500), Gold (£250), Silver (£100) and Bronze (£50). This is an ‘always on' scheme, which enables them to reward people all year round outside of the normal performance pay process timetable. All the winners are announced and celebrated on their internal comms platform The Insider and at their quarterly company meetings. UNICORN AWARD: Twice annually, the company give a Unicorn Award to one person in the company for doing truly exceptional work. This ties into their reward and recognition scheme, but the way they award it is very different. The company either offers a large cash award or something a little more special and unique to that person. For example they gave one person a week off work and paid for them to do a creative writing course. This prize was reflective of their passion for writing, and was something they would never have been able to do given the busy job they have. They also enabled one team member to fulfil a lifelong dream by going to America on a road trip.

The company have created a unique culture capable of supporting diverse talent. They call their collaborative way of working blending, and it's central to everything they do – allowing them to take ideas from strategy and concept to launch and evaluation as quickly and effectively as possible. Whether in a single room or across their 40 offices worldwide, blending lets them cast the right people for the challenge. Their approach embraces the creative tension between left brain and right brain. They believe that when they combine data and storytelling – when mathematicians and poets join forces – they get more powerful results. They have designed their offices to enable this collaborative way of working, with open-plan seating (no offices for senior management), flexible spaces, hot-desking and lots of informal areas for meetings.

DeepOcean provides very competitive salaries for a company in the North East of England. DeepOcean also provides employees with teambuilding events and branded merchandise such as jackets and bags on an ongoing basis as a reward for their continued efforts. DeepOcean also has a bonus scheme, which is not awarded to all employees, but all employees can be selected to receive the bonus based on their performance.

DeepOcean is a member of Darlington Cares. Darlington Cares is a partnership of leading employers committed to making Darlington a better place. The project works by centrally coordinating the skills, expertise and volunteering power of members and matching these to community and charity projects where they can have the most impact. The Darlington Cares programme ranges from physical outdoor challenges through to utilising business expertise, all of which deliver tangible benefits for the local community, and workforce development opportunities for employers. DeepOcean's HR Director is on the board and fully supports both the initiative and involvement from employees. DeepOcean arranged a project to clear an area of wild vegetation at West Park Nature Reserve in Darlington, which coincided with World Environment Day in June. Meadow seed was then planted, which will grow into wild flowers for the local community to enjoy. During one of the companies busiest ever periods, DeepOcean was still able to send 12 volunteers for half a day during work time to support the project. All employees were given the opportunity to take part.

The Chairman, MD and General Manager visit branches on a very regular basis at least weekly and make a point of talking to all staff, retail and workshop, not just the manager about a wide range of topics, seeking feedback and ideas on: how to improve the customer experience; views on product range; marketing materials and sales opportunities. Each member of staff is personally known and this helps to establish a good dialogue and opportunity to raise any issues or concerns that they may have. As a small company with many employees having long service - average service is almost 11 years, there has developed an extended family culture with a strong ethos of doing the right thing: for customers and each other.

The Chester showroom team recently went to London for an overnight stay which was primarily about team building and exposing them to the fine jewellery offering in the capital city. The evening was spent at a top London restaurant which was an excellent introduction into luxury living, a theme carried into the team meeting the following morning. Ideas for growing the Chester business and making the most of social media were explored. This was particularly important as the Chester location had lost a key watch account and was going to be focusing on the origins of DMR - fine diamond jewellery supported by two Master Goldsmiths based on site. The team then took the opportunity to conduct some mystery shopping after lunch including competitors' window displays, giving them ideas to bring back and implement within their own showroom.