Every year the company holds a week of staff conferences to which all staff are invited for a half day session. With a staff of 657, this works out at conferences of approximately 80 people. The senior Management Team attend every conference and with such a diverse workforce, the conferences are designed to be entertaining, engaging and inclusive. The format ensures all staff have an opportunity to work directly alongside members of SMT and the occasion is used to reinforce the vision and values of the Company. This gives staff an opportunity to express their views directly to the SMT and come up with ideas for improvement.

South Tyneside Homes are not only a social housing provider but are actively involved with the local and wider community they serve. The company is a leader and ambassador for engaging with young people from the borough. By engaging with young people they can gain a better understanding of their needs and requirements whilst passing on information about the services we provide and what the opportunities of employment are within the company. One such initiative is the "Eco Challenge" which is now in its fourth year. The inititave has been very successful as it encourages young people to get involved and its also links in with the school learning curriculum at key stage 3. This years challenge was to plan a development in an open space. Each team was given the challenge of planning, designing and developing improvements for an estate somewhere within the North East of England.

Smooth offer an employee assistance programme which is a free, confidential service that offers expert advice, specialist counselling and support that helps staff prepare for and cope with successfully, all life events.

Smooth have their own Training Manager and training facility called the Smooth Academy which is unique to this industry. They have a Training and Competence scheme which is in place to develop the skill sets of employees within each job role. The company have also introduced a performance management system which includes the employee personal development plan. The development plan for each employee is reviewed every six months to see if they are on track with their objectives and goals. Smooth are also delivering an in house Institute of Leadership and Management management development programme to their management population. Smooth look to promote senior positions from within frequently as feel this demonstrates faith in their development programme.

The main social events that SJD hold at the organisation in which all employees get involved in are Charity events. These include; Breast Cancer Care Pink Friday; Children in Need; Jeans for Genes day, Sport Relief and the Macmillan Coffee Morning. Lots of employees bake cakes to help raise money and our Receptionists organise games such as; "Guess the Number of Sweets in the Tub" and "Bingo". At lunch time all employees come together to take part in the cake sale and the games that are available. In the last 6 months alone they have raised over £1000 for charity.

Simon Dolan, CEO has created a relaxed, empowered and friendly environment so that his employees enjoy coming to work. He has an open or no door policy and empowers staff to make decisions, rather than be burdened with problems they are never actually given the responsibility to self-solve; which would result in increased stress. He provides an environment which encourages self-sufficiency and delivers positive feedback for all decisions made, good and bad. At SJD they ensure that the workspace and environment is comfortable for all employees. Quite recently an employee had an operation on her back; to ensure she was comfortable upon her return she was bought an orthopaedic chair for her desk giving her the support she needed.

The continuation of the Global Corporate Challenge resulted in staff members reporting that their fitness had improved, their diet was healthier, as well as employees being encouraged to take a break away from their desks especially during lunch hours. Management has the ability to relate to employees at every level, putting them at ease so they feel comfortable, and have the genuine desire to want to understand and address the issues that employees are facing within their workplace. Management is also interested in staff members just as much at a personal level as at work level.

Shropshire Housing Group use their Leadership Group and Performance Management Group as an opportunity for junior managers and more junior staff members to develop presentation skills. This is seen as a useful platform for them to have a go at "practicing" in front of critical friends and is a great development opportunity. In addition they permit a cross range of staff to become champions in their own right and use their abilities to train work colleagues e.g. IT software champions, lean ways of working champions and E&D champions are just a few examples. They have also put together a CMI L 3/5/7 for staff/ managers and directors. They are looking to introduce a Career Development Plan for each job role within the orgnaisation.

The annual two day January away day not only allows the whole agency to hear and be involved in hearing, presenting and writing the agency's plans for the year ahead, but also allows for a highly memorable two day bonding event. After a morning of presentations, the agency then broke into teams to play famous TV quiz shows, including 'Deal or No Deal'. In the evening the annual 'Shoscars' took place, an event that celebrates all the agency's work and people over the past year. Ten campaign awards were given, including Campaign of the Year, Account Team of the Year, Idea of the Year and Event of the Year. Then 'people' awards were given in a second round of hotly contested awards called the HotShots which include Shiner of the Year, the Founders Award (someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the agency's values) and Communicator of the Year (outstanding excellence in their work). There is no greater accolade at Shine than being voted for an award by an outstanding group of peers.

Shine has the most outstanding group of Account Directors who operate between the account manager and associate director levels. They hold an enormous wealth of knowledge on best practice account management, client handling, as well as being great custodians of company culture. In 2012 founder, Rachel Bell, moved to a CEO role and promoted Richard Brett to Managing Director. The leadership team created a 'shadow board' out of the long-standing account director team and Rachel took on a mentoring role to develop the leadership skills and business acumen of this middle management level. The team meet monthly over breakfast with the CEO who plays a mentoring role in helping them hone their leadership skills and business acumen. The monthly meetings allow them to shape and discuss how to progress these plans. It is also a great forum to share coaching tips around negotiation issues either with team members or clients.

2011 was a challenging yet rewarding year and across the whole Group success has been celebrated and recognised: Staying First has a new identity, Domus has won new business, they're officially Guinness World Record holders and also Gold Investors in People Champions.

2011 was a challenging yet rewarding year and across the whole Group success has been celebrated and recognised: Staying First has a new identity, Domus has won new business, they're officially Guinness World Record holders and also Gold Investors in People Champions.

In the last year they have held and supported several charity events for 'Movember', Children in Need, Children Today and Harris Hospice. Furthermore, they give their supplier gifts to their nominated charity for them to distribute to patients and use as charity raffle gifts.

In recognition of a record production year, all employees were invited to attend an all-expenses paid celebration party on a Thames river boat in September. This was a particularly memo marble event.

The Principal in Selby College is focused on people, which makes him an outstanding leader. Instead of seeing people as one of the many priorities, they always put the emphasis on people issues first. They are able to see matters holistically, acting in a way that makes a difference to the immediate recipient and how they can further create an outstanding atmosphere in the workplace, that will not only benefit staff but feed through to learners. In the current climate of economic uncertainty the Principal at Selby College demonstrates their personal integrity, in addition to their leadership ability to inspire trust in their staff, through an open door policy, where any member of staff can approach him to discuss any matter at anytime. Also, they regularly communicate with all staff members, asking how they are and talk through any problems. This could be done over a coffee or an informal conversation. There are few organisations where any staff member can talk to the Principal without an appointment or fear of reprisal. However, the above is testament to positive culture the Principal has created, which is the opposite of many organisations.

The Principal and Senior Management Team get out and about and ‘walk the floor' a symbolic act that conveys their philosophy,of employee engagement rather than hiding themselves away. The above generates immense respect and employee engagement to the highest level, as staff are listened to and ideas and feedback, which gives credence to the ethos that Selby College staff are valued.

Secure Trust Bank encourages all staff to take time off during their working days to volunteer their time for the nominated 2012 charity, QAC. This is reinforced by the CEO who 'tops up' the money raised in events from his own pocket. The events throughout the year are driven by the department managers who are often found at the front leading their team during the event, i.e. the IT team helped re-organise the library and the Lending and Project teams helped redecorate rooms by painting walls. All events although organised by a specific department involve everyone within the business to a greater or lesser extent, often creating a competition between departments.

The CEO has introduced a quarterly communication session which he chairs and uses this time to deliver business results face to face, encouraging employees to question him directly during those meetings. In addition, any suggestions can be submitted to 'Bright Ideas' which the CEO monitors and responds to directly. Each quarter one of the nominees is awarded £250 for the most innovative suggestion.