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Employee development is fully supported here. All training directly related to an employees' role is fully funded, including fees and time for external qualifications such as NVQs, professional qualifications, teacher training and other postgraduate courses. There is also a fund to contribute to personal development activities not directly related to job roles.

Hospiscare supports employee development best through its comprehensive Learning and Development Programme. This in-house programme offers 71 separate training opportunities between April 2011 and March 2012. These range from one hour sessions on a ‘hot topic', to essential updates to support staff in their roles, to four day courses on Bereavement and Loss. The programme is needs-led and responsive, with managers and employees regularly being consulted on their learning needs. This programme is also informed through analysis of appraisals and the training needs identified within them. Needs are responded to quickly either by provision of an in-house course if demand is great enough and there is capacity within the organisation, if the need cannot be met in-house an appropriate external course is sought.

Each year staff including the Senior Management Team organise an 'end of year review' in the style of a sketch show, involving as many people as possible. The Senior Management Team provides refreshments at the end for all to enjoy. They have also hosted two weddings for patients which the staff have worked very hard to organise at the last moment. Both weddings were greatly received by all those involved and this lifted the spirits of the staff involved in the organisation as they were able to do that little bit more for the patients and their families.

A particularly memorable event was when they held a Mission and Ethos Day in July 2011 where different activities were organised for staff to take part in. There was for example, a barge trip around Salford, a trip to the Lake District, visits to museums and a day of indoor skiing.

Holycross Sixth Form College educate young people in order that they have the opportunity to develop spiritually, morally and intellectually. Holycross have an environmental group comprising staff and students which works in the local community doing conservation work, for example tree planting.

Employee development is fully supported and the Association has become an accredited City and Guilds Centre and has a dedicated Learning and Development Team to ensure that qualifications are offered for most roles within the association. It is also an approved centre for the Institute of Leadership and Management, offering a variety of levels of management qualifications for staff wanting to go into management or improve their management skills.

The organisation is a charitable housing association providing a wide range of housing and support services for the families and single people including those with special needs. They are a well-established provider of support to people with complex needs, both in the community and living in their own supported housing schemes, supporting people with learning difficulties, mental health issues, young people, women and the homeless. Their aim is to provide appropriate support to each person living in their own home to enable them to develop independent living skills, be involved in decisions regarding their life and participate in their local community. They also run charity shops.

New starters and all colleagues have access to the Leadership Team. There is an open door style of support and there are many mechanisms to ensure colleagues feel listened to and their feedback is taken on board. Flexible working ensures and enables an equalitarian style of working which enables both formal and informal messages to be relayed and is a two-way opportunity. Their Performance Screens at each site ensure clarity and consistency of messages, incorporating competitions on the screens, sharing good news as well as updates on the balanced scorecard, health and wellbeing initiatives to ensure a consistent approach to communicating effectively. The monthly brief is an employee briefing which seeks feedback with answers to questions and comments provided the following month. They also have a staff magazine, GRAPEVINE, which includes information and competitions and involves a cross section of colleagues to ensure a mix of attractive articles for everyone.

In the last 12 months there has been the formation of a Senior Managers' Group which means there is a core group of managers responsible for key aspects such as managing attendance and working together to support the Leadership Team as well as managers and colleagues within their teams. It enables idea sharing and a cohesive approach to guiding and supporting colleagues across the Trust, as well as an additional forum for sharing ideas and listening and learning from experiences. Nick Atkin the Chief Executive is an exceptional leader who is the driving force behind the performance, direction and success of the organisation. What makes him distinctive is his approach to business, to the customers; to colleagues and to the working environment he has created. In business, he is very driven and extremely determined. He leads by example, is very well respected and strives for excellence and success. He is innovative, encourages new ideas and radical thinking and embraces change. On a personal level, he is extremely personable and supportive, accessible and takes a personal interest in all colleagues.

As an organisation, they have been looking at a holistic approach to Healthy Workplaces and considering what effect health has on work and work has on health. They plan to run a series of educating campaigns around healthy hearts e.g. eating well, smoking cessation, encouraging 5 minute desk workouts etc. and healthy minds e.g. managing stress and anxiety, challenging behaviours, seeking support, etc. Examples of some of the things they already offer to enhance employee wellbeing are flexible working, independent counselling sessions and a cycle to work scheme. There are also healthy options within the Goodwin Café. They recently conducted a Healthy Workplace Survey to find out what improvements staff felt they could make. One of the suggestions included making it known what the ‘points' values of meals served in the Goodwin Cafe are for those participating in Weightwatchers which has been put in place. Other suggested initiatives included pool bicycles to get to meetings and between sites, a fun group dance and sport leagues which are being considered.

As an organisation, they have been looking at a holistic approach to Healthy Workplaces and considering what effect health has on work and work has on health. They plan to run a series of educating campaigns around healthy hearts e.g. eating well, smoking cessation, encouraging 5 minute desk workouts etc. and healthy minds e.g. managing stress and anxiety, challenging behaviours, seeking support, etc. Examples of some of the things they already offer to enhance employee wellbeing are flexible working, independent counselling sessions and a cycle to work scheme. There are also healthy options within the Goodwin Café. They recently conducted a Healthy Workplace Survey to find out what improvements staff felt they could make. One of the suggestions included making it known what the ‘points' values of meals served in the Goodwin Cafe are for those participating in Weightwatchers which has been put in place. Other suggested initiatives included pool bicycles to get to meetings and between sites, a fun group dance and sport leagues which are being considered.

The organisation seeks to reward employees for their efforts. The Principal handwrites letters of congratulations on exam performance to all Heads of Department and subject departments in September and follows up with handwritten Christmas Cards to all teams and departments.

They plan to share the outcomes of the survey with staff, celebrate the things that they do well, and address issues of concern summarised in an appropriate action plan. This will form an important part of the Staff development Self-Assessment Report (SAR). The SAR is reviewed and validated every year and a new action plan developed in response to the results of the previous action plan and any developments in education and government policies.

GHA knows face-to-face communication is the best way to get staff involved. During periods of change or when new initiatives are launching, the Chief Executive Martin Armstrong takes time out to go round local offices having face-to-face meetings with staff. He talks to them in an honest, open and inspirational way, challenging staff to give their views and listening to their feedback. Teamtalk, their internal communications strategy, ensures information is cascaded to every member of staff to facilitate team discussion sessions and staff are encouraged to give feedback to managers. They have a strong culture of listening to feedback from all surveys and external assessments, celebrating successes and putting in place improvement plans to address all issues highlighted. Their journey to deliver excellent services for their customers has been hugely influenced by survey feedback and external assessment. Staff are involved in shaping the improvements they put in place, through their teams and in joint forums.

Winning the Scottish Award for Business Excellence, Scotland's top business award, was a tremendous achievement for GHA in 2011. The Chief Executive was keen to show all staff his recognition of their hard work that made this happen. He wrote to all staff and personally thanked them for their hard work, passion and commitment and he decided to reward staff with an extra day's holiday. His personal address and the extra day off made every member of staff feel their part in the organisation was recognised right from the top.

GHA runs a contribution based pay scheme which is quite unique to the sector in which they operate. This was introduced for the 2010-2011 performance year following an extensive review of their reward strategy practices. The Association's new Reward Strategy aims to pay upper quartile salaries for upper quartile performance, ensuring that pay is aligned with the market and internal relativities ensuring that the Association's salary bill is affordable and rewards the achievement of objectives in the year of performance via the bonus. As part of this strategy the Association introduced the contribution based pay scheme.

Gallions offer an excellent foundation for all new members of staff. On the first day with the Association they undertake an introductory meeting with HR and are presented with an Induction Plan and Induction Guide, which includes background information about the growth of the Association, their structure, aims, values, purpose and how they fit into this. The organisation helps employees develop a better awareness of their stock and challenges managing it. They offer a Neighbourhood Warden Tour where employees spend an afternoon with their Wardens, walking and driving round the estate, again gaining an understanding of their stock, residents and the challenges. They also do CCT Awareness so employees listen to the variety of calls that come into Gallions' Customer Contact Centre to understand the issues from their residents and how Gallions deal with them.