What are companies doing with regards to 'My Company'

Experien QAS have participated in two Experian management training programmes for their senior managers (Inspire) and their managers (Engage.) They have also trained 4 senior HR professionals in facilitating 360 degree feedback qualifications so they could roll this out to support all their managers. Experien QAS encourage managers to network and attend relevant management seminars. They also hold an offsite 2 day management meeting once per year with colleagues from the international Experian QAS offices. HR also regularly run bespoke workshops for managers as relevant to their current needs eg Capability workshop or Performance Appraisal workshop.

At Experian QAS a specific departmental entertainment allowance of £8 per month per head is provided for teams to spend time together participating in an activity or just socialising to help foster team spirit and working together. This budget is often used with other departments to encourage cross departmental working and to reinforce their culture of people enjoying working together and having fun too. For example, teams might go bowling or attend a comedy night together. At their National Company Meeting this year they had a company wide team building challenge - this was run by the Guinness World Records and consisted of team challenges at the tables staff were seated at during the day and then a company world record attempt!

At Environmental Business Products employees raise money for charities doing various events. This money is often matched by the company. Their Quality Team regularly work on how the company maintains its zero landfill policy and environmental systems. They are conducting a carbon footprinting assessment to see exactly what their carbon output is and their company is based on the reuse of already existing products. They have ISO accreditation for Quality and Environment and to date they have saved 50 million inkjet cartridges from landfill, by collecting them through their recycling schemes for reuse through remanufacturing. Through their recycling schemes Each One Counts and Support Your School, they promote environmental good practice to the general public as widely as possible and offer a free service where they pick up empty cartridges from addresses all over the UK or send free post recycling bags out to the public to post their items back to them.

At Environmental Business Products employees raise money for charities doing various events. This money is often matched by the company. Their Quality Team regularly work on how the company maintains its zero landfill policy and environmental systems. They are conducting a carbon footprinting assessment to see exactly what their carbon output is and their company is based on the reuse of already existing products. They have ISO accreditation for Quality and Environment and to date they have saved 50 million inkjet cartridges from landfill, by collecting them through their recycling schemes for reuse through remanufacturing. Through their recycling schemes Each One Counts and Support Your School, they promote environmental good practice to the general public as widely as possible and offer a free service where they pick up empty cartridges from addresses all over the UK or send free post recycling bags out to the public to post their items back to them.

Enotria Winecellars Ltd provide internal awards to their employees to recognise employee's contributions. They have Annual Company Awards where they recognise exceptional performance as well as recognising important employee milestones by presenting length of service awards and gifts. Instant Recognition is given to colleagues in the form of Team/Department awards from Line Managers. They also have a Suggestion Scheme which is both intranet and paper based which offers rewards for ideas or innovation.

At Enotria Winecellars employees vote every year for their choice of Christmas Party; informal or formal. They hold a summer Event/Party and this year they had the first “Enotria Sports day and BBQ Event”. On the last Thursday of every other month they hold “Social Thursday” it is always themed to add the fun element. People from across the business get involved by cooking and baking. Some of the events they have had so far are: The French Edition, The Pub Quiz to raise money for the British Heart Foundation Event, Spring is in the Air, The Spanish Edition, Chill'n & Grill'n the BBQ Edition and Go-Pink-Enotria to raise money for Breast Cancer UK.

They have an on-line resource centre for managers with “how do I” guides and webinars and support their people managers undertaking external People Management related qualifications. 360 feedback is offered to all employees at all levels and includes a 2 hour coaching session with an internally accredited coach who also provides career coaching. They have management forums such as the monthly District Managers' meeting development and information sharing event and their high potential employees are segmented by career stages to enable differentiated development experiences to be offered. Emerging leaders attend their annual High Contributors Programme at Cranfield University over a 5 month period. Mid-level high potentials attend Sustaining High Performance at IMD Lausanne and executive level high potentials attend their Executive Leadership Development Programmes.

EMC recognises exceptional performance twice annually at the Company Kick Off. On an annual basis, EMC Corporation hosts the President's Award which recognizes an employee or team who have demonstrated exemplary efforts in achieving results that further EMC's vision and mission. EMC's “Commitment@EMC” initiative celebrates and recognizes employees who demonstrate loyalty, dedication, and commitment to EMC at the key milestones. “Excellence@EMC” initiative allows employees to recognize and reward other employees for superior performance and employees can access the Excellence@ EMC gateway located on ChannelEMC enabling them to send thank you e-cards. EMC's annual global Innovation Conference harnesses the collective power of there employees' talents to help shape EMC's future offerings.

Douglas & Gordon use psychological profiling for all staff and train Managers in interpreting the results. External coaches are employed for all levels of staff and 3 day courses were held this year for all Managers.The Company support and enhance the development of people managers within their organisation by taking feedback from each Manager's team as part of the regular review process and provide the Manager with any necessary further coaching/training.

The Managers at Douglas & Gordon Limited work in open plan offices alongside their team .The Managing Director & HR Director meet most employees individually every 6 months to review their performance and aspirations.The Chairman and Manging Director also often visit offices and departments informally and are available for specific meetings on short notice on request. The Managing Director also provides a regular article for their in house magazine.

Dolphin recently invited a group of trainers from Africa over to receive a week of free training in conjunction with sight savers. Dolphin tries to ensure their environmental impact is kept to a minimum, they also have 'green police' in each office, responsible for ensuring people use the correct bins to allow recycling of rubbish. The company keeps a close eye on the amount of rubbish sent to landfill each year. By doing this they have managed to more than halve their amount over the last 6 months. They also try to ensure offices are not heated or cooled above or below 22 degrees and encourage people to switch things off at night, or when they are not needed.

Employees are given a small pension contribution and the teams success is often celebrated informally. All employees who worked on the last product release were taken out to celebrate the release and to thank staff for their efforts. Dolphin has recently begun to invest heavily in its people through learning programmes, in recognition of the fact that people drive the success of the organisation. Employees are encouraged towards continuing professional development and are free to request training in consultation with their manager at any time.

Staff are able to request flexible working particularly regarding parenting and school holidays. Some staff work different shifts as the company are open from 8am to 9pm and on Saturdays. Staff hours are monitored by team leaders and managers. There is flexibility and understanding with regards to personal issues, time off in lieu is also available at the discretion of the manager. Direct life and Pension also supply fruit instead of vending machines. The staff have regular health and wellbeing weeks and free gym membership.

Direct Life and Pension hold several events throughout the year these include the Christmas party, team nights out, bowling night, quiz night and a barn dance. The company also have a team incentive budget for their staff.

Staff can choose benefits which match their personal lifestyle needs. Employees are able to make "lifestyle changes" at appropriate times. Regular benefit workshops are held to inform employees of additional benefits and discounts available. They also hold a winter ball celebration and they have an annual award ceremony where they celebrate those members of the team that have "lived" the values and who have contributed "over and above". The ultimate winner relieves a prize of £2000. They also recognise performance through merit increases. A high proportion of their employees are rewarded through a bonus, commission and incentive scheme.

Staff can choose benefits which match their personal lifestyle needs. Employees are able to make "lifestyle changes" at appropriate times. Regular benefit workshops are held to inform employees of additional benefits and discounts available. They also hold a winter ball celebration and they have an annual award ceremony where they celebrate those members of the team that have "lived" the values and who have contributed "over and above". The ultimate winner relieves a prize of £2000. They also recognise performance through merit increases. A high proportion of their employees are rewarded through a bonus, commission and incentive scheme.

Every other year managers receive formal employment law training which offers practical guidance on topics such as managing performance and absence within a legislative framework. This type of training gives managers important information and knowledge as well as building confidence to be able to know how to deal with situations in a constructive manner and following best practice guidelines. For newly appointed managers they offer either external training on the basic principles of management or depending on the volume of new managers the Company runs internal sessions called "Management Basics" - topics include appraisals, tips on motivation and having difficult conversations.

Every other year managers receive formal employment law training which offers practical guidance on topics such as managing performance and absence within a legislative framework. This type of training gives managers important information and knowledge as well as building confidence to be able to know how to deal with situations in a constructive manner and following best practice guidelines. For newly appointed managers they offer either external training on the basic principles of management or depending on the volume of new managers the Company runs internal sessions called "Management Basics" - topics include appraisals, tips on motivation and having difficult conversations.

C&W has traditionally placed a significant emphasis on creating an environment that is fun to work in. Events this year which have contributed towards this include; All UK staff summer drinks party held at The Kensington Roof Gardens in September; Sponsored Pilates lessons are run in the Portman Square office on a regular basis, and are always over-subscribed; Team Away Days eg. Punting in Cambridge, School Race Day and Pub Quiz, Inter-Team softball match followed by drinks and pizza and a LondonTreasure Hunt followed by a drinks reception and dinner.

C&W has traditionally placed a significant emphasis on creating an environment that is fun to work in. Events this year which have contributed towards this include; All UK staff summer drinks party held at The Kensington Roof Gardens in September; Sponsored Pilates lessons are run in the Portman Square office on a regular basis, and are always over-subscribed; Team Away Days eg. Punting in Cambridge, School Race Day and Pub Quiz, Inter-Team softball match followed by drinks and pizza and a LondonTreasure Hunt followed by a drinks reception and dinner.