My Company - The level of engagement employees feel with their job and organisation
My Company is what we call an ‘output’ factor, it focuses on people’s ‘love’ and ‘pride’ in working for your organisation.
Now unfortunately you can’t directly make people feel these emotions, but when all of the other seven factors are doing well, people will be far more likely to experience that love and pride ultimately improving the My Company factor as a result.
An instant values-led recognition scheme has been introduced to recognise staff going above and beyond. Nominations can be made by peers or line managers with the recipient receiving a personalised “thank you” card and shopping vouchers plus a shout out each quarter on the intranet.
In addition to a Wellbeing Week and personal resilience and mindset webinars, Porterbrook has promoted free workouts that staff might enjoy doing at home with their and run virtual social events including quizzes. It also arranged regular welfare checks on staff living alone.
In response to Covid-19 Porterbrook increased the limit on its Cycle to Work scheme from £1,000 to £5,000 to encourage staff to bike in. It also installed electric car charging points at its Derby office and is reviewing the company car fleet with a view to being carbon neutral.
During the first quarter of 2021 plan.com has focussed on its core values: trust, passion and excellence, harnessing the help of motivational speakers Jason Fox, Ranulph Fiennes and Dame Kelly Holmes to communicate the messages. The quarter's top two ‘weekly heroes' win a luxury trip, which they can jet off on when restrictions allow.
The work-hard-play-hard ethic is ingrained at plan.com and the social calendar has remained packed with virtual events that have included cook-a-longs, family fun nights and an awards evening. Surprise gifts from the company, such as care hampers and Easter eggs, have also helped keep team spirit high.
While most large-scale activities happened on Zoom last year, staff at plan.com were able to go ahead with their Santa's on a Bike fundraising event in December – because the Isle of Man was Covid-free. Every employee takes part in the annual charity ride, and in 2020 they raised £31,000 for the Isle of Man hospice.
A quarterly employee recognition scheme recognises those going the extra mile with online vouchers. Rewards for employees going above and beyond on projects or tasks include restaurant vouchers or bottles of spirits. There are also long service awards for those putting in five or 10 years' service.
The comprehensive benefits package includes private healthcare, heavily subsidised gym membership and free access to mental health support during the pandemic. Peak Indicators also invests in ensuring that the office is a nice place to work and has also funded yoga and basketball sessions.
Staff donated their time pro bono to help to client Devon County Council identify Covid cases in schools and care homes and helping it streamline practices to avoid duplication across the county. Staff also planted trees as part of an Annual Team Day event (pre pandemic).
The past year has brought new ways of working in a pub over and again, with changes implemented fast – from social distancing tables to how to serve ketchup. Peach added cleaners to pub rotas to keep up with new sanitising measures, sourced washable face masks and provided a strong pack of communication tools to help staff deal with challenging guests when The Rule of Six and Tier system came in.
A structured in-house training programme complements external courses such as Wine and Spirit Education Trust qualifications. On Peach Adventure Days teams head to big cities such as Manchester and London to soak up the restaurant and bar scenes and gain inspiration for Peach venues.
Most Peach pubs have continued to make meals for homeless people, including turning the pumpkins that would have been used to celebrate Halloween into soup and pasta for them. Some venues have used their facilities for charity or to help local needs in other ways and around 70% of employees have volunteered at some stage during the pandemic.
The Employee of the Month, who is nominated by colleagues is awarded £500 and there is Dinner with Phil, the chief executive, for all winners at the end of each quarter. The top three prizes for Employee of the Year range from £500 to £2,000 for the winner.
Several informal societies been formed including a Strava group who cycle, run and walk to quizzers, Scrabble players and a Fantasy Premier League. P2 has offered free laptops to employees whose children require them for home schooling and has continued to send staff birthday and special event hampers.
A company-wide bingo night and virtual fundraising events including quiz nights, a charity auction and best and worst Christmas Jumper competitions raised £2,606 for Great Ormond Street Hospital and Alzheimer's Society. Two company-wide competitions - bike riding in June and running in July - brought in £577 for the NHS.
Sales-focused though Optimus Search is, not only financial big hitting earns rewards; every month a different incentive award recognises contributions in areas such as going above and beyond to help colleagues or reaching non-financial goals. Rewards include extra holidays, vouchers, a gift of choice or points towards the next incentive trip.
Weekly training sessions for each team focus on sales-related group coaching, while lunch-and-learns incorporate more ‘life' elements – such as how to buy a house or understanding credit ratings – tailored to support young employees. Team members are brought up through the business under the guidance of director Richard Eggleston and new managers receive both in-house and external training.
Colleagues recorded congratulatory videos for each other to celebrate achievements and special occasions such as birthdays and work anniversaries during lockdown. A daily social group call helped keep team spirits lifted, plus there were quizzes, bingo nights and virtual games.
All salaries and benefits have been reviewed and a fair pay policy and job evaluation process introduced. This has resulted in most staff receiving a pay rise, benefits being streamlined and the gender pay gap being removed. A full-time learning and development specialist has been appointed.
Open Doors gives all staff the chance to go on a ministry trip to give them an insight into the experience of Christians oppressed for their faith. Trips are held in work time and are paid for by the charity, although fewer have gone ahead during Covid.
Online events providing a sense of community and fun have included a secret Santa, a crisp-tasting tournament and a knitting and crochet group. The usual two-day staff retreat was replaced with small group walks. These were held near people's homes, in line with Covid regulations.
Induction Week for new recruits is now an entirely virtual experience. IT equipment is sent to their home and setup is assisted remotely. Microsoft Teams chats allow newcomers to ask questions and meet their colleagues, and there is time for an occasional Kahoot! session.
Furloughed staff were provided with industry-specific and regulatory training, with workshops on productivity, communication and wellbeing. Line managers and team leaders were offered training on managing remote teams and across the business there was a learning package that featured LinkedIn courses, TED Talks and documentaries.
Employees were encouraged to stay healthy during the pandemic, with virtual exercise classes twice a week and a run club set up on Strava. Company-wide meetings were held focusing on mental health in the workplace, and there was a stress reduction course.
The company's monthly staff award has been renamed the Lorraine Berry award, in memory of its Learning and Development Manager, a dear colleague who passed away last year. CEO Susanna sends gift tokens as a thank you to employees who have gone above and beyond during the pandemic.
The #OneFileinNature initiative encourages every employee to spend an hour outdoors during daylight each day to nurture their health. The company has paid for wellbeing apps to encourage activities such as yoga and meditation and puts on Zumba classes during the working day.
OneFile provides career advice and work experience to BAME females, a group under-represented in the technology sector. Clothes are donated to a charity that helps people in poverty dress smartly for job interviews and extra tea and coffee is given to a homeless shelter.
During the pandemic the company introduced the Naked Treat Box, as a way of boosting community and rewarding one another. Everyone gets to nominate one person every quarter and write them a message of appreciation which goes in the box containing locally sourced goodies.
Every year Naked Wines sends six budding future leaders on a four day Happy Leadership course. Two employees who attended the course have since been promoted to Head of Partnerships and Head of Continuous Improvement. Two rising stars have been supported to study for an MBA at the local university.
Employees get one day paid leave a year to support the local community from volunteering to giving blood and cleaning up local beaches. It also raises money every month for winemaker Carmen Stevens to run a soup kitchen for disadvantaged children in South Africa.
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