What are companies doing with regards to 'My Company'

The leadership team's calm, positive and transparent handling of the challenges created by the pandemic instilled camaraderie among staff and inspired peer to peer support. Staff were encouraged to maintain contact with the leadership team and each other and to get involved in social events including weekly coffee catch-ups.

DRS funds additional qualification and training which has recently included German lessons to help an employee with negotiations in Germany and a diploma in resourcing and talent planning for another member of the team. Soft skill courses also contribute to personal and professional development.

The Knowing Diabetes programme ensures staff continue to learn more about diabetes with a range of external speakers giving a talk every two months. New learning opportunities have included half-hour Five Things I Learnt About sessions and staff-led French and German speaking circles which ran over the summer.

The charity created virtual spaces for staff to talk about how they were doing, learn about wellbeing and keep in touch. It also held a Wellbeing Week and a virtual “at the coffee machine sessions” for people to “drop in” and talk about whatever they wanted.

The Strive Towards Excellence Programme (STEP Ahead) provides personal and behavioural development opportunities through collaborative learning in line with evolving managerial pathways. The programme is founded on the values, stories and people-focused culture of Curtins and how this is demonstrated through leadership.

A survey helped managers to understand where the teams were struggling during lockdown and how they felt they could get support. It also helped the business to develop a picture of what people were doing to promote good mental health, so that it could be shared and celebrated.

Managers have been supported throughout the pandemic with weekly teams meetings and by pairing up with colleagues for peer mentoring and support. In offices where support bubbles have been set up managers know they have colleagues to work alongside and to call upon for help and advice.

Staff placed on furlough have received regular “check-ins” from their line managers to keep them in touch with what's going on, give them updates on organisational changes and support their wellbeing. Staff also have access to an Employee Advice Programme which includes a 24/7 support line and online resources.

Many of the managers have risen through the ranks to achieve senior positions, meaning their knowledge and understanding of their departments is unrivalled. That makes them well-equipped to implement the most effective incentives, performance strategies and wellbeing activities for their teams.

A Next Leaders programme supports employee development by teaching the specific skills needed for managerial roles. It provides tailored mentoring to educate and prepare individuals for a particular position. Line managers and departmental managers are coached on different areas such as client satisfaction, team building and teamwork.

When Steve Hughes started as chief executive in April 2020 there was no option to meet people face to face so he did it virtually through weekly Zoom coffee breaks, attending team meetings and webinars. By the end of December, he had also Zoomed with people from all 69 branches.

A Society dog show which got hundreds of entries and a Whodunnit competition were among the many innovative events that kept employees' spirits high last year. Staff also took part in fancy dress team meetings, quizzes, photo and baking competitions, virtual breakfasts and a book group.

To boost morale, get people together and help support each other and share experiences, employees set up a range of fitness, cooking and cake-making clubs. People can drop in to Weekly Cake Tuesday on Teams, an open forum for staff to share news.

Employees volunteered their time to help out in the kitchen at Winchester Churches Nightshelter on a regular basis last year. At Christmas, Clevertouch employees also raised £250 to provide the residents of two moving-on homes with everything they needed for a festive feast.

The senior leadership team are focused on remaining active practitioners – more than 60% of their time is spent doing client work. They work directly alongside the team, integrating themselves by hot-desking. This helps them to retain credibility and lead by example.

The agency makes 40% of its operating profit available for performance-related bonus rewards, and last year the whole team received a bonus for outstanding contribution. Everyone receives a £500 cash bonus at Christmas, and there are one-off bonuses of up to £1,000 for exceptional performance.

Christian Housing believes in developing its staff internally through individual training or job shadowing. Staff are given the opportunity to “act up” as managers to cover maternity leave or sickness absence. E-learning sessions on GDPR, whistleblowing, business continuity planning and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are available.

Every month, employees are invited to an ‘All Hands' Zoom meeting with senior managers providing business updates and providing an open forum for questions. Weekly virtual coffee meetings are held for colleagues to chat informally and a staff member runs weekly mindfulness video calls.

The Cello Academy has been running for 14 years and connects all of the Cello businesses through the process of management learning and development and includes The Aspire Programme for new managers, The Inspire Programme aimed at mid-level managers and project leaders and The Senior Leaders Programme.

For the last three years Cello Health has been supporting The Trussell Trust and its foodbanks including throughout lockdown. Cello Health also held virtual fundraisers including a bake-off and charity quiz and donated £10,000 to Findacure, a charity which supports people with rare diseases.