What are companies doing with regards to 'My Company'

Seed introduced a 'buddy system', where every month employees would be buddied up with a colleague and have 20/30-minute weekly calls where they could catch up about anything non-work related. It introduced this as a way of imitating the 'water-cooler chats' that would happen in the office.

Community work is something that is very important to Seed and as such, there are many ways in which it gives back. It currently donates monthly to several charities such as Great Ormand Street Hospital and Forest Carbon. It also has a dedicated charity committee that arranges regular charity events for the team to attend.

RSM UK has an annual wellbeing campaign called ‘JanYOUary’ which is designed to help its people to invest time in themselves, supported by a month-long calendar with activity ideas. Each year, the campaign’s focus is adapted to keep it relevant. The organisation has also signed the Global Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health pledge.

In the 12 months up to 31st March 2023, the RSM UK Foundation made charitable donations of a value of over £730,000. These donations included over £15,000 to Trees for Cities to support ongoing environmental projects and more than £110,000 in partnership with UNICEF in its appeals for Pakistan Floods and the Syria-Türkiye Earthquake.

Employees already benefit from retail discounts and medical cashback, and there is now additional cost-of-living support. All staff can apply for up to £500 from The Stowe Helping Hand Fund if they find themselves with an unexpected bill they’re struggling to pay, such as a broken boiler or car breakdown.

Stowefest is the annual get-together for all the firm’s legal teams. There are opportunities for training and development and to hear from inspirational external speakers. And 2022 saw the first ‘Best in Stowe’ awards gala dinner. There were more than 100 nominations, with peer-nominated categories including Best Newcomer and Most Valuable Player.

Partners at Schillings are encouraged to attend business development meetings with a colleague from another part of the organisation – this could be a Partner or another senior fee earner. Its wellbeing, EDI, and social committees work together to ensure the work they are doing is complementary to and enhances the work of the others.

Schillings runs a bespoke leadership skills development programme in development that reflects its values of culture and purpose. This develops its leaders to find their authentic leadership style and voice, alongside their ability to flex and deploy other relevant leadership styles as needed in different situations.

The organisation offers a recognition award of up to £500 to employees who make an extraordinary effort, contribution, and/or sustain an exemplary level of exceptional performance. As some of the company’s projects remain open over the Christmas break, it has introduced a payment for staff who cover Christmas Day.

It provides food parcels to its residents and people who use our services when and where needed. These are often gifted or donated by organisations, local churches, and groups within the local area. It has also distributed essential supplies including face masks, hand sanitiser, and hygiene products.

Eames Group regularly organise company-wide team events to bring the whole business together, but also recognise the importance of building relationships in smaller teams. Each business unit has their own budget for socials, team building exercises and reward programmes. Additionally, weekly team meetings take place face-to-face to maintain strong connections between employees.

Eames Group’s High Achievers Club rewards employees who have performed well over the last quarter with various fun activities, such as a day at Goodwood Races, Division socials at Crystal Maze and day trips to France. The organisation rewards those who have performed exceptionally over the last year with an all-expense paid trip abroad.

The ‘We are CBH’, 'Time to Talk' and 'Toolbox Talk' sessions provide opportunity for teams to communicate and allow colleagues to be heard. In addition to this, the People Manager group held 3 times a year provides a forum for colleagues to receive updates, understand priorities and work through any challenges collectively and collaboratively.

Business priorities and objectives have been set and clarified through the organisation’s HRA Business Plan and Performance Framework programme priorities. The Executive team filter messages down into the business via meetings with Heads of Service who then communicate these to their Managers, who then communicate to their teams.

ARAG’s Wellbeing Champions meet regularly to discuss what they can do to help staff both proactively and reactively. Recent discussions have included the benefits of music and the reasons to hold meetings whilst walking. The company puts wellbeing at the heart of its manager check-in process, so colleagues know there are spaces for tough conversations.

The leadership team and other key staff use an all-staff cinema event to communicate the company’s overarching strategic goals. These goals are utilised throughout ARAG’s performance management system to ensure all staff can clearly see what their efforts mean to those goals. Clarity of message is reinforced through fortnightly updates led by the Managing Director.

Employees are supported by a team of Mental Health First Aiders and a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme for information, advice and counselling. The company has links to Sheffield Credit Union, meaning staff are helped to consolidate and manage any debt, including making payments direct from payroll. Vivedia also offers interest-free emergency loans to its employees.

Employees are empowered to own their development. They're free to suggest courses or training relevant to their role or personal growth, and internal courses cover various behavioural, people and management skills. There's also coaching supported by personality profiling and opportunities for secondments, additional responsibilities and internal moves.