Prospectus is a community that participates and has an impact on the larger communities that are within the recruitment space, the beyond profit sector and society. Their impact can be felt in the way the Prospectus team work together to connect thousands of talented individuals with hundreds of beyond profit organisations every year. They work with a range of organisations, from small grass-root community-led local charities, to large-scale NGOs operating in hundreds of countries. All of these organisations and all of the talented individuals that the company place helps to bring about global change. This is reflected in the recent accreditation as a B Corp organisation. Other community initiatives include the fundraising that takes place including two upcoming events, the Big Sleep Out for the Big Issue and a team cycling for the British Asian Trust. The CEO is trustee and patron for several organisations, and the company are pioneers for the Trust Youth initiative. They a team run in the British London 10K raising money for various charities. Every employee gets 6 volunteering days a year. Examples of volunteering can be seen in the attached copy of Beat. Prospectus is a pioneer of Advantaged Thinking, a philosophy that underpins the Trust Youth movement, an alliance of organisations and individuals working to promote an asset-based approach to young people. As part of this they are dedicated to ensure young people are given the right opportunities to thrive and prosper. In addition, they have made a commitment to offer at least two weeks of work experience to young people each year. This reflects previous experience of supporting initiatives assisting this who might have difficulty gaining or regaining employment.

Prospectus' leadership team demonstrate in many ways their commitment to the values of the organisation. In the first instance they sit amongst their teams and have 'no fixed abode' which enables them to hot desk across their teams and the organisation which underpins and supports their values of trust, collaboration and community. The CEO shares his diary for the week ahead each week to the whole company so they can see what he is doing and contribute and request information. The senior management group and leadership team meeting every Tuesday morning to discuss business activity, share information and learning, identify ways to collaborate with clients and candidates and support the work of the community. All managers participate in networking externally and contribute to the workshop programme that support employee development. Several members of the team are trustees of charities. David is at the heart of the organisation passionately endorsing Prospectus' commitment to quality recruitment and desire to find the best people for the beyond profit sector. He has created a language that all employees use. David doesn't have an open door policy because he is rarely in the office but you will find him somewhere in the wider office personally appraising successes, enquiring about recruitment projects, sharing information, knowledge and experience, providing guidance, sharing his passion for people and the beyond profit sector and celebrating! Only last week they had the difficult task of closing part of a desk due to the need of the clients changing, and whilst this didn't lead to dramatic internal changes, David lead a celebration of that desk with a breakfast for everyone, recognising what was achieved and moving the company forward.

Positive Steps Leaders always consult and involve colleagues, clients and partners in all that they do. They are always thinking things through and reflect upon learning using their knowledge and experience to create and develop new ways of working; Everyone is collectively and individually accountable for Positive Steps targets and work together to achieve them. The Leaders also innovate and develop ways of working that make a difference to the people with whom they work alongside. The Senior Management Team are highly visible in the organisation and know all staff by their first name. They frequently have structured team meetings, the Chief Executive attends the quarterly Staff Forums and also provides regular full staff briefings. Bright Ideas are considered at each Senior Management meeting and ‘you said – we did' feedback is later provided by meeting minutes. These minutes are always disseminated throughout the organisation and staff then have the opportunity to comment or question at their team meetings.

Positive Steps Leaders always consult and involve colleagues, clients and partners in all that they do. They are always thinking things through and reflect upon learning using their knowledge and experience to create and develop new ways of working; Everyone is collectively and individually accountable for Positive Steps targets and work together to achieve them. The Leaders also innovate and develop ways of working that make a difference to the people with whom they work alongside. The Senior Management Team are highly visible in the organisation and know all staff by their first name. They frequently have structured team meetings, the Chief Executive attends the quarterly Staff Forums and also provides regular full staff briefings. Bright Ideas are considered at each Senior Management meeting and ‘you said – we did' feedback is later provided by meeting minutes. These minutes are always disseminated throughout the organisation and staff then have the opportunity to comment or question at their team meetings.

Phoenix worked with staff to develop their new strengths framework, which underpins all of their recruitment and performance development and is understood as a way of achieving the corporate vision. Their strengths framework represents a cumulative understanding of ‘essential behaviours' at Phoenix. They believe that the behaviours are a unique perspective of current and future cultural aspirations and very much about a shared understanding of how to create a workplace that they love. The eight core Phoenix strengths complement and sit alongside their four core principles and values of Community, Customer, Consideration and Collaboration. The four C's, as they are known, are visible and salient throughout the organisation and within their offices. Posters are displayed prominently in resident facing areas and customer service spaces so that they are accountable to customers and partners. They have also used giant whiteboards on the stairwell, allowing staff to write up how their job roles help deliver corporate objectives. This has helped staff understand one another's contributions to the business and sparked further internal talks and working groups. All colleagues received a strengths toolkit, workbook and bespoke journals that reinforce the messages. Their new ‘thank you card' initiative prompts staff to celebrate and acknowledge outstanding examples of customer service and work against these core principles.

Phoenix worked with staff to develop their new strengths framework, which underpins all of their recruitment and performance development and is understood as a way of achieving the corporate vision. Their strengths framework represents a cumulative understanding of ‘essential behaviours' at Phoenix. They believe that the behaviours are a unique perspective of current and future cultural aspirations and very much about a shared understanding of how to create a workplace that they love. The eight core Phoenix strengths complement and sit alongside their four core principles and values of Community, Customer, Consideration and Collaboration. The four C's, as they are known, are visible and salient throughout the organisation and within their offices. Posters are displayed prominently in resident facing areas and customer service spaces so that they are accountable to customers and partners. They have also used giant whiteboards on the stairwell, allowing staff to write up how their job roles help deliver corporate objectives. This has helped staff understand one another's contributions to the business and sparked further internal talks and working groups. All colleagues received a strengths toolkit, workbook and bespoke journals that reinforce the messages. Their new ‘thank you card' initiative prompts staff to celebrate and acknowledge outstanding examples of customer service and work against these core principles.

In line with PHD's culture and ethos of the ‘Human Touch', working collaboratively and face to face interaction between teams is strongly encouraged. Every department holds weekly status meetings so everyone is made aware of important updates. These meetings are vital in ensuring news is communicated quickly and is an opportunity for team members to interact away from their desks. Line managers hold regular catch ups with their people to boost communication. The large majority of their people are very sociable and are often at lunch or drinks together. PHD encourage this as it aids good working relationships across the various departments. They also hold weekly 15-minute update meetings that rotate around the building. These meetings are intended to give everyone brief updates that are relevant to the way they work for clients, provide useful insights and showcase interesting research. After restructuring the teams late last year, PHD had to rethink their internal workstreams leading to revamped briefing and planning processes within PHD. Key speakers explained the new way of work during a dedicated offsite session. Everyone received a pack with printed collateral to re-enforce the learning. As part of their planning process they hold Action Planning sessions, these encourage people to work collaboratively and to be creative by working together as a group. People are selected from different teams to gain a range of insights and experience and it is an opportunity for them to network with people from outside of their normal day to day team.

In line with PHD's culture and ethos of the ‘Human Touch', working collaboratively and face to face interaction between teams is strongly encouraged. Every department holds weekly status meetings so everyone is made aware of important updates. These meetings are vital in ensuring news is communicated quickly and is an opportunity for team members to interact away from their desks. Line managers hold regular catch ups with their people to boost communication. The large majority of their people are very sociable and are often at lunch or drinks together. PHD encourage this as it aids good working relationships across the various departments. They also hold weekly 15-minute update meetings that rotate around the building. These meetings are intended to give everyone brief updates that are relevant to the way they work for clients, provide useful insights and showcase interesting research. After restructuring the teams late last year, PHD had to rethink their internal workstreams leading to revamped briefing and planning processes within PHD. Key speakers explained the new way of work during a dedicated offsite session. Everyone received a pack with printed collateral to re-enforce the learning. As part of their planning process they hold Action Planning sessions, these encourage people to work collaboratively and to be creative by working together as a group. People are selected from different teams to gain a range of insights and experience and it is an opportunity for them to network with people from outside of their normal day to day team.

Perkbox University, the in-house training program, encompasses management training courses. They ask senior managers to present to managers along the lines of how to motivate staff, how to generate the best results, conflict resolution, empathy, workload management, reward and recognition etc. These happen every couple of months. Every manager is mentored by a senior manager. They always try to promote from within and so new managers will be well versed in Perkbox's management training, having been on the receiving end themselves. A good example is the sales team, those demonstrating aptitude for increased responsibilities are eased into a management role by making them senior managers, who are still doing front line selling but have mentoring responsibilities. Senior Managers will shadow team leaders to prepare them for the more analytical aspects of the role and are afforded the opportunity to learn on the job. Regularly there are weekly, monthly and quarterly reviews. The weekly and monthly reviews are held between the manager and their line manager and are used to discuss how the managers team have responded to the established KPI's and address any incumbent issues. Quarterly reviews are held with the HR Manager present and minutes are taken for the managers to refer to at any time subsequently.

Perkbox have free drinks every Friday in the office at 5pm. The way they are distributed is quite unique - given that they have new starters on a regular basis, they push a beer trolley which affords them the opportunity to meet a lot of new faces in a more relaxed setting than the induction tour they are given on their first day. The trolley is also pushed by someone who might have blundered in some way that week, and is accompanied by an irreverent, tongue in cheek email outlining their plight sent by the HR Manager. It's a fun end to the week and nominations come thick and fast and are always hotly contested. Perkbox have a dedicated break out area which has arcade machines, table tennis, table football and a Playstation 4, people eat lunch there and socialize in the evening. The company also has fortnightly yoga and football matches which give everyone something to talk about! Culture is very important to Perkbox. They made a Culture Book with stories of those who joined the team and give it to all new starters. They also made a video for Seedrs recently, a crowd funding company, and have raised £1.4m in a week, becoming the fastest funded company on their platform in history.

Senior management present very clear monthly business updates closely aligned to the values of the company. They take a hands on approach to the business and clearly demonstrate company values in their working practices and in their approach to day to day tasks. Managers are honest, open and straightforward in all their dealings with staff and clients and focus on delivering a first class service, they set the gold standard. Managers make sure they attend the sports and social events in order to have down time and fun with their colleagues. Spending time with each other away from the workplace is key to establishing a strong working relationship. Paul Clark, Penta's CEO and founder of the company, has an open door policy and is very approachable. He had always had a very clear vision for the company that he set up 18 years ago. Two of his keys strategies have been to surround himself with high calibre individuals who have complimentary and different skill sets as well as putting his staff, clients and candidates at the very heart of the business. Paul was always determined that any one employed by him would actively enjoy coming to work as well as offering a first class service to all customers. He sets clear performance expectations, goals and objectives for others, treats mistakes as learning opportunities, demonstrates an ability to make decisions and take responsibility for them, encourages feedback from everyone in the business, seeks to fine more efficient ways of operating and actively encourages ideas form others.

A great chill out area with table football, table tennis, Wii Fit, pool table, music and large screens for multi-channel TV plus a free Penta bar for Friday evenings and for special celebrations and events. Icelolly offer free hypnotherapy for people who are serious about giving up smoking and annual health check including flu vaccine. Regular breaks throughout the day when staff can leave the office for 15 minutes. There is a chill out zone with free hot and cold drinks and access to microwave, an active sports and social club and exciting overseas incentive trips.

All employees have access to professional coaching and are assigned a mentor from within the business. Penna's People Manager Group meets quarterly and is led by the MD. This group works together to support people management in the business and to support one another with their people management role and responsibilities. Good leadership is a core tenet of the overall brand, along with the client experience and colleague experience; therefore the company believe it is essential that they maintain the standards of the leadership behaviours they have established. Each Penna Leader is asked to gather personal feedback on how they are performing. They do this by consulting their direct reports and anyone else whom they have led as part of projects they have undertaken in the last 12 months. Managers are then required to attend a one-hour training session where they learn how to give and receive feedback in the best and most respectful way. Managers then attend a feedback session with their own Line Manager, who shares and walks through the feedback to identify and maximise on strengths and also build upon any development areas.

All employees have access to professional coaching and are assigned a mentor from within the business. Penna's People Manager Group meets quarterly and is led by the MD. This group works together to support people management in the business and to support one another with their people management role and responsibilities. Good leadership is a core tenet of the overall brand, along with the client experience and colleague experience; therefore the company believe it is essential that they maintain the standards of the leadership behaviours they have established. Each Penna Leader is asked to gather personal feedback on how they are performing. They do this by consulting their direct reports and anyone else whom they have led as part of projects they have undertaken in the last 12 months. Managers are then required to attend a one-hour training session where they learn how to give and receive feedback in the best and most respectful way. Managers then attend a feedback session with their own Line Manager, who shares and walks through the feedback to identify and maximise on strengths and also build upon any development areas.

PegasusLife's people are rewarded in ways which are specifically tailored to their roles, giving them the most appropriate and fair approach. So through a combination of mechanisms everyone can see how their contribution is rewarded. The most unique aspect and the one the company are proudest of is their Employee Participation Plan. The Company's philosophy is based on ensuring people share in the long term success of the organisation, because it is through them that their success comes. The Plan is open to everyone and enables people to become stakeholders in their future. Company shares have been allocated to the scheme and employees are invited to contribute a set amount per month (up to £50 which buys them a proportion of the ‘pot'). On the completion of a sale or flotation everyone will then share in the ‘Bonus Pot'. The total size of the Bonus Pot is linked to the performance of the business and the value created upon the exit so people can see that their share in the business is directly linked to their contribution, it is a joint effort on everyone's part. In terms of its effectiveness, the team take a long term approach because they have a stake in the future. They act in the best long term interests of the company, not on short term gains which could have a longer term negative effect on the business.

PegasusLife was created to do things differently and to do things better. Their mission, to fundamentally change retirement homes in the UK is not an easy task. Leaving profits to one side, to be successful requires an engaged workforce and a company culture that supports their mission. To that end, all new members of staff get a handbook that explains in detail all of their core values and how everyone at PegasusLife has a part to play in its success. Inspirational quotes that embody their values, from eminent people as diverse as Shakespeare and Jonathan Ive, have been designed into the office environment and can be seen on many of the office walls. PegasusLife's Google+ page has a group called Living the Values, which is an active forum for exchanging ideas, where anyone can post articles or other thinking pieces that support company values. The competencies/values are also part of the appraisal process so everyone is assessed against them at least twice a year. Furthermore, every team day and company gathering is used as an opportunity for the CEO and other key personnel to reconfirm their focus on always having the mission at the forefront of all of all employees minds on a day-to-day basis.

Two-way dialogue and transparent interaction is openly encouraged at Pegasus. In fact, some of their pivotal changes in recent years have been the result of staff feedback, such as the creation of the five Pegasus behaviours and the company's move to Brighton. The company have established countless regular channels for people to feed in their suggestions, from contributing at internal peer group meetings, being invited to provide formal feedback on new initiatives or simply meeting Simon the MD for lunch and a chat. To strengthen staff insights further, Pegasus have recently invested in a formal online engagement tool called ‘HIVE'. HIVE sends bi-weekly micro surveys to all staff, providing real-time data and acting as a barometer for the overall engagement of people on a range of workplace matters. The company also run an internal group called Culture Club, which acts as a working group focusing on staff wellbeing, social and charity events.

Two-way dialogue and transparent interaction is openly encouraged at Pegasus. In fact, some of their pivotal changes in recent years have been the result of staff feedback, such as the creation of the five Pegasus behaviours and the company's move to Brighton. The company have established countless regular channels for people to feed in their suggestions, from contributing at internal peer group meetings, being invited to provide formal feedback on new initiatives or simply meeting Simon the MD for lunch and a chat. To strengthen staff insights further, Pegasus have recently invested in a formal online engagement tool called ‘HIVE'. HIVE sends bi-weekly micro surveys to all staff, providing real-time data and acting as a barometer for the overall engagement of people on a range of workplace matters. The company also run an internal group called Culture Club, which acts as a working group focusing on staff wellbeing, social and charity events.