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.
Each new employee at FluidOne receives a welcome pack that includes a water bottle, mug, pads, pens, and a printed copy of the organisation’s values. The induction course includes health and safety training, company structure, policies, procedures and wellbeing benefits, and initiatives are available to employees from day one.
All managers at FluidOne goes through several training programmes internally and externally to ensure that they are equipped with the necessary tools to be a great manager. During their first 3 months, they follow a specifically designed programme to help them to understand internal management policies and procedures.
FluidOne conducts regular pay benchmarking and pay reviews to help it to identify and eliminate any disparities in pay based on protected characteristics. It also has a transparent pay policy that outlines the factors used to determine pay, such as experience, education, performance, and job responsibilities.
Employees now have access to a workplace health programme with annual health checks, online GP appointments, counselling sessions and other benefits, including health screenings and gym memberships. The company is also happy to pay if employees want to take a gym class together or hire a venue for a game of football.
Employees are recognised for their efforts and hard work with rewards and incentives. There are bonuses for passing exams and team nights out for hitting targets. And if staff recommend a candidate for a role, they can get £500, £1000, or more (depending on the seniority of the position) if they’re appointed.
Charity and community are part of the fabric at Fitzrovia IT. In the last 12 months, employees have participated in two 10k runs and raised £2000 for the MS Society. The company is always happy to match the donations or sponsorship raised by its employees.
East Coast College have produced pulse surveys with action plans based on the responses to provide a better workplace for its employees. It has further implemented a suggestions and feedback form on the intranet which is reviewed by Management termly, and the CEO conducts listening groups each term with groups of staff.
The college recognises that all employees play a vital role in its success. Its Emerging Leaders programme, led by the CEO, usually has a cohort of around 15 staff members who aspire to become leaders. The programme focusses on self-awareness and development alongside core competencies in areas such as people management, including employment law.
All managers have the opportunity to participate in the management degree apprenticeship run by the college in conjunction with University of Suffolk. The college also runs Mental Health First Aid training each term for all staff and Emotional Awareness training for managers, teaching wellbeing intervention support.
Every team member can nominate colleagues who’ve gone the extra mile through the EW Allstars reward and recognition programme. It celebrates staff in four categories – 'Be Great', 'Be Amazing', 'Be Extraordinary' and 'Be Kind'. On ambassador approval, the nominees get money in their prize fund to spend with a host of retailers.
The ‘Yellow Dip’ induction (reflecting the uniform colour) includes the company history, mission, vision and values and a ‘walk and spot’ around the park. All new starters get a bespoke four-week plan, a ‘buddy’ to ease them in and branded items to make their lives easier, including water bottles and keyrings.
Employees are encouraged to suggest professional development opportunities to support their ambitions. Team members can benefit from bespoke learning courses like project management certification and Excel skills. There are also English classes for non-native speakers. The management team has external support to develop the skills and knowledge to build cohesive, results-focused teams.
Warner’s introduced “change agents” to ensure that actions based on feedback from staff were implemented. One team member from every area of the business was enlisted and progress was shared at monthly town-hall meetings. Another new initiative is giving paid half-days off to staff to give something back to the community.
During the past 18 months, Warner’s has invested in supporting personal growth through promoting self-awareness in preferred ways of working and discovering any potential blockers by using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. It has also run team days with a guest speaker.
The company focuses on positive biodiversity impacts in line with its "nature positive" mission. Initiatives include Operation Honeybee, a campaign launched with its Honeybee gin that aims to educate and engage stakeholders to join the company in finding ways of alleviating some of the pressures facing pollinators.
The company describes its socials as "second to none" with "amazing turnout." Its monthly get-togethers are always fun-focused, with activities such as mini golf and visits to street food markets. And there are wellness ones too, including a trip to Kew Gardens and one to see Romeo & Juliet at the theatre.
All new recruits receive an in-depth starter pack before they join the company, with everything they need to get started. They're allocated coaches, and there are plenty of opportunities to ask questions with meetings with their peers, managers and all Managing Partners arranged for their first few weeks.
Managers are only ever hired from within, having already benefitted from internal training in areas such as copywriting, client servicing, confidence training and building rapport. They also get internal training with the Managing Partners and external training when they're new to post and as they develop.
The agency’s values are fundamental to every activity. One of the key ones, “to leave the world in a better place than we found it,” can be seen in the Christmas party planning, where meals were donated to Crisis for every company one purchased. Agency profits have also supported a school build in Ethiopia.
The company takes a flexible, hybrid approach to office and home working. At the same time, it also recognises that more junior team members learn best from physically being around those with greater skills. As a result, staff at Account Manager level or below generally spend four days a week in the office.
Some employees have been with the business for more than 20 years, and others just a few months. This diversity creates a willingness to teach, train and share. With four of the five-strong management team promoted from within, there are plenty of opportunities to progress.
At the monthly breakfast club, staff get together and chat about non work-related subjects. They are asked to talk to someone new and offer topics of conversation as ice-breakers. It means people socialise outside of their circles and it's a great way to introduce new starters.
Senior management believe it is important that staff feel empowered and trusted. They are given the autonomy to make decisions. The leadership team has a "door always open" policy, meaning they are on hand for advice and support whenever it is required. That gives staff the confidence to challenge themselves while feeling supported.
Every year, top performers take part in the annual Disney trip which showcases the company's top-selling products. They stay in luxury accommodation throughout their two-week stay and enjoy the experiences that clients would have, such as meals from a private chef, a Disney firework cruise or a glass-bottomed kayak tour.
New starters get an induction session and ‘welcome box’ related to their new role, including a notepad, gloves, travel mug… and a sweet treat! They also get a buddy to support them while learning their new position. There are also plans for an ‘onboarding’ portal, bringing together helpful documents and FAQs.
The Group promotes internally whenever it can, supporting its people with training to gain the skills and confidence to go for the next level up. There are apprenticeship schemes and a graduate scheme giving individuals experience in the departments they want to work in. And the organisation will fund professional and degree-level qualifications.
Jigsaw Homes Group aims to be carbon neutral by 2050 through its ‘Be Zero’ sustainability plan. It has a sustainability coordinator who will deliver training to all employees during 2023 on how to be more environmentally responsible, such as through carbon literacy training, so they can channel this into their roles.
The foundation makes sure that its values, which include "striving for excellence", "inclusive" and "trustworthy", are visible to all staff and it sets out to articulate a clear vision. Staff away-days and meetings are used to convey that vision and inform employees on how the charity is performing.
There is a learning-management system containing training resources to support staff development. Learning hours, which offer bite-sized training sessions, are delivered by internal and external trainers. A dedicated group discusses how learning can be promoted within the organisation and it was responsible for creating learning champions. The foundation also has a leadership development programme.
Benefits include 30 days' annual holiday, plus compassionate leave, generous maternity and paternity leave and sick pay, as well as time off for moving home or study. It offers a life assurance scheme, season ticket loans and a cycle-to-work scheme. Staff are also given three paid days off a year for voluntary work.
Looking for more information on our solutions? Let us know how we can help and the right member of our team will be in touch shortly.
