People Managers Matter

CC give their people the freedom to pursue the projects that inspire them and to switch from one specialism to the other if that's where they feel they can do their best work. The company have no interest in trying to mould employees to fit a pre-existing role. Instead, they want free-thinking individuals who'll find original solutions to novel problems. On the back of having such unique employees, CC run a 'Nobel prize' scheme to reward extraordinary staff effort and achievement. Anyone in the company can nominate anyone else directly to the CEO, who in turn makes cash awards with an announcement of congratulations in the company's monthly in house magazine.

CC have an open air lounge area, which provides a quiet and tranquil environment for their employees to relax in, either at lunchtime or during other quiet times. The company also host free weekly yoga sessions after work. To ensure that mental health is looked after as much as physical, CC have a free and confidential counselling line available to all their employees 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. CC actively encourage employees to use this service if they are experiencing stress or other difficulties, whether work related or personal. Cycling is very popular and to ensure CC employees are safe whilst cycling to and from work the company provide reflective cycling jackets so they can be seen easily by other road users. They also provide them with drying facilities, showers and freshly laundered towels. CC organise for the bicycle ambulance to visit the site and undertake work on employee's bikes to ensure they are maintained properly and roadworthy. The company also pays for their time and the employees pay for any parts they use. They even provide a cycle workshop for staff to undertake minor repairs during the day and provide spare bulbs and other small items. CC also offer to pay £100 towards new glassed if needed for VDU work, which is in addition to paying for the eyesight test.

CMBC are using innovative and creative digital approaches to communicate with their workforce. Traditionally they have displayed their primary purpose using policies and procedures, but they are now using augmented reality videos and YouTube videos to communicate CMBC's organisations Primary Purpose, Values and Outrageous Ambition. These video posters are displayed across the council and uploaded onto the council's intranet pages. Furthermore local college media students and apprentices record employee's stories to help deliver CMBC's outrageous ambition. The Chief Executive personally invited 500 Middle Managers who operate below Head of Service level to attend a half day Big Leadership Conversation workshop. Corporate Leadership Team shares CMBC's outrageous ambition to the Best Borough in the North and discusses with the Managers the organisation's three corporate priorities, how they fit with their values and behaviours and their role in making this happen. They also have a council Facebook page to deliver key messages to their communities and workforce on a daily basis.

CMBC are using the 70:20:10 model of learning to provide a base for employees to shape their learning. The organisation is just about to publish a revised Learning and Development Policy for the first time in several years, which they will use to underpin the development of a culture of self-directed learning. The emphasis is on seeking out learning instead of relying on paid for structured programmes of learning. CMBC also have a coaching and mentoring programme which has been in place for three years. They have built their own pool of workplace coaches and mentors that anyone in the council can request to have time with. They also run a ‘Day in Your Shoes' campaign, which aims to get employees connecting with one another across teams and learning from others about what their services do. This is promoting cross-council networks and helps employees to understand what goes when it comes to delivering CMBC services to the public.

An annual wellbeing survey to all Cadline staff seeks to identify any areas of workplace stress amongst other issues. Feedback is collated and individuals selected randomly for focus groups to discuss the survey results. Recommendations are then collated for the Leadership Team to consider and any necessary action will then be taken. Long term sickness can be a worry to staff, particularly those with dependents. Cadline consider their staff to be an extended family. Every member of staff who has suffered long term sickness has been paid in full for the duration of the sickness to ensure a full and stress free recovery. This also includes a phased return to work. The company have had staff suffer a range of illnesses from heart attacks and cancer to personal injury. The longest episode of paid sick leave has been six months. The company identify quickly if any staff are feeling any work related pressures and do everything they can to alleviate this and support them. All Managers and HR are extremely approachable. Staff wellbeing is crucial for the business, so they listen and talk about ways of reducing any stress. Face to face communication is also very important, as some staff are remotely located and can feel isolated. To combat this Cadline ensure that regular visits and contact take place.

Cadline's vision, mission and values were agreed upon seven years ago. It was decided not to agree upon these solely at a leadership level, so instead the company organised an offsite company event where they had a primary business objective of letting the team develop their ideas. The morning was spent developing the vision and mission statements and in the afternoon the team decided which core values best represented what the company embodies. As well as this the team went further and developed a set of behaviours, ensuring it was clear to every member of staff how to demonstrate these values in day to day interactions with one another and with customers alike. In order to maintain the team's enthusiasm and commitment Cadline decided to embed the values in the performance management system. Every year within each employee's objectives there is a ‘Values' objective, which requests that at each appraisal point the individual submits evidence of how they have ‘lived' the Cadline values of Integrity, Teamwork, Expertise or Passion. Through this process they reinforce the business statements and values to all. Furthermore new employees have a leadership induction scheduled where they spend a morning with one of the Leadership Team. During this induction the bourness statements and values are presented and discussed. This is then reinforced throughout the wider company induction with the HR Manager and Line Manager.

Brooklands Operations Ltd very much believe in retaining and progressing their managers through the business by offering opportunities, training and coaching to allow them to develop from team players to junior managers and eventually onto departmental managers. They do this through management development courses which are run by an external tutor, one to one mentoring with Senior Managers and further external courses to enhance their development. The company has had the same management team in place for four years and many of these managers came up from team players to managers. As a hotel the business works very closely together on a daily basis, meaning discussion with Senior Managers happens throughout the days and any advice on performance is dealt with on an ongoing basis, with tasks and projects allocated over the months being monitored for their progression and completion. The management team also have offsite meetings a few times a year where they work through an agenda, covering commercial, people and guest feedback, all of which ensures their stool model is fulfilled and the team is focused. Having a close management team helps Brooklands Operations Ltd to understand how to work to their strengths and also how to complement each other when a great job has been done. Another huge positive is that most staff members have worked in other hotel groups, meaning they can bring their knowledge and experience to the table in every decision made.

The ‘Make it Happen' attitude is seen in all areas of the business and it is never just one stakeholder taking priority. The Stool model is lived by everyone and engages the team to have a full understanding of what is expected of them. Any decisions the management team make need to be for the good of all three legs of the stool. Through this the management have created a caring and engaged team that deliver great service whilst having fun and making money. This is reflected in the great feedback Brooklands receive from guests regarding the team, low staff turnover for the industry and reaching management budget five years in a row. The management are very hands on and offer an open door policy to all staff. This year Brooklands even went against the industry trend and budgeted to pay all of their team players the National Living Wage, regardless of if they met the criteria. The team are quite often heard saying 'we are the Brooklands Family' and this is great to hear. Marco also meets every prospective employee before they start by leading the daily dash meeting, doing an introduction at the team player monthly induction and running the ‘Make it Happen' workshops for all new starters. He walks the property on a daily basis and even cooked the BBQ with chef for the team event. He also judged the Brooklands Bake off, but felt quite sick after tasting over 30 cakes! He'll even do weekend cover, where he can be found serving behind the bar and doing the pass in 1907, demonstrating to all of the team that they're are in this together and that leadership can take on various different forms to be successful.

Blue Chip Holidays run companywide business updates and smaller team huddles regularly in the middle of the office to encourage communication. They divert the phones and give everyone the opportunity to be there or dial into a conference number; they know its successful because team members come in on their days off. Blue Chip Holidays took the decision to collate their two offices into one and break down the walls to create a big open plan space to help communication and team work. Face to face communication is encouraged rather than phone calls and email.

Blue Chip Holidays actively support the RNLI as a charity that means a lot to their team, owners and guests. The majority of their properties are in a coastal location so Blue Chip Holidays support them both locally and nationally. They have put RNLI water safety information in the welcome packs in each coastal property and they also go out to help in their annual yellow welly collection campaign. Blue Chip Holidays also maintain regular contact with PLUSS and St Loyes Foundation, helping those with disabilities to get into employment. They have just hosted a 6 month paid temporary contract in their Finance department via the St. Loyes foundation. Also, the company have provided several apprenticeships over the last 5 years to enable young unemployed people to gain work experience and in most cases full time permanent employment with them.

Argyll Scott is passionate about developing and promoting their own people. They create bespoke development programmes for individuals who are identified as suitable future leaders. They offer them a combination of offsite, classroom and on the desk training together with ongoing mentoring by the senior leaders of our business and job shadowing as appropriate. Mentoring has been highly effective in allowing managers to discuss management issues with an experienced leader from a different part of the business and to benefit from their different perspective, experience and gain valuable insight from them. Argyll Scott measures the performance of its managers through a set of KPIs and objectives that are set, mutually agreed and reviewed on an annual, quarterly and monthly basis. These are a combination of personal and team performance and revenue targets and headcount growth targets and employee retention and development objectives.

The senior management team sits with the recruitment teams in the open plan office. They do not shut themselves away in private offices. They are extremely visible and have an “open door” management policy. The whole of the senior management team, including the CEO, handle recruitment assignments and are client facing so they genuinely lead by example and thereby actively demonstrate their hands on commitment to the values of the organisation. The senior management team jointly present to the business on a quarterly and bi-annually basis to update employees on company performance, initiatives and objectives, linking all activity back to the vision, mission and values of the organisation. By so doing, they are able to demonstrate their commitment to the values of the organisation by showing trust, sharing insight, demonstrating their talent, celebrating the talent and results of the employees and proving their agility. The CEO is extremely approachable and committed to retaining Argyll Scott's talented employees. He participates in the selection process of all UK based employees and senior international employees, taking a personal interest in ensuring they can attract, hire, train, promote and retain the best talent for the business. The CEO participates in the corporate induction programme, personally explaining the mission, vision and values of the company and thereby demonstrating his commitment to them. On a daily basis, the CEO walks the floor, talking to employees, listening to their suggestions, achievements and feedback on initiatives and advising them on how to handle challenges and obstacles. The CEO hosts monthly lunches with a group of employees from across the business which provides an informal opportunity for him to gauge internal sentiment.

The company have dedicated internal communications specialists who work with their services to ensure that key messages are communicated to staff in ways that are suited to the various job roles in the organisation. Their intranet is updated on a weekly basis and followed up with weekly news alerts to staff to let them know what's going on. Their Chief Executive sends out a monthly brief with her key updates, also directors sends out their own brief to share updates at a local level. They have television screens displayed within all their office buildings and these show key messages and updates of what's going on at Wigan Council. They also have a text messaging service staff can sign up to receive key updates.

The senior leadership have increased their visibility through top down communications. Their Chief Executive and the leader of the council deliver regular listening sessions throughout the year. This provides staff with an opportunity to share their views and hear directly from the senior leadership team. In addition each director holds similar sessions and shares key messages with staff based in their directorate.

Wellingborough Homes hold Annual Star Awards. At the annual staff away day, there is the Star Awards ceremony. Which is where staff can nominate their colleagues for awards that are chosen by Senior Managers. Some examples of the awards are: Rookie of The Year, Best Team Player and First Responder. All nominees receive a certificate and a congratulations from the leadership team, and the employee with the most nominations within each category, receives a prize at the ceremony during the away day and a photo with the Chief Executive, just like real award ceremonies! This is particularly effective because team member employees as well as managers, can nominate anyone within the Organisation. Plus, having the Executive Management Team presenting the awards at the away day, then shows the most recognition in front of all staff.

Wellingborough Homes hold Annual Star Awards. At the annual staff away day, there is the Star Awards ceremony. Which is where staff can nominate their colleagues for awards that are chosen by Senior Managers. Some examples of the awards are: Rookie of The Year, Best Team Player and First Responder. All nominees receive a certificate and a congratulations from the leadership team, and the employee with the most nominations within each category, receives a prize at the ceremony during the away day and a photo with the Chief Executive, just like real award ceremonies! This is particularly effective because team member employees as well as managers, can nominate anyone within the Organisation. Plus, having the Executive Management Team presenting the awards at the away day, then shows the most recognition in front of all staff.

Values are communicated from first interview through to continuous employment. The Achieve More Together quarterly award is a constant reminder of the importance placed on the values. The values are appraised as part of the annual appraisal process. Posters displaying the values are present in all offices and meeting rooms. The company strategy is not only communicated to all employees, but employees are reminded at regular Communication Meetings of progress, updates and reminders.

The company have Achieve More Together Award which is a quarterly cash bonus of £500 net to reward an employee or team who best display the company values. Nominations are invited from all employees.

Travelzoo is very generous with time; there are multiple initiatives ongoing in the UK including an annual charity cycle from London to Paris, weekly volunteering at Suited and Booted; blood donations; Christmas gift boxes for children; refugee clothing collection; various races and competitions that sponsor the favoured company charity, Open Arms Malawi.

Monthly and quarterly financial awards to specific employees for specific achievements (best deal, greatest case study, highest rated deal, best team work etc.).

This is year two of Town and Country Housing Group ‘Journey to Customer Excellence', a customer experience programme based on empowering staff; encouraging teamwork; and promoting customer service. Cross team working groups were established and asked to develop ideas that would benefit the Group. The ideas were presented by each Group at the staff conference in December 2014 with many of ideas being taken forward. For example, the development of an app for tenants to facilitate mobile access to their account. One of the groups established was the 'Buddy' group. The role of a Buddy is to help new members of staff settle into the organisation and highlight the Group's commitment to customer excellence. Buddies explain what this means in practice using the 'brilliant basics' - a shared commitment to responding to all customers promptly and resolving problems at the earliest stage. Another idea that has been implemented is a shadowing scheme to facilitate understanding of other team's, their roles. The scheme was established in April 2015 with positive feedback and good take-up. This summer continuous improvement groups from across the organisation have also been established with a view to improving organizational wide issues, such as the mutual exchange process. The recent challenge for the cross team working Groups was to develop ideas for community action days. Staff ran sessions to support tenants during Customer Service Week and the activities culminated in a highly successful family fun day run by staff with the theme of managing Christmas on a budget.

All of the staff at Town and Country Housing Group are familiar with the vision and values of the group, there are posters all around the building and all new starters receive a copy of the vision and values in their induction pack. The values are replicated on mouse mats, calendars and even sweets! that are given to new starters. The values were central to the development of competencies for managers and staff and to the development of the customer experience programme. Living the values is a key theme and links into the company's customer service goals; responding to queries promptly, respecting others, being responsive and taking ownership. The values are also held on the website and are part of the golden thread that links what Town and Country Housing Group do in terms of service delivery to their values. Pride is the first value and the one most people identify with. The Buddies, who mentor new staff, go through the values with them at a face to face meeting. New managers have a delivery plan that stems from the company vision and values and is monitored through the leadership group on a monthly basis. The company's internal training programmes will also be aligned more closely to their values from next year.

The company have moved to open plan, cross departmental project teams, Friday office bar, flexible working hours.

The company invest in external training and ensure they have the tools needed to drive sales and get the most from their teams. Managers have regular reviews and clear objectives to ensure clarity and success day to day. The company celebrate all successes within their brand.

The Regatta Group prides itself on the level of internal promotions with the majority of management positions being from within the business. New and existing managers are able to go on a bespoke programme called Journey to Management Excellence. This has been specially designed to give managers (or refresh) the knowledge of certain tools that will help them manage their teams better. The programme has been positively received by all the managers that have been through it. Senior managers act as mentors for new and less experienced managers which has had positive results. The company also conduct internal training, topics so far this year have included managing change, having difficult conversations and setting objectives.

As well as the initiative details in section 5.5 the Company offers free fruit in logistics and head office, there are health checks available through local council gyms and we provide prostate and breast screening to employees in their 40s who would not qualify for NHS screening. Company walks are an opportunity for people to exercise in work time. The onsite restaurant cooks healthy meals every day with calorie count and fat content published so that people can make informed choices.

The company offer the opportunity to grow and develop within the Company. Further learning is supported financially and with paid study time off.

Technetix host work experience pupils from schools in the local area. Pupils spend a week within a department of their choice, learning about careers in the industry and gaining insight into real-world environments.

The company have embarked upon a strategic communications programme that makes homeworking real, with clearly articulated benefits for organisations, their customers and the employees that serve them. They are involving their people in this – from videos and company bloggers to contribution to PR activity – and all this is underpinned by an active social media programme.

The company believe that their shift flexibility is a key benefit. Employees have to work a number of pre-agreed core hours, but are then free to select hours that give them a good work/life balance. This means that they have predictability of working hours, but also flexibility if they need to have a special day out with the children or simply make a doctor's appointment. The company's technology also supports shift ‘swapping' which means that employees can reach out to colleagues to swap shifts, giving even more flexibility to achieve the best work/life balance.

The senior management teams are always out and about in the business on a daily basis engaging with the frontline teams and managers. Bound by the 'manager promises', these are promises that frontline teams wanted the senior team to make as they felt it would improve their relationships and working environment. The executive team keep the company values alive through reviewing progress of their managers on a regular basis and creating development plans and objectives that work towards our overall goal.

The senior management teams are always out and about in the business on a daily basis engaging with the frontline teams and managers. Bound by the 'manager promises', these are promises that frontline teams wanted the senior team to make as they felt it would improve their relationships and working environment. The executive team keep the company values alive through reviewing progress of their managers on a regular basis and creating development plans and objectives that work towards our overall goal.

All of the company managers go through the core management training which is facilitated by experts in the various subjects. Specifically, managers get trained on transitioning into management, situational leadership, giving difficult feedback, coaching, running effective PDP sessions. The company think it's important for their managers to have a common language around management theories and how the company like to manage at Redgate as well as using their own style. New managers are given a training plan and an internal management buddy to talk through their experiences. Managers can join external facilitated peer-learning groups to learn from managers in other business at a similar level. The company run internal dojos on the above topics where managers come together to practice the skills they have learnt on the training. In the past the company has not been clear about what exactly makes a great manager at Redgate, this year they have articulated this from a collaborative workshop involving some managers and have now created a feedback tool that can be used to give managers clear, specific and highly valuable feedback on their performance as a manager. They then have a session with their manager to go through the feedback to recognise their strengths and agree what support they need in areas for improvement. It's a positive tool that encourages developmental feedback and continuous improvement.

The company are working with Form the Future ,a Cambs-wide educational charity to support various educational outreach activities. They have sent volunteers to participate in mock interviews with students at a local secondary school, run a CV writing workshop, and an interactive STEM careers workshop, and invited 20 students to visit Redgate where they'll spend time learning about four different projects. The company has just started to partner with Chesterton Community College to help their head of computing design and deliver a Computer Science curriculum for years 7 to 11. The company is partnering with Simprints, a local non-profit delivering hardware to help healthcare workers identify patients in the developing world, on a week-long project to rewrite some of their key software. The company also has a long-standing relationship with Romsey Mill, a local charity supporting young people and families, and offer them help throughout the year. The company donate their old computers to Afrinspire. There is also a volunteer day where every member of staff can spend one day a year volunteering on any charitable project they like.

The company have Friday drinks each week and end of the month drinks on a Thursday to encourage socialising outside of individual teams. The company as a whole also receive a newsletter from the UK President each week with the latest news and new business wins along with new joiner emails each week from HR. All internal training courses are open to all employees and are delivered on a weekly basis. The company also have work experience initiatives for more junior employees from the regional offices to spend a week in London and East Grinstead to learn more about RAPP and the wider business. The company moved offices in December 2015. The new office covers one floor in an Omnicom building, encouraging more internal interaction but also engagement with sibling agencies. The company also provide free yoga classes and the option to join Bootcamp during lunch or after work. .

In 1995, Tom Watson, Vice Chairman of Omnicom Group Inc., with Harvard Business School professor Len Schlesinger, created a global leadership development program, Omnicom University Senior Management Program (SMP). Today, the program is regarded as one of the pre-eminent executive education experiences and one of the major sources of “cultural glue” for the Omnicom network. RAPP sends the Leadership team to SMP. SMP is a two-year commitment which includes action learning and peer problem-solving dialogues. Students attend a six-day Undergraduate Program, followed by a four-day Graduate Program a year later. Students are required to identify and implement a Personal Strategic Change Initiative between the Undergraduate and Graduate programs that will have significant impact within their organisation. The Senior Management team also attend the Advanced Management Program, AMP. AMP introduces future leaders and “rising stars” throughout Omnicom to the core principles of managing a professional service firm and the Service Profit Chain, the core management framework we use at SMP. In addition to affording participants a world-class development experience, AMP provides a new form of recognition and retention for key managers, an opportunity for these managers to forge relationships with other talented individuals within Omnicom, and an additional source of support for returning “apostle” SMP graduates as they endeavour to affect change within their organisations. As with SMP, these three-day sessions use the case study method to stimulate discussions of issues and trends that challenge our industry.

The SMT demonstrate their commitment to open, collaborative communication by actively contributing to Town Hall Updates - everyone gets a section, managing and responding to the weekly ask the SMT emails and actively encouraging the flat structure the company try to encourage whereby everyone is approachable and everyone's voice gets heard - regardless of their role.

The company reminds employees of the vision and mission every time we meet at every town hall so they are constantly focussed on the bigger picture.

The company hold regular Company Celebration Days and reward employees for their efforts as part of this event. Staff are recognised for their contribution and their successes and the contribution they have made to the lives of young people. The Celebration day is held at a special venue and attended by all staff across the organisation and is a unique opportunity for staff to meet and socialise with staff from other teams. Staff receive Awards and vouchers for specific categories of awards that are chosen carefully by senior management. These events help us to let our staff know that they are valued and recognised.

The company are committed to the training and development of their workforce and to this end they have achieved Gold status with investors in people. Some examples of their employee development include: structured induction and probation process comprehensive training plan for all new employees bespoke training to meeting additional needs of young people. All care staff expected and supported to achieve QCT level 3 in care. All managers expected and supported to achieve QCF level 5 in management. The development of a bespoke performance management supervision tool which addresses the Focus, Skills and engagement of staff and helps managers give constructive evidence based feedback across all areas thereby enhancing performance and engagement in the work place. Supervision policy ensuring regular supervision and support is provided to staff Mentoring and coaching to support new staff and existing staff develop skills Development of life skills through our company wide IT skills development program enabling all staff to achieve NVQ level 2 in IT. Giving opportunities for staff to champion areas of work in the organisation such as Health and Safety, Environment thereby developing additional skills such as chairing meetings.

The company has always encouraged cross department and team working, with a 'one company culture'. Every week, team members gather at HQ for an information sharing and learning session. This not only gives support to those that are in isolated offices but also ensures that everyone has up to date information and shares best practice and achievements. The company also encourages team away days, so they can focus on the future of their departments and what the plans are for the year ahead. The company try to incorporate some competitive activities too, such as the Property Management away day which had quad biking and clay pigeon shooting activities mixed with some sessions with the Director on the future of the business.

The company has always encouraged cross department and team working, with a 'one company culture'. Every week, team members gather at HQ for an information sharing and learning session. This not only gives support to those that are in isolated offices but also ensures that everyone has up to date information and shares best practice and achievements. The company also encourages team away days, so they can focus on the future of their departments and what the plans are for the year ahead. The company try to incorporate some competitive activities too, such as the Property Management away day which had quad biking and clay pigeon shooting activities mixed with some sessions with the Director on the future of the business.

Pinnacle's core value is all about supporting their people, and as they are a UK wide organisation, getting teams together is very important to them. Therefore the company organisers departmental conferences eg. Support department conference (held this year in Newcastle), Consultant's conference (held this year in Warwickshire). At these conferences they have the opportunity to discuss opportunities/challenges specific their department and meet up with colleagues who are working in a different geographical area. Another way the company demonstrates this core value is by allowing many of their staff the flexibility to work from home, this helps significantly with their "work life balance".

Core communication to the Pinnacle team comes from James Spencer, MD, who is highly visible to all employees on a daily basis. James has a no desk, no PA policy, ensuring he works from all office locations, sitting amongst staff. He will frequently gather teams to give a "State of the Nation" on Pinnacle's vision and performances. This is always a very open forum, never shying from away from difficult subjects or issues the business maybe facing. Frequent meetings with the management team and personal mentoring and coaching helps those new to the management team accelerate their personal development and performance. The staff newsletter also provides communication of the mission and core values.

The company strategy is aligned to one of their core values - ability, and their primary guiding principle; superior financial performance. The desired outcomes are to drive superior sustainable financial performance and enhance the retention. Promotion and development of high performing staff who live the company values. The company has a progressive pay scheme benchmarked to ensure they pay median basic salaries for the appropriate grades they offer. From the outset they make it clear that talented sales staffs who are successful will obtain superior earnings, however they will never seek to drive a culture of high basic salary low value performance incentives.

The company strategy is aligned to one of their core values - ability, and their primary guiding principle; superior financial performance. The desired outcomes are to drive superior sustainable financial performance and enhance the retention. Promotion and development of high performing staff who live the company values. The company has a progressive pay scheme benchmarked to ensure they pay median basic salaries for the appropriate grades they offer. From the outset they make it clear that talented sales staffs who are successful will obtain superior earnings, however they will never seek to drive a culture of high basic salary low value performance incentives.

Pension Protection Fund have a Sports, Social and Charity Committee (SSCC) which is responsible for organising PPF-wide money-raising events. Staff voted for Cancer Research UK as their national charity for 2015, and the SSCC has organised a cake sale, quiz night, football tournament and raffles to raise money. There are also stations for staff to leave donations to Cancer Research UK shops. In the first five months Pension Protection Fund have donated 91 bags. The company's local charity initiative with Croydon Commitment enables them to take part in a number of 'Community Days' throughout the year. In December 2014, the company prepared and served Christmas dinner at Parchmore Community Centre for local pensioners, and they also packed Christmas hampers at Croydon Neighbourhood Care Association. In December 2014, PPF volunteers decorated apartments at a local residential complex for older people. More recently, PPF volunteers helped turn an outdoor play space into an external classroom at St Giles' School, a school for pupils with physical disabilities and complex medical needs. This involved plenty of painting and preparing surfaces. Pension Protection Fund have installed a food bank donation station in their office to support the Croydon based Save Humanity Organisation's Community Food Bank.

Pension Protection Fund have completed a series of health and wellbeing workshops for the last year to positively engage with employees and help enhance their health and wellbeing. The topics have been varied to encourage employees to attend. The company have run workshops of mindfulness, sleep deprivation, nutrition, fitness, impact on the immune system, dealing with difficult people, resilience, work/life balance, people skills, how to deal with lack of energy, how to take control and sharpen your focus. The sessions are normally led by external provider: ‘Feelgood'. The company have had nutritionists, clinical psychologists, mindfulness practitioners and sports consultants in to lead and engage with their employees. The sessions tend to be held in a boardroom with the speakers guiding the attendees through slides, enabling discussion and on occasion group work. Sometimes the session can be interactive such as the fitness session. The slides and handouts are then posted to the intranet for download. The handouts that accompany the slides have soundbites and top tips around health and wellbeing, and all have been positively welcomed. Pension Protection Fund also run monthly free fruit drops for employees, they provide enough fruit for an am and pm drop in both market squares and signpost reminders each month that the fruit drop is available.