People Managers Matter

Octink strives to work in close partnership with the local community and directors and employees alike are actively involved in our community activities. Our CEO, Will Tyler is Chairman of Spark, a charity that creates links between local schools and businesses to improve the employability of young people. While our MD, Mike Freely is a Director of Cultivate London, an innovative urban farm and social enterprise based across multiple derelict sites in West London. These partnerships with Spark and Cultivate London reflect our wider community commitment. To helping improve the employability of young people in the community by giving them opportunities to gain work experience and develop new skills. In the last 12 months the company has invested a combination of employee volunteering time, cash donations and work in kind donations to the value of over £15,000.

Octink strives to work in close partnership with the local community and directors and employees alike are actively involved in our community activities. Our CEO, Will Tyler is Chairman of Spark, a charity that creates links between local schools and businesses to improve the employability of young people. While our MD, Mike Freely is a Director of Cultivate London, an innovative urban farm and social enterprise based across multiple derelict sites in West London. These partnerships with Spark and Cultivate London reflect our wider community commitment. To helping improve the employability of young people in the community by giving them opportunities to gain work experience and develop new skills. In the last 12 months the company has invested a combination of employee volunteering time, cash donations and work in kind donations to the value of over £15,000.

All employees have a good understanding of EVP as they actively particpated in its construction. It is through EVP that they communicate their primary purpose, values and ambitions in a succinct way. The annual sales conference seeks to provide clarity and reinforcement of values, mission, strategic objectives and ambitions for the forthcoming year and beyond. It also recognises outstanding performance and celebrates successes - all are aligned to the mission, values and vision. Integral to how they live the mission, values and vision is to ensure they are always at the forefront of their minds when operating day to day, leading their people, making decisions, engaging with candidates and clients and interacting with others through social media and other media. Through annual employee engagement survey they gain a better understanding of what is important to the people and where we may have become 'out of touch' . This allows the company to address key areas and focus on driving a high performance culture focused on a single vision.

They work with all managers to improve their business performance through a combination of understanding themselves and understanding how to achieve improved staff performance. The business employs a number of approaches to supporting and developing the management team. An appraisal process which focuses on providing constructive feedback on individual and team performance and setting the development objectives for the forthcoming half year. A 360 degree feedback tool which gives employees an opportunity to ‘score' their managers. An exit interview process which gives constructive feedback on how they could improve in employee engagement efforts, and particularly how managers could maximise the value they get from their employees. A mentoring programme for all employees, including management, which gives the leaders in the organisation an additional support network outside the work environment. A regular weekly team meeting for all management is held to provide a forum for discussing business challenges and gleaning advice and feedback on work in progress. Frequent feedback and coaching is available to all managers on a regular basis- this performance feedback should identify skill gaps, leading to training and future improvement.

BUPA health screening is available to all Senior Managers and Directors which gives an overview of their current state of health and wellbeing. The assessment of current health and future risks includes: A medical history and lifestyle questionnaire; a physical examination; a consultation with a doctor or health adviser; the opportunity to ask questions and discuss concerns. Many test results are available on the day and a personalised health report and action plan with practical advice to help minimise health risks is produced. BUPA has been extended to a wider number of colleagues (benefit grade C1 and above) and offers private medical insurance which aims to fund medical treatment required. The company offers a discount Gym Membership at one of the leading leisure clubs in the UK, David Lloyd. This is to try and encourage colleagues to keep fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle. They also have a walking club set up where colleagues get together and walk into town at lunchtime. This is encouraged internally to ensure colleagues are taking a sufficient lunch hour and interacting outside the workplace. In every regional office they have a Sports & Social Committee set up. It is the responsibility of the committee members to plan and organise a range of sport and social activities. They also have a Wellbeing Section on their Intranet – this includes workout advice, healthy recipes, tips to alleviate stress.

BUPA health screening is available to all Senior Managers and Directors which gives an overview of their current state of health and wellbeing. The assessment of current health and future risks includes: A medical history and lifestyle questionnaire; a physical examination; a consultation with a doctor or health adviser; the opportunity to ask questions and discuss concerns. Many test results are available on the day and a personalised health report and action plan with practical advice to help minimise health risks is produced. BUPA has been extended to a wider number of colleagues (benefit grade C1 and above) and offers private medical insurance which aims to fund medical treatment required. The company offers a discount Gym Membership at one of the leading leisure clubs in the UK, David Lloyd. This is to try and encourage colleagues to keep fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle. They also have a walking club set up where colleagues get together and walk into town at lunchtime. This is encouraged internally to ensure colleagues are taking a sufficient lunch hour and interacting outside the workplace. In every regional office they have a Sports & Social Committee set up. It is the responsibility of the committee members to plan and organise a range of sport and social activities. They also have a Wellbeing Section on their Intranet – this includes workout advice, healthy recipes, tips to alleviate stress.

All new team members go through an induction process where they are introduced to the values by an executive team member. These values are reinforced in company collateral, and they are even encrypted on the office tea/coffee mugs. Their mission, vision, strategic objectives and critical success factors are reinforced at the All Hands Quarterly Team Meeting and in company collateral, including large posters displayed in the office. As their values are so crucial to their business they have incorporated them into their Performance Management Process. It is important to the company that they not only understand what their employee achieved but also how.

At Metapack they are very keen on raising the leadership and people management capability and aligning the MetaPack leadership framework to the new vision and growth strategy. They have set up a programme called the ‘MetaPack Leadership Academy' where the focus is on: strategy, managing change, values and behaviour, influence and communication, planning and organising, structure and process, teamwork and motivation, metrics, results and awards.

The hours of work are 8:45 - 16:45 which enables them to miss a lot of rush hour traffic to get valuable time at home. They also provide hot drinks, cold drinks, biscuits, fruit, occasional lunches, salad dressings, and small things to offer a home from home environment. They have recently had a large office refurbishment which has enabled them to create an environment which allows people a better work environment. There are several areas for privacy, relaxing and thinking to encourage people time away from their desks.

The hours of work are 8:45 - 16:45 which enables them to miss a lot of rush hour traffic to get valuable time at home. They also provide hot drinks, cold drinks, biscuits, fruit, occasional lunches, salad dressings, and small things to offer a home from home environment. They have recently had a large office refurbishment which has enabled them to create an environment which allows people a better work environment. There are several areas for privacy, relaxing and thinking to encourage people time away from their desks.

They have a 6 month Management Development Programme available called Step Forward. This programme includes modules in Values Based Leadership, Coaching as a Leadership Style, Managing Performance and Recruitment. During the programme managers also have access to an online leadership library and bite size breakfast learning sessions with topics including Managing Conflict and Handling Difficult Conversations. Additionally in the weekly workflow meeting they have a forum for managers to discuss live issues in the agency with the senior leadership team. Outside of this forum, they also create smaller working groups of managers with senior leaders to support them in their daily tasks. An example of this is having the creative services director meet with the CEO and creative directors weekly to discuss resourcing in his department. They also invite their managers to attend more senior training opportunities such as those organised by the AAR and IPA.

Every Friday morning they have an all agency meeting. It's an opportunity to share what's going on in the agency, welcome new joiners, allow teams to share the work they're doing for clients and a forum for parish notices. All accompanied by a free bacon / egg sandwich and a hot cup of tea! It's great for encouraging inter-department relationships and is just a great way to end the week. The last Thursday before payday is 'Thirsty Thursday' when a member of the management team chooses a venue and invites the agency out for a few drinks. It's timely because many people are short of funds and it's a good opportunity for people to socialise and unwind together. 'What's going on?' is an email summary contributed to by anyone in the team, a weekly snapshot of the culture, successes, people and news at the agency. Normally compiled by the CEO or another member of the management team it's sent to everyone at the end of the week so if you've been away or busy on a project you can keep in touch with all the goings on.

Salary reviews are conducted in April of each year and a salary increase is awarded dependent on an individual's performance and contribution made to the organisation over the past 12 months. The salary review process is fair and transparent across the organisation. When an employee passes their probation period they are awarded with a gift by their line manager - for example a £50 gift voucher. This initiative applies to all employees. Spot bonus payments or gift tokens are awarded to employees who have gone above and beyond the remit of their role.

The business has recently launched the My Resilience Assessment and Toolkit which has had a 65% uptake so far. The My Resilience Assessment provides an awareness of how resilient you really are. The report generate is unique for each employee and highlights the key areas they may wish to focus on to bolster their resilience.

Krispy Kreme likes to support all of their employees. They are currently creating a catalogue of development courses/opportunities that will be available for their store managers. They have started specific development with their senior managers

Krispy Kreme likes to support all of their employees. They are currently creating a catalogue of development courses/opportunities that will be available for their store managers. They have started specific development with their senior managers

Love Baked In is how the company describe the values of their business. All of the senior leadership team attended workshops to help create and shape this value statement for the business and it is part of their JD. They are also assessed and evaluated by the CEO on the basis of this value of Love Baked In There are 5 key ingredients to Love Baked In The Taste of Devotion; This is going the extra mile. The senior managers do whatever it takes to fulfill the companies mission The Feeling Of Craft : This is about the attention to detail .An example would be that each manager creates a weekly trading report analysing key metrics around the performance of their area of the business. The Desire to Share The value here is generosity . So generous with their time ,managers hold weekly/monthly one to one's and build strong relationships with their team. The Telling Of Stories: Creativity and playfulness Senior management talk about the values at the start of their team meetings and get their team to focus on great examples. The Appetite to Return: The company want to create family members not just team members so senior managers care for their team as people not just workers !

At the beginning of all team meetings at every level, each attendee, shares what has brought them joy over the past week. Or they may choose to focus on a company value and people can share examples of where they have seen a good example of behaviour around this value . It often really transforms the atmosphere at the start of the meeting and creates a positive energy . The company have also created a monthly newsletter called The Cake that goes to all team members. This is backed up by a daily communication called The Slice which also goes out to all team members . It's printed out by managers and discussed in shop /production meetings every day . They also have a company team Facebook page for team members to communicate with each other.

All managers receive external one to one coaching on a monthly basis. They can use this time to process any issue they wish, it is entirely confidential and for their own personal and professional development. The company have delivered a year long programme of world class speakers to work closely with their senior management team. In order to support their Financial Controller the company engaged a part time Finance Director to mentor her through a period of growth and planning. Their marketing executive has been put through a CIM Certificate funded by the company and supported with paid study days. The senior management team run their own diaries and know that the company place great value on their personal and family lives. They believe that to alleviate stress at senior level it is important that they are present at children's sports days, partner's hospital appointments, school plays and all those things that being present at hopefully give one a really great work-life balance. They do not expect a 9-5 culture, they expect a high performing team who delivers on the goals and objectives of their business and their happiness is key to that. The company treat them like grown-ups and they behave like them -it is a culture of mutual respect.

By not providing a covered smoking area anywhere on or near their site and offering a financial incentive of £100 after 6 months of being cigarette free and another £100 6 months later, the company believe they do as much as possible to deter their employees from smoking and the aim is to provide a positive and supportive environment to do this in. In a similar vein Kelly's Self Storage removed all their vending machines and replaced them with free, fresh fruit deliveries and equipped a full kitchen with ovens, hobs, pans, pots, knives, aprons, chopping boards - the works! - so that staff were able to prepare fresh food from scratch should they wish. Their staff offer each other their training abilities and support when undertaking any of their Charity events. From helping someone who hadn't been on a bike since they were 12 to undertake a 45 mile to running a marathon, their employees have buddied up and supported each other all the way. A sporting theme runs through most things they do at Kelly's so even their family fun days are full of (very competitive) volleyball games, extreme rounders, tugs of war and football bulldog. The company recently brought physios and masseurs in house for all of their staff. The company encourage an active, healthy lifestyle as part of their culture and it is self-perpetuating because they then attract people who are looking to or already pursue this type of lifestyle.

The company have an Employee Forum who represent different areas of the company and who build bridges between teams. They meet bi-monthly.

The company offer Training programmes, mentoring, shadowing and workshops.

A key area of focus for the business has been the ongoing delivery of the Leadership development programme delivered through: A series of internal workshops ,residential course supported by external Leadership coach promotion of one to one coaching and mentoring ,focus during Performance Review process to drive change, demonstrate return on investment as well as identify future development needs. Weekly 'Standing room Only' and monthly senior management team meetings provide a forum for managers to discuss and resolve issues within their departments. All managers have a fortnightly 121 session with the CEO which is a combination of discussing issues, problem solving and mentoring. Management bonus scheme rewards managers for achievement of objectives. Johnson Fleming run team building events periodically, typically annually. Their 2015 event consisted of 8 teams in the company competing against each other to raise as much money as possible for their charity of the year in one day, which resulted in over £4,000 being raised for CLIC Sargant. When planning team building events, the company identify individuals who are currently receiving management training or are identified as potential leaders, to be team leaders, to give them management experience, and allow them to show senior management how they perform in that situation.

In addition to EAP, and discounted gym membership available via the company's private medical insurance, they also offer membership to all employees of the Edenred voucher scheme. This allows employees to buy discounted vouchers for shopping and leisure activities including meals and entertainment, holidays and spa activities.

The Teleworking Scheme has enhanced work life balance and welfare of staff, giving them greater flexibility in how they organise their working lives and balance the demands of their career with their domestic responsibilities and personal wellbeing. Staff take part in the annual 'Step Challenge' each year and have to achieve 10,000 steps a day. This is a lot of walking/running to do. If you don't achieve 10,000 steps each day you forfeit £1. Total forfeits are donated towards our charity.

The Teleworking Scheme has enhanced work life balance and welfare of staff, giving them greater flexibility in how they organise their working lives and balance the demands of their career with their domestic responsibilities and personal wellbeing. Staff take part in the annual 'Step Challenge' each year and have to achieve 10,000 steps a day. This is a lot of walking/running to do. If you don't achieve 10,000 steps each day you forfeit £1. Total forfeits are donated towards our charity.

Employees are allowed to work from home one day a week, which eases the stress of travelling to work. This also allows some people the option of doing the school run and taking deliveries without having to worry about taking time off work.

They have recently provided new training initiatives for managers on performance management and have invested in a training scheme called Speed of Trust. They have regular 1-1's with Managers to ensure they are supported in managing their teams.

Employees are eligible for a profit related company bonus scheme which is determined by the performance of the Division against set criteria. The criteria are set out at the beginning of each financial year and employees are regularly updated as to progress.

Employees are eligible for a profit related company bonus scheme which is determined by the performance of the Division against set criteria. The criteria are set out at the beginning of each financial year and employees are regularly updated as to progress.

Health Shield, this is a voluntary benefit which is available to all colleagues and is a good start to promoting health and wellbeing in the workplace. Health Shield is a health cash plan, which helps colleagues cover the cost of everyday healthcare needs. From just £1.20 per week colleagues can claim up to 100% cashback (up to annual limits) on health treatments such as trips to the dentist and optician, physiotherapy and many other health and wellbeing therapies including reflexology, reiki and sports massages.

Health Shield, this is a voluntary benefit which is available to all colleagues and is a good start to promoting health and wellbeing in the workplace. Health Shield is a health cash plan, which helps colleagues cover the cost of everyday healthcare needs. From just £1.20 per week colleagues can claim up to 100% cashback (up to annual limits) on health treatments such as trips to the dentist and optician, physiotherapy and many other health and wellbeing therapies including reflexology, reiki and sports massages.

Rising Stars are identified as well in a fair manner and consider for senior development programmes within the business and for future progression in terms of talent management.

Rising Stars are identified as well in a fair manner and consider for senior development programmes within the business and for future progression in terms of talent management.

The company focus on clear, open communication that is delivered through a number of methods from traditional management meetings to addressing the whole company every Monday morning and Friday afternoon. Every month and quarter they hold a detailed and fun monthly/quarterly ‘wrap up' and ‘kick off' of the next month/quarter ahead. These company-wide meetings will include awards, recognition of top performance and presentations on key aspects they need to focus on for the following month. All information is documented and presented in a pdf pack so anyone not available for the meetings has access to the details. The company is also fortunate to have our walls covered in white boards and television screens that constantly update the business on the day-to-day news, successes, rewards and our core values throughout the day.

The company use a blended approach to develop their managers, combining a group training programme with individual development plans. The best example is their Management Development Programme. This includes classroom training, peer group sessions, psychometric profiles, mentoring, on-the-job learning and reflective learning. It covers a range of topics from flexing management style to different personalities to performance management. This is a year-long programme that is based on extensive training needs analysis and combines development techniques alongside evaluation to ensure the learning is embedded in the business. Another example is that the company offer tailored training solutions to individuals. One of their managers had been struggling with retention and they saw an unusually high level of attrition in his team. In response to this they discussed a number of options with him and he opted for attending an external management training course as well as coaching. This has really helped him understand his role better so that he can improve the results.

ABCDE Recognition Scheme (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Employee) As a not for profit organisation the Group aims to have a culture whereby effort is acknowledged, praised and communicated, by saying ‘thank-you'. It is the Group's aim to celebrate achievements at every level and at every opportunity. The ABCDE scheme recognises good performance, link rewards to positive behaviours (that reflect the organisations Values) and motivate staff.

ABCDE Recognition Scheme (Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Employee) As a not for profit organisation the Group aims to have a culture whereby effort is acknowledged, praised and communicated, by saying ‘thank-you'. It is the Group's aim to celebrate achievements at every level and at every opportunity. The ABCDE scheme recognises good performance, link rewards to positive behaviours (that reflect the organisations Values) and motivate staff.

Every team at Dale & Valley Homes receives a large basket of free fruit at the start of every month to encourage staff to have a healthier diet. This also increases the likelihood of staff achieving their '5 a day' and makes eating fruit a normal part of their working day. Their 'Workout Wednesdays' take place on the first Wednesday of every month to encourage employees to carry out some form of physical exercise. Employees receive a half hour credit to their flexi account when they have undertaken an exercise activity (usual walking, running or a visit to the gym) in their lunch hour. Employees can boost their annual leave entitlement by buying an additional five days leave. Alternatively, they can sell up to 5 days leave. Annual flu vaccinations and mini health checks are available to all staff to improve their health and reduce absenteeism. The mini health checks gives employees a picture of their current health and suggests changes to their lifestyle, if needed.

Every team at Dale & Valley Homes receives a large basket of free fruit at the start of every month to encourage staff to have a healthier diet. This also increases the likelihood of staff achieving their '5 a day' and makes eating fruit a normal part of their working day. Their 'Workout Wednesdays' take place on the first Wednesday of every month to encourage employees to carry out some form of physical exercise. Employees receive a half hour credit to their flexi account when they have undertaken an exercise activity (usual walking, running or a visit to the gym) in their lunch hour. Employees can boost their annual leave entitlement by buying an additional five days leave. Alternatively, they can sell up to 5 days leave. Annual flu vaccinations and mini health checks are available to all staff to improve their health and reduce absenteeism. The mini health checks gives employees a picture of their current health and suggests changes to their lifestyle, if needed.

A new e-learning system has been made available for employees and volunteers, which is accessible from both work and home computers, reducing potential constraints around accessibility and enabling learners to engage in learning activities at a time that suits them. The system also enables the Trust to address concerns about cross infection, which prevent people with CF meeting each other, and ensure we adopt an inclusive approach to learning. The Trust recently developed an NVQ level 3 award in Volunteer Management for our employees to better understand best practice standards of volunteer management. The programme has been so successful that it is now offered to other organisations and the take-up is encouraging.

'Introduction to Management' programme provides support to new managers on becoming more comfortable in their role as managers. Recently, the Trust invested in a year long development programme for its senior managers, to facilitate better collaborative working. Peer coaching, action learning and 360 degree feedback were integral parts of the programme, which is based on NLP (Neuro- Linguistic) techniques.

The organisation supports its Senior Managers through external coaching and mentoring schemes along with developing their own coaching skills through bespoke coaching programme. All managers are sponsored to achieve level 5 or above management qualifications. Access to peer support and external coaching if required.

The organisation supports its Senior Managers through external coaching and mentoring schemes along with developing their own coaching skills through bespoke coaching programme. All managers are sponsored to achieve level 5 or above management qualifications. Access to peer support and external coaching if required.