My Manager - How employees feel about and communicate with their direct manager
The quality of direct line management really impacts engagement, after all the latest stats suggest that 7 out of 10 people leave their manager and not their organisation.
Great managers should be selling the direction and vision of the organisation, helping others see how their role impacts the bigger picture, ultimately influencing the factor My Company. Good Managers recognise the importance of growing and developing their people, which means the My Manager factor also has a significant impact on the factor Personal Growth.
When it comes to My Team, great managers build great teams, but world class managers also focus on connecting teams throughout the organisation. Managers can heavily influence the Wellbeing factor by helping to positively restore a work/life balance, managing employee workload and recognising that employees have a life outside of work
Staff working from home during the pandemic received advice on health, travel, stress and managing family life, while their professional training continued online. The social side of the office was maintained, too – yoga poses were held, team drinks were drunk and the choir sang.
Employees are rewarded for innovation and good citizenship. When Stewarts introduced mental health first-aiders, it invested part of its training budget and supported employees' time to allow them to attend training that gave them a recognised qualification. The group reported additional job satisfaction in being able to provide the service.
Stephens Scown is the first large law firm to have introduced a shared ownership scheme. Employees own part of the business and share in 50% of additional profits over and above the published profit target figure. Employees are called ‘Scowners' and the scheme's strapline is 'There's no place like Scown!'.
Employees can take up to three paid days a year for voluntary work. This was extended to up to two hours a week during the pandemic to allow them to volunteer in their local community. The company does pro bono legal work and raised over £30,000 for charity this year.
Much of the talent in the studio arrives through referrals from existing members of staff, reflecting the belief they have in the company. Referral bonuses are paid, up to £5,000 for the hardest-to-fill roles. Splash Damage's concerted push on diversity and inclusion has improved the variety of applicants.
Splash Damage ditched canned and bottled drinks in favour of drinks dispensers as part of its efforts to be kinder to the environment. This simple change saved more than 21,000 cans and bottles in the first three months alone. Recycling is encouraged as much as possible, including coffee grounds.
The pandemic was a catalyst for a significant increase in communication, particularly to deliver fast information direct to every employee. It initiated “All Hands” calls to explain the company approach to working from home, coping with home schooling, furlough and temporary reductions in working hours.
Solid Solutions offers an end-of-year company bonus to maximise achievement in the final months of the year. Benefits for staff include free dental and life insurance and staff discounts.
Every team member was asked to contribute to the weekly Zoom meetings and the company took their comments into account when planning or implementing policies. This helped to ensure wellbeing was monitored so action could be taken if anyone was struggling to cope with work or the challenges of Covid-19.
The company supports Severn Angels Housing & Support, a charity that provides accommodation and support for homeless people to enable them to be more independent. It focuses particularly on women in the West Midlands and Worcestershire. Staff have organised fundraising raffles and donated clothes.
In the last staff survey in December 2020, 95% of staff agreed senior leaders provide a clear vision of the direction of Premier and 97% agreed they understood the company values of integrity, efficiency, and trust. CEO Alastair Aird says he has “never worked with a leadership group that trusts each other so implicitly”.
Premier raised funds during the first lockdown for the Cavell Nurses Trust, the charity supporting UK nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, both working and retired, when they're suffering a personal or financial crisis often due to illness, disability, domestic abuse and the impact of the coronavirus.
Wellbeing Wednesday prompted discussions on the potential of using the communication tool Workplace. Employees engaged with this and the charity was able to share images of activities in the work setting, which could be accessed by those who were on furlough or working from home.
Information about the effects of the pandemic and public health guidelines was sent to colleagues on a weekly basis on what became known as Wellbeing Wednesday. Emails were used to encourage people to look after their health and wellbeing, providing links to useful websites.
The business stepped up its online communication with all staff when it moved to fully remote working last year. Managers took the initiative in providing information and support, answering questions in video chats and emails. Its wellbeing Slack channel has never been more active.
A core LTE value is being one team, with staff collaborating and contributing to company goals. The organisation's senior leadership team of around 60 people represents its current and future leaders and meets times a year to share performance and development.
Each month or so there have been group-wide team sing-alongs and mini-competitions to raise everyone's spirits. Many Teams groups were set up to prevent people from feeling isolated – especially those working at home, and a fitness challenge helped competitive colleagues to track their overall kilometres and achievements.
The company relaunched its values during lockdown with none of the management team or board involved in setting the tone of the organisation. These are strength in diversity, stronger together, challenging the status quo, and we never settle – a commitment to exceptional delivery.
Wilton & Bain helped to raise funds to provide laptops to needy children for home-schooling during lockdown. Many families didn't have access to the basic equipment that was required, with Ofcom estimating that more than 1m children weren't able to get hold of a laptop, desktop or tablet at home.
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