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
Best Companies survey feedback indicated that staff wanted better organisational clarity and an understanding of how each team contributed to Benenden's objectives. In response, each employee now receives a document that includes strategic objectives, key results areas, key performance indicators and each department's objectives for the year.
Benenden's sponsorship of York City Football Club Foundation helped the Sporting Memories group, set up for older fans of the club, to hold vital social get-togethers online after the pandemic started. The Benenden Health Community Fund supported projects including food banks and cookery workshops for young people.
Teams have held virtual walking competitions, counting steps to race from London to Paris. Online yoga and fitness sessions have also kept people on their toes. As well as providing a 24-hour employee assistance programme, Baringa has trained people across all grades as mental health first aiders to spot signs of burnout.
Everyone has one volunteering day a year to support the community. Staff helped to research the impact of Covid-19 on youth employment prospects under the Drive Forward programme for young people leaving the care system. They produced a youth opportunity index, identifying sectors with the greatest number of jobs.
An intranet and communications platform called GWEN (Got What Everyone Needs) was developed and rolled out during the pandemic. This enabled the business to provide instant updates to staff in addition to the weekly videos from the chief executive, which became known as Corona Comms.
The business's UK office has been designed to minimise its environmental impact. The lighting and the appliances are low energy – and low water, where applicable – and have sensors that turn them off when not in use. All Austin Fraser and Austin Vita offices are 99% paperless.
Staff were surveyed to check productivity, mental health and any support desired and the results suggested that 87% of employees felt KG was communicating enough and 90% believed they were receiving the right manager support. While company updates during lockdown were typically business-focused, any direct workforce concerns were addressed.
The business uses focus groups to review the needs of its workforce and to understand further what should be refreshed to improve employee engagement. On the back of this, the benefits offering, existing family-friendly policies, and how the company gives back were amended, to name just a few areas.
Every year, the Kaplan Way Awards programme recognises the most outstanding individual and team contributions in four categories: Student Success, Great Place to Work, Continuous Transformation and Shared Values. Employees submit nominations and a selection panel chooses the UK winners – they are then up for global awards as part of a live broadcast.
KPUK aims to be a valued partner in the communities it serves. The group supports charity partners to build futures for people of all backgrounds and circumstances. Employees are empowered to support local good causes through paid volunteering days and fundraising activities.
Staff received Just Eat vouchers and there were gardening competitions, fun-run challenges and other company-wide events to keep team spirits high. Mental health support channels were set up and senior leaders were visible and on hand as people adjusted to remote working.
A transparent, fun, supportive and purposeful culture makes Impero a great place to work. Every quarter, the in-house awards system recognises people with can-do attitudes who embody the core company values that include “we make it possible for our people” and “we make it possible for our clients”.
Zen pride themselves on the positive impact they have on their local community. They actively get involved in projects aimed at supporting and developing the local community. This includes sponsoring individuals and events and working with local charities, schools and educational authorities.
All managers at Zen are enrolled onto a Living Leader programme. The programme is very different to other programmes, it looks at the individual as a whole, rather than the person in work. It explores empowerment, responsibility, appreciation and communication – all qualities for helping people to build powerful relationships with everyone they meet and speak to, both inside and outside work. Due to the huge success and feedback, this is now being rolled out company wide.
XLN have found that Shadowing is the most effective form of support. Their team always feedback that learning by directly following someone with experience in a higher grade role gives them the confidence to step up. It offers the knowledge and clarity of what is expected. It's the simplest way to find out what good looks like and also identify potential areas where they can make improvements to the way the roles are managed.
XLN prides itself on “promoting within” and as an organisation that can only be achieved by constant employee development. If any employee requests any training, whether specific to their role or not, they will always say yes. They believe if an employee wants to better themselves, then they should do everything possible to retain that ambition within the business and offering unlimited training resource is key to that.
Their Community Investment programme 'Families Matter' focuses on supporting disadvantaged families. In 2018/19, they worked with over 2,900 organisations and supported over 600,000 beneficiaries.
Their Community Investment programme 'Families Matter' focuses on supporting disadvantaged families. In 2018/19, they worked with over 2,900 organisations and supported over 600,000 beneficiaries.
Virtual1 made a conscious decision in the past year to cut down on the amount of paper they use in the office. They transitioned to using Docusign for electronic signatures for the contracts and invoices that they send out.
Virtual1 have introduced a performance management application with the aim to encourage employees and managers to have ongoing discussions around performance and development rather than waiting for appraisals to have these important conversations.
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