People Managers Matter

NDS Cool change initiative is a commitment made by the organisation to work towards being carbon neutral. The organisation has invested in reducing power consumption of Set Top Boxes and has installed an IT switch-it-off campaign in all offices. NDS has also invested heavily in high quality video conferencing rooms throughout the world which has dramatically reduced travel requirements between offices, therefore benefiting the reduction of carbon emissions. NDS continues to support various charities not only at a national level but also smaller local charities that are proposed by employees and agreed by the charities committee on an annual basis. Employees have utilised volunteering days to assist these charities and local schools with technical support such as website set up, painting and general maintenance and fundraising events. Employee fundraising is matched by the company whether undertaken at individual, team or organisational level.

NDS Cool change initiative is a commitment made by the organisation to work towards being carbon neutral. The organisation has invested in reducing power consumption of Set Top Boxes and has installed an IT switch-it-off campaign in all offices. NDS has also invested heavily in high quality video conferencing rooms throughout the world which has dramatically reduced travel requirements between offices, therefore benefiting the reduction of carbon emissions. NDS continues to support various charities not only at a national level but also smaller local charities that are proposed by employees and agreed by the charities committee on an annual basis. Employees have utilised volunteering days to assist these charities and local schools with technical support such as website set up, painting and general maintenance and fundraising events. Employee fundraising is matched by the company whether undertaken at individual, team or organisational level.

Metaswitch believe the key to the wellbeing of their employees is their relationship with their manager. The happiest and most productive employees are those treated with respect and fairness and who have clearly defined goals. Each employee is guaranteed one-on-one time with their manager every week and they believe that this is invaluable for their employees' general wellbeing. If they have any concerns or worries, the manager will dedicate as much time as is needed to resolving the issues. Metaswitch also give employees a lot of flexibility with managing their time. They are able to fit their work around their life, so that they are not under any unnecesssary stress. For example, many of their employees in Enfield are in a lunchtime sports club, which has been set up for for Metaswitch employees. There are currently groups for football, rugby, ultimate frisbee, badminton, and many more! Employees play these sports in the local park and then use their changing room and shower facilities on site. They are able to take extended two hour lunch breaks to accommodate these sports and make up the time later.

At Metaswitch, a line manager is an individual's Personnel Manager and is responsible for their wellbeing, engagement at work and their career. Weekly status meetings are a key element of this role and it guarantees one-on-one time every week between the manager and employee. Managers are trained to be able to manage their people effectively and this means using careful judgement and thought when making decisions about the employee and agreeing all key decisions with their line.

Mercedes Benz Retail regularly hold road shows for all their staff to ensure they are kept up to date with the business performance and reminders about their core values to ensure that they are all pulling in the same direction. The top line results will be communicated to all staff with the more detailed results being disseminated to each department/site to ensure action plans can be put in place to act upon the feedback where appropriate. Mercedes Benz Retail have always looked at the results and created action plans to address the feedback provided to ensure that employees realise that their feedback is very important and is acted upon.

Mercedes Benz Retail regularly hold road shows for all their staff to ensure they are kept up to date with the business performance and reminders about their core values to ensure that they are all pulling in the same direction. The top line results will be communicated to all staff with the more detailed results being disseminated to each department/site to ensure action plans can be put in place to act upon the feedback where appropriate. Mercedes Benz Retail have always looked at the results and created action plans to address the feedback provided to ensure that employees realise that their feedback is very important and is acted upon.

It is difficult to pull out just one or two examples of how Lands' End seek to enhance the wellbeing of their employees as they offer a raft of opportunities which they believe encompasses the full diversity of their employees. Lands' End recognise that personal development, job satisfaction and a realistic work/life balance all have a positive impact on the wellbeing of their employees.

It is difficult to pull out just one or two examples of how Lands' End seek to enhance the wellbeing of their employees as they offer a raft of opportunities which they believe encompasses the full diversity of their employees. Lands' End recognise that personal development, job satisfaction and a realistic work/life balance all have a positive impact on the wellbeing of their employees.

There is no formal feedback programme and have not conducted an employee opinion survey for several years. However, Kyrocera Mita openly welcome ideas and suggestions from all employees irrespective of how large or small. Departments will often take time out to brainstorm for ideas to increase revenue, minimise expenses, improve the office environment and motivate employees. As an example, it was at the suggestion of an employee that, as a means of celebrating their success, Kyrocera Mita should have a prize draw when they over achieve on their monthly Masterplan revenue target. This has now been in place for the last 12 months with two employees per month receiving a net payment of £100. It is not always possible to implement all ideas and sometimes ideas have to be changed a little in order to make them more relevant.

Kyocera Mita run two ad hoc employee reward schemes. One is an extra mile award which is awarded to employees who put in extra special effort - e.g. during the unexpected absence of a colleague, in order to meet a particular tough deadline, in order to avert a crisis. Employees can be nominated by any member of staff with the Human Resources Manager making the decision as to whether or not the award should be granted. The award is usually a bottle of champagne. The other is the Employee Excellence Award. This is awarded to employees who not only put in extra special effort but who are exceptional in all aspects of their work and are fully engaged in the company culture. Employees can be nominated by any member of staff with the executive team making the decision as to whether or not the award should be granted. The award is usually flowers, champagne and £100 of high street vouchers.

The KFI 'Health Living Club' provides employees with an all-round approach to wellbeing. This includes a healthy eating programme within the restaurant and their occupational health adviser provides advice and support with both health monitoring and nutritional advice. The on site gym provides a comprehensive programme of exercise classes, one to one training and state of the art equipment to encourage a more active workforce. Alternative therapies are also subsidised through the Health Living Club.

As charity giving is an integral part of of the culture of KFI, they have gradually introduced a number of activities which all help to form their commitment to charities. They include a payroll giving scheme called 'Donate an hour's pay' which encourages staff to sign up and allow a salary deduction of the equivalent of one hour's pay each month, dress down days when they ask staff to donate once a month £1, a 'Countdown to Christmas' weigh in scheme in which employees are sponsored to lose weight (monitored by the Occupational Health Nurse), a number of group events during the course of the year, including Maggies Monster bike and Hike, Caledonian Challenge and fun events such as white water. Each year, employees select a charity of the year. Last year, Rutherglen High School (a local special needs high school) reveived many benefits including a new minibus and a new sensory garden.

Keyfuel's leader is approachable, an excellent communicator, passionate about the business and the people who drive it forward. He communicates a clear vision and practices the company values.

Keyfuel's leader is approachable, an excellent communicator, passionate about the business and the people who drive it forward. He communicates a clear vision and practices the company values.

Each piece of work given to a staff member is formally reviewed by a more Senior Manager, thereby providing very regular feedback. Appraisals are carried out twice yearly for all staff, ensuring that all employees know what is expected of them, and receive feedback on the macro level.

Sometimes the simple ideas which have stood the test of time are the best, so the company place great emphasis on their appraisal process. Appraisals take place twice in the year, and focus not only on an assessment of performance and areas for development, but also on engagement and career potential. Technical and soft skills are assessed by reference to 'Career Maps' - freely available documents which lay out the requirements for staff at each of seven levels within each of their professional practice functions. Every appraisal is read by a representative from the HR team, and one from the Training and Development team, so that support can be given on an individual level to the appraiser as well as the appraisee.

The company facilitate 3 packages for all of their staff to take advantage of they are ;- Private medical cover: Healthshield Health Plan that also offers an employee assistance programme and gym membership with a local gym. All of the above have been extremely effective and popular with the team.

Performance related bonuses are offered across some key areas of the business e.g. sales. An annual bonus is given to all members of staff at Christmas as a thank you for their hard work over the festive period. The company allocates money to each department so they can enjoy a meal out together. A small Christmas Eve party is held for all staff providing drinks and nibbles along with a gift for everyone. When an employee has contributed something really worthwhile they will always use the in house publication to print an article about them.

The company carry out their own staff survey every April as well as the Best Companies in October. Each dealership has a staff group that work with managers to improve staff satisfaction. All dealership staff receive an update presentation every three months regarding the company. This is usually followed by food, drinks and socialising.

The company now have personal development plans for all employees and all job roles. This has seen a great improvement in staff engagement and productivity.

Every manager that joins Jagex goes through a session on setting objectives and ensuring they are Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Timed. Managers ensure that through the PDR each employee has complete clarity on what is expected of them and they review their performance against their objectives on a monthly basis. In addition to the annual bonus, managers reward staff through their flash bonus system, effectively a cash bonus can be awarded to anyone at any time by their manager from a pot of funds put aside by the company to the value of 2% of all salaries.

As a company they have a "giving back committee" who work with the HR team to bring fund raising ideas to fruition, supporting events such as Children In Need and Red Nose Day. In the last financial year they have donated £156,944 to various charities. The company have also rolled out ‘just giving' which is where employees can donate to any charity they want to via payroll which comes from their gross salary, they save on PAYE deductions.

A recent memorable social event was the New Year Kick Off which launched the New Year in May, introducing their new V2MOM's for the Company. All employees attended and there was a Gala Dinner and Dance in the evening. Team working at IRIS is one of their highest priorities and they recognise everyone's individual contribution towards team achievement which they believe helps them create the optimum environment to help achieve success.

Managers recognise and reward employees. They recognise over achievers and consider the level of support individuals will need to achieve their tasks. They review this regularly asking for feedback on how they feel things are going and also make communication a priority through regular team meetings and 1-2-1's and Personal Career Discussions are offered to all their direct reports. They are open to receiving information from others, asking questions and responding to feedback and have an open door policy. They also organise team events and nights out to enable team members to socialise.

Instant has a variety of ways in which they communicate with employees, and how ideas and feedback are collected. Best Company Ideas Lunches – two of these take place each year (one with all new starters in the past 6 months, another with a random selection of more). The goal is to get new ideas for making Instant a better place to work. HR Surgery – every month the People & Culture Manager runs an HR Surgery where staff can talk in confidence, be listened to, give their feedback and share ideas. Ideas Box – Anyone in the company can submit a new idea for innovation at Instant. Employees can submit as many ideas as they wish, the best idea is put into practise and the winner receives a cash prize, an extra day of holiday and two return flights to a European City of their choice! Active Listening – Instant has run master classes for managers on active listening and coaching.

As part of POPs across the business, Managers will hold informal monthly and more formal quarterly and annual reviews with their team members. During these meetings Managers ask what support their team member would like - what do they find tricky? Are they confident? Can more support be provided? Informally Instant has a very open plan environment, everyone has the same equipment and is visible and totally approachable in the office. Instant genuinely cares about employees wellbeing and want success for each other.

ING Direct provides Lifeworks which is an employee Assistance Programme; they also offer counselling services and alternative therapies every quarter for their employees.

Inchcape provides consultancy advice on customers' fleet, including advice on creating an environmentally efficient fleet.

Inchcape's CEO encourages empowerment and colleagues' acceptance of responsibility for the creation of solutions to business challenges. He also encourages a commercial attitude with the willingness to take acceptable risks in decision-making.

hyphen held a 'Question Time' session for onsite teams Virgin Media, Nokia and Aviva at Head Office at Bouverie Street where members of the team from Hook, Manchester and London were introduced to representatives from both the hyphen senior management team and Adecco Group central services. They took the opportunity of having some new faces on site to host a “Q&A Question Time” panel at the end of the day where everyone was invited to ask questions of the panel. Rory Jeffcock played Paxman for the session and armed with a microphone “borrowed” from his local Karaoke bar, audience members comprising of a mix of hyphen Head Office employees and the Aviva, Virgin Media and Nokia teams were invited to grill the panel. The event was a success and following the encouraging feedback from attendees, hyphen have decided to roll the event out on a more regular basis and across all their employees.

Structured hyphen induction programme in addition to the wider Adecco Group Induction. Internal menttoring and coaching. Manager and employee work together on the personal development plan which is linked to the core competencies of the job role and identifying the skills gaps that may exist. These are reviewed during the ad hoc and mid year reviews. The Manager also takes the opportunity in these meetings to ensure that the individual is happy in their role. This provides an opportunity for discussion around an individual's wellbeing or any personal concerns they may have at work.

Group Positive provides staff with thank you cards, flowers, cakes, champagne and husband and wife weekends to the South of France in appreciation for their work.

Group Positive provides staff with thank you cards, flowers, cakes, champagne and husband and wife weekends to the South of France in appreciation for their work.

All staff were asked to submit suggestions that could improve Greene & Co both internally and in the service the company offers to customers. They have a company colleague rep who staff can talk to in absolute confidence about any problems/issues they may have (be it to do with work or of a personal nature). The colleague rep can feedback any issues to senior management. All staff at Greene & Co have a monthly one-to-one with their manager, and a quarterly one-to-one with David Pollock the MD, where any feedback can be given.

Managers carefully monitor how their team is performing and whether they are achieving their goals. Managers will review progress in one-to-one's, and put measures in place to provide extra training if needed. One-to-one's with managers are also for receiving feedback from staff as well as giving it. Sales techniques are also covered in monthly company training sessions.

Managers review if the skills and the capacity of employees in their team needs to be reconsidered against the requirements of the work, both in team and 1-2-1 meetings on a weekly and monthly basis. At appraisal interviews, managers discuss with each employee what their personal aspirations are. Managers also debrief their teams after Board meetings. Discussions are encouraged whereby employees can ask questions and receive feedback in an open and honest environment.

Gleeds has an internal team known as "GYM" - Gleeds Young Marketeers - which has been running for circa 20 years. Younger members are encouraged to sign up and take part in the activities designed to help develop a sense of belonging and build up long term internal and external relationships. Activities include a conference (attended by 120 GYM members from across the world) sailing, bowling, wine tasting events with clients and charity marathons. 2011 saw a re-launch of GYM with new members and greater involvement. As well as occupational health provision and employee assistance programmes, they have also run yoga and massage courses at Head Office and their social calendar includes Christmas events, sailing days, team sports, away days and charity fund raising.

Listening to employees and gaining valuable feedback and ideas is of vital importance to Freestyle's business. The company believe it's only through listening to your employees that you can really gauge how your business is progressing and how the office is feeling in general. They could use terms vibe or team cooperation ratings, but when it comes down to it, it's just about how they are all getting along in both a personal and professional capacity. And getting along and working together is just about the most important thing in making a business successful. In recognition of this importance, at Freestyle Interactive they encourage managers to meet with their staff on a regular basis. These ‘1-2-1s' benefit both employee and employer by acting as a direct conduit between team-members and team-leaders. These meetings function as a platform on which employees can discuss work and job satisfaction, as well as putting forward ideas that could benefit the company as a whole.

Freestyle's recruitment process is all about recognising talent and just because you start Freestyle life in a certain role doesn't mean you'll stay there. Previous recruits have started in junior roles and progressed through the company to senior management roles. This is just an example that shows how Freestyle recognises and develops people's strengths and talent.

During summer 2011, Ffastfill had a Summer BBQ and Dragon Boating event for all staff and their families. It was well attended and the feedback was great from employees. Ffastfill catered for families including small children where a bouncy castle was available for their entertainment.

Dialogue is encouraged between managers and team members. Managers are encouraged to adopt a flexible approach to team members. Allow flexibility in work patterns and allow work from home without significant prior arrangement.

Eurostaff Group respect employees' life outside of work: time for family, friends and outside interests/hobbies. Managers have the ability to alter working hours and responsibilities to make working life more flexible. The introduction of the early finish at 3pm on a Friday was a result of realising the efforts of employees. Managers spend one on one time with each employee at least once a week either inside or outside the organisation, in which they discuss personal goals and ambitions, and what they can do to help them reach their potential. Managers set clear key performance indicators for every employee, and are quick to reward high achievements with a market leading incentive scheme including trips to Paris and Las Vegas. Managers and Directors all sit on the sales floor, not locked away in an office. An open door policy is not necessary at Eurostaff as there are no doors. Each individual's opinion and feedback is invaluable and considered. Many approaches and processes were heavily influenced by employee's feedback to managers.

They assign each new starter a 'mentor' who coaches each new employee from day one within the organisation. They ensure that the new trainee takes part in each area specific training and on-going development programmes. They have regular contact with the new starter and provide training related support and advice.