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
In order to build a capable, engaged and motivated workforce Story Homes believe they need to speak and listen to all colleagues at all levels. This is something they have built on since their first employee survey in 2010. The Aspire Performance and Development framework provides a robust foundation to build on and deliver throughout their workforce.
Story Homes' CEO, Steve Errington, is an open, transparent and visionary leader. Steve joined the business in August 2012 and has been working collaboratively with the team and overhauled the core house building processes in order for Story Homes to be fit for purpose and for their ambitious growth plans which has made a huge difference to the business.
Staff development is integral to St Anne's culture and is covered as part of PDRs and appraisals. Staff can aim to complete competencies at a higher level than their role if they wish.
St Anne's have recently re-invested in a new EAP, which provides day one stress intervention and serious illness/accident support. This has been effective in returning people to work and supporting them through periods of depression and anxiety.
Spirit Pub Company offers “employee care”, an employee assistance programme, provided by First Assist. It's a confidential service where employees have access to a website and a helpline providing advice and support on all aspects of their lives from financial concerns through to quitting smoking. The helpline is available 24 hours a day 365 days a year and is completely free of charge. There is also a telephone counselling service and face to face counselling service available. They also offer employees at the support centre a discounted gym membership at a local golf and country club in Burton where employees can receive a corporate rate peak membership of £49 per month with no joining fee, compared to their usual rate of £65.50 with a £199 joining fee. Memberships can be extended to golf at a special rate too.
Spirit Pub Company offers “employee care”, an employee assistance programme, provided by First Assist. It's a confidential service where employees have access to a website and a helpline providing advice and support on all aspects of their lives from financial concerns through to quitting smoking. The helpline is available 24 hours a day 365 days a year and is completely free of charge. There is also a telephone counselling service and face to face counselling service available. They also offer employees at the support centre a discounted gym membership at a local golf and country club in Burton where employees can receive a corporate rate peak membership of £49 per month with no joining fee, compared to their usual rate of £65.50 with a £199 joining fee. Memberships can be extended to golf at a special rate too.
The MRAP scheme (Market Rate Adjustment Programme) was launched in 2008 in response to feedback SIX received on their remuneration section of the employee survey of that year. The MRAP scheme was created with two objectives in mind: (1) to invest money into basic wages part way through the year (rather than waiting for year end) if their salary benchmarking process shows that an individual has fallen below market rate, and (2) to reward individuals with one off cash bonuses for outstanding contribution to a particular project or business issue. The budget for the MRAP scheme is reviewed on a quarterly basis and financial rewards are offered to individual employees for either outstanding contribution during that quarter to their business, whether it be through new ideas put forward, innovative solutions or the successful completion of a project, or investment into their basic salary if the market has shifted. These payments are a separate reward to their annual bonus or annual salary review. HR work closely with line managers to review nominations for the MRAP list. If they are unable to financially reward an individual in one quarter, they remain on the list and are prioritised for the next quarter. The MRAP initiative has been effective in bringing the philosophy of contribution and reward closer together and strengthens employee engagement with the organisation.
The MRAP scheme (Market Rate Adjustment Programme) was launched in 2008 in response to feedback SIX received on their remuneration section of the employee survey of that year. The MRAP scheme was created with two objectives in mind: (1) to invest money into basic wages part way through the year (rather than waiting for year end) if their salary benchmarking process shows that an individual has fallen below market rate, and (2) to reward individuals with one off cash bonuses for outstanding contribution to a particular project or business issue. The budget for the MRAP scheme is reviewed on a quarterly basis and financial rewards are offered to individual employees for either outstanding contribution during that quarter to their business, whether it be through new ideas put forward, innovative solutions or the successful completion of a project, or investment into their basic salary if the market has shifted. These payments are a separate reward to their annual bonus or annual salary review. HR work closely with line managers to review nominations for the MRAP list. If they are unable to financially reward an individual in one quarter, they remain on the list and are prioritised for the next quarter. The MRAP initiative has been effective in bringing the philosophy of contribution and reward closer together and strengthens employee engagement with the organisation.
Save Britain Money have a Green 12 scheme, which is a performance management scheme which sets benchmarks for their new starters over a 12 week period. The aim is to allow staff to develop within the organisation and provides tailored support and 1-2-1 coaching for those in need. They have an improved retention rate and they feel that this is a direct result of this scheme.
Save Britain Money have strong relationships with local schools which involves fundraising and the invitation for classes to join them to experience a day in the life of their business. They are also sponsors of their local rugby team and as part of their partnership they are sponsors of the RWE community programme. This programme is available to all schools in the Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot and Bridgend area and is used to develop their oracy, literacy and numeracy skills through investigating various aspects of rugby activities. Off the back of this pupils learn about them as sponsors and spend time visiting their offices where they let them experience key areas of their business, meet the staff and take part in 'new starter' sessions.
SAS is committed to enhancing individual, team and organisational effectiveness in order to help SAS UK accomplish strategic goals. Providing access to cost effective, high-quality learning programs, resources and services tailored to the needs and requirements of the organisation. The aim is to encourage a culture of learning and knowledge sharing that supports the aspirations of employees and the organisation. There is support and guidance available to help employees and team take ownership of their own development. There is not an open programme of courses if the employee or team require anything from technical to soft skills, personal development to business skills, support and guidance is available and provided using the most suitable learning interventions.
SAS UK actively uses the findings from the Best Companies to Work for survey to engage with its employees and show that it is listening to the feedback. Successful areas and those that require focus are highlighted at regular company meetings and departments focussed information is provided to managers to share with their teams. Workshops are run for departments to analyse the Best Company data for their team. An action plan for areas requiring improvement is drawn up and implemented. Focus groups were held to discuss particular areas requiring remedial action.
ResourceBank have recently established a colleague forum which is made up of five representatives from across the business. The group meets up with Richard every quarter for a relaxed discussion over a working lunch whereby any issues can be brought up and discussed openly. It is not a decision making forum but ideas are brought to it for consideration and many go on to be implemented. So far the forum has successfully suggested improvements to the induction programme, appraisals, clarity over home working and recognition for long serving colleagues.
Each member of the team at ResourceBank has a detailed job specification which clearly identifies and recognises what their role entails. This is reviewed as part of the annual appraisal process. The whole team is involved in recognising and rewarding a job well done. Each quarter nominations are sought for the elements of excellence award. Anyone in the company can nominate a colleague they feel deserves recognition for going the extra mile. All those nominated receive a £25 voucher and the winner £200.
In April 2013, Redcats announced to all employees that they wanted to ‘make a difference to employees' and to ‘thank them' for their hard work so they developed a challenge. If they could beat last years turnover in sales (between April and June 2013) they would close the business for one day and take every employee to Alton Towers for a day out. The finance team developed a dashboard so everyone could track business progress as well as weekly verbal updates by line managers. Employees got involved and excitement grew as the weeks got nearer the provisional date in July. Two weeks prior to the provisional date they were able to announce they had reached the target and were able to have a day off work to have a treat and go to Alton Towers for the day. The fun team got on with organising the details of the day. Transport was organised via coaches, bingo games were held and football cards (monies raised for company charity) on the bus as well provided bacon or egg butties. When they reached their destination they received ‘fast track' tickets so no queuing on certain rides. Everyone could have a go on any ride they wished or do whatever they they wanted during the day. A private markee was arranged for lunch where there was an extensive buffet with hot and cold food. The weather was kind to them so sitting outside in the sun was a great option. The feedback was fantastic, everyone had a great day out, thoroughly enjoyed it all and didn't spend a penny!
In April 2013, Redcats announced to all employees that they wanted to ‘make a difference to employees' and to ‘thank them' for their hard work so they developed a challenge. If they could beat last years turnover in sales (between April and June 2013) they would close the business for one day and take every employee to Alton Towers for a day out. The finance team developed a dashboard so everyone could track business progress as well as weekly verbal updates by line managers. Employees got involved and excitement grew as the weeks got nearer the provisional date in July. Two weeks prior to the provisional date they were able to announce they had reached the target and were able to have a day off work to have a treat and go to Alton Towers for the day. The fun team got on with organising the details of the day. Transport was organised via coaches, bingo games were held and football cards (monies raised for company charity) on the bus as well provided bacon or egg butties. When they reached their destination they received ‘fast track' tickets so no queuing on certain rides. Everyone could have a go on any ride they wished or do whatever they they wanted during the day. A private markee was arranged for lunch where there was an extensive buffet with hot and cold food. The weather was kind to them so sitting outside in the sun was a great option. The feedback was fantastic, everyone had a great day out, thoroughly enjoyed it all and didn't spend a penny!
Randstad consultants are most inspired and engagement when they can work in partnership with the leadership team; both putting their ideas forward and learning from their role models. The high performance camps channelled this, inviting feedback and acting as ambassadors for consultants. Employees' invitation to a two-day event had already created interest and heightened project awareness and engagement levels. To maximise engagement, the event was attended by Randstad UK's CEO and Randstad business support's managing director. In their employees' eyes, this really added value to the event. Firstly, it actively demonstrated how important the event was. Secondly, it gave employees direct access to senior team members in an informal, fun and inspirational environment. Mark Bull and Ruth Jacobs were actively involved in physical and mental challenges. Their people enjoyed ‘getting their hands dirty' in the team-building events alongside some of Randstad's most senior leaders.
Randstad hosts numerous team building days; these range from more formal training days to inspirational ‘directors day', which are always eagerly anticipated. In 2013, one of Randstad's most successful team building events was delivered within their Randstad Care business line. As opposed to being a tactical team building event – the bespoke and strategic event was created in direct response to external market research report and internal employee feedback. Firstly, the Randstad Care team surveyed both existing current clients and prospective clients. This gave the team valuable feedback on both business perceptions and experiences and helping identify where they were already successful and where improvements could be made. Once the findings were in place, all employees were invited to two-day events to combine the learning obtained from the research and to further build team morale and communication. The engaging agenda ranged from practical workshops to outward bound courses, culminating in a sensational and aspirational Randstad Talent evening. The event offered a superb blend of business benefits and social activation. This activity received exceptional feedback as it gave teams valuable insight into their market and gave them an opportunity to shape what the future of their business would look like. Employees recognised that in addition to the fun team-building element, this unique event also really helped them to further succeed in their jobs and supported their career development.
Over the past year, Raglan have introduced new benefits including holiday trading and cycle to work, which help staff to make the most of their free time and work life balance. A series of workshops in all the offices have publicised the many wellbeing services available from their employee assistance providers, including an online health and wellbeing portal called Vitality. Their occupational health providers give them access to a vast range of online health information. The new intranet features 4 pages dedicated to staff's wellbeing which are regularly updated. They recently spent the first day of a 2 day conference for their top 45 managers focusing on wellbeing and resilience issues and will be discussing with them how they cascase this down to team level. They are also currently offering free flu jabs for all staff.
In Spring 2013, Raglan introduced a new staff recognition scheme. Devised by a focus group of staff representatives, it comprised 5 elements. These are: Thank you cards (online and paper) for staff to use a public recognition forum on the intranet for staff to acknowledge other's contributions a suggestion box on the intranet for good ideas, innovations, money-saving suggestions, etc. A staff awards scheme with the postings on the recognition forum and the suggestion box forming the nominations managers' budgets for recognition, to be spend on team lunches, coffee and cake, small gifts, etc. The scheme has been really well received by staff and the managers' budgets in particular are having an impact on staff perception of how their efforts are recognised and the confidence of managers to acknowledge a good job well done. They will be formally assessing the impact of the scheme after the first 6 months and the first staff awards at Christmas 2013.
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