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
An action from Posturite's summer 2013 conference was to hold a series of workshops hosted by their sales director Geoff Thompson. These workshops helped them in the development of a new business strategy. They have learnt how to talk to the right people at the right level, expand existing accounts and get to the stage where they are in an enviable position of being able to more or less hand pick their new customers. They are obviously helped by the fact that they are clear market leaders and they have a strong level of brand awareness but the process helped them to focus – this entire process was stimulated and driven by their summer sales conference which the whole company attended.
At Posturite, they practice what they preach. Every single one of their employees is given thorough training on DSE regulations and the benefits of using ergonomics in their everyday lives – it's what they do. They are all positively encouraged to test and sample the products they sell – it helps all staff to have an understanding of what they do and why they do it. This is the case for both office and home based staff. Every member of staff is equipped with a sit /stand desk and a variety of the very best ergonomic equipment helping them understand musculoskeletal disorders. Every single member of their staff understands what they do and why they do it. A large proportion (60%+)of their staff are either sports science graduates or healthcare professionals (e.g. Physiotherapists) – they advise companies on how to care for the health and wellbeing of their employees and this has a knock on effect on them too. Posturite encourage participation in sports too – they were the winners of the 2012 corporate Football World Cup – they beat Google in the final at Anfield! Additionally, they support grass roots cricket in Sussex, the home county of Posturite by sponsoring the youth teams in the east area cricket league.
A shift in PhotoBox's marketing mix during 2013 has seen the PhotoBox brand advertise on TV for the first time. While clearly aligned with their objective of engaging customers and driving sales this change has contributed enormously to the sense of significance, pride and engagement of employees. There's no doubting the positive effect this has had on their business internally, providing evidence that included in the mix of levers of engagement is a belief in the vision/brand of their company.
PhotoBox are constantly trying to improve the working environment for their people. Office moves, soft areas for rest and play during the working day and improved canteen facilities have been made in the last 12 months all as a result of feedback. Free fruit is always available and valued by everyone.
It was suggested by one of Pearlfisher's Strategists that a good way to ask people for their feedback would be to use Survey Monkey. They now use the anonymous questionnaire email tool to ask for staff feedback about all aspects of the company from where they should host their next First Thursday social event to lectures their team would like to attend.
Pearlfisher host regular culturally relevant and inspiring exhibitions in their studio's dedicated gallery space. The exhibitions are open to the public and local community. They invite the schools in their wider local area to visit their exhibitions and give talks and lectures to ensure maximum impact and inspiration. Their recent example is Man&God, a thought-provoking and highly experiential exhibition that explores the relationship between Man and God. In addition, Pearlfisher annually support Peace One Day, a global movement advocating a day of world peace, with a Pearlfisher creative campaign called Create a Masterpeace. Create a Masterpeace asks children – the peace corps of the future – to re-appropriate symbols of violence in the name of peace. For this campaign they work with both local and global children, families, classrooms, communities and volunteers to use creativity to neutralise symbols of violence and display them on streets and screens across the globe. Working with communities in this way, the Create a Masterpeace movement is inspiring an ever growing, shared voice of protest.
Pagan Osborne have held several social events throughout the year, from quiz nights to a fireworks night at the end of the Edinburgh Festival. They recently put on a pizza and wine night to celebrate the successful move into their new Edinburgh office, and to thank colleagues for all their hard work. Probably the most memorable and talked about event was their participation in the CHAS beat the borders day. 15 staff members of all ages from 4 of their 5 offices, took part but even those who didn't enter were still talking about it. The day was physically challenging but the team raised over £5,000. Some of them are already asking if they can do it again next year! The most recent internal event was held by the manager of the Executry team – Fiona Shields. Fiona planned a half day team event in the Edinburgh office, where part of the day was spent looking at personality types within the team to help them communicate better by recognising each other's strengths and adapting their communication style to suit different personalities. After the session the team were taken out for lunch and then enjoyed the Edinburgh Festival. Additionally, several managers and teams have organised team events over the weekend, for example, drinks and dinner at one manager's house and an outdoor barbeque which the whole team, their partners and children were invited to.
Pagan Osbourne provide the framework and training but it is their managers who bring everything to life. They work closely with their team so that they are aware of exactly what's going on so are perfectly placed to give timely praise and recognise a job well done. Every year, new objectives are set in conjunction with the individual and every month the manager holds a 1-1 meeting where they review progress, and can help alleviate pressure points if and when they appear. Their annual Personal Development Review (PDR) records the person's overall performance and their rating influences pay awards, as exceptional performance is given above average pay increases (when the business is able to do so). As managers are aware of progress and regularly check client feedback and commendations, they personally recognise achievements and make sure that their director also knows of any key successes. In turn, the management board then recognise successes by sending cards to high achievers on a monthly basis and praising top performers in their monthly blog.
In October 2013, the senior management team at Octopus were searching for ways to bridge any perception of distance between themselves and the rest of the company as a result of their significant growth. They decided to don the aprons and chef's hats and cooked a Jamaican-themed lunch of goat curry (complete with side dishes, vege options and pudding) for the entire company. This was achieved with the help of just one trained chef to help guide them – they arrived at 6am to help set up a temporary kitchen and worked solidly until the middle of the afternoon in order to cover all aspects of service. All staff were invited to 6 different sittings and were sat randomly in order to create a mixed environment in a relaxed setting where employees mingled between teams and all levels of seniority/tenure in the company. The event was such a success in building positive levels of engagement that two more “cook offs” were planned for November and December 2013 and there are more on the agenda for 2014.
All staff are invited, twice a year, to a fun day – in which they join with a random selection of their colleagues (numbering 25-30) in a half day fun event of their own design. The emphasis is on team building and networking in a fun (usually competitive!) environment. Recent examples have included: go-carting, Crystal Maze-type challenges, cocktail and pizza making, walking history tours, table football/ping pong competitions, pub quizzes, attending greyhound racing, crazy bingo, a murder mystery, and amateur magician classes. In addition, they have a company-wide team building and fun event that takes place around midsummer's day, each year. Previous examples include a company values-themed fashion show (swapping a donation to Age Concern for a variety of vintage clothing as base materials!) and this year all staff went to Pineapple Dance Studios where they were separated in to random teams, paired with professional choreographers and entered in to a team dance-off, on stage at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End. Each team is invited to host a monthly drinks and social party of their own theming. A budget is provided to cover the cost of drinks, food and entertainment props. Recent examples include a “Casino Royale” evening, a kids-themed party (e.g. with pass-the-parcel and musical chairs), a US-style “Frat” party complete with party games, and a New Zealand wine-tasting evening.
The very nature of Ochre House means an environment of mobility and communication. As new clients are won it is vital to the health of the business that the best possible account teams are put together. Whilst this may mean some external recruitment and in some cases a TOP transfer of existing client teams, the organisation seeks to promote internal opportunity as a necessity. Quick fixes don't work – the right people must be in the right place and only by understanding people's individual; ambitions and goals can this be done effectively and to mutual benefit. In 2013 Ochre House formally appointed an Occupational Health partner to advise on employee health and welfare. In response to survey outputs and with their partner's guidance, the organisation have implemented onsite massage and wellness clinic sessions.
One of the key tenets of the ‘way of working' at Ochre House is empowerment through personal responsibility. One of their development mantras is ‘see it, mean it, lead it' and through this the organisation urge colleagues to run with any idea they truly believe can make a difference. They support this through "Passport". The organisation believe that there is no better way to hear what people are saying, and to benefit from their ideas and feedback, than to encourage and enable them to join virtual teams and projects that operate outside their day to day role. In this way the company benefits from hearing a wide range of different ideas and the individuals benefit from working with new colleagues and leaders and evidencing their determination to develop themselves. The company also encourage subject experts within Ochre House to blog and these blogs are then shared on social media sites and within the company. This gives colleagues a chance to showcase their expertise, thinking, and opinion.
The company has retained the key principles that have been so crucial to its ongoing success. They continue to operate within a fun and vibrant working environment where people can reach their full potential and enjoy the processes in getting there. ARK proves it is a great workplace because it views everybody as a valuable asset.
The company has retained the key principles that have been so crucial to its ongoing success. They continue to operate within a fun and vibrant working environment where people can reach their full potential and enjoy the processes in getting there. ARK proves it is a great workplace because it views everybody as a valuable asset.
There is constant consultation and engagement taking place between the organisation and its people and mechanisms such as the staff and carer consultation forums are used as “temperature checks” to gauge people's views on the way in which the organisation manages and develops them. The results from the survey will initially be understood by the senior team within the organisation and then fed back to the line managers. They will then be assisted and supported in producing a presentation to present to their teams and facilitate a feedback session in order to develop local action plans which can then be co-ordinated into an organisations action plan.
Managers undertake a review of their teams and individual employees and recognise when new employees are required or when a role needs to be changed to reflect the needs of the organisation.
They continually review the role of the individuals in their teams and consider appropriate ways of ensuring that what is required is completed. They support new employees during their probationary period with reviews at 1, 3 and 6 months in order to ensure they have all the required support they need. In addition to this, all employees have 4 weekly supervision meetings which are clearly documented with their manager and approved by the manager's manager. They also hold regular team meetings with team members along with other members of the senior management teams as appropriate. In addition most employees have a regular one-to-one meeting with their manager during which any issues they have can be raised and discussed. Managers will invite feedback from employees at team meetings and one-to-one meetings which are formally recorded.
MWH's chosen corporate charity is WaterAid which they chose to support as it is a charity which reflects their vision of Building a Better World through delivering clean water supplies. They have appointed a Steering Group and a network of WaterAid Reps within each MWH office. The steering group and reps organise a diverse range of employee fundraising events within their local offices throughout the year. Fundraising events include activities such as dress down days, cake and sweet sales. MWH also auctioned surplus office furniture with the proceeds being donated to WaterAid. We have an increasing number of individuals and teams who take part in WaterAid National events such as The Great North Run, 6 peaks and other sporting challenges. During 2012/13 they raised £15,660 for WaterAid.
MWH seeks to reward employees for their efforts. They provide a variety of bonuses which celebrate life events (e.g. marriage or baby), performance in the form of Spot Bonus awards for outstanding work and achievement in terms of Professional Status Bonuses as well as educational sponsorship.
Mike Sunley has been the driving force behind Lexington since establishing the business in 2002. His determination, positivity and motivation have ensured that the company has grown year on year both in terms of turnover and people. From the start Mike wanted to do things differently and this has enabled Lexington to develop a strong culture. It's more than Mike's tireless approach to the very best food, people and service; he's also ensured Lexington is recognised as one of the UK's leading contract caterers, with an enviable reputation as one of the best employers in their sector. In a recent Investors in People audit, where Gold standard was achieved, employees commented that Mike is 'visible, communicative, professional, fun, approachable and recognises people!' Mike was also named the 'Foodservice Caterer of the Year' at the 30th anniversary of the prestigious Catey Awards in July 2013. The Foodservice Caterer award recognises an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the catering and wider hospitality world, who has combined innovation with sound financial performance as well as demonstrating clear business achievements. Mike was praised for driving business innovations across the company and operating Lexington with strong people focused policies at the heart of the business. In a time when many companies were cutting back on investment in their people it was made clear that Mike's continued investment in training and people retention has paid dividends for the company's growth and wider business success.
Mike Sunley has been the driving force behind Lexington since establishing the business in 2002. His determination, positivity and motivation have ensured that the company has grown year on year both in terms of turnover and people. From the start Mike wanted to do things differently and this has enabled Lexington to develop a strong culture. It's more than Mike's tireless approach to the very best food, people and service; he's also ensured Lexington is recognised as one of the UK's leading contract caterers, with an enviable reputation as one of the best employers in their sector. In a recent Investors in People audit, where Gold standard was achieved, employees commented that Mike is 'visible, communicative, professional, fun, approachable and recognises people!' Mike was also named the 'Foodservice Caterer of the Year' at the 30th anniversary of the prestigious Catey Awards in July 2013. The Foodservice Caterer award recognises an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the catering and wider hospitality world, who has combined innovation with sound financial performance as well as demonstrating clear business achievements. Mike was praised for driving business innovations across the company and operating Lexington with strong people focused policies at the heart of the business. In a time when many companies were cutting back on investment in their people it was made clear that Mike's continued investment in training and people retention has paid dividends for the company's growth and wider business success.
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