What are companies doing with regards to 'My Manager'

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.