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
As part of Brocade's global WellFit strategy all employees in Europe, including the UK, are invited to participate in all global contests and challenges by leveraging on line tools and resources. Wellness programmes provide unique fitness alternatives for employees and are designed to improve their overall health and wellbeing globally while decreasing benefits costs. Most recently this has included an Executive Fitness Challenge. In this challenge Brocade's CEO Michael Klayko and his direct reports challenged all Brocade employees to partner in teams of 12 to complete at least 30 minutes of exercise for two weeks. Over 500 people participated in 44 teams across all geographic locations. In the end the executives came in 28th place. Their CEO said it was a humbling experience for him and it was a fun event for all employees who participated. They also held TheHealthy Living Family Fun Challenge. In its first challenge designed for families, Brocade's WellFit team launched the Healthy Living Family Fun Challenge. Participants tracked the number of fitness minutes they completed with a family member. Another event was Specific for EMEA and was called The Step on it Challenge, Walking is simple and an easy way to get fit you can do it any time, anywhere, on your own or with your family. In this challenge, designed to meet the needs of Brocade's employee population in Europe, participants were given a free pedometer from WellFit so they could track steps and complete against colleagues.
As part of Brocade's global WellFit strategy all employees in Europe, including the UK, are invited to participate in all global contests and challenges by leveraging on line tools and resources. Wellness programmes provide unique fitness alternatives for employees and are designed to improve their overall health and wellbeing globally while decreasing benefits costs. Most recently this has included an Executive Fitness Challenge. In this challenge Brocade's CEO Michael Klayko and his direct reports challenged all Brocade employees to partner in teams of 12 to complete at least 30 minutes of exercise for two weeks. Over 500 people participated in 44 teams across all geographic locations. In the end the executives came in 28th place. Their CEO said it was a humbling experience for him and it was a fun event for all employees who participated. They also held TheHealthy Living Family Fun Challenge. In its first challenge designed for families, Brocade's WellFit team launched the Healthy Living Family Fun Challenge. Participants tracked the number of fitness minutes they completed with a family member. Another event was Specific for EMEA and was called The Step on it Challenge, Walking is simple and an easy way to get fit you can do it any time, anywhere, on your own or with your family. In this challenge, designed to meet the needs of Brocade's employee population in Europe, participants were given a free pedometer from WellFit so they could track steps and complete against colleagues.
In March the company had an away day at Foxhills Golf Club in Ottershaw, Surrey. The day's theme was 'World Book Day Characters' and the whole team came in fancy dress. There were all the characters out of Alice In Wonderland, Charlotte's Web, Winnie the Pooh, Where's Wally? and The Cat in the Hat to name a few. The day's activities focused on developing their Knowledge Management systems and processes as well as sharing information and best practice. The evening's activities involved pre-dinner drinks, team quiz and a dinner. Everyone sat on round tables with people they don't normally work with to increase connectivity. There was a tremendous spirit all day and everyone came away feeling energised.
At an Away Day in April the Senior Management Team spent the day facilitating the whole team in the development of the 5 year plan. This was done by first asking the team to step into the tardis, and via various stimulations, come up with their vision of the future both professionally and personally. The team were then split into groups and each group had a lense to explore the future through and brainstorm what the business would look like in that area. The groups were then asked to present their thoughts back to the whole team at the end of the day. These thoughts and ideas were then used back at the office by the Senior Management Team in the final write up of the 5 year plan. The inclusiveness of the day had a huge impact on the team which was reflected in the very positive verbatims recieved in their bi-yearly employee engagement survey.
Bovey Castle display the correct behaviours by communicating regularly in the form of meetings and appraisals. They also provide training sessions.
Bovey Castle display the correct behaviours by communicating regularly in the form of meetings and appraisals. They also provide training sessions.
Employees recieve handwritten cards from the Managing Directors for exceptional work. Staff are proud to receive them and it really encourages motivation and commitment.
Boodles genuinely and sincerely care about staff uplifting and motivating. They are 100% hands on and accessible to all staff, setting high standards and leading by example.
Bond Pearce has a confidential and free employee assistance helpline, for anyone to call and discuss personal or work-related problems. They also have regular occupational health visits by a qualified GP to each of their office locations. He is available for any employee to attend a private consultation, should he/she need to do so. They also have free eye tests and flu jabs for all employees.
Bond Pearce has an active Corporate Responsibility agenda with local committees in each office. One of their most innovative actions is the Business Action on Homelessness (BAOH), which is a unique partnership between business, homeless agencies and the Government. The campaign runs in a number of cities, including Bristol, and aims to break the cycle of "no job, no home", by helping homeless people to find employment and achieve independent living. The people on the campaign are “hidden homeless” i.e. not rough sleepers but people living in hostels or other forms of temporary accommodation. They all share the aim of wanting to change their lives by returning to work but often lack the confidence and the know how to achieve this for themselves. Bond Pearce (Bristol office) has hosted part of the BAOH training programme for their homeless clients. They help by providing some volunteers to help clients improve their interview skills. Bond Pearce have participated in this programme over a number of years. The homeless clients gain an immense amount of confidence simply from coming into a professional office environment, being treated with respect and finding out that people who work in this type of firm are interested in seeing them achieve success
Managers are expected to use the 'LMS' system to conduct regular reviews with teams. Employees are asked to rate each objective on a given scale and constructive feedback is provided to support development. Managers are also expected to use the 'Shine' recognition platform by reviewing nominations for employees and approving awards. Managers are also expected to utilise the full range of resources on offer to support personal and career development. Using such programmes enables managers to adapt to a variety of challenging situations and also offer support in giving feedback to teams.
The most innovative thing that the organisation has done this year with regard to giving something back, centres on the adoption of a more proactive and structured approach to organising their community and charity programme. The programme seeks to give back to the community and engage their people in a range of volunteering and charitable opportunities through the use of the company volunteer policy, allowing up to two days out of the office per year to participate in community initiatives. Run by an employee-led CSR steering group, the programme has been organised in two main areas; charitable giving and community investment. The objective of the charitable giving element is to ensure both employee involvement and maximum benefit for charity through fundraising and donations. This year Macmillan Cancer Support was selected by their people as the national charity and they set an ambitious target of raising £50,000, enough to fund a Macmillan nurse for one year. Employees can also sign up for payroll giving or apply for matched sponsorship for personal charity fundraising activities. Building on the theme of employee involvement, the community investment element of their programme aims to develop an awareness of the impact of their business on the wider community, encouraging their people to volunteer to participate in community based initiatives. These initiatives range from employability skills workshops to painting and maintenance in the local community. All volunteering activities are made available through their ‘oneCommunity' online volunteering platform.
BMT celebrated its 25th anniversary by launching a new significant philanthropic project called BMT Giveback. All staff were invited to submit ideas for ways in which the application of BMT's technical scientific and engineering capabilities could make a difference to the lives of people in developing countries. The winning idea which has been put into practice is the design and implementation of a low cost sewerage and sewage treatment system for a rural village in India. At present, with no sanitation system, dirty water flows in open channels down the middle of unpaved roads, creating health risks. The project is much more than just a charitable donation, it is a technical challenge which BMT's engineers have taken on to design a novel system which will work with very low water flows and be easy to maintain by the local people. By choosing materials and skills for the construction which area available locally, businesses in the area have been able to secure contracts to deliver the works, ensuring the maximum economic benefit to the local community. The new design having been created and piloted by BMT's technical experts is being given away to an international development charity who will seek to implement it elsewhere. So not only will the 2500 people in this village experience a significant increase in their quality of life, but potentially many thousands elsewhere.
BMT celebrated its 25th anniversary by launching a new significant philanthropic project called BMT Giveback. All staff were invited to submit ideas for ways in which the application of BMT's technical scientific and engineering capabilities could make a difference to the lives of people in developing countries. The winning idea which has been put into practice is the design and implementation of a low cost sewerage and sewage treatment system for a rural village in India. At present, with no sanitation system, dirty water flows in open channels down the middle of unpaved roads, creating health risks. The project is much more than just a charitable donation, it is a technical challenge which BMT's engineers have taken on to design a novel system which will work with very low water flows and be easy to maintain by the local people. By choosing materials and skills for the construction which area available locally, businesses in the area have been able to secure contracts to deliver the works, ensuring the maximum economic benefit to the local community. The new design having been created and piloted by BMT's technical experts is being given away to an international development charity who will seek to implement it elsewhere. So not only will the 2500 people in this village experience a significant increase in their quality of life, but potentially many thousands elsewhere.
All employees from Senior Account Manager level and above attend the BCL Academy Line Manager Training.
All employees from Senior Account Manager level and above attend the BCL Academy Line Manager Training.
Europ Assistance held a free Family Fun day at Warden Park School. The event also raised money for their two staff charities, Hurstwood Park Neurological Centre and St Peter & St James Hospice. All members of staff at Europ Assistance were invited and encouraged to bring along their friends and family. The day started with traditional races; egg & spoon race, sack race, three legged race etc. This was enjoyed by both the children and adults! There were various prizes for the winners but the adults were definitely more competitive which provided good entertainment for all those spectating. Other events included; face painting, balloon modelling, a bouncy castle for the children, giant jenga, rounders and table tennis. Food was laid on with a fish and chip van followed by ice creams for all from an ice cream van. Raffle tickets were sold on the day and prior to the event with donated prizes including; Champagne, Family Portrait and Cinema voucher, plus many more. Everyone enjoyed the day whether they were taking part in the events or simply relaxing and soaking up the sun. The Social and Charity Committee members put a great deal of effort into organising the event and feedback from members of staff was extremely positive!
Europ Assistance Holdings Limited provides intranet wellbeing, charity work and a discounted gym. The organisation also has a ride to work scheme and provides flu jabs.
Argos believes the wellbeing of all their colleagues is vitally important and something they are widening over the next year. At their distribution centres, the company are currently trialling a wellbeing programme which will potentially be rolled out to other distribution sites and the rest of Argos. This trial aims to prevent and/or incorporate early detection, therefore maintaining and improving the health and wellbeing of the workforce. A regular monthly calendar of events incorporates health awareness campaigns including mental health, diet & exercise, cancer, stopping smoking and flu vaccinations, corporate benefits promotion, managing money and fun/team building events. Across the whole business the company offers the below, under the umbrella of wellbeing: All colleagues have access to a confidential telephone line to support facilities that provide guidance on health, financial and legal advice. In addition to the actual health of their colleagues, other elements of wellbeing including financial help.
Across the business, employees have the opportunity to develop through different training schemes. The Raising the Bar programme is more than the run of the mill training programme. It is based around changing the mind-set of the company's senior store colleagues, and giving them the tools to inspire and lead their teams to be the best they can be and enhance service to customers. STEPS is a tool that helps Argos' non-management employees achieve desired levels of performance, it is used for stores to develop their teams, whilst delivering exceptional customer service. Idevelop is used in Argos' Head Office and is an online development tool which facilitates learning. Distribution: Connecting You, is designed for the senior team, to give them the tools to understand the needs of their teams. SkillPac – includes the distribution induction, and specific training including H&S/manual handling and department role training. Professional training: Across the whole business, any employee can opt to do a funded professional course related to their role including paid study leave.
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