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
O2 people are encouraged to Give Something Back by pursuing charitable causes and playing an active role in their community. They encourage them to apply for awards or refer friends and family under the It's Your Community programme which gives grants of up to £1000 to community projects throughout the UK. O2 also actively encourage volunteering and fundraising. For example the Telefónica Proniño programme gives staff a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with underprivileged children in South America for a month. O2 UK recycle materials used in their offices and retail establishments. They also recycle the electronic waste which they receive from their customers (handsets, routers, laptops etc) and their network equipment. Telefónica O2 UK recognise the need to get their house in order. They have a responsibility for the planet and believe that sound management of their environmental impact is critical to their future. By doing the right things they can also stand out from the crowd, gain trust, save money and invest in things their customers most value.
In September O2 launched their new recognition scheme, Fanclub. Based on Facebook, people registering for Fanclub can upload their personal profile, add a photo and search the database to find people across O2 they would like to recognise for their achievements. It's a quick, easy and instant way to say ‘thanks for a job well done' and to make people's contributions feel valued. Anyone can nominate their peers, managers, individuals or teams for the contributions they've made to delivering against one of O2's six business priorities, known as the Customer Promise. All O2's directorates have a number of tickets allocated for recognition at The O2 Arena and other O2 Academies across the country, enabling their employees to be rewarded by seeing top artists perform at these locations. O2 have a bonus structure where their people are rewarded for their efforts based on their performance. The bonus is linked to how they have performed throughout the year and is assessed following their Annual Performance Review at the end of the year.
Directors and senior managers ensure employees are acknowledged for good work and the CEO will send a personal thank you letter to them. Performance is recognised through the Shining Stars scheme where an award is made once a quarter. The award is judged by a panel of employees. Annual appraisals are held and employees receive increments in addition to an annual pay award if they meet set standards. Attendance is rewarded for no absence over 12 months. A benefits booklet for staff is produced which outlines what is available and provides information about how to access the benefits. This information is included on the intranet and they hold focus groups with employees to discuss benefits to ensure the benefits suit their needs.
They have rolled out a comprehensive management development programme tailored for all management levels. The HR team support managers in many of the people management tasks that they need to complete such as sickness and disciplinary and provide one to one coaching to guide managers through the stages of each process. The Directors work with an external coach both individually and as a team. An external consultant holds training sessions with managers and coaching and mentoring is available dependant on individuals needs.
Skandia have a range of courses for all levels of management and where required support managers with internal mentors. An online 360 tool to assist managers has been developed along with an internally managed feedback mechanism. They retain many external suppliers to deliver life and business coaching to middle and senior managers and provide support in obtaining internal and external professional qualifications in association with external business schools. Managers are encouraged to attend seminars and professional forums to maintain professional knowledge and meet CPD requirements. Voluntary networking groups have been introduced for the different management levels bringing together the various business departments.
A flexible benefits package is on offer which includes free private health care, critical illness / personal insurance and a wellness program. They have enhanced their offerings to employees with more therapist sessions being made available onsite. Online resources are available both at work and at home where employees can access the latest health and wellbeing news as well as taking health assessments. Skandia also provides an optional onsite annual flu vaccination programme and work with an agency to provide balanced menus and raise awareness on healthy eating through road shows and leaflets. This year, as part of a financial awareness programme, employees were given access to pension financial advice to help them understand more about their pension.
They offer employees discounted gym membership and also provide a £20 wellbeing supplement to those with gym memberships. Free private health care is available to all employees and through this they can gain access to help and advice on quitting smoking and eating healthily. Seatwave has implemented a personal day policy which allows employees to take up to 5 days additional leave per annum at their request. Days can be used for things such as additional holiday, to spend the day in bed or take the kids to the park.
Seatwave annually conduct an external compensation survey to ensure salaries and benefits are in line with the market. In reward for employee's efforts, performance related stock option grants are available and quarterly performance reviews are carried out. They have a ‘spot' bonus program to celebrate extraordinary efforts and hold quarterly initiatives with awards for team winners.
To promote interaction within teams there is a range of social sporting events held such as tennis, bowls and canoeing along with non sporting events for example ‘Ribby's Got Talent' this recent event was designed to increase communication and teamwork across the departments.
This organisation encourages employees to take part in sporting social events to keep fit, individual requests from employees for extra time out of work on top of holiday days are reviewed by managers and accepted where possible. All employees are all encouraged to plan their holidays to ensure that they use their full quota each year.
In all of their company meetings the Executives and senior management invite questions throughout, so as to ensure employees are fully aware of everything happening within the company. All employers and leaders are in an open plan office. All leaders are approachable and welcome any interaction. They have employee dinners with update presentations; they also have various adhoc presentations, and team meetings and lunches where senior management attend. As they have an open door policy, if anyone has anything they would like to discuss with him they may and he regularly encourages dialogue with all of their staff. He regularly interacts with all staff, socially and at work. They often attend many of the "fun" functions they hold.
Once a month they wear jeans to work and a donation is made to an employee nominated charity, which can be charities that their employees have a personal involvement with. The organisation use a company called Carbon Neutral to offset their carbon usage. They have paper and cardboard recycling with Shred-it who replant how ever many trees worth of paper they recycle. They have a company allotment, where employees can grow vegetables. They believe that all of the areas described above make them a sustainable company. They have frequently supported Heathrow Special Needs Farm and worked with them for 2 years in their local community which is part of the Business in the Community (BITC) Group.
The organisation offer the flexibility to accommodate personal and medical appointments and time off with pay is granted for doctor, hospital and dental appointments. They do not pay overtime but do grant lieu days to staff who work longer hours at key business times. Family members are invited to social summer hog roast events where there is a bouncy castle and games provided for children. They offer a home working policy and are as flexible as possible about working hours on an informal basis for example employees can start early and finish early as agreed with their managers if it fits with the needs of the business.
Manager's guides are issued wherever possible for new online absence management tools. Pay and support for external management qualifications are available under the Education Assistance programme. Internal management development training is available. Internal coaching and mentoring is also available for employees on an adhoc basis. All the senior management team have an open door policy and will help and guide their management team wherever possible. External coaching and mentoring can be arranged through a preferred supplier where necessary and is available during the Leadership academy. Lunch & Learn sessions with HR are conducted, these sessions are run by the HR team and are open to all managers, covering requested topics such as the disciplinary process. Regular mentoring is given from the HR team on subjects such as performance improvement plans, disciplinary, salary increases and job development.
All Managers have regular meetings with their line managers to identify any development needs. They provide external training in a number of different business areas including coaching and leadership which are open to all managers who need support. Managers take part in an annual management development programme to ensure their skills are up to date. Regular management and operational meetings are held where managers can share knowledge and discuss objectives.
The company tries hard to provide a strong work/life balance for employees and will assess any application for reduced hours or flexible working patterns on an individual basis. Free life assurance and private health care is available to all employees. They also have an employee assistance programme which provides support to employees on a range of topics including stress management and mental health issues.
Pret A Manger provides employees with competitive pay and bonuses are awarded to employees of all levels. Senior managers always take time to say ‘thank you' to employees for their efforts and use ‘wow cards' to instantly recognise hard work. The company also run a monthly competition where the top performing shop is awarded with funds to spend on an event of their choice. Career development opportunities are available to all employees and they celebrate promotions within the company with vouchers.
Pret A Manger provides employees with competitive pay and bonuses are awarded to employees of all levels. Senior managers always take time to say ‘thank you' to employees for their efforts and use ‘wow cards' to instantly recognise hard work. The company also run a monthly competition where the top performing shop is awarded with funds to spend on an event of their choice. Career development opportunities are available to all employees and they celebrate promotions within the company with vouchers.
Pizza Express consistently seek to ensure their employees feel rewarded and hold roundtable events to gain feedback on what employees would like. Restaurant support teams are rewarded through the ‘Restaurant Support Hero Awards' by the Managing Director at their monthly team brief. They also run an employee of the month scheme to recognise exceptional work from operations managers, managers and team members.
Pizza Express consistently seek to ensure their employees feel rewarded and hold roundtable events to gain feedback on what employees would like. Restaurant support teams are rewarded through the ‘Restaurant Support Hero Awards' by the Managing Director at their monthly team brief. They also run an employee of the month scheme to recognise exceptional work from operations managers, managers and team members.
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