Last October B3Living launched a new annual staff award scheme. The organisation designed a campaign where they asked staff to nominate one another for a “B3Inspiring Award”. After a consultation exercise the Board have recently reaffirmed B3Living's values of being collaborative, respectful, creative, reliable and excellent. They have decided to use these as the categories to be clear that these are the behaviours they prize and want to encourage staff to model. With 50 nominations a team of Senior Managers selected 15 winners. These winners were announced at the staff conference and were presented with a certificate and gift vouchers by the Chair, as well as a special winners pin badge by Anneka Rice. The pin badges are worn with pride on lanyards and have quickly become coveted items! As the winners were announced at an event in front of the entire staffing group the applause and cheers that they got lifted the roof. It proved to be an uplifting and motivational way of rewarding star staff members for their exceptional performance against organisation values.

Last year B3Living rolled out a Resilience programme. This was open to all staff and focused on the proactive side of stress management. It includes a “strengthscope”, a strengths assessment which ascertained the key personality traits or activities that employees were energised by or had the capacity to become great at. Examples included emotional control, detail orientation and collaboration. There was also a one day Resilience Training course covering topics like managing your mindset, controlling the controllables, stretching yourself, using your strengths and being aware of stress. Where possible B3Living invite in guest speakers to address staff on the topic of wellbeing, as well as inviting brave colleagues who are willing to share their personal experiences. All staff are also invited to attend a course on Mental Health First Aid to help them identify when a colleague or a resident might be suffering from mental health issues and how they might go about supporting the individual.

Since 2010 Axiom has taken part in the Housing Diversity Network's (HDN) Mentoring Programme. The HDN Mentoring Programme was originally set up in 2002 due to a need for a better pipeline for minorities into leadership positions in the housing sector. Over 25 employees have benefited from taking part in the programme, which has helped them develop as individuals through one-to-one mentoring sessions, group workshops and events. The HDN have reported that from the 2015-16 cohort of mentees, 15% were promoted during the time they were involved in the programme. There is no eligibility criteria; the programme is open to anyone who feels they would benefit from extra support to reach their own objectives. The workshops cover a range of topics with the aim of broadening knowledge of the housing sector, as well as developing a self-awareness of themselves through psychometric profiling. Axiom's CEO is a real advocate of the programme and as well as encouraging employees to take this development opportunity he participates each year as a Mentor and is involved in delivering workshops.

Through a review of Personal Development Plans and the Senior Management Team identifying potential Managers in the Association, Axiom engaged the services of a local Consultant to deliver an Introduction to Leadership and Management programme. The aim of the programme was to assist participants in gaining the basic knowledge required by a Manager, to develop basic leadership and management skills and to apply the learning to the participant's job so they become more effective. At the end of the programme all participants were given the opportunity to attend one-to-one coaching sessions with the Consultant to identify any particular areas they would like further help to develop and set goals for the next stage in their personal development. Over a two-year period, the Association has helped 20 employees to develop their management skills. At the beginning of each year every employee is set individual and corporate objectives that are reviewed on a regular basis at one-to-one meetings with their Manager. At regular intervals throughout the year The Board Of Management are also given an overview of the Department Plans and progress made in each area of the business.

This year Axicom launched their ‘Leadership Development Programme', which aims to recognise and develop the pivotal role their Leaders play across the organisation. The annual programme covers topics ranging from developing a leadership mind-set and being a good agency role model to improving personal and team effectiveness, to name but a few. External coaching sessions are also offered to the Leadership Team and the internal HR team are constantly on hand to provide support, guidance and assistance to them. AxiCom is a meritocratic environment and is consistently rewarding all of their employees, not just Managers, for their great work and achievements. Performance across the business is measured through Personal Development Plans. Whether an employee or Manager, staff are appraised formally once a year and are continually set challenging objectives in consultation with their own Line Managers through ongoing quarterly review meetings. From a management point of view, AxiCom measure performance through setting challenging KPIs against AxiCom's overall business objectives. These are set by the UK MD and CEO, who personally sit with the Senior Managers to discuss and plan their career progression and performance against the business strategy. The UK MD runs a weekly leadership meeting where Senior Leaders within each practice get together to discuss how they are tracking against our targets, recruitment needs and ensuring people who are in the pipeline for promotions are on track and have the support they need in order to achieve this.

To ensure regular team interaction and communication, AxiCom host a lively monthly company meeting at the local boutique cinema. They even provide a yummy breakfast to enjoy whilst the meeting takes place! The meeting is used to showcase the great work each team has been doing that month and to update all on the company's European offices to ensure the communications that are cascaded are not just regarding the UK. AxiCom often invite guest speakers to the monthly company meetings to ignite debate, curiosity and ideas amongst staff. The CEO and UK MD use this monthly slot to ensure the company's vision and long-term strategy is continuously articulated and understood. AxiCom's Global Cohn & Wolfe Group CEO also attends around once a year to cascade the Group vision and strategy. As a company AxiCom promote lots of interaction in the meeting for people to ask questions and seek any clarity that is needed. After the meeting staff have a chance to socialise and discuss what they have learned.

During 2015 Atkins introduced the Group CEO bonus scheme, which is designed to recognise exceptional effort and contribution by an individual to the business. In any given year there are a handful of really stand-out contributions that individuals make to the business that go above and beyond what is required of them. Whilst most such contributions are picked up by the bonus schemes the company have in place, there are sometimes individuals who do something so special that further recognition is appropriate. For example, they may develop an innovative solution to a client's problem which has brought external recognition or they may have produced a world class piece of thought leadership. The scheme is largely honorific in nature, with a personal letter from the CEO to reinforce the importance of the employees abilities and contributions to Atkins' continued success. The individual also receives a cash bonus to a maximum individual value of £3k and in 2016 there were 37 CEO bonuses awarded.

During 2015 Atkins introduced the Group CEO bonus scheme, which is designed to recognise exceptional effort and contribution by an individual to the business. In any given year there are a handful of really stand-out contributions that individuals make to the business that go above and beyond what is required of them. Whilst most such contributions are picked up by the bonus schemes the company have in place, there are sometimes individuals who do something so special that further recognition is appropriate. For example, they may develop an innovative solution to a client's problem which has brought external recognition or they may have produced a world class piece of thought leadership. The scheme is largely honorific in nature, with a personal letter from the CEO to reinforce the importance of the employees abilities and contributions to Atkins' continued success. The individual also receives a cash bonus to a maximum individual value of £3k and in 2016 there were 37 CEO bonuses awarded.

Aspect Capital work with a company called the Access Project. They are a charity who connect GCSE and A-Level students in London with people who can give them one on one tutoring for an hour a week. Aspect have about six people who regularly provide Maths and Science support to students from the King Solomon Academy on the Edgware Road. Their staff also regularly volunteer to help out with wrapping presents, serving food and manning stalls at St John's Hospice's Christmas and Summer fayres. Aspect Capital and it's employees raise money for a number of charities annually and on an ad-hoc basis. Charities that they have raised money for this year include Access Project, Sands, St John's Wood Hospice and the British Lung Foundation to name just a few. After a company survey about charity the company found that employees were particularly interested in raising money for medical research and so they company set out to donate to the Francis Crick Institute, a Cancer Research centre in near their offices in London.

Although the senior management team are always looking to meet the business goals, they don't compromise the corporate values in order to achieve them. This is regularly demonstrated, whether it be not hiring someone who wouldn't fit with the values of Aspect, doing day trips to far-flung destinations to help out a member of the Sales team at a particularly challenging meeting or getting involved in any of the community and charity events. Aspect's Board members regularly sit in the Staff Hub to have lunch with the wider company and ensure they are listening to issues and they each host two Director Breakfasts every year, these breakfasts are designed to provide an opportunity for staff to ask questions in a comfortable environment. There are usually around 10 attendees. The CTO, Anthony, randomly selects support tasks to take on in order to help out the IT team when they're busy and keep his skills fresh. Anthony has an open door policy, he chairs the weekly Company meeting, gives quarterly updates on progress against the business plan to the whole company and endeavours to introduce himself to new joiners as soon after they start work at Aspect. They also rope in him to push the beer trolley round the office a couple of times a year.

This is Ashford Borough Council's second year of choosing a local charity to support. In 2015/16 the organisation supported Pilgrim's Hospice and this year they are supporting Retreat Animal Rescue. ABC's main fundraising event is their annual staff quiz night, where teams pay to join in and local companies donate prizes for the raffle. Last year the organisation raised £600 and this year £700 on this night alone. Staff donate when participating in fun staff events, such as their bubble football tournament. The organisation also participates in the Christmas tree recycling project that Pilgrim's Hospice run every year. ABC's volunteering policy enables staff to take one day per year to work with a local organisation of their choice. The organisation employs a member of staff to run a Job Club every Monday and will support any resident that is actively looking for work through this. They provide advice on interview skills and techniques, courses and training, support with job searching, voluntary work and job applications, plus careers advice and CV workshops. ABC also work closely with a local charity called Porchlight and fund a part time dedicated member of staff to work with and assist homeless people in Ashford (often including ex-offenders and those recovering from addiction). This year ABC has contributed £30k towards this.

This is Ashford Borough Council's second year of choosing a local charity to support. In 2015/16 the organisation supported Pilgrim's Hospice and this year they are supporting Retreat Animal Rescue. ABC's main fundraising event is their annual staff quiz night, where teams pay to join in and local companies donate prizes for the raffle. Last year the organisation raised £600 and this year £700 on this night alone. Staff donate when participating in fun staff events, such as their bubble football tournament. The organisation also participates in the Christmas tree recycling project that Pilgrim's Hospice run every year. ABC's volunteering policy enables staff to take one day per year to work with a local organisation of their choice. The organisation employs a member of staff to run a Job Club every Monday and will support any resident that is actively looking for work through this. They provide advice on interview skills and techniques, courses and training, support with job searching, voluntary work and job applications, plus careers advice and CV workshops. ABC also work closely with a local charity called Porchlight and fund a part time dedicated member of staff to work with and assist homeless people in Ashford (often including ex-offenders and those recovering from addiction). This year ABC has contributed £30k towards this.

Arthouse support the local Rossendale Hospice charity and regularly hold Friends and Family days whereby they post letters to the local residents and business to encourage their attendance to the Arthouse showroom onsite where they can purchase products that were previously samples or gold mark items. All proceeds are then given to the Hospice. The company support the local college and are working with them to help their students develop their skills by providing materials for their studies. They hold open days for local university students and invite market players for them to meet and develop relationships with.

Arthouse use various mechanisms to ensure that their messages are communicated throughout the business. They have many projects running at any one time and ensure that they include various areas of expertise to run the project in order to bring both a different skill set but also help people to learn about more areas of the business. They feel that this helps to reinforce their messages of communication and growth/development as Arthouse are constantly testing people to learn different things and instilling in them the nature of their business. Arthouse operate a top down communication chain whereby they proliferate key messages from Board to Management Team Meeting to Wider Management Team Meeting to Team Meeting to 1:2:1's to Individual Projects/Individuals. Twice a month, they run briefings whereby the whole business is presented to from one/a couple employees. Arthouse task each of these presenters with sharing knowledge about the business and the area they work within and thus underpinning the culture of open communication that they have here in the business. They have very keen on encouraging activity within the Social side of the business. Using mechanisms such as Yammer they have been able to embrace the social scene even more and encourage the fun in the workplace. Arthouse run a quarterly company newsletter which they fill with messages from all parts of the business and from all of their principles. They operate approximately 16 away days per year across the whole company where staff are offsite completely for focussed workshops.

The company runs an 'Aquila School' every Friday, which lasts for one hour or sometimes more if the topic is larger. All employees Skype into a learning session, which is run by a different member each week. Not only does this help with their presentation and communication skills but it also helps with their internal networking and profile within the organisation by showing their area of expertise. They also run an Aquila Orators session, which is similar to Toastmasters International. They have a different Toastmaster each week. This is a fun but comfortable environment for more junior employees to improve their communication and presentation skills. Within the industry there is continuous learning due to new and advanced techniques and tools. Aquila like their employees to be at the front of this learning so encourage them to write blogs too. They also encourage employees to share their knowledge and experience with local Universities and schools, thereby helping people get into employment in the Industry. Furthermore Aquila also encourage and support employees as 'thought Leaders' to talk at industry events.

Aquila offer the flexibility to work from home and travel to other offices to work more closely with colleagues. Each year all employees get together in one of Aquila's locations. They also have international food days where different nationalities teach employees about their nationalities and bring in a selection of different food and drinks. They also have free fruit available in each office at all times. The office bike to work scheme is highly subscribed and well used and employees often arrange out of work biking events together, which shows how effective this scheme is. Aquila have a quiet room where employees can go and work in a quiet area so they can focus without interruption, as they understand that not everyone likes working in an open plan environment. They have multiple breakout areas with couches so teams' individuals can get together and meet. They also encourage off site meetings, for example popping to a cafe for a meeting and a change of scenery. Finally every office uses Sonos provided to listen to music, which employees find creates an effective stress free atmosphere.

Anchor's Leadership Development Programme is well embedded. The organisation also offers tailored leadership solutions consisting of bespoke training. Based on training needs analysis this includes a review of the people profiler, performance management data and conversations with Senior Leadership Team members and business partners. Performance management is based on formal reviews twice a year which are supported with monthly updates. Anchor have also developed simple and fit for purpose tools and processes for Care, Housing and Support Services. Talent review is currently focused in the Leadership Team and Support Service roles including district, home and care Managers. Calibration activity in functional teams has been led by HR to help increase consistency in performance rating application and to identify potential stars and/or successors for the future.

Anchor's Leadership Development Programme is well embedded. The organisation also offers tailored leadership solutions consisting of bespoke training. Based on training needs analysis this includes a review of the people profiler, performance management data and conversations with Senior Leadership Team members and business partners. Performance management is based on formal reviews twice a year which are supported with monthly updates. Anchor have also developed simple and fit for purpose tools and processes for Care, Housing and Support Services. Talent review is currently focused in the Leadership Team and Support Service roles including district, home and care Managers. Calibration activity in functional teams has been led by HR to help increase consistency in performance rating application and to identify potential stars and/or successors for the future.

All employees are financially linked to their department's Return on Sales. This provides a pool of cash for each individual that can then be increased based on other factors, such as Customer Service and Health and Safety. These elements are broken down into smaller measurements, which are then reported to the employees so they can see areas for improvement as a group or individually. There is also comparative information between depots and departments. The scheme actively encourages development of individuals and teams, as well as interdepartmental discussions on developing improvement strategies. Acting safely and responsibly is an integral element of the AFI philosophy and the company will continually seek to improve and revise their processes in order to deliver a safe working environment. They want the families of their employees to know that their family member is safe at work and will arrive home that evening. As a result of this AFI have been accredited with the ROSPA Gold Award for commitment to the health and safety of team members and customers.

AFI invest approximately £200,000 per year into training to ensure that their employees work safely and can develop their careers. The company are averaging over four training days per employee each year and have also introduced a series of e-learning modules so that employees can learn at a time, a place and a pace that suits their needs. AFI have also developed a comprehensive induction programme to prepare new members of staff for working in the industry. Health and safety is a key part of AFI's induction process, so they have added the IOSH Managing Safely programme into their induction as a mandatory requirement for all Senior Managers. This has played a major role in significantly reducing AFI's Accident Frequency Rate, as their accident frequency rate is currently 1.57 per 10,000 working hours, which is industry leading for a "blue collar" industry. The jewel in AFI's crown for employee development is their Training Plus scheme, which supports employees for non-job related training. The focus is on personal development, for example football coaching, foreign languages, skiing, clay pigeon shooting lessons and bible studies. The most common request is driving lessons and the company support about five employees per year with financial assistance for these.