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My Team - Employees' feelings towards their immediate colleagues and how well they work together
My team benefits from a high scoring My Manager factor as the manager is key to creating and sustaining a productive and positive work environment.
An employee’s perceived team will be those they work with on a daily basis.
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!
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!
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!
Reaseheath College have found the annual staff survey to be a very helpful way of listening to employees and to seek their opinion on all matters relating to the College. In particular, staff felt the staff partnership forum was, in its previous guise, not as effective as it could be. This being the consensus highlighted by the survey a project was undertaken to review the structure and purpose of the Forum. The staff partnership forum is now a more formal channel for employees to give their views, raise concerns and share ideas with senior management. The results of the survey and the actions from it are shared with staff in a “You Said, We Did” format allowing staff to see how their views have been heard and acted upon.
Reaseheath College have found the annual staff survey to be a very helpful way of listening to employees and to seek their opinion on all matters relating to the College. In particular, staff felt the staff partnership forum was, in its previous guise, not as effective as it could be. This being the consensus highlighted by the survey a project was undertaken to review the structure and purpose of the Forum. The staff partnership forum is now a more formal channel for employees to give their views, raise concerns and share ideas with senior management. The results of the survey and the actions from it are shared with staff in a “You Said, We Did” format allowing staff to see how their views have been heard and acted upon.
Enabling individual success in their role is very important to Reaseheath College. To be effective, they believe individual learning must be linked back to the needs of the business. With that in mind, managers and team members work together to identify the skills and knowledge required by the role and use this combined with outcomes from individual 121's reviews and PDRs to form the basis for individual learning plans. The best example of how they support employee development in this way has been to develop a programme or learning for their teaching staff by bringing PTLLS, CTLLS and PGCE training in-house. All of their new teaching staff embark on a period of learning to gain this required qualification studying alongside colleagues in their place of work. The benefits of brining this in-house has meant the training forms a natural extension to the induction of new teaching staff and helps them to shape them to be the lecturers and instructors their students require them to be. The organisation's training budget has been developed by managers allowing teams the flexibility and autonomy to plan and arrange their own bespoke training and away days.
ReachLocal have regular speakers who come in and talk to their employees, most recently they had a speech on perception and how that influences the way they work. They like to encourage employees to look at how they can do things differently so that they can continue to achieve within the business.
The family fun day provides a platform for all ReachLocal UK employees to spend a day with each other and bring along family members, where they can get to know each other on a more personal level. This promotes trust between each other and stronger working relationships and it's also a way for the company to thank the nearest and dearest of their employees from who they take so much time.
ReachLocal have regular speakers who come in and talk to their employees, most recently they had a speech on perception and how that influences the way they work. They like to encourage employees to look at how they can do things differently so that they can continue to achieve within the business.
Randstad consultants are most inspired and engagement when they can work in partnership with the leadership team; both putting their ideas forward and learning from their role models. The high performance camps channelled this, inviting feedback and acting as ambassadors for consultants. Employees' invitation to a two-day event had already created interest and heightened project awareness and engagement levels. To maximise engagement, the event was attended by Randstad UK's CEO and Randstad business support's managing director. In their employees' eyes, this really added value to the event. Firstly, it actively demonstrated how important the event was. Secondly, it gave employees direct access to senior team members in an informal, fun and inspirational environment. Mark Bull and Ruth Jacobs were actively involved in physical and mental challenges. Their people enjoyed ‘getting their hands dirty' in the team-building events alongside some of Randstad's most senior leaders.
Randstad consultants are most inspired and engagement when they can work in partnership with the leadership team; both putting their ideas forward and learning from their role models. The high performance camps channelled this, inviting feedback and acting as ambassadors for consultants. Employees' invitation to a two-day event had already created interest and heightened project awareness and engagement levels. To maximise engagement, the event was attended by Randstad UK's CEO and Randstad business support's managing director. In their employees' eyes, this really added value to the event. Firstly, it actively demonstrated how important the event was. Secondly, it gave employees direct access to senior team members in an informal, fun and inspirational environment. Mark Bull and Ruth Jacobs were actively involved in physical and mental challenges. Their people enjoyed ‘getting their hands dirty' in the team-building events alongside some of Randstad's most senior leaders.
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.
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.
In Spring 2013, Raglan introduced a new staff recognition scheme. Devised by a focus group of staff representatives, it comprised 5 elements. These are: Thank you cards (online and paper) for staff to use a public recognition forum on the intranet for staff to acknowledge other's contributions a suggestion box on the intranet for good ideas, innovations, money-saving suggestions, etc. A staff awards scheme with the postings on the recognition forum and the suggestion box forming the nominations managers' budgets for recognition, to be spend on team lunches, coffee and cake, small gifts, etc. The scheme has been really well received by staff and the managers' budgets in particular are having an impact on staff perception of how their efforts are recognised and the confidence of managers to acknowledge a good job well done. They will be formally assessing the impact of the scheme after the first 6 months and the first staff awards at Christmas 2013.
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.
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.
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.
The company has recruited an HR manager to help managers with employee engagement.
The company has recruited an HR manager to help managers with employee engagement.
The company has recruited an HR manager to help managers with employee engagement.
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.
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.
Ochre House has nurtured a culture of personal accountability and empowerement. They encourage their people to ‘ask for forgiveness rather than permission' and in turn they ask all of their people to manage their own career journey. As such the organisation places much emphasis on personal brand. Sue Brooks, Managing Director, is a recognised thought leader in the industry and is widely hailed as an innovative and expert thinker by professionals beyond the confines of Ochre House. As such her own personal brand is very powerful and she is both an inspiration and a role model to all Ochre House colleagues, truly leading by example.
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.
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