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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.
FreshMinds conduct Friday morning breakfast meetings every week which bring everyone together in an informal and fun environment. There is a rota so everyone has the chance to speak about a topic they think may be relevant to their company, the work they do or their clients. FreshMinds conduct away days at least twice a year. These away days include presentations around strategy, speakers, group brainstorming sessions and team building activities, such as go-karting and most recently Dragon boat racing. FreshMinds also have half yearly celebrations such as the Summer BBQ and Christmas Party. Once a year, employees are able to attend a subsidised skiing holiday and the company has also arranged cultural nights out on the Southbank and participation in Tough Mudder - military style physical training day. Once a month Freshminds provide a budget for employees to arrange attendance at a cultural event and drinks/socialising afterwards/before.
FreshMinds offer many extra curricular actives within the company such as Bake Club, Running Club, Climbing Club and the FreshMinds netball team to name a few. In the last twelve months they have organised free gym trials and free month long boot camp training trials, as well as arranging a refit of the basement to provide bike storage and showers. They also offer free eye care vouchers and their flexible benefits include private medical and optional dental cover. On birthdays they offer an hour lie-in and the employee receives a card and a cake/cheese/plant or other gift. FreshMinds provides fresh fruit every morning and breakfast every Friday as well as drinks at the end of the day on Friday.
FreshMinds offer many extra curricular actives within the company such as Bake Club, Running Club, Climbing Club and the FreshMinds netball team to name a few. In the last twelve months they have organised free gym trials and free month long boot camp training trials, as well as arranging a refit of the basement to provide bike storage and showers. They also offer free eye care vouchers and their flexible benefits include private medical and optional dental cover. On birthdays they offer an hour lie-in and the employee receives a card and a cake/cheese/plant or other gift. FreshMinds provides fresh fruit every morning and breakfast every Friday as well as drinks at the end of the day on Friday.
A key element of Foot Anstey's strategy is to support the development of their lawyers as business advisors. This requires lawyers to develop broader skill sets alongside their pure technical capability to help them build effective business relationships and show insight with their clients. Foot Anstey have been working with their Partners and Associates on a varied and interactive programme of development activities to support this. The spirit has been to give their people an ‘exceptional' and different learning experience. Highlights have included: - Engaging with a major Business school to run facilitated group discussion sessions based on three ‘transformational change' case studies. This provoked discussion and debate as well as awareness of the impact of change. - Business Games scenario – the Associates worked in teams on a business board game scenario. Each group acted as ‘business owners' running a business with suppliers, customers, stock etc. and different scenarios based on the complete financial life cycle of running a business. There was healthy competition between the teams to see who could be most daring and entrepreneurial as well as successful in business and lots of practical learning too. Feedback from these activities has been very positive with high levels of engagement and participation. Foot Ansty are building on this further in 2014 by offering a one day MBA programme for Partners. All these activities have been using a different and interesting approach to developing key skills for the future and aligning these with the Firm's own strategy.
Senior Board members of Foot Anstey annually undertake a roadshow across all five offices. Even with sosphicated online communication methods, nothing works better than face to face communication; Foot Anstey's Managing Partner together with four Directors - HR, Finance, IT and Client Development, present to their staff the vision for the firm over the next year, with the opportunity to ask direct questions. As this style of discussion can be intimidating for some, staff were encouraged to write questions down anonymously after a few moments of relaxed conversation. The questions are collated and the HR Director puts the questions direct to the Managing Partner ‘live' in the room. This helps with the conversation and debate enormously and enables people across the firm to have a genuine voice and contribute. This has improved the interaction levels at the office presentations and the audience has seen potentially ‘sensitive' questions or suggestions asked and responded to. This has contributed to improved trust, engagement and communications at all levels. The questions and answers are then posted onto the Intranet under their Managing Partners blog, to ensure longevity and a maximum audience. Hosted in the morning with coffee and pastries, for a chance to talk, share and enthuse about the future – they are popular and productive for all and are now an ingrained part of the firm's culture.
Being a multi-site firm, whilst online communications flow freely, nothing beats face to face interaction. Foot Anstey's Managing Partner, John Westwell travels either weekly or fortnightly to each of their five offices and endeavours to talk to every new recruit and staff. Their offices are all open plan and they have a system of hot desks for people who are working in different offices that day. Therefore, John or any member of staff could be working alongside anyone that day and builds relationships with people at every level. He strives to build relationships with everyone and amongst all his duties as Managing Partner, still will make time to send a personal card when necessary and needed. As mentioned before, his blog is popular and supported and his accessibility to all across a multi-site firm. He is driving the firm forward and promotes and encourages any entrepreneurial activity. Anyone at Foot Anstey can suggest an idea, improvement and it will be listened to and absorbed. John's longevity at the firm is also commendable, having been with the firm for over 20 years. He has a passion for Foot Anstey and is taking it into the future to the benefit of numerous stake holders; Partners, employees, their families, their local economy, their suppliers and above all their clients. In an uncertain economy, which has seen others in their industry sadly fail, it is a responsibility that John takes very seriously.
They hold a quarterly Employee Forum whereby employees are asked their views and opinions on all aspects of the Company and from this have created focus groups so that employees are engaged in addressing some of the issues.
Fricroft have recently introduced pay for performance where pay increases are directly linked to achievement of objectives and demonstrating that they live the Company values through measurement of their behavioural competencies. They give on the spot rewards to employees who have demonstrated exceptional performance or customer service by way of vouchers or paying for the employee and their partner to go out for a meal. They operate an employee of the month scheme to recognise efforts.
They hold a quarterly Employee Forum whereby employees are asked their views and opinions on all aspects of the Company and from this have created focus groups so that employees are engaged in addressing some of the issues.
Fesitval Housing run Modern Apprenticeship programmes taking young people from the age of 16+. They progress learners through to Level 3 qualifications. On completion they can continue to develop through undertaking Btec, NVQ, HNC, HND and Professional qualifications. Support is available for all staff to undertake a recognised Vocational, Professional or academic qualifications, 90 % of roles have a specific qualification linked to them e.g. Housing Officers relevant qualification is Chartered Institute of Housing Level 4. Such courses are supported 100% financially. Festival Housing currently offer professional traineeship in HR and Finance with a view to expand to other areas of the organisation. Qualifications are offered via day, block release at college and distance learning. They work closely with local University, other housing associations providing bespoke level 5 Leadership and Management qualifications. They offer development through the delivery of learning activities including e-learning, course attendance external, bespoke in house courses, reading, forums, workshops and conferences. In house courses run with a mix of external and internal trainers. Year 2012 to 2013 Festival carried 3196 training days. This equates to an average of 6.9 training days per member of staff. Vacancies which are identified as key roles can be offered as secondment opportunities of up to 1 year's duration. This allows staff to experience different roles within the organisation. Work experience is available to people looking to change careers or re-join the world place. They work closely with schools and colleges to offer students work experience opportunities.
To lead well, it is necessary to understand what you are leading. Fetival's Chief Executive, Guy Weston knows their business thoroughly, has the widest possible overview and understanding of the industry and the external factors influencing it, but he also knows his staff members by name and speaks to them all in the same way and understands what areas of the business they are most concerned with. The door of his office is always open and they often see him on the office floor or out and about at the depots and other offices. He presents the BreakFest Briefs, tells everyone about his holidays and asks about everyone else. Everyone knows about his football team and he joshes about everyone else's. However, when he's doing business he's completely focused, fair and a good listener. He knows his stuff and when he doesn't have enough information he asks for it before making a judgement. When there are awards to be given, thanks to be made and acknowledgement of excellent work and dedication to Festival and their clients, Guy is there to thank staff personally and he does not quickly forget those achievements. Figures of authority will always find themselves in the firing line for making decisions about contentious issues, but if every member of staff feels that they can express their opinion about that decision directly to that person then they have done the job fairly. That situation exists here at Festival.
Fesitval Housing run Modern Apprenticeship programmes taking young people from the age of 16+. They progress learners through to Level 3 qualifications. On completion they can continue to develop through undertaking Btec, NVQ, HNC, HND and Professional qualifications. Support is available for all staff to undertake a recognised Vocational, Professional or academic qualifications, 90 % of roles have a specific qualification linked to them e.g. Housing Officers relevant qualification is Chartered Institute of Housing Level 4. Such courses are supported 100% financially. Festival Housing currently offer professional traineeship in HR and Finance with a view to expand to other areas of the organisation. Qualifications are offered via day, block release at college and distance learning. They work closely with local University, other housing associations providing bespoke level 5 Leadership and Management qualifications. They offer development through the delivery of learning activities including e-learning, course attendance external, bespoke in house courses, reading, forums, workshops and conferences. In house courses run with a mix of external and internal trainers. Year 2012 to 2013 Festival carried 3196 training days. This equates to an average of 6.9 training days per member of staff. Vacancies which are identified as key roles can be offered as secondment opportunities of up to 1 year's duration. This allows staff to experience different roles within the organisation. Work experience is available to people looking to change careers or re-join the world place. They work closely with schools and colleges to offer students work experience opportunities.
Faststream are using MC3 this year and so will be using this tool to help their management team develop and improve engagement with their teams. They will prioritise improvement in their highest correlating factors and providing regular feedback and updates to the business on what they are doing to improve engagement in the business. They are creating a ‘Hub Page' on Internal Communication Portal -Yourstream, so that Best Companies and Engagement becomes an ongoing process, not just an annual event.
Faststream are using MC3 this year and so will be using this tool to help their management team develop and improve engagement with their teams. They will prioritise improvement in their highest correlating factors and providing regular feedback and updates to the business on what they are doing to improve engagement in the business. They are creating a ‘Hub Page' on Internal Communication Portal -Yourstream, so that Best Companies and Engagement becomes an ongoing process, not just an annual event.
Faststream are using MC3 this year and so will be using this tool to help their management team develop and improve engagement with their teams. They will prioritise improvement in their highest correlating factors and providing regular feedback and updates to the business on what they are doing to improve engagement in the business. They are creating a ‘Hub Page' on Internal Communication Portal -Yourstream, so that Best Companies and Engagement becomes an ongoing process, not just an annual event.
The Leadership of Fairbanks is distinctive through its approachability and work ethic. Every member of the management team lead by example in all areas of their work and make time for employees should it be necessary on a work related or personal topic. Most members of management, at any level, attend and participate in company social events. From the Managing Directors down, all staff are known by name and made to feel valued and appreciated. The company has a ‘promote from within' attitude which motivates employees at all levels to work hard and demonstrate their dedication to the company as this will be noticed. Whilst not everyone can be promoted, events such as award dinners are offered to all staff, recognising that the company would not be what it is today without everyone playing their part.
The Leadership of Fairbanks is distinctive through its approachability and work ethic. Every member of the management team lead by example in all areas of their work and make time for employees should it be necessary on a work related or personal topic. Most members of management, at any level, attend and participate in company social events. From the Managing Directors down, all staff are known by name and made to feel valued and appreciated. The company has a ‘promote from within' attitude which motivates employees at all levels to work hard and demonstrate their dedication to the company as this will be noticed. Whilst not everyone can be promoted, events such as award dinners are offered to all staff, recognising that the company would not be what it is today without everyone playing their part.
Fairbanks cares for the well being of all its employees. In addition to encouraging a good work-life balance there are a number of staff sports groups which meet regularly. Organised and run by staff members, teams such as football, netball and the squash ladder are open to all members of Fairbanks staff along with their friends and family. These regular team sports encourage a healthy lifestyle whilst having the added bonus of developing the working rapport for staff. Fairbanks also provides various subsidised schemes for staff to take advantage of; from a pension plan, health care plan, cycle to work scheme and the provision of fresh fruit as well as office based water coolers. These schemes demonstrate to employees that the company care about their health and well being.
The most important thing that the NextiraOne senior management team does in terms of employee engagement is to support the Company's culture and their people. All the senior management team display the values of the Company and are concerned for their team members and their development which is illustrated in the way they operate. The Managing Director's leadership style reflects the Company's vision, mission and values. He is an excellent example and role model of the Company values that he most certainly lives and breathes. He leads the business with respect, authenticity, honesty, compassion and humility. Such a leadership style has created a special culture and environment that is built on these characteristics; that in many ways feels like a family with high levels of trust, honesty and communications. The Managing Director is very organised and efficient in how he operates which creates a very calm atmosphere. He is a very influential figure, but he is totally undemonstrative and approachable to everyone. He also recognises the importance of people at all levels and he is extremely keen to develop the employees and support ‘home grown' talent.
The most important thing NextiraOne does in terms of giving something back to the community is to encourage all employees to create a culture that enables and supports the taking of time to give something back. NextiraOne employees are currently involved in various projects and activities both locally and nationally in their own time and within working hours. An example of this is where NextiraOne facilitated music lessons over a series of weeks for 'novice' musicians so they could learn to play a musical instrument. The music lessons were provided by one of their employees who is also a music teacher. Each 'novice' paid a tuition fee for these lessons and this fee was donated to a local special needs school. The Company matched the fees paid by the employees who donated via this programme amounting to a total donation of £480 to the school. The money is being used by the school in order to provide music education to the pupils.
The most important thing that the NextiraOne senior management team does in terms of employee engagement is to support the Company's culture and their people. All the senior management team display the values of the Company and are concerned for their team members and their development which is illustrated in the way they operate. The Managing Director's leadership style reflects the Company's vision, mission and values. He is an excellent example and role model of the Company values that he most certainly lives and breathes. He leads the business with respect, authenticity, honesty, compassion and humility. Such a leadership style has created a special culture and environment that is built on these characteristics; that in many ways feels like a family with high levels of trust, honesty and communications. The Managing Director is very organised and efficient in how he operates which creates a very calm atmosphere. He is a very influential figure, but he is totally undemonstrative and approachable to everyone. He also recognises the importance of people at all levels and he is extremely keen to develop the employees and support ‘home grown' talent.
The company have created a unique culture capable of supporting diverse talent. They call their collaborative way of working blending, and it's central to everything they do – allowing them to take ideas from strategy and concept to launch and evaluation as quickly and effectively as possible. Whether in a single room or across their 40 offices worldwide, blending lets them cast the right people for the challenge. Their approach embraces the creative tension between left brain and right brain. They believe that when they combine data and storytelling – when mathematicians and poets join forces – they get more powerful results. They have designed their offices to enable this collaborative way of working, with open-plan seating (no offices for senior management), flexible spaces, hot-desking and lots of informal areas for meetings.
REWARD AND RECOGNITION SCHEME: The company run an innovative and highly popular recognition and reward scheme, which is open to all colleagues. Individuals can be nominated for doing game-changing work or going over and above their day job. Colleagues are invited to nominate people who have delivered against an element of their skills profile, which covers four core areas: delivery and innovation, craft, people and client and commercial skills. They have a monthly budget of £10,000 for the scheme and they award more than 50 people each month in the following categories: Diamond (£1000 reward), ¬Platinum (£500), Gold (£250), Silver (£100) and Bronze (£50). This is an ‘always on' scheme, which enables them to reward people all year round outside of the normal performance pay process timetable. All the winners are announced and celebrated on their internal comms platform The Insider and at their quarterly company meetings. UNICORN AWARD: Twice annually, the company give a Unicorn Award to one person in the company for doing truly exceptional work. This ties into their reward and recognition scheme, but the way they award it is very different. The company either offers a large cash award or something a little more special and unique to that person. For example they gave one person a week off work and paid for them to do a creative writing course. This prize was reflective of their passion for writing, and was something they would never have been able to do given the busy job they have. They also enabled one team member to fulfil a lifelong dream by going to America on a road trip.
The company have created a unique culture capable of supporting diverse talent. They call their collaborative way of working blending, and it's central to everything they do – allowing them to take ideas from strategy and concept to launch and evaluation as quickly and effectively as possible. Whether in a single room or across their 40 offices worldwide, blending lets them cast the right people for the challenge. Their approach embraces the creative tension between left brain and right brain. They believe that when they combine data and storytelling – when mathematicians and poets join forces – they get more powerful results. They have designed their offices to enable this collaborative way of working, with open-plan seating (no offices for senior management), flexible spaces, hot-desking and lots of informal areas for meetings.
Throughout the year delatre hold a number of company-wide and team specific relationship building events to maintain a high employee morale, strengthen the intra-company relationships and say thanks for all the hard work their dedicated staff put forth. deltatre financially supports a 5-a-side football team that plays weekly throughout the year. Moreover, they sponsor an industry-wide philanthropic football tournament as well as theme days like Football Shirt Friday in order to raise money for charity and give back to the community. On a team level, they support departmental team building sessions like the Go-Kart outing their video team recently organised to relieve tensions during the lead up to the launch of an important project. However, the highpoints of their team building activities are unquestionably their two company wide workshops. In the summer, delatre take to the outdoors and stage a light-hearted physical activity that is fun and inclusive. Earlier this year they recreated the retro hit TV show “It's a Knock-Out” complete with absurd games and large costumes. In the winter, they stage a glitzy Christmas party for all full and part-time employees and freelancers as well as their partners. Last year's Christmas festivities took on a masquerade theme and had masked guests enjoy a three course meal and trying their luck at the casino games.
Throughout the year delatre hold a number of company-wide and team specific relationship building events to maintain a high employee morale, strengthen the intra-company relationships and say thanks for all the hard work their dedicated staff put forth. deltatre financially supports a 5-a-side football team that plays weekly throughout the year. Moreover, they sponsor an industry-wide philanthropic football tournament as well as theme days like Football Shirt Friday in order to raise money for charity and give back to the community. On a team level, they support departmental team building sessions like the Go-Kart outing their video team recently organised to relieve tensions during the lead up to the launch of an important project. However, the highpoints of their team building activities are unquestionably their two company wide workshops. In the summer, delatre take to the outdoors and stage a light-hearted physical activity that is fun and inclusive. Earlier this year they recreated the retro hit TV show “It's a Knock-Out” complete with absurd games and large costumes. In the winter, they stage a glitzy Christmas party for all full and part-time employees and freelancers as well as their partners. Last year's Christmas festivities took on a masquerade theme and had masked guests enjoy a three course meal and trying their luck at the casino games.
Placing openness as one of delatre's 4 core values truly helps to encourage and facilitate open discussion and feedback at deltatre. They use the appraisal process to create the space for giving feedback to employees and the opportunity for them to do the same with their line managers in a safe environment. Their monthly functional board meetings allow staff to present the case for new ideas. However, their bi-annual workshops are truly a unique feature because it provides an opportunity for everyone in the company to share new ideas and receive feedback from the larger cross-departmental team.
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