Best Companies Factors: My Team

Education & Training

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Petty Pool

The Trust dedicates two employee days per year for all its staff. These include a hiking challenge and an outdoor waterpark.. Staff can try water sports such as paddle boarding and an inflatable assault course. Anyone who doesn't wish to be adventurous can enjoy a picnic and relax by the water.

Petty Pool’s uses rewards and recognition to encourage its employees to start living, demonstrating its values and empowering others to do the same. It hosts yearly awards in four organisation value areas and a couple of fun spontaneous recognition awards with all staff across the organisation.

The Trust has an emerging leader programme which includes coaching, training, and developing its top talent. Managers also receive mentoring with senior leaders who have an open door policy where managers can get advice or guidance when it's needed. Petty Pool encourages managers to network with other organisations to support best practice.

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Food & Drink

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Hilltop

During the organisation’s Annual Conference, employees have the opportunity to celebrate everything Hilltop. The Managing Director shares results from the last year and launches the One Page Business Plan, providing insight into where every colleague fits into the plan going forward. Food and drink is provided in a local venue afterwards.

Hilltop provides its employees the opportunity to grow through Personal Development Plans, internal and online training, and government supported schemes (including IOSHH, HACCP, BFCGS, and ILM). Over 150 external courses have been completed by Hilltop colleagues in the past year, increasing retention, engagement, and facilitating over 20 internal promotions.

Hilltop has four foundational elements to its manager development: appraisals and coaching from an internal mentor; learner led training; external training, which can be half-day sessions or government funded, longer courses; and a HR led wellbeing programme, that includes regular catch-ups to make sure the manager feels happy and supported.

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Marketing & Media Agencies

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Uniform Group

Uniform is passionate about creating an open dialogue about mental health and it has four qualified Mental Health First Aiders across the group. It also has a menstrual health policy, designed to protect and support team members. Employees have access to medical support via Simply Health, and wellbeing services, including counselling, via The Circle Line.

Every quarter, Uniform hosts a company-wide lunch where a different team cooks for everyone. The events are always coordinate with when its remote people are working from its Liverpool HQ so everyone can get involved. The lunches are themed, such as in April which was Venezuelan-themed, serving traditional arepas and home-made lemonade.

Uniform benchmarks salaries to ensure fair pay for all employees. It also offers length of service awards, including £2,000 in holiday vouchers after 10 years. The organisation further rewards employees by regularly offering to pay for them and their families to go to a restaurant and have a meal on the company.

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Retail

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The Entertainer

The Entertainer's charitable giving is displayed each year when 10% of its annual net profit goes to charity. Employees are encouraged to contribute via Payroll Giving, demonstrating its commitment to society. Its involvement in the Pennies scheme further underscores this commitment.

The Entertainer's focus on wellbeing is evident through initiatives to ensure a balance between work and home life, whilst aiming to reduce stress in the workplace and boost employee engagement. Its Health MOT sessions and wellbeing week activities are enjoyed within the business each year.

Team members interact with one another throughout the year via activities produced within the company. Exercises including Pilates, Reflexology and Yoga provide opportunities for team members to connect, reinforcing a sense of belonging.

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Business Services

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The Portfolio Group

The company's managers are developed internally, with a Director mentoring each manager through weekly one-to-ones, providing advice and guidance. Managers are also given the autonomy to lead their own teams, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility for training and development.

Team spirit is fostered through shared experiences like the company holiday to Monaco and other regular incentives, including sports and charity events. The "wrap up" meetings bring all three offices together, ensuring every team member is connected and aware of company-wide achievements, successes, and promotions.

The company provides market-leading commission schemes and offers clear, transparent guidelines on targets and expectations. The annual all-expenses-paid incentive trip, such as the recent one to Monaco, is a reward for achieving targets and is open to all employees.

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Financial Services

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Newable

The company builds team spirit and a sense of belonging through social events like Thirsty Thursdays, Fish and Chip Fridays, and annual summer and Christmas parties. These initiatives promote camaraderie among staff and contribute to a vibrant work culture.

Newable offers a comprehensive benefits package including up to 30 days of holiday, a pension, sick pay, a free mortgage service, payroll giving, and an annual flu jab. This package is designed to reward employees fairly for their hard work.

Newable's leadership encourages employees to uphold the company's core values: Dream Big, Get Going, Grow Together, Always Improve, and Pass It On. These values guide the company's decision-making process and inspire employees to strive for excellence.

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Education & Training

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Lantra

The organisation arranges a variety of wellbeing and social events for all employees throughout the year in order to build relationships between teams. Furthermore, managers have access to their own social budget to arrange events for their teams, in addition to the corporate budget for social events.

Employee salaries are reviewed every 12 months and they are internally and externally benchmarked. High street vouchers are also awarded throughout the year to celebrate employees who show great performance or demonstrate great behaviours.

The organisation runs a management training programme to help their leaders develop and better support their teams. The programme is modular, focusing on leadership, managing a team, managing performance, communication, and goal setting

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Architect & Surveyor

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HLM Architects

All managers have received mental health training and stress management training, enabling them to recognise the signs of stress and burnout. This additional level of support recognises that managers may require extra support for their teams and guidance on how to manage difficult conversations, while giving employees the opportunity to have confidential and supportive conversations.

The organisation holds social events, quizzes, drawing classes, dinners, desk yoga, netwalking, and inclusive-tea breaks and it has hosted family events including colouring competitions, shed building, and garden design. It has also introduced Walk Out Wednesdays where employees leave their desks and go on a walk together.

The HLM Academy is designed to enhance progression through a variety of channels to suit different learning preferences. All employees are enrolled from day one. The Academy is uses two frameworks. The Skills framework outlines emotional and technical skills needed. The Behaviour framework sets out core behaviours and how colleagues should engage with each other.

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Leisure & Hospitality

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Heathcote & Co

The organisation has introduced a Social Committee inclusive of each department of the company. This committee is responsible for organising several events throughout the year, including two small gatherings and two large gatherings every year.

Heathcote & Co have introduced a ‘Moments of Magic’ reward and recognition scheme. Everyone can write names and on what occasion they have used moments of magic. Each quarter the organisation goes through the best ‘Moments of Magic’, and the chosen one receives a £100 voucher to the restaurant of the individuals’ choice.

Heathcote & Co supports its local community and charities by funding charitable events for its employees by paying their entry fees. Additionally, all full-time employees receive one fully paid day a year to support a local charity through fundraising events or by volunteering their time.

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FourNet

Weekly team calls have proved important in a flexible working environment and staff are also encouraged to use the tech company's instant-messaging and collaboration tools to improve communication and develop a strong team dynamic and identity. The tools are used throughout the business to encourage communication between teams.

Staff are asked to complete annual e-learning modules on diversity and inclusion to ensure that FourNet's culture is supportive of everyone, regardless of ability or background. Managers attend training on subconscious bias. The company supports Women in Technology initiatives and has increased the percentage of women at all levels within the business.

FourNet recognises that line managers have a significant impact on the satisfaction, productivity, innovation and wellbeing of staff, so it has set up a management development programme to enhance its leaders' skills that is accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management.

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Team Cohesion = Performance

Petty Pool

Hilltop

Uniform Group

The Entertainer

The Portfolio Group

Newable

Lantra

HLM Architects

Heathcote & Co

FourNet

Understand your organisational health across all eight factors

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