What are companies doing with regards to 'My Team'

The senior management team at Foundation involved all staff in the development of the organisation's three year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015. This involved meeting staff and customers at a series of "World Cafés" at which issues facing the organisation were discussed, and staff had the opportunity to put forward their ideas, comments and suggestions. Some staff also accompanied customers to customer meetings to assist them to take part.

The senior management team at Foundation involved all staff in the development of the organisation's three year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015. This involved meeting staff and customers at a series of "World Cafés" at which issues facing the organisation were discussed, and staff had the opportunity to put forward their ideas, comments and suggestions. Some staff also accompanied customers to customer meetings to assist them to take part.

Forward allows staff to take twenty days innovation leave. If employees have a new product or business idea they can put this to their investment team who will then decide if the new business idea is viable. If they are viable Forward allows employees to take innovation leave and work on them with a view to turning the idea into something profitable. As a business the company foster a culture of innovation and improvements and give employees time and resource in order to move their ideas forward.

For the second year in a row the company were lucky enough to be taken to Las Vegas for their company Christmas party in December 2011. The company covered all costs, flights, accommodation, meals and entertainment. This was a fantastic team building event and was also seen as a reward for each employee's contribution to the company's ongoing success.

F5 have internal L&D resources available for their employees including a soft skills curriculum available for employees and managers to attend, for example four weeks of Technical training in Seattle office for all new UK-based technical employees and one week for Sales Bootcamp . The in-house soft skills training courses held in the UK are effective tools for employee development but it is impossible to calculate the investment/spend as F5's internal systems do not capture this information. The company have also introduced the Personal Development Plan for each employee. This is created in collaboration between the employee and manager to leverage strengths and give an opportunity to improve where appropriate. The PDP is targeted at individual needs and focusses on the individual's goals and where they want to develop. All of F5's managers are trained to coach/mentor their employees and their technical teams have a technical Mentor as part of the structure.

Quantum Engagement Survey provides a forum for collecting feedback and evaluating levels of morale and motivation at F5. Faciilitated team sessions are interactive, where team members provide input and prepare team action plans designed to make F5 a better place to work.

Once a month Exposure hosts a new exhibition within their dedicated gallery space. The Exposure gallery provides a platform for established artists and emerging creatives to showcase their work - selected not only for their innovative practice but also their aesthetic qualities. So far this year has seen a diverse collection of work from the Launch of ‘The New British' Magazine that was designed and edited by Kez Glozier and Neville Brody to the ‘Not Just a Mum' photography exhibition from the hip group Mothers Meeting founded by Jenny Scott. With each new exhibition comes a private view launch event where the company open the gallery and bar to the public. Running alongside their monthly gallery exhibitions Exposure also hosts creative lectures and inspiration sessions from guest speakers and friends of Exposure, including Mutate Britain and Matt Stuart.

Once a month Exposure hosts a new exhibition within their dedicated gallery space. The Exposure gallery provides a platform for established artists and emerging creatives to showcase their work - selected not only for their innovative practice but also their aesthetic qualities. So far this year has seen a diverse collection of work from the Launch of ‘The New British' Magazine that was designed and edited by Kez Glozier and Neville Brody to the ‘Not Just a Mum' photography exhibition from the hip group Mothers Meeting founded by Jenny Scott. With each new exhibition comes a private view launch event where the company open the gallery and bar to the public. Running alongside their monthly gallery exhibitions Exposure also hosts creative lectures and inspiration sessions from guest speakers and friends of Exposure, including Mutate Britain and Matt Stuart.

Directors and managers in the business are approachable and open minded, such that staff are able to bring opinions or suggestions to them to discuss. It is well known within the business that if processes become outdated that suggestions for improvement can be made and will be reviewed at the top level. An email account is setup so that suggestions and questions can be submitted electronically. The company also tries to integrate questions and suggestions into company meetings and conferences.

ExCeL London operates extensive CRS initiatives which ensure the Company gives something back to the local community and wider world. In relation to local community projects, ExCeL gives around £1m in donations and gifts in kind to the London Borough of Newham which is one of London's most deprived boroughs. This is supported through key projects: Community Food Enterprise, Newham All Stars Sports Academy (NASSA) and .ExCeL in the Arts Camp. In addition, the company has also supported the community through free meeting space, sponsorship for local groups such as Custom House FC, conducting school tours, providing careers advice, participation in Banking on Talent scheme (2 athletes), running a Young Enterprise scheme, offering tickets/competitions to local residents and supporting the Ascension Eagles. In 2011, ExCeL had a £1.6 billion economic impact for London. This has ultimately supported up to 38,000 jobs in the capital. This is a massive impact on ‘the wider world' of London, bearing in mind that ExCeL is a privately owned business and not funded in any way by Government or local authorities like many other venues of similar nature.

Having been re-accredited for ISO14001 as an organisation ESOS continue to recognise that they have a responsibility to ensure that the impact of their activities on the environment is kept to a minimum. The company encourage activities that reduce the environmental impact on both their local and wider community including: paper, mobile phone, printer, battery, stamps, aluminium and plastic bottle recycling. All PC hardware is recycled in line with the WEEE directive. ESOS also encourage car sharing where possible. This, they believe, ensures that everyone remains aware and active in the efforts to recycle. They also have a very active Charity committee who arrange a number of fundraising events for their chosen charity. Events in 2012 so far have included, fancy dress days, bikeathon, quiz night, summer family party and various raffles.

As an organisation ESOS seeks to enhance the wellbeing of its employees in a number of ways. They have an on site gym, squash court, sauna, pool table that can be used at any time and free aerobics/fitness classes at lunch time to encourage a healthy lifestyle. The company also have a fishing lake within the grounds which allows people to walk around or fish in their leisure time or they may choose to relax within the bistro area in the offices. ESOS offer free annual eye tests and have an anonymous Employee Assistance Programme provided by Norwich Union who provide counselling, information services for work, family crises and personal life challenges. Each Friday is a dress down day through a Give As You Earn scheme with all money going to their chosen charity.

The whole organisation comes together at the end of every month to celebrate the company's success and individual teams are given the opportunity to present to the whole organisation and are recognised for their success. Efficio has two annual review cycles to ensure that employees do not have to wait a full 12 months before getting feedback and acknowledgement for their hard work. Bonuses are paid bi-annually as an outcome of this review cycle which is also perceived very positively by the employees.

Each employee recieves support and coaching through two direct levels: Immediate Project Manager and Mentor. There are dedicated trainings focused on Project Management and Mentoring. The Project Manager focuses on supporting the employee on specific project needs and deliverables while the Mentor focuses on the employee's career aspirations and long-term goals.

The company are really proud to be recognised as an industry leader in Attorney training. Not only are they told this by recruitment consultants, they are recognised by their competitors and experience no problems in recruiting highly talented trainee level Attorneys. The company also has excellent retention rates.

The introduction of the cash plan, alongside the firm's private health and dental plan which is all paid for by D Young & Co, has been really well received. They have found that individuals are opting for the cash plan more than the private health. The cash plan is a great way to promote other health aspects as it incorporates optical benefits, prescription benefits, as well as alternative medicines. The firm is particularly pleased as this has also generated savings for the business, which have been reinvested into other benefits. These other benefits have included a discounted shopping portal. Whilst not directly associated with well-being, there have been two key advantages. Firstly, it has given individuals the opportunity to maximise online shopping discounts in their comfort of their own home, but it also gives discount in health and well-being areas. For example, employees can get 8% off products at Boots, as well as saving money on gym membership and other fitness activities.

It is essential that Crown recognises outstanding efforts from employees and rewards them appropriately when the opportunity arises. Performance recognition is something Crown believes is one of the best ways to improve workplace effectiveness and so has a Performance Recognition initiative that is hugely popular among employees. Following a previous survey, Crown introduced a new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) award in 2011 which is presented to an individual or team who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to CSR, customer service and the general helping of others. They appreciate employees who hold similar values to theirs, in and out of the workplace, so whether a member of staff has demonstrated their contribution within their job role or in their own time, they are rewarded. Nominations are put forward by colleagues, ensuring an inclusive initiative and these are then reviewed by a panel, which comprises members of the HR team and the Head of Environment. By encouraging all employees to aspire to this scheme and nominate each other, it helps staff to feel part of a team and provides them with the chance to work towards a group goal, separate to their own individual objectives.

Each year, staff from across the UK choose a Charity of the Year that they will fundraise for. Staff are particularly fond of this initiative as the company also gives them the opportunity to take time out of their roles each month to volunteer for them. There are also countless opportunities for staff to host or take part in events. This year, the Charity of the Year was DebRA and teams from across the country really got on board with the volunteering and fund raising opportunities available. Events and fund raising initiatives included a PC Health Clinic whereby IT staff provided a drop-in service for faulty IT equipment to be fixed, an ‘Adrenalin Rush' day where employees took part in thrill-seeking adventures for sponsorship, volunteering in DebRA shops, a London to Paris bike ride and sack collections to donate stock to the charity's shops. Staff collectively raised over £50,000 for the charity, with a contribution from Crown.

The company's recognition strategy is rolled out and communicated to all managers through workshops and guidelines. This includes recognising individual achievements privately and publically e.g through 6 weekly G Forces and the annual Grafter Awards ceremony, as well as monthly Platinum Parking awards, Massages of the Month and Spin the Wheel prizes for people who have been nominated. Managers have the 'Recognition Tool Kit' as a guide and have the ability to spend a set budget on recognising individuals and teams. Everyone in the agency can nominate people through the gratitude boards, which are on public display, and all have easy access to the Thank you cards, which can be personally written and distributed in a timely manner.

The company's comprehensive internal training schedule supports the specific requirements of their employees in a way that an external provider couldn't necessarily do, as it is so specific to their business, run by people within the business. They have a true knowledge sharing focused approach, which helps to keep costs down, but has proven to be highly successful with increased percentage scores in their annual employee survey for Training & Development. It has raised skill levels across the business and supports the development plans of all employees, as it provides employees with the opportunities to learn new skills and gain further understanding of industry relevant information.