Team Cohesion = Performance

BEN's commitment to employee learning and development is demonstrated through their development pathway which begins with a full induction programme relevant to each individual's area of work. All new care colleagues complete the refreshed common induction standards which, along with all induction programmes, are completed within the first twelve weeks of joining BEN. This is followed by a robust supervision and appraisal programme which includes the setting of challenging objectives and a full training needs analysis to highlight further personal or professional training needs. This process is reinforced by regular mandatory updates and CPD training which is offered to everyone. All colleagues are given time during their normal working hours to allow for assessor visits/attending training and for attendance at external training/conferences and other CPD activity. BEN are currently very fortunate in receiving some workforce development funding primarily for QCF level 2, dementia and end of life qualification and therefore, our actual expenditure does not accurately reflect the current level of training and development being undertaken. Also, for the fact that they utilise internal trainers for many topics including dementia, moving and handling and first aid. BEN's success in promoting the importance of training and development can be illustrated by the fact that over 75% of their care colleagues are qualified to QCF level 2 or 3 in Health and Social Care. Alongside this, management, line-management, supervisory and non-care colleagues are also encouraged to work towards similar awards in their own role. BEN's colleagues' training achievements are recognised through the Annual BEN Training Awards, a series of awards presentation ceremonies which are held at BEN locations across the country. Here, individual and group achievements are recognised in the presence of invited guests e.g. commissioning bodies, training partners, BEN Management Board Members with BEN certificates presented by local mayors or dignitaries.

BEN runs appraisal and supervision training sessions to ensure that Managers feel confident with the appraisal process and understand the value of it. This ensures they appraise fairly and effectively, agreeing SMART objectives with their team members and reviewing these regularly by means of follow-up meetings and annual appraisals. They also review their appraisal forms and guidance regularly, taking into account feedback from both managers and appraisees, to ensure the process stays effective and relevant. BEN encourages its managers to manage on a personal level, operating an open-door policy to cultivate a culture of open communication and trust.

Through Bedfordia's Striving for Excellence, performance and development framework, learning and development is discussed on a regular basis - minimum quarterly and an individual training plan is agreed. This can include on the job training, coaching, job shadowing through to external training courses on specific topics and funding to complete a professional qualification. One of Bedfordia's key values is Striving for Excellence, which encompasses always striving to achieve their best in whatever they do - they could not achieve this without a real focus on developing their people.

Through Bedfordia's Striving for Excellence, performance and development framework, learning and development is discussed on a regular basis - minimum quarterly and an individual training plan is agreed. This can include on the job training, coaching, job shadowing through to external training courses on specific topics and funding to complete a professional qualification. One of Bedfordia's key values is Striving for Excellence, which encompasses always striving to achieve their best in whatever they do - they could not achieve this without a real focus on developing their people.

The organisation provides free fruit for employees and also have a free counselling service which is provided by BCW's Health Care Providers which allows staff to have up to six counselling sessions which are in total confidence.

Employees are rewarded for excellent performance by providing incentives for high achievers. Bonus payments and Salary Reviews are also given on an ad hoc basis.

Flexible working arrangements are key plus regular communication and providing a safe and comfortable working environment. This year B P Collins have implemented health checks for all staff. They pay for eye tests and subsidise gym membership.

B P Collins places considerable importance on building and strengthening their relationships with their local community and each year they donate to and support a number of national and local charitable organisations and activity based events as part of their charitable giving programme.

Aspire Outsourcing encourages its people to have a healthy lifestyle and diet, and promotes fitness and general wellbeing within the workforce. People certainly don't feel that their health is suffering because of their work. Work deadlines are realistic, and people rarely feel that the organisation takes advantage of them. Recruitment might sometimes be viewed as a high-pressure industry, but at Aspire Outsourcing, people don't feel under too much pressure to perform well either.

Aspire Outsourcing encourages its people to have a healthy lifestyle and diet, and promotes fitness and general wellbeing within the workforce. People certainly don't feel that their health is suffering because of their work. Work deadlines are realistic, and people rarely feel that the organisation takes advantage of them. Recruitment might sometimes be viewed as a high-pressure industry, but at Aspire Outsourcing, people don't feel under too much pressure to perform well either.

Shirin Dehghan awarded 'Top Woman in Mobile' by Real Business; Shirin Dehghan wins inaugural ‘Women in Business' Award. This year saw Shirin Dehgan of Arieso win Female Entrepreneur of the Year. She has drive, commercial acumen, customer focus and communicates and lives values including the importance of execution and delivery.

Several technical staff with ambition to move into commercial/sales roles have been supported including relocation where required. Managers make it very clear how specific projects and deadlines are connected back to meaningful business objectives that contribute to entire teams bonus. There is a general open culture, anybody can talk to the senior managers about anything and regularly do.

The Leader of the organisation provides an open door to anyone in the business. He is extremely accessible and is genuinely interested in the views and opinions of every member of staff. Perhaps more importantly, he is prepared to act on these views and opinions and always provides feedback.

The most important aspect in this respect is the maintenance of staffing levels. At a time when many organisations have been asking staff to do considerably more, Arena have continued to increase staff counts across the organisation. This means that pressure on individuals is minimised, the likelihood of work related stress is reduced and employees are able to keep a healthy work/life balance. Arena have also moved their North West operation into brand new premises, refurbished major parts of the headquarters building, extended and refreshed the Derbyshire base and drastically improved the North Leeds logistics base. The result is a more spacious, modern and enjoyable working space and atmosphere for the bulk of their employees.

The Aquarius annual conference took place in December 2013, providing an opportunity for all staff to come together, share their experiences and participate in workshops, individual / team awards activities which included laughter yoga, a quiz. In March 2013 we sent six of our staff on a learning trip to Rome where they visited a substance misuse service. They learnt about the services on offer, recieved training, visited local communities and took in the sites of the city.

Aquarius offer a comprehesive range of developmental training throughout the year to support staff in their roles. They have recently invited employees to participate in an NVQ training programme and their first cohort have now commenced work on their qualification through Birmingham Metropolitan College. Aquarius have secured external funding to support this opportunity and staff are able to utilise work time for completion of the required elements.

Having been dedicated supporters of Bolton Lads and Girls Club since 2006, ao.com constantly think up new, innovative ways to do their bit for the local childrens' charity. ao.com recently became a sponsor for the Bolton Atlantic Challenge. Four Bolton businessmen will row 3000 miles across the Atlantic in a bid to raise £250,000 for Bolton Lads and Girls Club's Junior Mentoring Project. Alongside fellow Bolton-based businesses, ao.com have donated £100,000 to become a sponsor of the challenge, which is even more close to their hearts with a member of their very own team on board. Marketing Executive Finn Christo has spent the past two years training for the event which will begin on 2nd December, with the full support of his colleagues and the Senior Team here at ao.com. His dedication to the event made it an easy decision to become a sponsor in order to give back to an extremely worthy local children's charity and back a member of our team all the way.

Despite the rapid growth of ao.com's business and the ever-developing range of products, services and partners, CEO John still manages to remain as close to the business as possible and always makes time to interact with his teams. A passionate charity fundraiser, John set up and continues to drive the brand new Duke of Edinburgh Awards programme for young stars of the business. This ensures the teams have the opportunity to develop their own skills whilst giving back to the local community and beyond. At the end of their first residential, every member of the Duke of Edinburgh programme presented back to John, who provided feedback in order to aid in their personal and professional development. ao.com currently have two groups within the business completing their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. Due to their success John now wants to open this up to employee family members. These initiatives are all funded by the business and John continually drives the success of the programme from within.

A small team, drawn from all skill levels, set out to inspire and ignite the business to Be the Difference. There's a major shift going on in the world. From closed to open, protected to connected and aware to active. Added Value needed to be a part of this shift. With three motivations; Be active. Because they welcome hard graft, Added Value got the business to commit to two days for each individual to help a charity of their choice. Be generous. Because they want to build lasting partnerships, Added Value committed to work with their charity partners to help with their challenges. Their involvement has been a massive turning point in their ventures. Be Green. Because small actions can make a big difference, Added Value committed to inspiring behavioural change in the office and their personal life. They have work-shopped with DoNation and TEAM UP to help them define their character, mission statement and tone of voice, which gave the junior employees the chance to develop facilitation skills. 2013 has seen them continue their work with Shooting Star Chase by freshening up one of their local charity shops and paint Bollywood inspired posters to decorate their children's hospice. Other activities have included clearing up a local garden for Samaritans, volunteering for the Teddington River Festival, raising £500 for Comic Relief with fancy dress, £235 for East-End Shed, which offers underprivileged kids to attend drama groups and held an in-office barista coffee shop.

The brand team spent 2 days away in The Kent countryside. "The agenda? Have some fun - they did a vineyard tour, made pizzas – got to know each other, oh and do some work - they did some 2014 planning and developed a new offer to start selling to clients as soon as got back to HQ." The qual team headed into London for a day master class in Analysis Skills. A day of fun energisers like making models of colleagues out of play dough, practising analysis techniques and finished with a well-earned glass of wine. "It was a great session to learn and share ideas. It was also great to be out of the office all together something that doesn't always happen given the life of someone always on fieldwork." "Every month Qual get together for a sharing session. They invite members of other teams to join them to share their recent work or pov on various topics and sometimes have people from outside AV talk to them including hypnosis in research." "After winning a Shine award for their work on the Land Rover account, what better way to spend the winnings than on a night of cocktail flaring and tapas eating. 18 members of the Land Rover account from teams across the business enjoyed a night of cocktail making and drinking followed by dinner. A really fun night and a great reward for all of the hard work on a big and sometimes challenging account."

acdc prides itself on developing relationships with its employees and listening to them. They actively encourage open and honest communication and employee involvement. At acdc they have an open door policy and all their employees are encouraged to raise any suggestions, improvements, ideas or concerns that they may have and bring them to the attention of their Manager during 1-2-1's or via other conversations or email, the Engagement Team via the Engagement email address or Suggestion Box, or the CEO. By actively encouraging suggestions, ideas and listening to their employees a member of the Despatch team came up with an idea to improve the packaging and labelling of their products when being shipped. acdc worked with them to put together a business case for a new piece of machinery including the cost of the machine, new banding tape, training and potential cost savings on implementation. The idea and plan was well received and was implemented. The employee was rewarded and recognised for his efforts and this promoted further ideas and suggestions from other employees.

acdc actively encourage team building events to foster interdepartmental awareness, cross functional departmental activities and improve communication. Examples of different events and sizes include the acdc annual company conference where all employees are taken off site to a nearby hotel for the afternoon and evening and this is fully funded by the company. The format for the conference includes a review of the previous year and a look ahead to the company's key goals and objectives in the forthcoming year. This enables key messages to be communicated consistently to all the employees. At the end of this year's conference acdc held a team activity which involved devising an advert for their lighting products which resulted in greater knowledge sharing, communication and better relationships from this fun team activity. Once the conference and team building activity has ended they provide a buffet, free bar and disco for all employees to enjoy and discuss the afternoon's activities or any other questions or comments they may have in a relaxed, informal environment, which encourages improved communication and awareness, Additional team building activities include the sponsoring of company netball and football teams, an annual Christmas Partly, Family BBQ, Running and Cycling Clubs, various charity events including Movember and the Burnley 10K, as well as Go Karting and other activities. acdc also hold formal team building events for their Senior Managers and leaders of the business to improve teamworking, strategy, direction and communication.

A3D2 hold a Company conference every 6 months that culminates in a party at one of their venues. They take the management teams away on various supplier trips throughout the year. The venues also hold regular team nights out and the company holds two staff parties every year. The General Manager awards held this year in Barcelona where a wonderful opportunity to recognise the management teams hard work over a previous difficult period. A3D2 take the Senior team away to a three day strategy conference. This is made up of fun team building events alongside agreeing and developing the business plan for the coming year. Getting everyone out of the office helps forge working relationships and develop innovation and excellent strategy.

A3D2 hold a Company conference every 6 months that culminates in a party at one of their venues. They take the management teams away on various supplier trips throughout the year. The venues also hold regular team nights out and the company holds two staff parties every year. The General Manager awards held this year in Barcelona where a wonderful opportunity to recognise the management teams hard work over a previous difficult period. A3D2 take the Senior team away to a three day strategy conference. This is made up of fun team building events alongside agreeing and developing the business plan for the coming year. Getting everyone out of the office helps forge working relationships and develop innovation and excellent strategy.

The best example is the internal training programme designed by the Zolfo Cooper training team. After a comprehensive review of their old training plan, which involved interviews with Partners and consultation with staff, the training team made a business case to increase the annual budget for learning and development by a third. Subsequently the suite of internal training courses has been re-designed and comprehensively covers technical skills as well as personal and career development skills. These are bespoke courses which have been designed for and in conjunction with Zolfo Cooper employees across all levels and teams within the Firm. Several of the courses such as Negotiation Skills and Technical Tasters are by self-nomination, therefore employees are encouraged to reflect on their own individual learning needs and attend those that they feel are most beneficial to them.

Managers are required to invest time in offering support and guidance to their team members. They should also provide feedback on a regular basis and ideally straight after the completion of a project. Zolfo Cooper ensure that they have open discussions with staff and objectives are well thought through and follow the SMART principle. Many managers act as mentors to junior members of staff. This means that they provide independent and objective career advice to employees outside the formal Appraisal system.

The company sets aside 1% of pre-tax profits for charitable giving each year and the funding decisions are primarily made by the family council who represent the shareholders. Their focus is on giving back to the communities where they do business and most of the funds allocated to charities based in Scotland which is where the company is registered and is the family home. The company have a matched giving policy and all employees are entitled to apply for matched giving either to match funds raised or for voluntary hours given to a charity. All employees can claim matched giving up to a maximum of £1,000 in any one calendar year.

As well as all the usual ongoing engagement activities, feedback from employee surveys prompted William Grant to form a new team of 24 employees last year representing their global operations and business areas. Their goal was to work together to make WG&S a really fantastic place to work. The team was officially branded the “Best Place To Work” (BPTW) team. Their first priority was to find out from colleagues what they could do to make WGS the “Best Place to Work”. A “Message in a Bottle” campaign was launched where every employee worldwide was sent a bottle shaped form to complete with their ideas and suggestions for improving life at work. To get maximum effect this was posted to individuals home addresses. The response was staggering and the company received a phenomenal 287 suggestions covering all aspects of life at work.

Wiggin have a monthly Wiggin Wiglet award which goes to the employee who has gone the extra mile in delivering service either externally to clients or internally. The reward involves the employee wearing a brightly coloured wig for the day alongside media related gift vouchers, champagne and their merits applauded at the monthly briefing.

Wiggin carry out a Firm listening exercise asking employees in small groups what they could do to help the firm's strategy.

Westmill have a strong Action Learning approach. This works for them for two reasons. Firstly, the company want their people to be part of their future therefore engage every single employee in a process to derive the Mission and Behaviours. This is action learning because it is the line managers and their leadership team who create and deliver the process to do this. This builds important skills around project management, facilitation, leadership and listening on a real business issue rather than in simulated training exercises. Westmill people learn and develop key skills and the business benefits from the work they are doing on a real business issue.

Westmill have pay reviews, pay benchmarking and recognition awards for those performed well.

The company ownership structure means that a charitable trust fund, 'The Russell Trust', owns 28% of the company shares. This trust uses the dividend from its shareholding, around £250,000 per annum, to make charitable donations to the local community. They have engaged with the local community and local councils to build the Tullis Russell Environmental Education Centre (TREE Centre). This centre supports their environmental branding and will provide environmental education to the local community and schoolchildren.

The company ownership structure means that a charitable trust fund, 'The Russell Trust', owns 28% of the company shares. This trust uses the dividend from its shareholding, around £250,000 per annum, to make charitable donations to the local community. They have engaged with the local community and local councils to build the Tullis Russell Environmental Education Centre (TREE Centre). This centre supports their environmental branding and will provide environmental education to the local community and schoolchildren.

The College has a Staff Appraisal Policy for all staff, whether full or part time. This ensures members of staff are given an opportunity to talk with their line manager about their work; where they see their career progressing as well as staff development opportunities. However, the culture of the College means that staff can talk with their line managers at any opportunity. New staff are assigned a mentor (as part of the Induction Checklist) and also have set review meetings after one, two and four months for support staff and two, four and six months for academic staff. Academic staff also have lesson observations as part of their probation review. This gives new staff not only the opportunity to discuss any aspect of their role with their mentor but also ensures time is set aside for the line manager to appraise their progress and to address any concerns (should there be any) at the earliest opportunity.

The College has continued to support an annual Christmas party at a local hotel since opening in 1993. For previous landmark occasions (anniversary's, outstanding achievements) they have held celebratory parties, some of which have been held at the Eden Project. However, the Christmas Party last year in Falmouth was a great success.

The company use a career road map to ensure that each consultant knows in which direction their career is going, what they need to do to get there, what coaching will be offered to help them and what awards will be accrued when they reach their goal. Employees are rewarded through bonuses and incentives which encourage them to work at maximum capacity. After every year of service, the Directors take the individual employee for congratulatory drinks and discuss their successes. Listening to the employees ambitions, the Director(s) suggest potential development and further avenues for exploration. Employees are made aware of opportunities to develop in terms of promotions or sideways movements.

The company use a career road map to ensure that each consultant knows in which direction their career is going, what they need to do to get there, what coaching will be offered to help them and what awards will be accrued when they reach their goal. Employees are rewarded through bonuses and incentives which encourage them to work at maximum capacity. After every year of service, the Directors take the individual employee for congratulatory drinks and discuss their successes. Listening to the employees ambitions, the Director(s) suggest potential development and further avenues for exploration. Employees are made aware of opportunities to develop in terms of promotions or sideways movements.

Net-a-Porter delivered a series of company presentations to the teams around the world. This is a multi-media presentation to celebrate their successes - group,team and individual, look at the upcoming plan and also revisit why they are here. The serious moments are tempered by videos including the Senior management team dancing Gangnam style. The ability of the senior management team to speak authoritatively, inspirationally, while being able to not take themselves too seriously is very precious, especially in the fashion industry.

Net-a-Porter delivered a series of company presentations to the teams around the world. This is a multi-media presentation to celebrate their successes - group,team and individual, look at the upcoming plan and also revisit why they are here. The serious moments are tempered by videos including the Senior management team dancing Gangnam style. The ability of the senior management team to speak authoritatively, inspirationally, while being able to not take themselves too seriously is very precious, especially in the fashion industry.

TLG Senior management team has long supported social events throughout its history and continue to actively encourage staff to engage in social events including fund raising activities within the community, many of which have proved not only to be sucessful but extremely memorable. TLG is happy to boast an average tenure for employees of over seven years, which for a company of over 250 staff is exceptional. The company hosts and finances an annual themed Christmas function for all employees to attend.

TLG Senior management team has long supported social events throughout its history and continue to actively encourage staff to engage in social events including fund raising activities within the community, many of which have proved not only to be sucessful but extremely memorable. TLG is happy to boast an average tenure for employees of over seven years, which for a company of over 250 staff is exceptional. The company hosts and finances an annual themed Christmas function for all employees to attend.

All managers have been trained on the 'measuring success' process, including how to agree SMART objectives, give effective feedback and assess performance. Managers recognise and reward colleagues in their teams in a number of informal and ad-hoc ways. These range from 'thank yous', notes from a member of the leadership team or CEO, a team lunch out, an afternoon off, food and drink. In addition, managers are encouraged to nominate their team members for formal recognition through the colleague Awards and Colleague Recognition events throughout the year.

They have a bi-annual work and a wellbeing assessment programme. This assessment measures the impact of work on colleagues' wellbeing and supports their belief that wellbeing is directly related to performance. The results of the survey inform organisation wide initiatives and team feedback sessions lead to team action plans to ensure that issues are addressed on a local team level. In addition, each area of the organisation nominates a work and wellbeing representative that are part of a team who feedback, advise of issues, review initiatives and ensure two way communication in between the assessments.

THT are renowned for their variety of fundraising and social events, many of which are attended by well known TV personalities and other celebrities. Many staff have the opportunity to volunteer at these events. The last such event was the charity's annual gala dinner where many staff enjoyed mixing with the cast from Eastenders and other TV actors. The selection for these events is done on a rota basis, so that, in time, many get the opportunity to dress up and enjoy the spectacle.

Managers have open and honest relationships with their staff so that personal issues and work life balance can be discussed. These form part of management induction to insure that managers understand the need to be flexible while still delivering the service that they are contracted to do. There is also mandatory 'Managing Diversity within your Team' training to equip managers with the skills to manage a diverse group of employees in an effective and reasonable way. Team Meetings have a set agenda which includes feeding back Charity messages to their staff. This is also encouraged in Supervision meetings. Managers also encourage their staff to attend any extra workshops where they will receive such information. There is a Daily News Bulletin sent to all staff highlighting THT news (internal, external and where they have featured in the press). Every Friday there is a magazine style Friday Post highlighting Fundraising events and other news. Charity messages are cascaded at both the Staff Involvement Committee and in Team Meetings.

Telecom Plus Plc does not have formal pay grades, individuals can be rewarded with above standard pay increases or where work has been exceptional, with Company Share Options. Whilst every employee upon starting is issued with Company Share Options, exercisable after three years, those who have performed above expectations can receive bonus Share Options. These Share Options are known to be a highly valuable benefit and is a meaningful way of rewarding and incentivising members of staff. The Company also has an Employee Recognition Awards scheme, whereby peers or line managers can put forward someone for going above and beyond the call of duty, for approval by the Management Team. Winners are celebrated on the Wall of Fame and in the Company Newsletter 'OINK!' and receive shopping vouchers. In addition, at the Christmas Party there is an ERA Grand Raffle, and last year, the First Prize was a three day trip to New York, staying in the Waldorf Astoria, with $500 of spending money!

The company's Management Team is accessible and approachable, which they believe accounts for their levels of staff engagement. A fun example of this was their Valentine's Cup Cake Day, all for Make-A-Wish. Members of staff could pay to put forward a Director of their choice to deliver a cup cake and personalised message to their Valentine. All day long the Directors, and particularly the company's CEO, could be seen running up and down the stairs, with cupcakes in hand, flourishing messages!

SRLV have a number of different ways of listening to employees. They find that the combination of different methods works well, these include: a virtual suggestion scheme, an anonymous suggestions box, an intranet where information and news are posted on a daily basis and a Staff Forum which meets on a monthly basis.

SRLV have a private health scheme that all employees are eligible to join. They offer free flu jabs to all staff every year.

Employees at Spring Personnel have bespoke training programmes devised for their specific job role requirements; these are in various formats but follow the ethos of career and personal development. Top Talent is a programme for Consultants to apply for who wish to be promoted to the next level up. The devised programme will allow them to gain experience, on the job training and be mentored by colleagues within the organisation to experience what the reality of Branch Managers role is. Career Ladders is a document provided to all employees to advise them of the expectations in their current role, how they can be supported and what they need to do to get to the next role. Career Development is a continuous priority in the organisation and it is always looking to improve the methods used to inspire and develop employees.

An annual conference takes place in quarter one each year, where ‘Superstars' are announced at an Oscars style ceremony. Individuals are nominated by their colleagues and recognised for their high performance or going the ‘extra mile'. The awards ceremony creates buzz and excitement as well as allowing colleagues to raise their profile.

The Sporting Index Group believes that by developing their employees, they are able to show reward for exceptional performance. They pride themselves on having many managers who have been promoted within the organisation. The company provides support, coaching, training and encourages exposure to areas of the business which employees are interested in. A recent example was an employee within the technology team being asked about their career aspirations in their annual review and they said they would like to move into an area which was client facing. The company arranged a mentoring scheme between the employee and a client facing manager to help the employee gain exposure and experience in the area, with a view to gradually developing their skills so the employee could move into the new area of the business.

On a company wide level, The Sporting Index Group part-fund the annual pool (snooker) competition which is available to all employees. The company organises participants into random groups, which ensures there is a mix of employee from different departments and different levels. They provide venue hire, food, drink and there is also a prize for the winner. Half the company normally takes part, with others attending as spectators. Other company wide social events include a golf day, a poker night, a cake sale and a darts competition. They also have regular pay-day drinks at a local pub where the HR team have been known to take on the Directors team at pool.

Sport Wales takes staff's health and wellbeing extremely seriously. They provide further information on a dedicated Health and Wellbeing page on their Intranet as well as providing links to other organisations. The HR department make raise staff awareness via posts on the intranet and posters of annual events such as No Smoking Day, and provide literature about the event as well as signposting staff in the right direction for some more help and information. Sport Wales was recognised for its good work in staff well-being by being accredited with the Welsh Government's Corporate Health Standard at Bronze level.

Sport Wales produces a staff magazine, Clubhouse, and in each edition staff have the opportunity to nominate a colleague who they feel has ‘gone the extra mile' within their work. As part of the nomination process staff have to detail what their colleague has done to warrant going the extra mile and what the outcome was. Comments are included from the nominee's line manager about their performance as well as a member from the Senior Management Team. A Staff Awards ceremony has been introduced, where people can nominate their colleagues for outstanding work towards the Vision.

Smooth offer an employee assistance programme which is a free, confidential service that offers expert advice, specialist counselling and support that helps staff prepare for and cope with successfully, all life events.

Smooth have their own Training Manager and training facility called the Smooth Academy which is unique to this industry. They have a Training and Competence scheme which is in place to develop the skill sets of employees within each job role. The company have also introduced a performance management system which includes the employee personal development plan. The development plan for each employee is reviewed every six months to see if they are on track with their objectives and goals. Smooth are also delivering an in house Institute of Leadership and Management management development programme to their management population. Smooth look to promote senior positions from within frequently as feel this demonstrates faith in their development programme.

The main social events that SJD hold at the organisation in which all employees get involved in are Charity events. These include; Breast Cancer Care Pink Friday; Children in Need; Jeans for Genes day, Sport Relief and the Macmillan Coffee Morning. Lots of employees bake cakes to help raise money and our Receptionists organise games such as; "Guess the Number of Sweets in the Tub" and "Bingo". At lunch time all employees come together to take part in the cake sale and the games that are available. In the last 6 months alone they have raised over £1000 for charity.

SJD support employee development through their internal campaign titled ‘How did I IMPRESS my client today?'. IMPRESS is an anagram that employees can easily remember to use as part of their day to day interaction with clients: INFORMATION – Ensure all information is clear, concise and informative. MANAGEMENT – Manage and maintain a good client relationship. PROMISE – Never break the SJD Promise – Put yourself in the client's shoes! REASSURANCE – Reassurance is key to referrals. EMPATHY – Clients will not always remember what you said but they will remember how you made them feel. SPEECH – How well you communicate is as important as the service itself. SUCCESS – The key to success is clients going away feeling that they've made the right decision. This campaign was supported by internal merchandise, leaflets and posters. This campaign forms part of internal training, training programmes and material, merchandise, employee objectives and reviews.

Shropshire Housing Group use their Leadership Group and Performance Management Group as an opportunity for junior managers and more junior staff members to develop presentation skills. This is seen as a useful platform for them to have a go at "practicing" in front of critical friends and is a great development opportunity. In addition they permit a cross range of staff to become champions in their own right and use their abilities to train work colleagues e.g. IT software champions, lean ways of working champions and E&D champions are just a few examples. They have also put together a CMI L 3/5/7 for staff/ managers and directors. They are looking to introduce a Career Development Plan for each job role within the orgnaisation.

Shropshire Housing Group use their Leadership Group and Performance Management Group as an opportunity for junior managers and more junior staff members to develop presentation skills. This is seen as a useful platform for them to have a go at "practicing" in front of critical friends and is a great development opportunity. In addition they permit a cross range of staff to become champions in their own right and use their abilities to train work colleagues e.g. IT software champions, lean ways of working champions and E&D champions are just a few examples. They have also put together a CMI L 3/5/7 for staff/ managers and directors. They are looking to introduce a Career Development Plan for each job role within the orgnaisation.

Staff within the sales room spend alot of their day on the telephone making and receiving calls. It was decided that as they have headsets it was encouraged for them to leave their desks and walk round the building. They were provided with pedometers to show just how far they had walked. Rewards were given for distance as the longer you walked should equate to time on the phone. This was received well by all.

The recent sales conference, involved almost all staff from ShP. A BBQ was backed up by a range of wine, PIMMS and beers and all enjoyed the evening to the early hours. Staff based at home, office based and warehouse all had a great time together and many chatted and conversed with people that they do not on a daily basis due to work requirements. All agreed it was great to find out things about people that you would not know outside of these events. This culminated in the presentation of iPads to staff for that sales period.

2011 was a challenging yet rewarding year and across the whole Group success has been celebrated and recognised: Staying First has a new identity, Domus has won new business, they're officially Guinness World Record holders and also Gold Investors in People Champions.

2011 was a challenging yet rewarding year and across the whole Group success has been celebrated and recognised: Staying First has a new identity, Domus has won new business, they're officially Guinness World Record holders and also Gold Investors in People Champions.

The Principal and Senior Management Team get out and about and ‘walk the floor' a symbolic act that conveys their philosophy,of employee engagement rather than hiding themselves away. The above generates immense respect and employee engagement to the highest level, as staff are listened to and ideas and feedback, which gives credence to the ethos that Selby College staff are valued.

The Principal and Senior Management Team get out and about and ‘walk the floor' a symbolic act that conveys their philosophy,of employee engagement rather than hiding themselves away. The above generates immense respect and employee engagement to the highest level, as staff are listened to and ideas and feedback, which gives credence to the ethos that Selby College staff are valued.

An internal and external communication strategy has been developed over the last 4 years, which includes: Nine staff conferences which have been used to good effect to foster the creation of a positive and supportive culture where all staff work closely and effectively together in the best interests of learners and employers. One to one and team meetings which are used to reinforce key messages, along with electronic communication tools. A PDR and 360 process which has been embedded into the staff development process, and provides support and progression to all staff. A weekly bulletin which is emailed to all staff giving updates on activity from managers around the business. Facebook and Twitter pages which are used to detail current vacancies, industry and company information. The Facebook page is full of useful information and resources such as electronic versions of company leaflets, videos, and a national vacancy map.

Self assessment is an essential part of their continuous improvement. This process allows all departments and teams to analyse their strengths, areas for improvements and their satisfactory areas, through effective monitoring and on-going self assessment. All staff are fully engaged in this process and the outcome helps to focus on improvement across the business and to raise the standard and quality of training provision. A full self assessment process is completed once every year, with a formal review every 6 months, which is documented in a full report. This is also supported by a Quality Improvement Plan, which details all key improvement areas and documents the progress of key activities and actions. This plan is reviewed on a monthly basis and updated accordingly. Self assessment is a key part of their business culture and everyday approach.

Managers listen to employees' needs and concerns and contact HR for guidance when necessary. An example would be a manager asking for the company to pay for a taxi for a member of staff to be able to come to work whilst using crutches, thus making the individual's travelling a lot easier. Managers develop an understanding of the individual's ambitions by discussions during appraisals and can then help to set appropriate objectives. Managers at Punter Southall Group are encouraged to be receptive to employees - to be open and approachable in an open plan office. HR helps managers understand the sickness absence management policy and other wellbeing at work policies.

Punter Southall Group grant an increase to salary following exam passes in various professional courses. They believe this is effective as it encourages their staff to develop themselves professionally and thereby enhance their future career prospects, but it is also valuable to the business as it can indicate to its clients that its staff are professionally trained and qualified.

Managers at PPHE Hotel Group have a clear strategy and plan for the year of what needs to be achieved, for this to be effective the team are involved and are briefed in regards to the strategy of the department.

PPHE Hotel Group operates an Inspirational Service Programme. The overall aims of the programme are to give all the company's employees the skills and confidence to consistently create the desired guest experience, as defined by PPHE Hotel Group's Context. The training consists of three modules directly linked to the three elements of the PPHE Hotel Group's Context desired guest experience of feeling welcome, surprise and passion. This programme engages the team and gives them the tools to excel in their job.

In retail Pets at Home have a structured training programme which will take colleagues from part time roles through to Store Manager and beyond! The company's success at internal promotions is very strong. Using the Area Manager population as an example, 20 out of 22 Area Managers were promoted from Store Manager. Pets at Home have the advantage of being able to offer an alternative career path to their colleagues who want to become qualified pet groomers. The company takes their retail colleagues through Pets at Home's 'Power to your Paws' programme, that gives them all of the required technical skills they need to become professional pet groomers. Pets at Home's development programmes play a vital part in the company's commercial growth, as they would not be able to continue to expand at the rapid rate they are without the internal candidates coming up through the ranks to become Store, Deputy and Assistant Managers, full time colleagues, Grooming Salon Managers and Stylists.

In retail Pets at Home have a structured training programme which will take colleagues from part time roles through to Store Manager and beyond! The company's success at internal promotions is very strong. Using the Area Manager population as an example, 20 out of 22 Area Managers were promoted from Store Manager. Pets at Home have the advantage of being able to offer an alternative career path to their colleagues who want to become qualified pet groomers. The company takes their retail colleagues through Pets at Home's 'Power to your Paws' programme, that gives them all of the required technical skills they need to become professional pet groomers. Pets at Home's development programmes play a vital part in the company's commercial growth, as they would not be able to continue to expand at the rapid rate they are without the internal candidates coming up through the ranks to become Store, Deputy and Assistant Managers, full time colleagues, Grooming Salon Managers and Stylists.

All staff within the company have a structured training programme that is evaluated under the company's ISO accreditation. The company's structured training programme has been further developed over the past 12 months. Operational staff are encouraged to undertake their NVQ qualifications and in the past 12 months in excess of 10 operational staff have completed their NVQ Level 2, and have chosen to progress to Level 3. Individuals are fully supported and work time is set aside for them to complete their modules to ensure work-life balance in maintained. Sales/Recruitment staff now undertake not only the company's bespoke structured training programme, but the company have also set aside a budget for individual coaching. The individual coaching is on topics chosen by the individual and his/her manager during their monthly business reviews and has proven to be highly successful.

Pertemps Professional Staffing Network Limited has a training programme that has been rolled out and further developed over the past year. The programme trains managers around setting goals, coaching and recognising the importance of being a leader and role model.

In January 2012, People 1st hosted a belated Christmas celebration in Northern Ireland. The trip coincided with the launch of the organisation's customer service training programme, WorldHost, in Northern Ireland. This provided an opportunity not only to give all their teams the chance to see the shape of the market in one of the devolved nations, but also to celebrate the challenges and changes met by the organisation during 2011. People 1st flew all employees to Belfast and all flights and overnight accommodation in Belfast were paid for by the company. The celebration was organised by their Northern Ireland team and included a drinks reception at the hotel, a live comedy performance by award-winning Belfast comedienne Nuala McKeever, followed by a three-course dinner. While the Christmas celebration was an extremely social and enjoyable occasion, it presented many opportunities for learning and networking. Members of the senior management team and department representatives participated in the launch of WorldHost, and all other staff members were able to learn about the programme in the context of the market in Northern Ireland.

The Ministry of Innovation (MOI) is a group of representatives from across the company that meets every six weeks to empower employees to discuss issues and ways to make the company a better place to work. The MOI receives feedback and ideas from around the company, as well as Best Companies survey results, and develops initiatives to improve areas including staff well-being and engagement, office look and feel, social events and the overall employee experience. Last year, it focused particularly on well-being, leading to the introduction of the Summertime Working Scheme and Giving Something Back, and conducted focus groups with other staff members on both topics. One resulting initiative was the promotion of their 'Charitable Chums', where staff members promote the work or activities they undertake to peers and colleagues. Social events and activities organised by the MOI at the quarterly learning and information days have ensured that People 1st's family ethic has remained strong throughout the changes they have faced. Each MOI meeting is attended by the CEO/COO to ensure decision makers are informed and that proposed initiatives have both the support of employees and senior management. It also gives employees an opportunity to ask questions to the organisation's leaders, which are then fed back to wider teams.

To enhance the well-being of employees the organisation includes staff in decisions, listens to their suggestions, supports regular activities of the Staff Representative Group, puts emphasis on safe working, and creats good working environments, management and practices.

The organisation have a good job evaluation process. They also have other pay options, appraisals, and a performance management process. They regularly review job descriptions and carry out employee appraisals and
monitor staff wellbeing by reviewing work loads. In addition, they have a well established communication flow, for example, staff rep groups. They also have regular staff meetings and a staff survey.

Last summer, the Payzone social committee decided to organise an Olympic themed BBQ. The BBQ was designed as a fun and completely free event for all. Emails were sent to the business prior to the BBQ to create a buzz, whilst keeping some aspects a surprise for the evening. An outside catering company was hired to provide the food and the Social Committee was in charge of everything else buying in drinks, games, prizes and decorations. The outside of the office was decorated with Olympic banners, bunting, flags and balloons and games were set up around the area. Games were set up for all to play and carried prizes and got everyone interacting with others from around the business. A highlight of the night was the managers' triathlon with 14 of the management team battling it out to be crowned champion, whilst being cheered on by their teams. The evening was a definite success with the majority of the business in attendance.

Managers and Team Leaders performance is measured against the company's PACE values. The Personal and Caring values require the managers to provide evidence of how they have supported their team members to achieve both their personal objectives, and their individual development objectives. Additional support is available from the HR team to ensure that managers and team leaders feel fully supported when dealing with difficult or sensitive performance issues.

One thing the senior management team have done this year is give employees a real chance to give their personal view about what sort of place they want to work in over the next five years. Employee responses are really shaping what the charity will look and feel like in the future. They are creating new Mission, Vision and Values for the charity; they wanted them to be real world, and not marketing jargon. So the people with the best views were the staff and customers. The first stage of engagement was to ask staff what they thought of their current Vision and Values. This was done by a brand consultancy. This feedback was taken to their staff conferences, where they created a memorable, interactive process asking staff to share their opinions on potential new Values. Everyone from the charity had their say about the sort of organisation they wanted to work for in the future. The session concluded with each employee voting for the ten words or phrases that best described the Trust. 500 votes later and the exercise in employee engagement resulted in new Values for Papworth Trust. The result was an honest picture of what employees thought.

Their staff and management conferences this year have produced really good feedback from employees about how they can improve culture and customer service. Of their total headcount, they had 350+ employees attend one of the three staff conferences. The afternoon session in all three conferences, including the management conference, enabled employees to discuss with colleagues what should be on their agenda for improving customer service and how they work together to achieve it. The ideas that employees came up with were collated and a report sent to the Leadership Team for agreement on short and long term actions. Their communications with employees following the conferences have kept them informed of progress as they requested. A full report of the events will be uploaded onto the intranet.

Palletforce have recently introduced health benefits through Paycare which includes an employee assistance program. The company also have an onsite gym and a personal trainer who comes in once a week, employees can take an hour out of work time to attend the gym with the trainer.

Palletforce launched its Employee Recognition Scheme in 2011, which aims to get all employees involved in recognising each other for the work staff do either at Palletforce or outside of work. Employees can nominate each other and are recognised by the company's CEO and their achievements are published in internal newsletters and on Palletforce's intranet. The company also launched their long service awards which see employees awarded for milestones starting at 10 years.

Their managers encourage a mentoring relationship outside of their own relationship with an employee. Their managers always make sure that they set aside time for regular, individual catch ups with each of their team members. They also have methods in place to regularly feedback any information from departmental meetings to their employees. Their managers place a strong emphasis on focus groups and encourage all employees to get involved in order to share their ideas for improvement.

Ogilvy place a great emphasis on providing the best training and see nurturing the knowledge and development of their people as a priority. An example of this is their overall approach to the company's Learning and Development programme. This is designed to support company objectives as set out in their business plans, and incorporates the relevant training that supports the competencies and professional skills they value. A core feature of their approach to Learning and Development is that they place the onus on the individual to take primary responsibility for their own development, and then to support this through a clear learning path. The learning path is there to aid career development and succession planning and they underpin this by offering a breadth of opportunities available in an agile way so that everyone, no matter what level or department they work in, has access to some key development that meets their individual needs.

All Management participate in training courses provided by the Learning and Development function where the importance of caring and understanding team members needs is explored. How to deal with difficult conversations and the understanding of the company policies and procedures. Managers will conduct after every occasion of absence a ‘return to work meeting' in which a conversations about the individuals wellbeing takes place for the manager to understand what, if any reasonable adjustments need to take place. Managers are integrally involved in Flexible working meetings and make decisions based on fact as to whether this can be accommodated or not.

Employees have bespoke training programmes devised for their specific job role requirements; these are in various formats however they all follow the ethos of career and personal development. Top Talent is a programme for Consultants to apply for, who wish to be promoted to the next level up. This programme allows them to gain experience, on the job training and be mentored by colleagues within the organisation to experience what the reality of Branch Managers role is. This development programme is a course to enhance the knowledge and skills of Consultants who based on their current experience and achievements, are provided guidance and enrichment in their current role whether this leads to promotion to Branch Manager or elsewhere within the Company. In the past year they have promoted around 12% of consultants to either Senior or Principal Consultant. Career Development is a continuous priority in the organisation and they are always looking to improve on the methods used to inspire and develop their employees. The Company also operates a Leadership Development Programme to ensure that Senior Managers also benefit from on-going development and support. All employees have access to a concept called the education zone and Learning Portal which with over 7000 learning modules is available to colleagues to choose how they want to be developed and in what area to enhance their own performance, grow and achieve.

Their senior team have revised their communications strategy over the last 12 months and this has had a significant impact on employee engagement. Firstly they have reformatted the way they run team meetings. These do not operate on status bases principles but are a a lively and interactive session between all team members. Team meetings take place each month and each senior team member gives an operational update on their area of the business. Meetings are held at each of their sites and at different times of the day to enable maximum attendance. Meetings have also been recorded and made available on television screens in our breakout rooms and on the intranet for team members who have not been able to attend sessions. The senior team also introduced daily operational updates for the business throughout their peak period. These business updates have been made available via email and on the intranet and have opened up communication channels across the business.

Two of their software developers are supporting their nominated charity with the creation of a website for them. On its completion their MD has promised to donate £500 to the charity.

Investing in leadership remains a key priority to ensure the delivery of high quality, safe and effective integrated services, with improved patient experience and outcomes. In a changing NHS landscape with increasing financial constraints, the organisation must remain in a strong position to respond to the challenges ahead. By motivating and engaging current leaders, and identifying and developing future leaders, this can be achieved. The Trust have held a series of five vibrant and thought provoking events. These included organisational development, understanding roles in achieving, maintaining and measuring success, and creating high performing teams with effective appraisals and motivated staff. They focused on ensuring patient safety and recovery remain at the heart of all they do and their individual and collective responsibility to ensure quality across services. They also equipped staff with the tools and techniques to ensure workforce resilience and well-being. The programme has provided an invaluable opportunity to build networks, share learning and gain an insight into the experiences of colleagues, service users, carers and partner organisations.

553 people attended the best ever Trust AGM and Annual Members' Meeting on 24 July. The day was attended by staff, service users and carers, trust members and partner organisations, who were all eager to find out how the Trust had performed over the past 12 months and its plans for the coming year. Focusing on partnership working, the event illustrated the range and depth of achievement across mental health, physical health and integrated health. An interactive showcase opened the day, highlighting how involvement really does change services, culture and lives; something they are incredibly proud of at Nottinghamshire Healthcare. Over 80 exhibition stands demonstrated the way their services and partners are working together to develop and improve, to provide the very best care to their patients and service users. Five engaging and moving films showcased how they are doing this. This is the reality of working at Nottinghamshire Healthcare; staff do all they can, every day, to live up to the inspiring and memorable words in the NHS Constitution.

Nissan's management team always use feedback employees provide them with to review the organisation and identify opportunities to make Nissan GB a better place to work. Bespoke actions plans are then developed and the management team work closer with HR and functional Directors to implement these in the business.

Nissan has a Career Development Programme for high potential people in the company. The company also operates a Graduate Development Scheme and a Management Development Scheme for employees.

ng homes offer two additional days leave to staff who have had no sickness in a rolling 12 month period. This is noted in their terms and conditions. Staff who are unfortunate enough to suffer illness are taken care of with the generous sick pay scheme. They offer up to six months full pay and six months half pay. For those staff who "hold the fort" and offer a little extra help and effort to cover whilst a colleague is ill they reward them with time off. Staff appreciate this gesture and their absence statistics reflect this.

ng homes have developed a ground-breaking plan to improve how waste is dealt with in North Glasgow. This programme won the award for the Best Partnership Initiative at the Scottish Waste & Resources Awards. The idea for the project came from ng homes who partnered with Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) who help deliver a range of measures to help people and organisations on the journey to Zero Waste. ZWS agreed to fund the initiative and are now working together with ng homes, Glasgow City Council, LRS Consultancy and the North Glasgow community on innovative ways to recycle and re-use waste materials in the north of the city. In recent months around 300 local people have attended ng homes community events promoting recycling and reuse.

Debra Ward is unstoppable in achieving their vision. She leads a team that is passionate, talented and dedicated to making their vision a reality. Debra comes up with wacky and fun ways to make sure their culture is lived and breathed every day. Supported by the Senior Leadership team (nicknamed the Jockey Club), they are driven in making every one of their team members engaged, passionate and dedicated to what they do. It is this underlying principle that comes from the Managing Director that makes them unique and a great place to work.Deb and Dave's Excellence Adventure - the national tour. In the Autumn of this year, Debra Ward (Managing Director) and David Howorth (Director of Operations) hired a VW Beetle and toured the UK. Their team members work on client's sites and often do not have much contact with each other (other than our team building events or when attending training courses). The aim was to visit as many of their team members as possible - to say "thank you and well done" for the exceptional contribution they make to the company.

Debra Ward is unstoppable in achieving their vision. She leads a team that is passionate, talented and dedicated to making their vision a reality. Debra comes up with wacky and fun ways to make sure their culture is lived and breathed every day. Supported by the Senior Leadership team (nicknamed the Jockey Club), they are driven in making every one of their team members engaged, passionate and dedicated to what they do. It is this underlying principle that comes from the Managing Director that makes them unique and a great place to work.Deb and Dave's Excellence Adventure - the national tour. In the Autumn of this year, Debra Ward (Managing Director) and David Howorth (Director of Operations) hired a VW Beetle and toured the UK. Their team members work on client's sites and often do not have much contact with each other (other than our team building events or when attending training courses). The aim was to visit as many of their team members as possible - to say "thank you and well done" for the exceptional contribution they make to the company.

Mind Candy went to MoshiCon in Centre Parcs last year and this year it is in Disneyland Paris, as well as a Christmas party and Sportsday for the company and their families.

Mind Candy went to MoshiCon in Centre Parcs last year and this year it is in Disneyland Paris, as well as a Christmas party and Sportsday for the company and their families.

Staff are given the opportunity to further their knowledge by completing work related training qualifications such as NVQ certificates. E-Learning is available to staff and the organisation seeks to provide ongoing refresher training to keep knowledge up to date. New staff are given the opportunity to work shadow and staff are encouraged to share their knowledge.

Methodist Homes have an Employee Assistance Programme which all staff can access. Life assurance cover is provided to all staff with over a year's service and discounts on health care are available.

MEU are a specialist clinical research facility working with the pharmaceutical industry to identify potential new treatments for illnesses such as asthma and emphysema. These treatments could be new or different combinations of existing medications. They conduct two main categories of clinical trials: early phase I that require healthy male volunteers to assess the effects of the medication on body functions; later phase trials that require volunteers who suffer from the medical condition that the drug is intended for. MEU believe the work they do in identifying potential new treatments for the future allows them to give something back to the community.

MEU have an open door policy and encourage staff to make use of it. The company regularly let staff know that they value their feedback and ideas, hence we now have the ideas/suggestion box. A recent addition has been the company newsletter which they fill not just with news about the company but try to make it interactive with competitions and personalise it with items about individuals. This has been working really well, with staff wanting to get involved with the input/copy for it.

Since McArthurGlen's largest UK Designer Outlet, Cheshire Oaks, was built in 1995, McArthurGlen has been continually engaged with Cheshire Wildlife in conserving an ancient wetland habitat that now surrounds the site on three sides. This strip of woodland is home to a colony of Great Crested Newts which are an endangered European Protected Species. A scheme partly funded by McArthurGlen, helps the management and maintenance of this licensed site including the reintroduction of black poplar trees which are native to the area. The Cheshire Oaks Facilities and cleaning teams are seeking an accreditation to enter this restricted zone to further aid in ensuring that the environment is kept clear of litter and pollutants. Cheshire Wildlife report an estimated growth in newt numbers of around 30% over the past three years.

The training plan that is in place is a full and comprehensive list of provision that appeals to different learning styles and abilities. In response to demand for flexible learning the offer has featured the following: •Further Education: Prince 2 Foundation and Practitioner and Professional Studies •Personal Development Plans- freely to complete •Behavioural Development: Communicating for Results ,Managing Success, Executive Impact, Practical Employment Law, Presentation Skills ,Advanced Presentation Skills, Time Management, Influencing Skills, Impact, Property Business Report Writing, Debt and Insolvency, Contracts - Understanding and Negotiating, Project Management, Health and Safety Offer – NEBOSH General Certificate, NEBOSH International General Certificate, CIEH Basic Food Hygiene, IEMA Environmental Course, International Managing Safely, IOSH Managing Safely ,NEBOSH Fire Certificate •IMS, 50 Lessons, Windsor Leadership Trust. Offered primarily for the leadership team within the business, however is also available for individuals interested in developing networking opportunities. •Coaching Opportunities: Stephen Marshall Clear Sight Executive and Martin Longdon Coaching Hot House •Self-Help Development Guides are designed to be downloaded and used individually as a refresher or as introduction to a new topic area.

Mazda Motors UK holds quarterly Business Breakfasts which are opportunities to give more detailed updates on the performance of the Company and topical issues. It is also an opportunity for employees to share and discuss any issues or feedback they would like to give.

Mazda runs a Personal Development Planning process alongside the company's Performance Management process, this includes the capture of development needs and career goals, which the company collates and endeavours to manage.

They are proud to say that they have a strong culture in and out of work and throughout the year they have an active social scene with sporting events, fun days and a variety of nights out. The summer party was a particularly memorable party and was one of their highlights. Last year they revisited the venue where they held their 20th anniversary due to positive feedback from staff and it gave the opportunity for staff from all parts of the business to socialise in a more informal setting and meet new colleagues.

As part of their flexible benefits package, they have included a health and wellbeing section, which covers a health cash plan and private medical insurance. The health cash plan is a core benefit and enables all staff to obtain a refund on eye care, dental care etc. to a specific amount, which can be increased, if required. They also assess individual needs within the business through a risk assessment process and depending on the result of this, they provide staff with the additional support that they require. Typical examples of this is when they have provided footrests, wrist supports, ergonomic chairs, specifically adapted keyboards, flexible monitors and monitor stands, laptop stands, braille keyboards and showers for staff who wish to cycle to work or exercise during lunch. They also offer free refreshments throughout the business locations.

A recent memorable social event that was held by the organisation was the staff Halloween party, where they also raised money for charity. The event included a Halloween themed quiz, best fancy dress prize and charity raffle. They hired and decorated the event to get the teams in the mood and also provided catering and drink.

The organisation listens to employees and seeks their ideas and feedback. They have an on-going Idea of the Month suggestion box and staff are encouraged to put their ideas forward at any time. If chosen they are given the opportunity to take control of the idea and see it through as a personal project. Rewards are given to the staff members whose ideas are taken up and have included TVs, shopping vouchers etc.

There is a very strong openness to new ideas, approaches and ways of improving the business, with very little bureaucracy or barriers to staff bringing ideas to the Senior Leadership Team and having the opportunity to try them. They conduct an internal staff survey annually, in order to get an idea of employee opinion and seek feedback in improving how they work. As a result of previous year's surveys, they have implemented many organisational changes. Most recently, in 2011 they amended their annual holiday entitlement in order to provide a more attractive package for employees, with new starters beginning on 25 days entitlement instead of the previous 20. They also introduced a company pension scheme which has seen almost a 30% take up in the past 12 months.

In 2009 they created their charitable foundation, the Mando Group Foundation and in doing so made a commitment to donate 10% of their net profit to charitable causes. They work in partnership with the Community Foundation for Merseyside, who help manage their funds; their vision is to see local community and international causes transformed through their work. The three main areas in which they invest to achieve this vision are: To enhance the education and employability of young people in Merseyside through sharing what they know best - our digital and leadership skills. To work with international charities in developing countries which is voted for annually by staff and each year the majority of their internal fundraising is done in support of this charity. At the end of the year, the final figure is then matched by the Foundation, doubling their employee's efforts and helping to make a real difference in the causes that motivate their staff.

Every summer a themed party is held for Senior Managers and Head Office Staff. Fancy dress is essential and accommodation and breakfast is provided for all. In July 2012, the company hosted a Prehistoric Party with campfires, dinosaurs, a free bar, a hog roast buffet, live music, fire breathers, a live band and a DJ.

Living Ventures Ltd's training is compulsory for ALL employees, no matter what their previous experience or qualifications are. Every member of staff undertakes at least 2 weeks training alongside a dedicated In Store Trainer. All Managers undertake a 10 week training period with departmental rotation before running a solo shift. The company also operates succession planning where the preference for internal promotion is paramount.

This year the Head of HR and an external consultant visited all of the projects and gave feedback on the Best Company results for last year. These sessions gave a chance for all of their employees to discuss openly what was important to them. They discussed the positives and negatives of working at Langley House Trust. From these sessions employees were encouraged to suggest solutions to the challenges that they have been facing, this has been crafted into a working document that is reviewed monthly by senior management and the progress of all the solutions being implemented is monitored.

Langley House have Senior Management talkbacks with all of their project teams. These have helped to improve communication within the Trust. Many of their project workers did not understand why some of the changes that had been implemented had to be done. It was good to be able to explain how the legislation that regulates them means Lanagley House sometimes have to make changes and get employees to do this in a different way. They introduced a credit card with their values on which has been well received and their senior team ask for feedback to make sure they are demonstrating these values by the actions they are taking.

International Craft Skills is a unique week long residential program that takes place annually at the end of JWT graduate recruits' first year. It consolidates and tests their learning, develops them as individuals and potential leaders and above all connects them and makes them feel truly part of an international community, not an abstract network. In 2012, 34 delegates from London, Lisbon, Milan, New York, Moscow, Dublin, Cairo, Beirut and Tunis gathered in JWT Portugal. The week kicks off with a Myers Briggs workshop, so delegates can then apply their understanding throughout the week in their pitch teams. In parallel, the teams receive daily presentation skills coaching and are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and take creative risks in their final pitches to clients.

International Craft Skills is a unique week long residential program that takes place annually at the end of JWT graduate recruits' first year. It consolidates and tests their learning, develops them as individuals and potential leaders and above all connects them and makes them feel truly part of an international community, not an abstract network. In 2012, 34 delegates from London, Lisbon, Milan, New York, Moscow, Dublin, Cairo, Beirut and Tunis gathered in JWT Portugal. The week kicks off with a Myers Briggs workshop, so delegates can then apply their understanding throughout the week in their pitch teams. In parallel, the teams receive daily presentation skills coaching and are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and take creative risks in their final pitches to clients.

Juniper Training Ltd doesn't have a long-working hour's culture. Centres close no later than 4.30pm, and never open on weekends or bank holidays. The company have up to 30 holidays per year, plus bank holidays and attempt to grant as many flexible working requests as possible, with the option to buy an additional 5 days. Juniper send birthday cards to all members of staff, which each member of the management board sign/write a personal message. The centres have been refurbished to give staff a better working environment, and 3 of the centres moved to better premises. Juniper introduced free flu jabs, NHS health checks and cycle to work scheme. The company also hold birthday meetings where staff come together for an informal feedback meeting with SMT, have birthday cake & games and a half day finish. Several staff have late starts as they go to gym classes before work once a week. The company have held wellness sessions in centres, with one centre doing Zumba.

Juniper Training Ltd doesn't have a long-working hour's culture. Centres close no later than 4.30pm, and never open on weekends or bank holidays. The company have up to 30 holidays per year, plus bank holidays and attempt to grant as many flexible working requests as possible, with the option to buy an additional 5 days. Juniper send birthday cards to all members of staff, which each member of the management board sign/write a personal message. The centres have been refurbished to give staff a better working environment, and 3 of the centres moved to better premises. Juniper introduced free flu jabs, NHS health checks and cycle to work scheme. The company also hold birthday meetings where staff come together for an informal feedback meeting with SMT, have birthday cake & games and a half day finish. Several staff have late starts as they go to gym classes before work once a week. The company have held wellness sessions in centres, with one centre doing Zumba.

The John Bowler Group have unlimited bonus awards and pay increases available to all employees for exceptional effort or performance. They have had employees in the past who have received 4 salary increases in one year, and an employee who was awarded a 25% increase for their substantial and consistent contribution to the company. The company also offer a suggestion scheme with £50 for any suggestion which is adopted.

The John Bowler Group has moved to brand new light, airy offices in the countryside with ample parking and a free, well equipped gym. The company also encourage a healthy work/home life balance – staff leave on time and are encouraged to go home and forget about work until the next day. The John Bowler Group believes that these two things have significantly enhanced the wellbeing of their employees.

For their store management teams Jack Wills held an Annual Christmas Conference which was called 'From Great to greatest, this gave all the Directors an opportunity to present their vision of what Great looked like. It was vital that the managers truly understood and could live the Brand. There was then the opportunity for managers to work together in breakout groups, giving them all a real sense of the standards expected, this was particularly important as they have been through a huge growth in the number of stores, and had many managers who were embarking on their first Christmas with Jack Wills and in some cases their first Christmas in Retail.

Jack Wills support the wellbeing of their employees in practical ways such as free fruit and drinks in their well equipped kitchens. There is also a gym available to all of their HO and DC employees which is open 24/7 and includes organised classes .They also offer flu jabs, table tennis and snooker facilities.

iris supports employee development through their 'Me, Myself & iris' Programme. This ties in objectives, which then feeds into training, and also pay rise & promotion review board.

iris supports employee development through their 'Me, Myself & iris' Programme. This ties in objectives, which then feeds into training, and also pay rise & promotion review board.

Assureweb have held a company quiz, a Christmas party and a May Ball which encompassed a staff awards/recognition ceremony. The company have held poker nights to raise money for charity.

Assureweb have held a company quiz, a Christmas party and a May Ball which encompassed a staff awards/recognition ceremony. The company have held poker nights to raise money for charity.

Interconnector award spot bonuses for one off pieces of work or displays of behaviour outside day to day expectations. In addition, the company funds social events throughout the year as a way of rewarding employees for their efforts.

Interconnector award spot bonuses for one off pieces of work or displays of behaviour outside day to day expectations. In addition, the company funds social events throughout the year as a way of rewarding employees for their efforts.

OlyINKpics - To celebrate the 2012 London Olympics, in early July the entire sales and commercial departments dedicated their mornings to worthwhile community organisations and charities of their choice. In the afternoon, everyone met in Regents Park and were divided into cross-departmental teams, where they competed in different athletic events -volleyball, relay, long jump, etc. The event was well-received and was an excellent opportunity for those who don't normally work together, to get to know one another better.

HappINKness - At the end of 2011, 121 of Ink's employees wrote about what made them happy in the “HappINKness” book. The book showed what a fun and creative business Ink had become. Dreams - Dreams has proven a successful way of finding out what inspires and motivates Ink's employees. Typagora12 - Typagora provided an open forum for the management team to speak openly about where Ink is and share their visions for where it is going in the next three years. From the breakout sessions, brainstorming and presenting, attendees were able to come up with ideas and solutions for challenges that the businesses faces and may face in the future.

iD Experential's annual trip to Royal Ascot is one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year. In 2012 they hired their own area on the Silks Lawn. Their Christmas party was also a key event which had an 'Only Way is Essex' theme and a special guest appearance from Arg and Lydia, two of the TV shows cast who sang to the agency while they were having dinner . Everyone is already excited for this year's bash, although the theme and location are a closely guarded secret until nearer the time to ensure maximum impact for the agency! Every Friday afternoon iD's social committee iPARTY provides refreshments in the reception area so that the agency can finish the working week together.

iD Experential's annual trip to Royal Ascot is one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year. In 2012 they hired their own area on the Silks Lawn. Their Christmas party was also a key event which had an 'Only Way is Essex' theme and a special guest appearance from Arg and Lydia, two of the TV shows cast who sang to the agency while they were having dinner . Everyone is already excited for this year's bash, although the theme and location are a closely guarded secret until nearer the time to ensure maximum impact for the agency! Every Friday afternoon iD's social committee iPARTY provides refreshments in the reception area so that the agency can finish the working week together.

In reality the company has three leaders, Stuart Becker (Managing Director), Russell Langridge (Sales & Marketing Director) & Dale Perry (Finance, IT & HR Director) as they are all equal shareholders in the holding company. HRG believe that by being "one of the workers", by always "having their doors open", by being one of the first in and one of the last out everyday, projects a level of commitment that the employees hopefully respect. The Leaders are always willing to listen to their senior management team or anybody else for that matter and over the years have made many decisions that eminated from beyond the Board. They firmly believe in leading by example, which may not be distinctive but they do feel they do it very well.

In reality the company has three leaders, Stuart Becker (Managing Director), Russell Langridge (Sales & Marketing Director) & Dale Perry (Finance, IT & HR Director) as they are all equal shareholders in the holding company. HRG believe that by being "one of the workers", by always "having their doors open", by being one of the first in and one of the last out everyday, projects a level of commitment that the employees hopefully respect. The Leaders are always willing to listen to their senior management team or anybody else for that matter and over the years have made many decisions that eminated from beyond the Board. They firmly believe in leading by example, which may not be distinctive but they do feel they do it very well.

A central feature of their CSR programme is designed to help their residents get off benefits and into work. To achieve this they introduced a Business Start-up training programme for residents who were keen to start their own business. The Course was designed to give residents the skills, confidence and the support to start their own business. The programme was run in partnership with the Aspire Foundation, a charity that works to unlock the potential of people who've often been written-off by society. It was funded as a Big Society Initiative by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM), as it was seen locally as something that would deliver lasting social impact for people who are currently relying on benefits. In June 2012, Fifteen unemployed residents graduated from the 12 week course with business plans in place to start their own business. At a Dragons Den style presentation, at their graduation ceremony, in partnership with the RBWM, the graduates were awarded grants and possible contracts totalling nearly £8,500 to help them get their businesses going. The money will be used to help buy essential equipment and pay for insurance and training. The range of businesses that will be created by the graduates includes a craft shop, dog walking business, ironing businesses, maths tutoring and photography. Plans are in place to run a second course in 2013. Residents have said that the Business Start-Up training has changed their lives.

A central feature of their CSR programme is designed to help their residents get off benefits and into work. To achieve this they introduced a Business Start-up training programme for residents who were keen to start their own business. The Course was designed to give residents the skills, confidence and the support to start their own business. The programme was run in partnership with the Aspire Foundation, a charity that works to unlock the potential of people who've often been written-off by society. It was funded as a Big Society Initiative by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM), as it was seen locally as something that would deliver lasting social impact for people who are currently relying on benefits. In June 2012, Fifteen unemployed residents graduated from the 12 week course with business plans in place to start their own business. At a Dragons Den style presentation, at their graduation ceremony, in partnership with the RBWM, the graduates were awarded grants and possible contracts totalling nearly £8,500 to help them get their businesses going. The money will be used to help buy essential equipment and pay for insurance and training. The range of businesses that will be created by the graduates includes a craft shop, dog walking business, ironing businesses, maths tutoring and photography. Plans are in place to run a second course in 2013. Residents have said that the Business Start-Up training has changed their lives.

The most memorable event was Hostelbookers' 8th Anniversary Party held in May this year. Each year they celebrate their anniversary with a big party and this year the company took their staff to a private 10 Pin Bowling suite which they hired for the afternoon. Hostelbookers organised teams for bowling and held mini competitions e.g. giant games, karaoke, travel quiz and a fancy dress photo booth. They then took everyone to a restaurant which they hired out for the evening. There was a champagne reception, 4 course meal, prize and speech ceremony and then dancing until early hours of the morning. The whole day including food and drinks was completely free to their staff.

The most memorable event was Hostelbookers' 8th Anniversary Party held in May this year. Each year they celebrate their anniversary with a big party and this year the company took their staff to a private 10 Pin Bowling suite which they hired for the afternoon. Hostelbookers organised teams for bowling and held mini competitions e.g. giant games, karaoke, travel quiz and a fancy dress photo booth. They then took everyone to a restaurant which they hired out for the evening. There was a champagne reception, 4 course meal, prize and speech ceremony and then dancing until early hours of the morning. The whole day including food and drinks was completely free to their staff.

Hogarth runs an annual peer recognition scheme which involves employees nominating their peers who they feel have shown outstanding qualities in a number of categories including the Shooting Star Award for Most Inspirational Employee, North Star Award for Best Leadership Skills, Sirius Award for Brightest Star, Phoenix Award for Best Rising Star and Alpha Centauri Award for Unsung Hero. A huge amount of buzz is created across the company during the nomination rounds in the run up to the announcing of the winners at an awards ceremony held before the Christmas party each year. The ceremony is a celebration of employees contribution and the company recognising people who have gone over and above their roles over the previous 12 months as voted for by their peers. Prizes are awarded to the top three winners in each category with the winners receiving a weekend away for two as the first prize. It is an informal recognition scheme but is extremely popular with employees and creates a real buzz in the build up to announcing the winners. The Awards ceremony is followed by the Christmas party with lots of dancing and fun.

Hogarth runs an annual peer recognition scheme which involves employees nominating their peers who they feel have shown outstanding qualities in a number of categories including the Shooting Star Award for Most Inspirational Employee, North Star Award for Best Leadership Skills, Sirius Award for Brightest Star, Phoenix Award for Best Rising Star and Alpha Centauri Award for Unsung Hero. A huge amount of buzz is created across the company during the nomination rounds in the run up to the announcing of the winners at an awards ceremony held before the Christmas party each year. The ceremony is a celebration of employees contribution and the company recognising people who have gone over and above their roles over the previous 12 months as voted for by their peers. Prizes are awarded to the top three winners in each category with the winners receiving a weekend away for two as the first prize. It is an informal recognition scheme but is extremely popular with employees and creates a real buzz in the build up to announcing the winners. The Awards ceremony is followed by the Christmas party with lots of dancing and fun.

By leveraging the best thinking and learning programmes from across their organisation, Hilton seek to share knowledge with their Team Members to improve delivery efficiency, cost effectiveness, personal development and promote best practices. Hilton Worldwide University (HWU) allows them to bring together all of their learning and effectively share it across their enterprise. HWU has been identified by a separate and distinct icon, signifying learning across the company. Hilton deliver curriculum through five colleges, which have all been assigned an executive sponsor and work with a learning council to help develop the curriculum for their section. The five colleges collectively offer more than 2,500 courses that are delivered in a variety of ways including classroom training, e-learning, webinars, e-books, live and taped programmes such as “Leaders Teaching Leaders” and “Lunch and Learns,” articles, recommendations for on-the-job development experiences, social learning and apps.

Hilton Worldwide sees the Wellbeing of all employees as important and encourages Healthy lifestyle. This is promoted through highlighting healthy options for physical activities as well as the healthy options both in nutritional and general health. Hilton's Living Well Gymnasiums and Spas are available to all employees and they have the opportunity to attain advice on personal training and nutritional guidelines and can be safely monitored. The company, also through all their community and charitable work, promote external activities and challenges that enhance individuals physical well being, for example their ‘Around the World in a day' annual charity event challenges employees to cover as much mileage as possible by walking, running, cycling, swimming, rowing etc. With the community and charity involvement this creates an incredibly fun and rewarding day for so many in their achievements whilst also raising money for charities worldwide.

Hermes Field Managers regularly need to interview potential self employed couriers to provide services for them. There are around 150 Field Managers, many of whom took the decision to conduct interviews in the homes of potential couriers. Through feedback from the employee focus groups and team meetings and risk assessments, there was a significant risk to lone working in this situation. The company introduced a policy for Field Managers to interview potential couriers in public places and giving them an allowance to buy a drink etc. Hermes' head office was relocated three years ago and was designed to give employees maximum comfort, from the ergonomically designed chairs and desks, to a subsidised restaurant. The depot network is also constantly being upgraded so that employees across the business have better working conditions. i.e. more space, parking, light, rest areas and meeting rooms.

Hermes offer a selection of bonus schemes and benefits for different grades. One particularly effective way is for their senior managers and middle managers. The company offer a flexible benefits package that allows them to purchase extra holiday/health insurance etc. Hermes also offer a range of bonus schemes that are very effective. The bonus schemes are designed to motivate employees to save costs as well as improve their service. The bonus is awarded upon achievement of targets and extra bonuses are paid for employees who have consistently performed well throughout the year but are not part of a bonus scheme. Hermes also have an employee recognition scheme called the Hermes Champion Awards. Gift vouchers are awarded to quarterly winners who have been nominated by their colleagues for demonstrating commitment to the business values.

The company regularly hold pub quizzes in aid of their chosen charity, but perhaps the most memorable social event recently was the GS1 UK Olympics which they ran in parallel to the London Olympics. The Company was divided into six teams, each given a name of a smaller country that does not normally feature high on the medals chart. They held events in table football, WII sports, table tennis and created a medals board. The feedback from the event was great and staff enjoyed interacting with people that they wouldn't normally have the chance to.

The company regularly hold pub quizzes in aid of their chosen charity, but perhaps the most memorable social event recently was the GS1 UK Olympics which they ran in parallel to the London Olympics. The Company was divided into six teams, each given a name of a smaller country that does not normally feature high on the medals chart. They held events in table football, WII sports, table tennis and created a medals board. The feedback from the event was great and staff enjoyed interacting with people that they wouldn't normally have the chance to.

Graham & Brown's CEO has been instrumental in opening the Blackburn Youth Zone facility, which reaches out to local young people. They work closely with Darwen Aldridge Community Academy with their staff speaking at the school and helping develop the Arts department at the school.

Graham & Brown's CEO has been instrumental in opening the Blackburn Youth Zone facility, which reaches out to local young people. They work closely with Darwen Aldridge Community Academy with their staff speaking at the school and helping develop the Arts department at the school.

The company conduct an 'Annual Career Development Review'. Within this review personal development and training needs are assessed and a plan for the employee's forthcoming year is put together between themselves and their line manager. The company allows a standard of 10 days training per year, per employee.

The company conduct an 'Annual Career Development Review'. Within this review personal development and training needs are assessed and a plan for the employee's forthcoming year is put together between themselves and their line manager. The company allows a standard of 10 days training per year, per employee.

At Gocompare.com they have a Health and Well-being Committee consisting of a member from each department, ensuring they provide a varied and relevant H&W provision to their staff. Each week they hold a weight and nutrition session with a trained professional during work hours and five- a-side football, squash club and boot camp after work – all of which are subsidised by the company. This is a great forum for staff to come together as a team and support each other in their objectives for eating well and having a healthier lifestyle. Where possible they link the seasonal board to their charity work to raise money and awareness of important health issues such as Breast Cancer Care and Movember. They ensure the information is timely and accurate and their dedicated H&W intranet page facilitates this. They have information about healthy eating (such as low-fat recipes), losing weight, stress management, and other mental health issues featured here. They also have subsidised access to heart and health monitoring with a company doctor, run stress audits with all staff, and smoking cessation sessions during work hours for those who are interested.

Over the last few years the company have raised thousands of pounds for many charities. They are always keen to support local charities and give something back to the community. Last year alone they sponsored their PR agency who ran the London Marathon for Merlin, and the friend of an employee who ran 1027 miles solo around the entire perimeter of Wales within 42 days. They also sponsored customers, including Ben the Ironman who ran 3 marathons for his son and Whizzkids, and another who is taking part in the Toughest Footrace on Earth for Hope Childrens Charity. Another 153 charities so far all over the UK are benefiting from their help in the FSI's "The Big Small Charity Draw". Another area of their charity commitment is helping the local community. They are proud sponsors of two local sports clubs, including a children's football team and cricket team.

Outstanding performance is rewarded in various ways: bonuses, pay rises, duvet days and other options. Each manager has 6 monthly and annual appraisals with team members, during which they have an opportunity to recognise their successes and achievements. They also praise all of their employees throughout the year.

Outstanding performance is rewarded in various ways: bonuses, pay rises, duvet days and other options. Each manager has 6 monthly and annual appraisals with team members, during which they have an opportunity to recognise their successes and achievements. They also praise all of their employees throughout the year.

The company is a socially focused organisation and rewards employees with an annual Christmas and summer party. For the 2012 summer party the company wanted to really involve every member of staff and gauge exactly the type of party they would enjoy rather than making any assumptions. They ran a competition called ‘The Best Party Proposition' where they called for party themes and ideas. They have a superb response rate that really shed light on the type of social event staff would enjoy. The winning idea was executed (incorporating elements of other suggestions) and the person that submitted the winning idea received a prize on the evening. The evening took place at a Central London rooftop venue and the ‘Festival' themed party was a night to remember. Employees were entertained from the moment they left the office – with rock n roll bingo, a fortune teller, a magician, karaoke, live music, a photo booth, a bbq and cocktails.

The company is a socially focused organisation and rewards employees with an annual Christmas and summer party. For the 2012 summer party the company wanted to really involve every member of staff and gauge exactly the type of party they would enjoy rather than making any assumptions. They ran a competition called ‘The Best Party Proposition' where they called for party themes and ideas. They have a superb response rate that really shed light on the type of social event staff would enjoy. The winning idea was executed (incorporating elements of other suggestions) and the person that submitted the winning idea received a prize on the evening. The evening took place at a Central London rooftop venue and the ‘Festival' themed party was a night to remember. Employees were entertained from the moment they left the office – with rock n roll bingo, a fortune teller, a magician, karaoke, live music, a photo booth, a bbq and cocktails.

The company has plotted out a clear career path and expectations for employees based on the successes of numerous existing GCS workers. This allows the business to compare and contrast the performance of newcomers with people who have already come through the ranks. This allows the directors to set realistic, achievable and motivational minimum expectation levels for all staff. The company offers numerous on-track bonuses and competitions to reward successes individually and as teams. The business also increases the salary of management to recognise their extra responsibility and offers the opportunity to earn bonuses based on the performance of their team.

Creating a dedicated Human Resources department for the first time in company history has allowed GCS to increase focus on employee development. Each area within HR is clearly defined and allows for a far more effective department, providing greatly improved employee development within GCS. The department comprises; A Human Resources Manager, overseeing all general matters of staffing and contractual affairs, as well as pastoral care of employees. An internal Recruitment Manager, whose purpose is to identify and engage the best prospects for the GCS Academy, as well as to source experienced recruiters and champion the potential of a career with GCS. A Training Manager, whose focus is the training of all GCS employees, from daily involvement with the members of the Academy, through to the organisation and involvement in delivery of the GCS Masterclass programme for resourcers, then the ongoing ad-hoc training of junior consultants and above. An Administration Manager who ensures smooth running of back-office function. This streamlining of responsibility has led to the training manager having more time to focus on individuals, as well as build stronger relationships with the company's selected external training experts to bespoke training for the specific needs of trainees. The company have also invested in the implementation of a sophisticated HR system, Cascade, to further increase the efficacy of the department for the benefit of all employees present and future. All job specifications have been rewritten, creating clarity of role responsibility, and transparent promotion targets have been documented and made available to all staff.

Every member of staff receives training and/or development every week in addition to any course, qualification or training they are undertaking. Everything they achieve is achieved through their people.

Every member of staff receives training and/or development every week in addition to any course, qualification or training they are undertaking. Everything they achieve is achieved through their people.

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.