FT Construction start Personal Growth at the grass roots with an annual intake of apprentices in the traditional building trades (Brickwork and Carpentry/Joinery). To achieve this they work closely with Construction Skills and Darlington College to offer a structured 3 year apprenticeship framework resulting in an Advanced Craft Apprenticeship and NVQ3 qualification in their chosen trade, along with a secure future Many of the apprentices have gone on to represent both their college and WTC at the Regional and National Skillbuild competitions. In addition to this FT Construction actively encourage further/higher education for their existing team at all levels and in many different career paths.

FT Construction conduct return to work interviews after absence. If it is a long term absence, this is carried out by H&S & HR Manager. They will always look at phased return if long term sick or reduced/light duties if possible and they also discuss life style changes, diet, exercise etc. FT Construction encourage people to take regular breaks away from their work station in specific areas on most sites.

FMC Technologies have a dedicated on-site Charity and Health Promotions committees which regularly run charity events and sponsored events. Participants are made up of volunteers who do this work during working hours. They annually sponsor a Safe Drive Stay Alive Campaign for the local community as well as employees. This is run by the emergency services in order to raise awareness of road safety issues. It is extremely powerful. Management actively engage in all employee charity events by showing support, endorsement, encouragement and are willing to be on the receiving end of the charity fun.

FMC Technologies have a dedicated on-site Charity and Health Promotions committees which regularly run charity events and sponsored events. Participants are made up of volunteers who do this work during working hours. They annually sponsor a Safe Drive Stay Alive Campaign for the local community as well as employees. This is run by the emergency services in order to raise awareness of road safety issues. It is extremely powerful. Management actively engage in all employee charity events by showing support, endorsement, encouragement and are willing to be on the receiving end of the charity fun.

For performance recognition First Step Finance have Employee of the Month, weekly and monthly prize for caseworkers and trophy for Best Telesales of the Month. There are Thank you cards, well done emails on daily basis for staff members who have done something to be recognised. Recognition is recognised during daily meetings in each department.

The most recent team building event was the Bowling Night. Families were invited to the event. There was bowling, Qasar, food and free bar for all to enjoy. A staff member on the microphone laughing and joking with all staff, embarrassing Directors who weren't very good!! Feed back from staff showed us that although this was the most recent team building event, it was also the best they have done so far.

Whilst First Direct don't have a specific budget for fun and social events they have an overall engagement budget which looks at events and activities to drive up engagement and make First Direct the best place to work. They have a Best Place to Work team designated to making coming to work at first direct a fantastic experience. Some of their previous events have included a football themed month to tie in with the World Cup which saw an inflatable table top football in the car park, a keepie uppie challenge with giant sized footballs across departments and a Wag Week with a nail and beauty bar and beauty gift stalls to appeal to their female population.

First Direct's intranet holds a recognition microsite where individuals can learn about what great recognition looks like, what kind of recognition is available and a leadership toolkit on the most effective ways to recognise their people. First Direct have also trained their leaders on the 'A Carrot a Day' principles and held a Chest Elton Recognition Masterclass to engage their leaders with what recognition done well does for their people and their business.

Over recent years FGAUK has invested heavily to enhance the working experience of its staff. Communication, company values, incentives, recognition, rewards, and engagement have all been areas of focus. Championed by a new MD in 2008 and senior management, these initiatives have been implemented through dedicated project committees comprising of the wider workforce. Morale and motivation has been driven through a ‘peer to peer' nomination scheme which rewards both top talent and excellence in line with their published company expectations, which form the core of their new corporate culture.

FGA UK have a Business Integration Committee who have introduced a project to establish and reduce FGA UK's carbon footprint in conjunction with "Good Business" in line with their position as the Car Manufacturer with the lowest Co2 emissions in industry. There is also Eco-Drive which is a unique technology that is designed to monitor and modify driving habits and behaviour of owners of FGA products.

Family Mosaic believe it is important to keep managers informed of bottom line business performance and progress on transformation projects. Their top 60 managers gather once a quarter to be briefed on this. In addition they use these events to hold master classes where they invite leaders of external organisations to share their knowledge and successful practices with their people managers. There is a STEPS Management Programme identifying and training current and future leaders.

The Customer Care Centre (one of the top 50 in the country) recognises colleague of the month as do other business units. Family Mosaic have an immediate bonus system which recognises great performance or cost saving initiatives. Amounts of £50 - £500 are paid out. More than 20 have been paid out after only 6 months of the year. Rewards for ideas or innovation are recognised in the Spot Bonus.

To ensure that employees feel they are rewarded for their efforts there is an employee of the quarter and staff bonus scheme. F M Conway encourage employees to use their holiday entitlement, they monitor working hours and provide additional part time, temp assistance when required. They discourage a long hours culture.

To ensure that employees feel they are rewarded for their efforts there is an employee of the quarter and staff bonus scheme. F M Conway encourage employees to use their holiday entitlement, they monitor working hours and provide additional part time, temp assistance when required. They discourage a long hours culture.

Experian QAS have Gazing sales training - this is classroom based training followed up with practical sessions with the trainer or manager to ensure it is being put into practice eg listening into sales calls. The Gazing sales methodology is embedded across the organisation and attended by all customer facing staff. Soft skills training is also offered with a calendar of events for staff to sign up to - this ensures they can organise a trainer to come in house without each person going on an external course. This helps towards achieving their individual PDP objectives in a cost and time effective way.

At Experian QAS a specific departmental entertainment allowance of £8 per month per head is provided for teams to spend time together participating in an activity or just socialising to help foster team spirit and working together. This budget is often used with other departments to encourage cross departmental working and to reinforce their culture of people enjoying working together and having fun too. For example, teams might go bowling or attend a comedy night together. At their National Company Meeting this year they had a company wide team building challenge - this was run by the Guinness World Records and consisted of team challenges at the tables staff were seated at during the day and then a company world record attempt!

Communications between management, directors and employees at Environmental Business Products ensure that employees know that they are thanked for their efforts. Monetary gratitude is shown on a case by case basis at the discretion of the management and directors.

At Environmental Business Products employees raise money for charities doing various events. This money is often matched by the company. Their Quality Team regularly work on how the company maintains its zero landfill policy and environmental systems. They are conducting a carbon footprinting assessment to see exactly what their carbon output is and their company is based on the reuse of already existing products. They have ISO accreditation for Quality and Environment and to date they have saved 50 million inkjet cartridges from landfill, by collecting them through their recycling schemes for reuse through remanufacturing. Through their recycling schemes Each One Counts and Support Your School, they promote environmental good practice to the general public as widely as possible and offer a free service where they pick up empty cartridges from addresses all over the UK or send free post recycling bags out to the public to post their items back to them.