Team Cohesion = Performance

The HPA encourages personal growth and many staff use the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) route to ensure that they are up to date. The main centre's run a number of lunchtime seminars on a diverse range of scientific topics. These are open to all staff irrespective of discipline. They have strong collaborative arrangements with a number of professional and academic institutions allowing for the interchange of ideas, some of this takes place nationally and internationally.

They recently introduced an annual VIP Award, Values in Practice. This has six categories that colleagues can be nominated for. These awards were presented by Sir Liam Donaldson and are a public recognition of the outstanding effort made by HPA staff. All local newsletters publish examples of the work that staff are doing, much of it in collaboration with other agencies or organisations. At a local level managers are encouraged to praise achievement whether individually or in team meetings.

All managers including the CEO operate an open door policy and work in close proximity to their teams. New employees are invited to meet the CEO and senior leaders over specially convened buffet lunches and staff also have the chance to ask the leaders questions through the staff council. The CEO, Shaun Reason always makes an effort to talk to staff, not only about work but finds common ground on a personal level too. He invites criticism and responds to this by not acting defensively but by explaining/upholding the decision/action or by taking action to address the issue raised. He has also introduced a staff suggestion scheme that can be accessed anonymously which he personally deals with.

Employees are encouraged to organise and get involved with fundraising activities. Activities undertaken by employees have included a sky dive, swimathon and staff have also helped to decorate a youth centre and supported opportunity days for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities. The company is very much part of the community support infrastructure within and beyond Hertfordshire and they recruit local people where they can. HCS have an Environmental and Health & Safety Committee that meets regularly, with staff representatives from across the company. They have been instrumental in introducing their 'no-personal bin' policy and reducing their electricity usage with a 'lights off' campaign.

HCL ensures that all employees enjoy fun social events as a form of reward as well as a valuable exercise in team building. Recent events have included a trip to Cannes for a team which had significantly outperformed projections, a karaoke night for another team to celebrate getting half way to its annual targets and team building dinners to welcome new joiners. There is also the annual awards ceremony and a divisional Big Billers Club, which meets regularly for nights out and trips, for example to Vegas and New York.

Each year in February they hold the annual HCL Awards Ceremony. This is the biggest event in the company calendar at which the achievements of their brightest stars and the whole company are publicly recognised. With a large budget devoted to the event, the party is held every year in a different flagship London location. Employees from all their offices have transport and hotel accommodation arranged and paid for. The Company's brightest star is rewarded with a high performance sports car and support employees, rising stars and bright new starters are also rewarded with cash and other prizes. This year, all staff were invited to vote on their choice of the top prizes for the HCL Awards and they chose a luxury long haul trip for the 8 - 12 top performers from each of their four divisions. The biggest biller will also get a Porsche Boxter. Support staff will be rewarded with a luxury European trip and there will also be cash prizes and winners also receive personalised award plaques.

Hays unique culture and environment utilises the strength of teams as a way of delivering excellence in recruitment and customer service to their clients, temporary workers and applicants. All teams are encouraged to meet together weekly to cascade messages, share issues and build knowledge. Managers are encouraged to manage teams as well as individuals and to ensure team events occur on a regular basis in order to strengthen the bond; this often includes a social element as well as business focussed activity. Office based incentives promote the strength of the team and awards enable the team to celebrate together both in a social context and on sports and experience events for example a paintballing day. Management conferences seek to encourage team building across specialist business functions and areas. These events often feature team events and utilise teams to solve problems and generate ideas and discussion.

The senior management team provide constant support and feedback internally to staff via established communications channels. There is sometimes a need to go outside of these and the senior management team in difficult times will often be seen floor walking to engage and re-energise the workforce. The Managing Director has his office on the same floor as consultants and it is not unusual for him to ‘hot-desk' when visiting other offices around the business and other senior managers will move around the business as much as possible. Both the Chief Executive and Managing Director give regular “blogs” that can be responded to with transparency online enabling them to be upfront and honest with their employees.

Granby Marketing Services believe that businesses are responsible for achieving good environmental practice and operating in a sustainable manner.They are committed to reducing their environmental impact and continually improving their environmental performance as an integral and fundamental part of the business strategy and operating methods. They also support local charities by donating client surplus stock wherever possible. They liaise with local employment agencies i.e. job centre and local colleges to ensure that when they recruit they utilise local resources.

Granby Marketing Services believe that businesses are responsible for achieving good environmental practice and operating in a sustainable manner.They are committed to reducing their environmental impact and continually improving their environmental performance as an integral and fundamental part of the business strategy and operating methods. They also support local charities by donating client surplus stock wherever possible. They liaise with local employment agencies i.e. job centre and local colleges to ensure that when they recruit they utilise local resources.

All employees are rewarded with twenty hours of paid time to undergo any training offered from the substantial Talent Development programme or external training. They request that these twenty hours are then matched by a further twenty hours of volunteered time annually. Other training that employees might undergo includes Gensler University, Annual 'Learning at Work Day' and Project Manager training. Over 90% of the large Talent Development programme is sourced and delivered internally. They hold an enormous amount of industry and cultural knowledge and talent from all areas of the globe their primary goal is to develop this.

Gensler lead sustainability efforts through a dedicated Sustainability Committee. This committee is made up of individuals who feel passionately about working within and promoting the issues of sustainability in the environment. New recycling or reduction schemes are communicated and promoted internally at monthly or six-monthly all staff meetings through bespoke humorous videos. Gensler's Community Outreach programme is driven entirely on the interests and entrepreneurship of all those involved. Through a volunteered Community Outreach Committee, their support of local charitable organisations is organised and implemented. The Community Outreach programme incorporates staff from all disciplines and levels working together on a diverse range of projects that have a long lasting positive impact on the charities they support. To demonstrate their commitment to effectively manage projects, sustain and protect the environment, they identify and evaluate the environmental aspects of all projects undertaken, setting measurable and realistic environmental objectives and targets to improve the environmental performance across the business. They also source environmentally sustainable materials, reduce their waste and consumption of energy and maximise opportunities to re-use and recycle where possible.

There is a variety of training opportunities available for employees including Leadership Programme, Management Development Programme and NVQs. Employees share information and knowledge through many means. Every quarter they have a Group Wider Management Team where they encourage teams to take the floor and share their successes and learning points; involving motivational speakers from time to time. There is also an annual staff event which provides a forum for sharing ideas across the group and the intranet is a constant source for knowledge sharing. Employees are also encouraged to have involvement in local community projects, work experience initiatives and skills festivals with local schools, colleges and universities and to maintain a continuous professional development log to help their progression.

They provide a competitive range of benefits which include flexible working, personal development opportunities and career breaks. In addition to these they also offer concessionary days off at Christmas and time is given for teams to enjoy a Christmas lunch together. They are hoping to introduce a reward strategy to offer other flexible benefits.

Employees are recognised by being verbally acknowledged for their effort and attainment and rewarded with cash prizes, incentives and financial reimbursement at the end of the month. There is also fun and games on the sales floor with raffles and computer games.

Freshstart have a culture of work hard - play hard and they believe they understand what makes their staff "tick" They take the wellbeing of their staff seriously, understanding, appreciating and recognising that staff have a choice of employers, so even in a recession, they are fair, respectful and tolerant.

Employees are rewarded in various ways. Milestone recognition is given by the Managing Director or Director who will make a short presentation and give the employee a card and gift from the Company and their fellow employees. There are also discretionary bonuses and gestures of thanks. The Company may also reward an employee if their suggestion to their newly formed Business Innovation Panel is adopted by the Company. This new forum allows employees to make a real contribution to driving innovation and making improvements in the business.

Employees are rewarded in various ways. Milestone recognition is given by the Managing Director or Director who will make a short presentation and give the employee a card and gift from the Company and their fellow employees. There are also discretionary bonuses and gestures of thanks. The Company may also reward an employee if their suggestion to their newly formed Business Innovation Panel is adopted by the Company. This new forum allows employees to make a real contribution to driving innovation and making improvements in the business.