Catch up now
My Team - Employees' feelings towards their immediate colleagues and how well they work together
My team benefits from a high scoring My Manager factor as the manager is key to creating and sustaining a productive and positive work environment.
An employee’s perceived team will be those they work with on a daily basis.
Employees already benefit from retail discounts and medical cashback, and there is now additional cost-of-living support. All staff can apply for up to £500 from The Stowe Helping Hand Fund if they find themselves with an unexpected bill they’re struggling to pay, such as a broken boiler or car breakdown.
Stowefest is the annual get-together for all the firm’s legal teams. There are opportunities for training and development and to hear from inspirational external speakers. And 2022 saw the first ‘Best in Stowe’ awards gala dinner. There were more than 100 nominations, with peer-nominated categories including Best Newcomer and Most Valuable Player.
New starters benefit from an enhanced induction process. They get IT equipment and access to the firm’s people system before they start. They’re also allocated a buddy and have a virtual meet and greet with the CEO. An extended settling-in period has replaced the probation period, and they can access benefits from day one.
Partners at Schillings are encouraged to attend business development meetings with a colleague from another part of the organisation – this could be a Partner or another senior fee earner. Its wellbeing, EDI, and social committees work together to ensure the work they are doing is complementary to and enhances the work of the others.
Schillings runs a bespoke leadership skills development programme in development that reflects its values of culture and purpose. This develops its leaders to find their authentic leadership style and voice, alongside their ability to flex and deploy other relevant leadership styles as needed in different situations.
Schillings listens to its employees and has teams called Partner Engagement Teams. These are small teams of ten people, led by a partner. These teams are cross discipline and a mix of grades and roles. They provide the firm with a 2-way feedback loop and allow them to address and consult new ideas and changes.
The organisation provides gym membership for its employees which includes access to the flagship Fitness First gym in the basement of the building. It also launched the Listening Squad to offer support and guidance to employees in need. They are available for regular support and promoted the Time to Talk Week.
All teams have morning meetings to get them motivated. Activities include spinning a wheel to win a prize. Team nights out aren’t just about drinking, but also doing competitive activities or games such as bowling, escape room and shuffleboard. On a Friday each month it holds a fun activity within the office like ‘X-Factor Friday’.
The Charity Champions team organises a programme of fundraising events throughout the year and last year the organisation raised £18,000. Fundraising activities included The Royal Parks Half Marathon, The Queen’s Jubilee Bake sale, World Cup events in the office, Football Jumper Day, sponsored a music evening, Christmas Jumper Day donations, and Halloween dress-up day.
The organisation encourages and supports any team building activities and clubs, from the four teams in the GA Pet Food Partners’ Football League to the Go Karting and Fishing clubs. This allows them to socialise and grow closer with their teammates and colleagues from other departments.
The organisation has a strong engagement with apprenticeships across various business areas. Currently, there are ten apprentices employed at different stages of their study programmes. These courses are conducted in collaboration with Runshaw College, Preston College, Southport College and St Helens College.
GA Pet Food Partners has established an Employee of the Quarter scheme, enabling colleagues to nominate their peers who have demonstrated dedication and exceeded expectations in their roles. This award serves as a means to celebrate colleagues’ accomplishments and rewards them with a £500 prize, to be used for a weekend getaway of their choosing.
Teams come together regularly in person and virtually across the country. Whether it's lunch and learn sessions or staff networks hosting celebration events. Last Summer, as part of the organisation’s 'Creating Happy Memories Campaign', teams were given the afternoon off to hold a picnic and bring their children.
New employees attend an induction which the CEO always attends. He makes sure all new colleagues understand the organisation’s rich history, purpose, values, and strategy. Once a month it also holds an ‘open’ Executive team meeting, where all colleagues can join to hear the latest updates from the CEO and Directors.
Family Action has 43 FOOD Clubs across the country. FOOD Clubs work with local partners to source food that would otherwise go to landfill. The use of partner organisations to source food and reach local communities means that the organisation is helping to improving economic and social wellbeing.
Eames Group regularly organise company-wide team events to bring the whole business together, but also recognise the importance of building relationships in smaller teams. Each business unit has their own budget for socials, team building exercises and reward programmes. Additionally, weekly team meetings take place face-to-face to maintain strong connections between employees.
Eames Group’s High Achievers Club rewards employees who have performed well over the last quarter with various fun activities, such as a day at Goodwood Races, Division socials at Crystal Maze and day trips to France. The organisation rewards those who have performed exceptionally over the last year with an all-expense paid trip abroad.
Every starter has an ‘L&D introduction’ meeting with the Head of People and Performance, to gain feedback on the interview process, review expectations set by their manager and understand what training they require. New starters also have an HR induction and meet the Operations and Marketing team to help create a culture of inclusion.
Every month, Durhamlane hosts a performance incentive day with the intent to increase employee motivation, morale, and productivity. The company also hosts themed days, i.e. in June there was a Pride day. Durhamlane celebrates employee successes and rewards them for all the hard work every quarter.
Durhamlane supports its managers with externally accredited programmes. Every employee has their own personal development plan that outlines the forthcoming opportunities available. The majority of managers started off as lower-level staff but were promoted to managerial positions off the back of their development and training plans.
The organisation has charities which it supports such as Tyneside and Northumberland Mind; if anyone in the company is fundraising the organisation will match whatever they raise. It also asks staff what charities they want to support throughout the year and holds ad-hoc charity days to raise money for causes close to employees’ hearts.
The organisation has introduced Express-O-Coffee Chats to help keep team members connected. It also brings team members together in its fundraising activities, allowing them to work together to raise money for worthy causes. Cox Automotive now hosts bi-annual 'Town Hall Meetings' so teams can gather to hear updates, share ideas and collaborate as a team.
Cox Automotive uses a reward platform, GearUp. On the platform, is its recognition scheme, Gear Up Grand Prix. This could be a simple thank you card or financial recognition where anyone can nominate a team member. Winners receive £50 into their GearUp account where they can spend it on rewards.
The organisation offers Bitesize learning across the business which is an on-line training library offering topics such as leadership, personal development, IT skills, customer service and sales mastery. It also runs an Apprenticeship programme which offers Apprentices training in automotive & logistics, leadership & management, sales administration, technology & digital and business support.
The ‘We are CBH’, 'Time to Talk' and 'Toolbox Talk' sessions provide opportunity for teams to communicate and allow colleagues to be heard. In addition to this, the People Manager group held 3 times a year provides a forum for colleagues to receive updates, understand priorities and work through any challenges collectively and collaboratively.
Business priorities and objectives have been set and clarified through the organisation’s HRA Business Plan and Performance Framework programme priorities. The Executive team filter messages down into the business via meetings with Heads of Service who then communicate these to their Managers, who then communicate to their teams.
To maintain culture regardless of where employees work, all colleagues are encouraged to live by the values of one team. Face to face meetings are encouraged throughout the course of the month so that colleagues interact with one another to assist with increased communication, collaboration and a sense of belonging to the team and organisation.
An internal network working together as a People Engagement and Wellbeing Team, run by the organisation’s employees, helps with educating and running events on a range of topics and creating a network where colleagues can support one another. Quarterly socials and regular lunch and learn sessions helps bring teams together and drive employee engagement.
Communication is at the heart of what Dufrain Consulting does. Quarterly CEO calls with all employees to discuss its sales, financial, and other business updates. Furthermore, it has regular people updates to discuss the progress of the organisation’s goals and how it support its employees. Leadership also record regular videos on progress for all employees.
The organisation has attended and supported Cash for Kids and local foodbanks. Recently Dufrain Consulting started producing branded merchandise where it purchased t-shirts and hoodies at a higher cost, sold them to employees for a discounted rate, and gave the full amount to charity. Through this approach, the organisation raised over £1000 for three charities.
Looking for more information on our solutions? Let us know how we can help and the right member of our team will be in touch shortly.
