What are companies doing with regards to 'My Team'

All senior leaders and managers undergo leadership training and are regularly assessed against specific competencies. There is also a formal biannual appraisal process. Senior leaders keep teams updated throughout the year on company performance and hold an in-depth town hall every quarter, to which all are invited.

With its people-centric corporate focus, Kia offers apprenticeships with the most up-to-date manufacturer-specific knowledge and competencies delivered at the state-of-the-art Kia Academy Training Centre in Nottingham. Graduates from the 24 to 36-month courses are eligible to continue their career progression with a Higher Apprenticeship, Level 4/5.

The business plans to launch a BigChange Talent Academy to attract staff by offering outstanding development and progression opportunities. It will provide learning for new starters, those who are developing their careers, and new managers and aspiring leaders. There will be a mixture of internal and external trainers.

Once a quarter, the business has a BigRecharge day where all staff take a paid day off to focus on whatever energises them. It also encourages staff to have a wellbeing objective that they work towards throughout the year, whether that be work-life balance, reading or starting a meditation class.

Annual and quarterly goals have been set across the company and within departments. A monthly all-hands Zoom call updates staff on company performance. It includes an opportunity to ask the senior leadership team questions. Digital platforms have been consolidated across the business to simplify processes.

The company's philosophy is to review salaries continually and reward staff, based on their efforts and commitment to the business. It means that while there is an annual pay review to assess everyone across the business, salaries are reviewed against performance and staff are rewarded more frequently.

A helping-hands scheme encourages staff to participate in at least one community activity per year to support the tenants and the areas the association covers. One was a litter pick on the Rhydyfelin housing estate, Pontypridd.

Stress-management training, a 12-week mindfulness programme, four all-staff briefings by a wellbeing consultant and three sessions for managers to help them support their staff are part of the measures on offer to look after employees.

The Y Leadership management programme covers organisational development, human resources, finance and budget management, health and safety, and looking at environmental impact and marketing. There are in-house courses about working in a psychologically informed environment.

A memorial garden has been set up at YMCA Together's Dutch Farm, in Liverpool, for those who have died in homelessness or homeless services. It has been welcomed by friends and family of those who have lost their lives, often at an age well below the average life span.

During Black History Month, staff are encouraged to share their family stories on the intranet. Workshops raise awareness of issues faced by LGBTQ+ customers and staff. The office has recently been refurbished and a new multi-faith room, offering a quiet space for prayer and reflection has been added.

The leadership team has increased the use of the intranet to ensure staff members remain up to date, including opportunities to provide feedback on corporate objectives. Staff conferences include discussion sessions on the organisation's values, led by the directors.

Staff were allowed to carry over holidays during the pandemic to enable them to save their time off until restrictions were withdrawn. They were also encouraged to take regular breaks to prevent burnout.

Funding support to gain professional qualifications is offered to managers — the company is helping its finance manager to gain professional accountancy accreditations. New line managers are coached in people-management skills.

Staff take part in the cycle-to-work day and the firm funded every person entering the End to End challenge, for which they had to walk or run the distance between Land's End and John O'Groats in a year.

All big company decisions require the approval of every member of the firm. For example, no new member of staff is taken on without everyone approving it. This allows less commercially experienced staff to be part of the commercial decision-making process.

Staff can move around the business. This has led to someone who started in customer service as a graduate going on to lead the launch of the customer service in Texas, a smart-meter specialist consulting as an ecologist for tree-planting schemes and a billing specialist heading its green marketing strategy.

If team members want to raise an issue they can approach any one of the senior management team directly, including the chief executive. An important aspect of the company's culture is that it is open, transparent and accessible, so that anyone can speak up if they have problems or ideas they would like to discuss.

Chief executive Gareth Evans and the board have daily leadership meetings to ensure there is clarity between them. From these daily meetings, there are regular video updates from Gareth that are posted on our company’s Workplace platform so staff can watch these video updates at a time that works best for them.

The X Fund is run by a committee of six employees, who manage a budget for non-essential training needs. Throughout the year, staff can submit applications to the X Fund to request funding. Paid study leave is given to attend the course.