What are companies doing with regards to 'My Team'

Stevens and Bolton encourages its employees to join several charitable and community initiatives. One example of such an initiative is the Tour de Law, in which every employee rode static bikes to help raise money for charity. Other examples include the company's Give & Gain initiative, work for Sports Relief, the Guildford Legal Walk and the Surrey Hills Challenge. These events occur alongside many other initiatives that take place more regularly in the workplace, such as Macmillan's World's Biggest Coffee Morning, a charity day for Phyllis Tuckwell in the office and managing members of the firm being put in stocks and having sponges thrown at them for money. Stevens and Bolton is a member of PRIME, an alliance of law firms and legal departments across the UK that has made a commitment to broadening access to the legal profession. As a PRIME member since 2015, the firm is committed to providing work experience placements for students from less privileged backgrounds and, by using the firm's resources and expertise, help them gain important employability skills.

Stevens and Bolton currently operates the 'Thx!' scheme. One of the key strategic objectives for the firm is to make this a great place to work for all their people and an important part of that is acknowledging and showing gratitude for the help their colleagues give day to day. Often a simple ‘thank you' will suffice, but sometimes it would be nice to acknowledge people in a more public way. This can be done via the 'Thx' online system, which allows staff to allocate Thx points to their colleagues for exemplary work. Each staff member is allocated 25 Thx points for the year and can award single or multiple points via the profile of a certain staff member on the online 'Sandbox' platform. At the end of the year, the top five employees at the top of the leader board are then given a budget to use on a joint treat day or experience.

Stephensons Solicitors produce a full CSR review document twice a year, which sets out all the community initiatives in place at the firm. During 2016 the firm donated £1,600 to Mustard Tree, a Greater Manchester based charity which provides support to homeless and marginalised people. For over 20 years, Mustard Tree has helped support communities challenged by poverty, disadvantage or unemployment. The charity provides a number of initiatives to provide much needed life support, promoting mental and physical wellbeing and providing avenues into training and employment. Janine Turner, head of HR and an associate at the firm, joined staff and volunteers from Mustard Tree in Manchester to learn more about the charity and witness its work first-hand.

Stephensons were one of the founding firms taking part in the innovative Employer Ownership of skills initiative run by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. Not only did Stephensons help to set the agenda for legal apprenticeships, but together with other leading North West law firms, committed to taking on 80 legal apprentices between them. Since this time, Stephensons have retained their commitment to apprenticeships and offered opportunities in a number of areas, including IT, PR and Marketing, as well as within the fee earning departments.

St. Dominic's Sixth Form College fundraise through charity walks and runs. The organisation also has a Fairworld Week, where staff and students volunteer at local charitable institutions. On top of this they also have links through some of the subjects that they offer, for example Design and Technology, in which students design products to help community based charities. In the past their staff have regularly raised money for a local Hospice by a Sponsored Walk and teams enter the Race for Life. Their Head of Art and DT together with her students takes on work from local social support services, such as web design, leaflet and logo design as live commissions.

St Dominic's is a Roman Catholic Sixth Form College committed to the personal and spiritual growth of all its members based on Christian values, academic excellence and high quality pastoral care. They all have a responsibility to themselves and to others. Education concerns the whole person - body, mind and spirit - and enables each person's God-given talents and skills to be used for the benefit of all creation. They have a responsibility to build relationships within their community and reach out to the disadvantaged in the wider world. By worshipping and praying together they can all acknowledge their need of God and each other, as well as promote the self-esteem of all the members of their community. Their common nature enables them to respect the diversity of faith and culture in their College.

In addition to the support that Southdown provide to thousands of local vulnerable people, they also make additional and discretionary contributions. The organisation are accredited as a Disability Confident Employer and provide advice to other employers in promoting opportunities and providing support for employees who have a disability or other long-term health conditions. 21% of employees have a declared disability or a long-term health condition. Each year staff choose a charity to support together. In 2015 staff raised over £2,400 through a range of activities, including a live music event to support ‘Caring (therapeutic) Pets'. They have also been providing a food bank staff donation point for three years. For 2016 staff chose The Centrepoint Charity Relief Fund and have already donated over £1,000 from their fundraising. In East Sussex Southdown are providing free training to help local people who use mental health services and their carers so they can have their say and actively influence the services being provided. They are passionate about helping vulnerable people to overcome barriers that can prevent them from accessing work opportunities. As a specialist provider of supported employment and vocational advice they support over 1,200 people with mental health challenges each year to secure or retain paid work. Southdown are recognised as one of 14 ‘Centres of Excellence' in the UK by the Centre for Mental Health for delivering Individual Placement and Support employment services. They also provide a dedicated vocational support service for carers. Called Ambitions, the service works with carers to support them to identify and pursue their vocational aspirations.

In addition to the support that Southdown provide to thousands of local vulnerable people, they also make additional and discretionary contributions. The organisation are accredited as a Disability Confident Employer and provide advice to other employers in promoting opportunities and providing support for employees who have a disability or other long-term health conditions. 21% of employees have a declared disability or a long-term health condition. Each year staff choose a charity to support together. In 2015 staff raised over £2,400 through a range of activities, including a live music event to support ‘Caring (therapeutic) Pets'. They have also been providing a food bank staff donation point for three years. For 2016 staff chose The Centrepoint Charity Relief Fund and have already donated over £1,000 from their fundraising. In East Sussex Southdown are providing free training to help local people who use mental health services and their carers so they can have their say and actively influence the services being provided. They are passionate about helping vulnerable people to overcome barriers that can prevent them from accessing work opportunities. As a specialist provider of supported employment and vocational advice they support over 1,200 people with mental health challenges each year to secure or retain paid work. Southdown are recognised as one of 14 ‘Centres of Excellence' in the UK by the Centre for Mental Health for delivering Individual Placement and Support employment services. They also provide a dedicated vocational support service for carers. Called Ambitions, the service works with carers to support them to identify and pursue their vocational aspirations.

South Oxon have an annualised hours scheme for the majority of their employees. This gives them greater flexibility to manage their workloads and to balance work and domestic responsibilities. They can start work earlier or finish later than in a traditional working pattern and potentially vary their hours each week. Both the organisation and the employee can benefit from individuals being able to increase their hours during busy periods and lower them during quieter times. The organisation have a budget per member of staff for each service area to facilitate team activities, such as away day visits to The Shard or The Houses of Parliament. Sport activities include archery, punting and team cricket matches, whilst the annual quiz night raises money for charity as well as improving team working across service areas in a fun way.

South Oxon have an annualised hours scheme for the majority of their employees. This gives them greater flexibility to manage their workloads and to balance work and domestic responsibilities. They can start work earlier or finish later than in a traditional working pattern and potentially vary their hours each week. Both the organisation and the employee can benefit from individuals being able to increase their hours during busy periods and lower them during quieter times. The organisation have a budget per member of staff for each service area to facilitate team activities, such as away day visits to The Shard or The Houses of Parliament. Sport activities include archery, punting and team cricket matches, whilst the annual quiz night raises money for charity as well as improving team working across service areas in a fun way.

SLH Group's ‘Accelerate Talent Management' programme is designed to meet the specific needs of the organisation, specifically a strong commitment to business excellence with an ambitious and passionate commitment to talent management. The company are seeking to develop a culture where all colleagues can fulfil their potential within the organisation. Indeed, it is envisaged that these points of focus will create a powerful dynamic, with increases in efficiency freeing up capacity for organisational development. The Accelerate programme takes participants through a structured journey that provides opportunities for them to engage in critically reflective learning within an organisational peer group. As the programme progresses the participants form teams and then identify an opportunity to either develop a new service, work with new customers or to improve the effectiveness and efficiency with which an existing service is being provided. This experience allows staff to reflect on and further develop their knowledge and skills and the teams then present their projects to the Senior Management Team, who in the end decide which projects will be integrated into the business.

The SLH Group believe that wellbeing is personal to each individual, so every colleague receives a £200 wellbeing allowance to be put towards things like sports memberships, equipment and sports clothing. This is the second year the company have run the wellbeing allowance scheme, with 97% receiving full allowance in 2016. Once a year the business closes and all colleagues are invited to attend a Wellbeing Day, which is held at a local leisure centre. At this event SLH Group provide a number of initiatives to support physical and mental wellbeing, as well as nutritional advice and resilience workshops. Colleagues are offered the opportunity to meet with a life coach individually to discuss their concerns and to help them adopt a healthier attitude to life and work. The Living Room at the office is divided into different zones, including relaxation, craft and activities. The relaxation zone has massage chairs and bean bags, as well as a television with some comfy coaches. The craft zone has mindfulness colouring in books, as well as the facility to make your own Christmas and birthday cards, very thrifty! The activities zone has a pool, fuzz ball and ping pong tables, as well as a dartboard, all of which have led to a league of activities being set up!

SVHS have 11 trained facilitators across the organisation available to help focus and drive meetings/training sessions to improve communication flow. The company have a number of break-out spaces available to staff who can use the areas to chat to colleagues and have informal meetings. The Creative Room, with bright furniture including a sofa and bean bags, encourages staff to use the space to brain storm, share ideas and be creative in problem solving. SVHS also have large screens in meeting rooms with Apple TV's to allow easy use of video conferencing software, including staff who are unable to physically attend the meeting with team discussions. Earlier in the year SVHS hosted an all staff event called Future Focus. One of the main objectives of the event was to focus staff on understanding the future direction of the organisation; however the event also aimed to ensure staff were aware and understood the new ways of working and also focused on collaboration. The benefits of the event were highlighting the progress of the organisation to date, re-confirming leadership aims and goals for the organisation. The event allowed SVHS to run a number of activities aimed at encouraging cross-organisational collaboration and team building. These included asking each team to produce a ‘team board' in advance, being creative to display team success over the past 12 months and also areas which they felt could be improved.

SVHS have 11 trained facilitators across the organisation available to help focus and drive meetings/training sessions to improve communication flow. The company have a number of break-out spaces available to staff who can use the areas to chat to colleagues and have informal meetings. The Creative Room, with bright furniture including a sofa and bean bags, encourages staff to use the space to brain storm, share ideas and be creative in problem solving. SVHS also have large screens in meeting rooms with Apple TV's to allow easy use of video conferencing software, including staff who are unable to physically attend the meeting with team discussions. Earlier in the year SVHS hosted an all staff event called Future Focus. One of the main objectives of the event was to focus staff on understanding the future direction of the organisation; however the event also aimed to ensure staff were aware and understood the new ways of working and also focused on collaboration. The benefits of the event were highlighting the progress of the organisation to date, re-confirming leadership aims and goals for the organisation. The event allowed SVHS to run a number of activities aimed at encouraging cross-organisational collaboration and team building. These included asking each team to produce a ‘team board' in advance, being creative to display team success over the past 12 months and also areas which they felt could be improved.

The Senior Management Team is absolutely dedicated to the organisations values and go out of their way to ensure there is a continual focus on them in their actions and in the way they communicate across the organisation. The Chief Executive is the first to ask to be involved and is pictured holding a "no blame culture". It's what matters most to him. Things may not go well but the focus is always on how it can be done better next time. The Senior Team make themselves available and have an open door policy. Nobody will be turned away if they have something they need to ask. The Chief Executive meets regularly with all staff and is always available to attend team meetings. Success is always celebrated informally by a quick thank you or a letter to staff. Investors in People made Sevenoaks the first public sector organisation worldwide to reach their new Platinum Standard. Whenever there is news that needs to be shared with the whole organisation there is no hesitation in sending a communication, often by email, that gives an honest assessment of the situation and clarity about what steps the organisation are taking. The Chief Executive ensures that each of the Chief Officers in his team operate in the same way and if he cannot be available there is always someone in the Leadership Team available to engage with staff. Staff Briefings are exceptionally popular with staff. Attendance exceeds 80% and they provide not just an opportunity for the Chief Executive to talk directly to staff but an opportunity for them to give their feedback and seek answers to any questions they may have. A simple but effective post-it session at each briefing means staff can give their opinions anonymously if they choose and it has seen engagement levels improve dramatically.

The Senior Management Team is absolutely dedicated to the organisations values and go out of their way to ensure there is a continual focus on them in their actions and in the way they communicate across the organisation. The Chief Executive is the first to ask to be involved and is pictured holding a "no blame culture". It's what matters most to him. Things may not go well but the focus is always on how it can be done better next time. The Senior Team make themselves available and have an open door policy. Nobody will be turned away if they have something they need to ask. The Chief Executive meets regularly with all staff and is always available to attend team meetings. Success is always celebrated informally by a quick thank you or a letter to staff. Investors in People made Sevenoaks the first public sector organisation worldwide to reach their new Platinum Standard. Whenever there is news that needs to be shared with the whole organisation there is no hesitation in sending a communication, often by email, that gives an honest assessment of the situation and clarity about what steps the organisation are taking. The Chief Executive ensures that each of the Chief Officers in his team operate in the same way and if he cannot be available there is always someone in the Leadership Team available to engage with staff. Staff Briefings are exceptionally popular with staff. Attendance exceeds 80% and they provide not just an opportunity for the Chief Executive to talk directly to staff but an opportunity for them to give their feedback and seek answers to any questions they may have. A simple but effective post-it session at each briefing means staff can give their opinions anonymously if they choose and it has seen engagement levels improve dramatically.

At Seven Technologies Group they have created an environment of Empowerment and Innovation. As an employer within the engineering sector, one of their best attributes as an organisation is that employees have the opportunity to not only be part of an innovation culture, but are also empowered to make decisions and ultimately make a difference. The most commonly used phrase in Seven Technologies Group is 'crack on', as empowerment of the individual is an ingrained value in their business. The company see continual development as one of the key elements within our Performance Management System. Through technical, functional and management training they hope to give their people the skills and knowledge they need to be the best they can be, creating and delivering market leading products and service alongside formal training. Informal mentoring 'buddy systems' have also been a great way to share past experiences on what staff have learned and encourage those taking on new challenges to handle whatever's thrown at them in the best possible way.

At Seven Technologies Group they have created an environment of Empowerment and Innovation. As an employer within the engineering sector, one of their best attributes as an organisation is that employees have the opportunity to not only be part of an innovation culture, but are also empowered to make decisions and ultimately make a difference. The most commonly used phrase in Seven Technologies Group is 'crack on', as empowerment of the individual is an ingrained value in their business. The company see continual development as one of the key elements within our Performance Management System. Through technical, functional and management training they hope to give their people the skills and knowledge they need to be the best they can be, creating and delivering market leading products and service alongside formal training. Informal mentoring 'buddy systems' have also been a great way to share past experiences on what staff have learned and encourage those taking on new challenges to handle whatever's thrown at them in the best possible way.

Selwood Housing Group support dual roles to encourage job enrichment, strengthen skills and experience and as a consequence benefit from a more multi-skilled and engaged workforce, as well as enabling a direct impact on the lives of their beneficiaries. The success of the organisation's apprenticeship scheme has recently been recognised as one of their apprentices won a national award of 'Apprentice of the Year' and another was 'Highly Commended' at a national awards ceremony earlier this year.

Selwood Housing Group support dual roles to encourage job enrichment, strengthen skills and experience and as a consequence benefit from a more multi-skilled and engaged workforce, as well as enabling a direct impact on the lives of their beneficiaries. The success of the organisation's apprenticeship scheme has recently been recognised as one of their apprentices won a national award of 'Apprentice of the Year' and another was 'Highly Commended' at a national awards ceremony earlier this year.