Personal Growth

Sapphire

All the senior leadership team and Directors started at the organisation from the ground up and gained an understanding over of Sapphire's values before being promoted into their current positions. The organisation aims to continue this and has people from various departments currently training to be promoted into the next available management positions.

All senior leaders have regular group and one-to-one time with performance coach Matt Fowler from Incredible Thinkers who helps to support and challenge managers to become braver, healthier, happier leaders with elite mindsets. This performance coaching has been extended to all recently promoted team leaders and supervisors.

Sapphire has signed up for Operation Christmas, which will aim to send 200 boxes of presents to children who would otherwise go without. The organisation is currently working with Zellar to review its carbon footprint and it has invested in planting trees in the UK and abroad in partnership with other green companies and suppliers.

60a414f51d04511d62d2d31d

View Company

Accountancy

The Anglican Diocese of Leeds

Placing focus on its environmental efforts, the Diocese is working hard to ensure all its properties are environmentally friendly and that the organisation reaches net zero carbon by 2030. Employees passionate about protecting the environment recently created a ‘Tree-Planting Squad’, where they work towards planting trees on diocesan land.

With a belief that employee development should go beyond annual appraisals, the Diocese encourages the pursuit of personal growth. The organisation’s appraisals process consists of a mid-year meeting with every employee, as well as an annual review to assess progress and create a personalised learning plan incorporating a variety of training programmes.

This year, the Diocese made employee wellbeing its top priority, providing staff with access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and a 24-hour confidential phone line to discuss any issues they are facing. The organisation’s intranet has a dedicated wellbeing section covering a variety of topics, as well as informative staff videos.

60a418018660a79f486d5619

View Company

Charity's

Vida Bank

To foster strong relationships between teams, Vida Bank organises regular quizzes, competitions, and challenges to support fun social interactions across teams. The organisation also brings the leadership teams together for off-site development and further hosts regular summer events to gather all employees together.

Thanks to an online recognition tool called Applause, colleagues can give and receive adhoc thank you/recognition against the company's values. The imitative, which is supported by the leadership team, sees each acknowledgement appear on an online ‘wall of fame’, where they are instantly visible so colleagues can add comments, like, and share.

Vida Bank offers a large suite of online learning and development modules to all colleagues. This covers both work and life skills, including wellbeing. In-house designed and delivered virtual skills workshops are also available via its Learning & Development framework. The catalogue of topics is continually reviewed and aligned to business and colleague requirements.

60a41fa8df49eb26ff02d8a0

View Company

Financial Services

Unity Trust Bank

Unity Trust Bank supports personal growth by offering professional qualification support, including five paid days for professional development. Initiatives like the 'New to line management at Unity' sessions and the Leading with Empathy programme help employees advance their skills and career opportunities.

Unity Trust Bank ensures fair treatment through its profit share incentive scheme, which paid out 9% of base salary in 2024, and by being the first UK bank to pay the Real Living Wage, demonstrating its commitment to equitable employee compensation.

With a focus on wellbeing, Unity Trust Bank offers activities like mindfulness sessions and health awareness campaigns through its Unity & Me programme. The bank has increased its number of Mental Health First Aiders, promoting a supportive environment for mental health.

60a41fa8df49eb26ff02d8a0

View Company

Financial Services

The Manufacturing Technology Centre

The Manufacturing Technology Centre offers ample opportunities for personal growth. Initiatives like the 'Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre' and the 'National Centre for Additive Manufacturing' allow employees to develop and utilise their skills in a challenging and innovative environment.

Managers at The Manufacturing Technology Centre ensure a supportive and caring environment for their team. Regular 'State of the Nation' events hosted by the Exec team provide transparency about the company's progress, strategic changes, and financial performance, fostering trust between managers and their teams.

The 'Celebrate Success - Team Building initiative' at The Manufacturing Technology Centre encourages team spirit and a sense of belonging. It allows teams to recognise and celebrate their achievements, enhancing camaraderie and fun within the team.

60a41f33bff4d44624012073

View Company

Education & Training

Sedulo Group

To foster strong relationships between employees, each December the organisation takes all its staff on an all-expenses paid weekend away with recent locations being Marbella, Estepona and Benidorm. This provides the opportunity for all team members across the four offices to socialise, celebrate the years successes and bond with one another.

Sedulo Group supports employee developed through its annual leadership programme, "Sedulo Accelerator Scheme". This programme consists of full day training sessions run by an external trainer, access to external and internal mentors, and business change projects which challenge and equip team members with the skills they need to progress in their careers.

In 2023, the organisation established its Sedulo Foundation as the result of years of working with local communities to alleviate the devastating effect of poverty on children and young people across London and the north of England. The Sedulo Foundation focuses on 3 main campaigns: Toy Appeal, Period Poverty, and its Back to School campaign.

60a41fa8df49eb26ff02d8a0

View Company

Financial Services

Roadchef

Roadchef cares for its employees’ wellbeing through a number of initiatives, including trained mental health first aiders at every site; an Employee Assistance Programme in place to offer confidential support to all employees; hardship loans; wellbeing messaging and weekly national focus reinforcement through the Roundup newsletter; community pantries; and breakfast clubs.

The organisation offers Extra Responsibility Pay to recognise when individuals step up to cover/support another role. Some ad-hoc bonus payments have been made to reward employees for their contribution and hard work. Employees further have access to Wagestream, providing the ability to draw down on wages earlier, supporting stress and anxiety around finances.

Roadchef has a number of tiers of structured development in place including apprenticeships, the Fastlane Management Development Programme, the Leadership Highway Programme, the High Potential Development Programme, secondments, and ad-hoc Executive Coaching.

60a42515c6ae6523c60cc272

View Company

Leisure & Hospitality

Rickard Luckin

Last year’s social calendar saw Romford Dogs evening, a Summer Team Building event and a Christmas Party. Peppered around these large events were regular football sessions, and payday breakfasts and lunches.

At the annual Rickard Luckin Awards, the organisation provides an opportunity to celebrate the team’s successes. Anyone can nominate anyone else within the firm, and an independent ‘nominations panel’ decide who is the winner. As well as the team-wide recognition at the awards ceremony, award winners receive a trophy and a £250 gift card.

Through the Rickard Luckin Development Academy, the organisation provides a blend of technical, business and soft skills development content. At the heart of this is the RLPDP, its Learning Management System, which provides a blended learning environment with learning tools and resources.

60a414f51d04511d62d2d31d

View Company

Accountancy

OSB GROUP

OSB Group fosters a sense of pride and belonging among employees through robust internal communications, such as interactive 'Ask the CEO' sessions, ensuring staff feel valued and integral to the organisation’s success.

Employees at OSB Group benefit from tailored development programmes like the Future Supervisors and Managers Programme, which challenges them and enhances their skills, preparing them for potential leadership roles.

OSB Group prioritises employee wellbeing with initiatives such as the Wellness Hub and Menopause Awareness training, which address mental and physical health, promoting a supportive work-life balance.

60a41fa8df49eb26ff02d8a0

View Company

Financial Services

NATS

All employees can undertake mental health awareness training, and staff and their families can access help – including legal and financial – through the Employee Assistance Programme. ‘Myth Busters’ have been published on topics like domestic abuse, often linked to a colleague sharing their story. There are also wellbeing talks and monthly ‘desk yoga.'

All staff are on the digital learning portal giving them access to content, events and training and helping them create development plans. There are also open sessions throughout the year on topics including ‘unconscious bias’ and ‘building resilience’. And staff can undertake technical training or academic study and learn from internal coaches and mentors.

In the past year, employees have donated more than £200,000 to causes they care about through the Payroll Giving Scheme. And NATS also supports two corporate charities – the Jon Egging Trust (JET), by offering young people communication and leadership workshops and Aerobility, which gives disabled people the chance to fly a plane.

60a4179e3738664af4aa4d2c

View Company

Business Services

Growth Fuels Engagement

Sapphire

The Anglican Diocese of Leeds

Vida Bank

Unity Trust Bank

The Manufacturing Technology Centre

Sedulo Group

Roadchef

Rickard Luckin

OSB GROUP

NATS

Understand your organisational health across all eight factors

Why measure with Best Companies?