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Personal Growth

Growth Fuels Engagement

Investing in development boosts retention and shows employees they're valued. When employees grow, your organisation thrives.
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Whitby Wood

The company has introduced a flexible working policy of three days in the office and two at home per week, and adjusted its core hours to allow people to start later or finish earlier than the typical nine-to-five working day. It has also organised more non-work activities such as yoga and a football team.
Professional-development reviews are undertaken twice a year between staff and their line managers. The first, at the start of the year, provides an opportunity to discuss personal progress and goals. It also acts as a forum to discuss working satisfaction. The company runs an Institution of Civil Engineers accredited training plan.
Central to Whitby Wood is a grass-roots engagement with young prospective engineers. The company nurtures them and they become ambassadors for the business at university, often helping to recruit a further cohort. They are offered work experience during their holidays and sponsorship of their fees.
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Construction & Engineering

eduMe

New employees are part of the eduMe family before they even start. They get a welcome gift in the post, frequent check-ins, and introductory courses. Every new joiner gets a 30, 60 and 90-day joining plan and two buddies – one from their team and one from the wider company.
Every employee gets £500 a year to spend on learning and development. They are free to spend it on courses, conferences or books – anything to boost their skills and flourish personally or professionally. Developing a collective skillset is seen as a way to grow the business.
The company responded positively to feedback that it could be doing more to boost its social responsibility credentials. Everyone in the company now has access to OnHand – a volunteering and climate impact platform. It also offers staff ten paid volunteering hours which they can use via the platform or for other charitable causes.
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Technology

Gazelle Global Consulting

Restructuring at Gazelle has lead it to conduct surveys among staff with the aim of improving ways of working. Employees were also asked to take part in shaping the company values. Monthly updates help to create transparency and clarity.
Opportunities for staff to grow and develop new skills provide the foundation for better employee experiences, the company believes. It supports this ethos by creating a management culture that fosters communication and training. Managers are encouraged to ask staff if they need help.
Regular training meetings with the learning and development department keep managers up to speed with what is expected of them. One-to-one sessions and performance reviews also help to boost their skills.
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Recruitment

Huler

Huler wants to ensure staff feel as through they have a voice and the company fosters a friendly and open work environment. It offers different avenues for employees to share their opinions and feedback in a safe environment. Staff are encouraged to give "in the moment" feedback to their managers, peers and the people team.
Staff have access to a learning and development budget, which can be used to improve soft skills or role-specific skills, and to gain formal qualifications. Employees are given protected time to learn, grow and develop and e-learning modules are tailored to meet their needs.
In the past 12 months, Huler has raised more than £3,500 and supported charitable and community initiatives. Team members climbed three of the UK's tallest mountains for the Dougie Mac and Katharine House hospices. The company is also donating 500 square meters of woodland to the National Trust as part of its environmental strategy.
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Technology

Action Tutoring

The communication platform, Slack, is used to keep staff informed and in touch with each other. Informal communication is promoted through social channels such as "elevenses", a gardening group and a book club. Guests are invited to team meetings to encourage mixing between departments and lunch-and-learn and tea-break calls bring people together.
A diversity and inclusion working group has made important improvements. They include winning an 'Altogether Better Inclusive Recruitment Grant' from recruitment agency, TPP, which has led to a review of the charity's recruitment practices. It has also created a trans and non-binary FAQs document to increase understanding among staff.
There are regular opportunities for group training and development at team away-days, as well as e-learning throughout the year. Some staff also have external coaches or mentors. As part of the appraisal programme, staff must complete learning and development plans which are used to create the organisation's training budget.
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Education & Training

Daniel Owen

Monthly wrap-ups are used to celebrate teams' successes and encourage communication about shortfalls and lessons learnt. These are vital to create a strong team, leading to robust bonds between teams and, ultimately, the entire business. Managers also benefit from quarterly meetings together, with interesting brain-teaser challenges thrown in for fun.
Knowledge accrued within the company over the years has been compiled on a new e-learning hub. It means new recruits can supplement one-to-one learning with a programme that they complete at their own pace and can revisit at any time. It allows them faster access to the nuances and finer details of the job.
All staff have access to training programmes from day one. Continuing development courses are used to reinforce knowledge, as well as to provide a forum for them to voice their own ideas.
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Recruitment

Roche

Roche runs a bi-weekly pulse survey in one division. As a result, teams are having better discussions and are able to change their approaches and processes quickly and easily. A diversity and inclusion audit has enabled the company to understand better the lived experiences of staff and ensure its strategy is appropriate.
It is an expectation when working at Roche that staff dedicate 20% of their time to personal development in whatever capacity suits them and the organisation best. It could take the form of studying, shadowing or online courses.
Senior managers role-model the organisation's principles of "integrity, courage and passion" and encourage a collaborative environment to empower and inspire colleagues. They have demonstrated these principles by moving away from a traditional hierarchy to stimulate organic organisational innovation and change, by adopting the philosophy that everyone can be a leader, regardless of role.
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Manufacturing

The Fostering Network

Every staff member has a personal development plan that identifies a clear pathway to address skills, experience, knowledge or professional growth. It may include a range of learning activities, such as online training, mentoring, coaching, classroom training, shadowing, setting aside reading time, conferences and secondments.
An "e-goodie bag" filled with wellbeing activities for staff and their families, is given to everyone. It is designed for staff to take control of their mental and physical health. Included in it is expert advice and practical tips, using resources such as the NHS Choice Moodzone and Every Mind Matters websites.
Informal video conference meetings take place and "silent" video meetings allow teams to log on at the same time and work individually, but interact informally with other team members as if they were in the office.
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Charity's

SUEZ recycling and recovery UK

Working with the Golden Tree community interest company, a "Managers’ Guide to Supporting Wellness" was produced. It gives advice on how to spot someone displaying signs of poor wellbeing, along with how to start what may be a difficult conversation and how to show understanding and provide support.
When it realised some staff were struggling financially, the company introduced an innovative savings scheme. New joiners are automatically enrolled, making payroll saving the default option. They can opt out, but the company expects at least 22% to become regular savers, rather than the 3% before the scheme started.
SUEZ published an online learning catalogue this year. It provides information about the different types of learning available to everyone, by role and grade. The catalogue helps to support conversations about personal development plans and contains opportunities to help staff develop in their current role or progress to the next level.
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Utilities

RootWave

Being outdoors is proving a great way to get everyone together, encouraging staff to try something new and learn more about each other. This has included rounders matches, BBQs and even meditation in bell tents, getting everyone relaxed and focused ahead of employee engagement sessions.
Employees are in control of their personal development. They set the level of support they feel they need from their manager and own their career development conversations. Managers are there to clarify goals and coach employees to be successful in their roles.
A leadership development programme is being trialled by the leadership team and senior managers before it's rolled out across the business. It's bite-sized and focused on learning through reflection, implementing best practice and discussing key leadership and management topics.
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Construction & Engineering

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