Personal Growth

Bridgend College

Cross-college continuing professional development days bring staff together to take part in group workshops. Team away-days, bring-your-dog-to-work day, planting sessions and celebratory events on national days all help to encourage staff interaction.

Last year, an equality, diversity and inclusion adviser was appointed to help increase diversity and create conscious inclusion across the college in line with its "be all that you can be" mission and to foster an environment where students and staff feel as though they belong.

Performance and development reviews are an essential tool in helping managers understand what motivates their staff and support their wellbeing and personal development. An Ignite mentoring programme is being developed to help staff in lower bands acquire the abilities and confidence to compete for higher-level posts.

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Education & Training

Appello

A team of staff produces a bi-monthly newsletter, The Wrap Up, which is sent to the whole business. It provides updates on new joiners, career changes, promotions and births, as well as spotlighting particular departments, products or processes.

Senior managers have been leading from the front in making adjustments within their teams to support more flexible working and developing internal opportunities for people to carve out a long-term career with Appello.

Development is supported through succession-planning and encouraging staff to apply for internal roles, before jobs are advertised externally. Since the last survey, more than 20 staff have been promoted or transferred to fellow departments to progress their careers and widen their skill sets.

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Technology

Leap29

Every employee is offered a formal training plan upon joining the company, tailored specifically to their career aspirations. This plan, along with a dedicated 1-2-1 mentor, provides them with the right tools and opportunities to progress. Every staff member can attend ‘Wednesday Workshops’, covering everything from new skills to looking after their mental health.

A culture where a healthy work/life balance is strongly promoted is in place at Leap29, and employees are encouraged to take advantage of flexitime, early finishes on Fridays, additional holidays, and regular breaks. Routine check-in calls with managers and the HR team take place to ensure no-one is feeling overloaded.

All managers are given an experienced mentor within the business to help and offer guidance. Along with this internal support network, managers and future managers are given access to a Leadership training program. This includes personality-based training where their natural skills are utilised to improve their leadership.

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Recruitment

TopHat

TopHat aims to offer equal opportunities and wants to encourage more women into the business. It has begun internal apprenticeship schemes in lean manufacturing and has employed young people through the government's Kickstart Scheme. It provides opportunities for people with disabilities and has, in the past, worked with ex-offenders.

The senior team has articulated a clear strategic plan that focuses on business growth. Key objectives are shared with all members of the organisation so that everyone understands how vital their roles are in delivering the organisational goals.

The company says it offers excellent training and development opportunities, career progression and the use of new robotics technology. Managers undertake first line manager training and there are executive development programmes for senior management and early talent.

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Property

Eco2Solar

Eco2Solar believes that learning and growth among staff encourages high-performance working. The company encourages all team members to be satisfied and independent. It is committed to investing in them and supporting their career goals, whether it's internal promotion, a professional qualification, an NVQ, or even the flexibility to pursue a passion project.

The company aims to be carbon neutral and has set up a cross-functional group of employees who are passionate about the environment. Its fleet is moving towards electric and hybrid vehicles, solar panels have been installed at the Kidderminster head office and electronic documents have replaced printed ones.

The organisation does not believe in performance-related pay, since it is a temporary bonus, but that staff should be paid well; increases should be permanent and included in take-home pay. A 'Kudos Board' allows employees from all areas of the business to recognise and applaud excellence, innovation, fairness and trust wherever they find it.

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Business Services

MyBuilder.com

MyBuilder's cycle-to-work scheme includes showers, a bike maintenance station and ample space for cycles. Subsidised lunch is provided for those in the office. The kitchen features a well-stocked drinks fridge and a barista-grade coffee machine. The London office has a gym and there are ping-pong tables, plus foosball and dartboards for moments of downtime.

Through the company's training and development programme, staff benefit from a yearly allowance of up to £1,000 to boost their professional development. They are also given up to five days off to attend training, conferences and online courses.

MyBuilder became a hybrid workplace last year. Most staff chose to work remotely or spend two days in the office, with a smaller number working full time on site. One of the things that makes MyBuilder a great place to work is the relationships people have formed. To maintain that, monthly team gatherings are encouraged.

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Technology

Nippon Electric Glass (NEG)

Nippon actively promotes fundraising through its internal Wellness Team. Each year, colleagues are given the opportunity to nominate a 'Charity of the Year', which in 2022 is Wigan and Leigh Hospice. Plans for fundraising events, such as raffles and dress-down Fridays, are underway. The business makes its own contribution at the end of the year.

To help with succession planning and knowledge gaps within the business, NEG has recently introduced an internship programme, extended the number of apprenticeships it has available and sourced market experts into newly created roles. It’s also introduced internal and accredited leadership programmes and used knowledge sessions to strengthen employees’ understanding of glass.

Managers receive a variety of support to help them in their roles, which can include sponsorship for further education, mentoring programmes, job shadowing, secondments and coaching from both their own line managers and recognised coaches.

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Manufacturing

Absolute Digital Media

Absolute Digital Media is proud that 14% of its staff grew up outside the UK, 29% have a degree, 42% were hired before they turned 21, 55% of senior staff are women, 53% of staff are women and 30% of staff can speak a language other than English, including Russian, Urdu, Polish, Hindi and Greek.

Incentives to ensure staff want to stay with the company are regular team activities, online and in-person, the ability to work from Europe, private healthcare, discounted gym membership, three wellness days, team trips abroad, a free choice of books from Amazon to enhance development and wellbeing and gifts for birthdays and anniversaries.

Teams have detailed training plans, showing where each member is and how they can take their role up a notch. These are reviewed regularly by management, to make sure everyone is on track to achieve the next big goal. Individual interests are respected and staff are given the chance to try new roles.

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Marketing & Media Agencies

The Consumer Council

Since the last survey, the council has sought to provide permanent jobs and rely less on temporary workers via agencies. This has increased the head count by almost 50% in the past 12 months. Staff away-days have also been introduced and the council is seeking to improve communication and engagement.

The Consumer Council invests heavily in learning and development for staff to promote personal and professional growth, as part of its retention strategy. It means an average of £1,500 is spent on each person, per year.

Newsletters covering topics such as health and wellbeing are sent to staff. Directorates and teams have WhatsApp groups to communicate with each other and the council also has all-staff and wider leadership team WhatsApp groups. At a monthly, remote, all-staff meeting, one of the teams gives a presentation on a project it is working on.

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Not For Profit Body's

FX Digital

An employee-run mental health and physical wellbeing group meets fortnightly to discuss and implement changes across the business, such as its 'Wellbeing Week' initiative held in January. It also provides Vitality Health Insurance for employees to encourage better physical and mental health, as well as providing mental health coaching once a month.

Each week employees are given half a day to focus on their personal growth, whether it be participating in training to further skills for a work-related project, or for their own interests outside of the business. Some of the team used this time to work on an AI recycling app, unrelated to their usual projects.

As well as sponsoring a local children's football club and providing teams with kits, employees also planned a workshop for a local primary school during their STEM week, aiming to inspire more women into the tech sector. In 2021 staff chose to support MIND Mental Healthy Charity by donating money to the cause.

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Technology

Growth Fuels Engagement

Bridgend College

Appello

Leap29

TopHat

Eco2Solar

MyBuilder.com

Nippon Electric Glass (NEG)

Absolute Digital Media

The Consumer Council

FX Digital

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