State of Engagement 2026 Report |
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Ahead of a gradual return to the office, Olive has sent out survival packs containing a branded drinks bottle, face mask, branded hand sanitiser, Vitamin C and Zinc tablets and two packs of jellybeans – inside an Olive-branded canvas bag saying “Thanks for being awesome”.
Furloughed workers have been encouraged to complete product and technical training to enhance their skills and a number of people have achieved qualifications in the past year. Talent mapping across the business helps all employees to see where their role fits in and work towards new goals.
Everyone has access to a personal trainer to get fit – as well as free weekly Zumba and Pilates classes. For those who need extra support, Olive provides a professional counselling service. The business has offered flexibility to working parents and carers with extra responsibilities.
In September, CEO Brendan Mooney, who joined the company as a software engineer in 1989, was given the Chairman's Award for Excellence by the IOD for his personal impact on the culture and success of his organisation through outstanding professionalism and implementation of best practice in governance and leadership.
Kainos values its people highly. When staff said they wanted more flexibility in future, senior managers reconfigured offices to allow them to work how, when and where they want. Different spaces were created in office for employees to be safe and phased returns from home working were negotiated.
Continuous training at all levels is part of its success. An Effective Manager programme has been delivered virtually to 500 managers in the past year. A new Emerging Leaders programme moves participants beyond management fundamentals to four modules dealing with commerciality, connecting people, high performing teams and influencing.
Leaders talk to staff using Microsoft Teams and encourage cameras to be on for every meeting for more engagement. The whole company gets together in a virtual forum every week for an update from Head of Operations Sarah Tanner and MD Natalie Llewellyn about new starters, initiatives, projects and any other news.
Jellyfish employs people with the view of developing them. New joiners can be entry-level runners, apprentices and graduates and there is extensive on-the-job-training and real-life experience. Some staff study and are supported to do so and mentors are assigned to people, too.
The company implemented the 2.6 challenge during lockdown to raise money for mental health charity Mind. Employees could run, walk or cycle, using 2.6 as a measure. One inventive member of staff even walked up and down their stairs for 26 minutes.
Unique to Clicky is that Agency Director Laura Hothersall used to be a coach and mentor –she is still a mentor for the The Girls Network, which aims to inspire and empower girls from the least advantaged communities. Coaching is thus the backbone for Clicky's management style.
All staff have personal development plans, with technical and behavioural training plans, and a monthly manager training programme that used to feature the usual aspects of management – such as delegation and colleague-to-manager leadership styles – has been updated to include coaching on agile and remote working.
Clicky staff took part in the Women's Voices event, part of International Women's Day in March, that that saw some of the most talented professionals from across the media and the creative industries share their expertise with 30 charities that campaign and advocate for women, girls and those who identify as female.
The first company-wide virtual learning summit was such a hit it that senior leaders kicked off a whole month of learning, bug hunting and phishing for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Employees could learn something new and show off their skills in a challenge – and won swag for participating.
To strengthen team bonds while working remotely, Auth0 has tried out new ways for people to interact to beat isolation. One successful aid used by employees has been Donut, a Slack tool randomly connecting three people for a meeting to get to know each other.
Employees at Auth0 have the option of donating money or volunteer hours to causes close to their heart. Throughout the pandemic, when so many people in the community were struggling, Auth0 gave its software product free to organisations on the front line fighting the effects of the coronavirus.
The company reviews its business mission and goals at quarterly all-staff meetings. Regular interaction with everyone is key for the leaders to reinforce the organisation's values. The organisational development team meets regularly with the chief operating officer and employee suggestions and comments are discussed, to ensure the company meets staff expectations.
ANS works with staff to develop goals and plans that allow career paths to flourish and people are rewarded through salary increments. Internal recruitment and promotions are preferred over recruiting externally to ensure as much organic growth as possible.
In the ANS Lip Sync Battle, directors battled it out to raise nearly £1,000 for charities such as the Manchester Youth Zone. In the summer, a sister youth zone, HideOut Youth Zone, opened. Instead of splitting its annual £25,000 donation between the two, the company doubled the money.
More recently they have encouraged WW employees to bring the inside out, sharing externally what it feels like to work for their brand. They have achieved this through more effective use of social media - sharing their internal events and development opportunities across LinkedIn and holding Facebook Live Q&A recruitment sessions that give candidates an opportunity to meet the team and ask about their opportunities.
They use a variety of tools to help employee development. One of which is their WW Inspire events where they invite guest speakers to share their experiences of development, including the Olympic Champion Alex Gregory and Celebrity Ambassadors Curtis Pritchard and Alison Hammond.
More recently they have encouraged WW employees to bring the inside out, sharing externally what it feels like to work for their brand. They have achieved this through more effective use of social media - sharing their internal events and development opportunities across LinkedIn and holding Facebook Live Q&A recruitment sessions that give candidates an opportunity to meet the team and ask about their opportunities.
As a Premier League football club they have a relatively unique position in that they have staff and players from all around the world. One of example of how they utilise this diversity is to use their Academy players to help recruit coaches. Additionally, this diversity provides representative selection panels to aid their selection and recruitment.
The Club fully funds all apprenticeship qualifications at all levels for anyone who wishes to do one right up to MBA level. They provide modern language (currently Spanish and Italian lessons) for staff– giving the opportunity to learn a new language is advantageous for both personal and professional development.
Mentoring is actively encouraged within the Club at all levels. All staff receive the opportunity to be mentored by someone more senior in the organisation. The best example of this is that the Vice Chairman has employees that she personally mentors. In a recently launched initiative every employee has the opportunity to shadow other key staff members across departments.
Virtual1 have introduced a performance management application with the aim to encourage employees and managers to have ongoing discussions around performance and development rather than waiting for appraisals to have these important conversations.
Virtual1 made a conscious decision in the past year to cut down on the amount of paper they use in the office. They transitioned to using Docusign for electronic signatures for the contracts and invoices that they send out.
Virtual1 have introduced a performance management application with the aim to encourage employees and managers to have ongoing discussions around performance and development rather than waiting for appraisals to have these important conversations.
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