What are companies doing with regards to 'Personal Growth'

They have for some years run a working group of staff as a forum to raise and discuss ideas and act as a sounding board for management decisions. Since the new Chief Executive started in April they have introduced monthly “exchange sessions”, which any member of staff or volunteer can attend to raise any questions or issues with him. These have been very well attended and have not only enhanced the sense of senior management visibility and engagement amongst staff, but also given the Chief Executive vital insight into the feelings of a wide range of our people. Their ability to engage with their people will be greatly improved in the new year when the new intranet comes into force. As a charity they have not previously had the resources to invest in a comprehensive intranet, but they were recently very fortunate to be donated the development of an intranet pro bono by Interact, a leading developer. They are very excited by the opportunities the new intranet will provide for engaging and communicating with their people.

With over 500 staff and a child-friendly ethos, there are often memorable social events. Recently the staff of one of the residential children's houses climbed to the roof of London's O2 as a teambuilding and fundraising exercise. When the Chief Executive heard about the day he asked if he could come along too! The annual summer barbecue for staff and volunteers is always well attended and gives people from across the organisation a chance to mingle with colleagues from other parts of the charity who they might not see regularly. An excellent big band played at the event and staff were served their lunch by members of the senior management team. More recently, Halloween provided an opportunity for every department to host a spooky, multisensory experience which was enjoyed not only by the children and young people staying with them, but was also their staff.

In 2011 SwiftKey introduced special effort awards. These are peer nominated awards made to employees who have 'gone the extra mile', for example to meet a demanding deadline or just for a job extremely well done. There are no restrictions on who can nominate who; SwiftKey wanted to encourage wide adoption of the scheme and a culture in which all employees think about how they can recognise the contributions of their peers, whether 'junior' or 'senior' to them and whether part of the same department or a different department. All nominations do require at least one seconder, to ensure that they are appropriate for the scheme and to prevent unfair bias. They believe the scheme is both unique and effective because it doesn't rely on a restricted or formulaic choice of gift (such as a cash bonus or shopping vouchers). They get to know their employees and their personal interests and values, so that they can select a well-considered gift that's particularly meaningful to them. This also encourages people to nominate their colleagues, because they know that the gifts are carefully selected. Examples of gifts that they have previously given are jazz show tickets for a music fan; a copy of a hard-to-find author-published book on 'Arch Linux' for an enthusiastic software engineer; a hamper of locally brewed beers for a CAMRA member; and a 'go pro' camera for a tech enthusiast who's always got a new geeky project on the go.

In 2011 SwiftKey introduced special effort awards. These are peer nominated awards made to employees who have 'gone the extra mile', for example to meet a demanding deadline or just for a job extremely well done. There are no restrictions on who can nominate who; SwiftKey wanted to encourage wide adoption of the scheme and a culture in which all employees think about how they can recognise the contributions of their peers, whether 'junior' or 'senior' to them and whether part of the same department or a different department. All nominations do require at least one seconder, to ensure that they are appropriate for the scheme and to prevent unfair bias. They believe the scheme is both unique and effective because it doesn't rely on a restricted or formulaic choice of gift (such as a cash bonus or shopping vouchers). They get to know their employees and their personal interests and values, so that they can select a well-considered gift that's particularly meaningful to them. This also encourages people to nominate their colleagues, because they know that the gifts are carefully selected. Examples of gifts that they have previously given are jazz show tickets for a music fan; a copy of a hard-to-find author-published book on 'Arch Linux' for an enthusiastic software engineer; a hamper of locally brewed beers for a CAMRA member; and a 'go pro' camera for a tech enthusiast who's always got a new geeky project on the go.

The Supply Group offers various incentives/rewards to employees. They understand that each employee has different ways that they are motivated by and they adapt their rewards to each individual.

The Supply Group have a 'break out' area which has table tennis, free vending machines, basketball and football goals. This encourages employees to exercise and have a well-deserved break.

Somo try to understand what the issues are, get a team together from all areas of the business to come up with ideas on how they can address them and try to agree how improvements can be measured.

Somo hold team building days for all new starters as part of their induction. This is a full day which is held offsite and looks at their values and also the way in which the company works. They also hold a summer and Christmas team building event, which includes a full day of information sharing and then an evening social event.

The MRAP scheme (Market Rate Adjustment Programme) was launched in 2008 in response to feedback SIX received on their remuneration section of the employee survey of that year. The MRAP scheme was created with two objectives in mind: (1) to invest money into basic wages part way through the year (rather than waiting for year end) if their salary benchmarking process shows that an individual has fallen below market rate, and (2) to reward individuals with one off cash bonuses for outstanding contribution to a particular project or business issue. The budget for the MRAP scheme is reviewed on a quarterly basis and financial rewards are offered to individual employees for either outstanding contribution during that quarter to their business, whether it be through new ideas put forward, innovative solutions or the successful completion of a project, or investment into their basic salary if the market has shifted. These payments are a separate reward to their annual bonus or annual salary review. HR work closely with line managers to review nominations for the MRAP list. If they are unable to financially reward an individual in one quarter, they remain on the list and are prioritised for the next quarter. The MRAP initiative has been effective in bringing the philosophy of contribution and reward closer together and strengthens employee engagement with the organisation.

The MRAP scheme (Market Rate Adjustment Programme) was launched in 2008 in response to feedback SIX received on their remuneration section of the employee survey of that year. The MRAP scheme was created with two objectives in mind: (1) to invest money into basic wages part way through the year (rather than waiting for year end) if their salary benchmarking process shows that an individual has fallen below market rate, and (2) to reward individuals with one off cash bonuses for outstanding contribution to a particular project or business issue. The budget for the MRAP scheme is reviewed on a quarterly basis and financial rewards are offered to individual employees for either outstanding contribution during that quarter to their business, whether it be through new ideas put forward, innovative solutions or the successful completion of a project, or investment into their basic salary if the market has shifted. These payments are a separate reward to their annual bonus or annual salary review. HR work closely with line managers to review nominations for the MRAP list. If they are unable to financially reward an individual in one quarter, they remain on the list and are prioritised for the next quarter. The MRAP initiative has been effective in bringing the philosophy of contribution and reward closer together and strengthens employee engagement with the organisation.

In 2012/13 Reed Smith launched an integrated masters in business and legal practice course (LPC) unique in the sector which ensured the trainees who completed this and join us from August 2013 onwards have a deep commercial skill set and a more rounded understanding of business strategy and finance in addition to the law. Their teamwork capability – and application of the commercial knowledge - is also enhanced with a 4 week-long “client project” on a business topic of the client's choosing towards the end of their course. One trainee commented “The client project was the best learning experience I can remember having taken part in”. Their careers competency framework and annual evaluation process for lawyers, staff and secretaries has been further linked to the learning opportunities made available throughout the year. The data from the evaluations was analysed to inform what learning programmes they offered, and this resulted in a number of new programmes being developed. For example, a senior associate business development programme, delivered by an external consultant has had strong feedback throughout and is now in its second year. Building on that they are now creating a senior associate management development programme run along similar lines, plus buddy meetings and a learning log to keep track and share success and progress as a result of the learning. For staff and secretaries they have created a range of courses including confidence and assertiveness, listening and questioning skills and stakeholder management, all of which have had positive feedback. Furthermore, they are rolling out a development programme aimed specifically at managers in their support groups.

Reed Smith financially (and with volunteers and pro bono legal services) support a number of key charities. Their primary charity partners which they have supported for a number of years include,Street League, The Prince's Trust, Providence Row and Create.

ReachLocal have regular speakers who come in and talk to their employees, most recently they had a speech on perception and how that influences the way they work. They like to encourage employees to look at how they can do things differently so that they can continue to achieve within the business.

ReachLocal have regular speakers who come in and talk to their employees, most recently they had a speech on perception and how that influences the way they work. They like to encourage employees to look at how they can do things differently so that they can continue to achieve within the business.