What are companies doing with regards to 'Personal Growth'

STELLAR Awards - Discovery's Employee Recognition Programme is the tool through which individual and team achievements can be recognised. STELLAR acknowledges accomplishments, contributions and behaviours aligned with their corporate goals and values and growth traits by rewarding employees with cash, merchandise or peer-to-peer (non-monetary) praise. In honour of the innovative spirit and boundless curiosity that drove John Hendricks to establish Discovery 25 years ago and which continues throughout all levels of the company every day, Discovery introduced the John S. Hendricks Innovation Awards in 2009. The awards recognise the most innovative and creative ideas from the past year. From groundbreaking events and specials to successful channel launches, and from new business initiatives to even the simplest ideas that had a tremendous impact, the awards celebrate all areas of innovation that further Discovery's mission of satisfying curiosity and making a difference, drive the growth of their business and inspire other employees to unlock their creativity. Nominations are accepted for both individual and team efforts.

Community involvement and philanthropic efforts are cornerstone philosophies for Discovery's corporate social responsibility, and this emphasis is reflected in the numerous programs that Discovery implements with the sole purpose of making a positive impact on its neighbouring communities. Every year Discovery employees take part in a one day volunteer initiative called 'Discover Your Impact Day', which brings thousands of employees globally to volunteer at more than 100 different service sites. In the London office every employee has the opportunity to choose a charity close to their heart and in their neighbourhood from a comprehensive list compiled by the Communications and HR team in partnership with the Media Trust and CSV. Employees can take part in various activities for the charity ranging from gardening, helping build a shed, painting a new centre, cooking at a homeless refuge or simply spending time with end users at their chosen charity. In addition, each of Discovery's brands and businesses embark on a number of partnerships each year with various charities. Discovery Networks UK's premier charitable partnership is with The Scout Association which provides adventurous activities and personal development opportunities for 400,000 young people in the UK aged 6-25. Discovery is sponsoring the Scouts pioneer badge which Discovery re-launched together with the Scouts in September 2011.

Listening to employees is mission-critical for CTN. They are a people business and benefit hugely from the views, ideas and opinions of their own people. In addition to the daily dialogue they have with individuals, CTN have institutionalised the following forums: a) Off-site company meetings: 4 times a year, all staff are invited to participate in an off-site exchange of ideas and a debate about future plans. b) CEO lunches: a rolling program of team 'working lunches' with the CEO for informal Q&A and debate.

CTN Communications' charity of the year, Changing Faces, was holding a campaign week called Face Your Fears (for which they had designed the online campaign material). That week, their staff faced many fears: they overcame fears of maggots, spiders and snakes by handling them and they overcame their fear of needles by giving blood. On the final day, all staff overcame their fears of looking silly by dressing up at work. This light-hearted and sociable week of fund-raising brought the company together and raised over £1,500.

As an organisation they put a lot of emphasis on identifying potential within the organisation and developing it accordingly. A typical example is one of their home managers who they financially assisted to build on her qualifications from Romania, from her starter position as a care assistant. This particular individual went on to do her nursing qualifications and the Registered Manager Award and now manages one of their homes.

Managers within the organisation make clear to their staff the objectives of their team and the organisation at a level that is appropriate to their role, ensuring that they understand how they are expected to contribute to developing and achieving them. They ensure they meet with their staff regularly and involve them in developing what they consider a viable reward and recognition strategy and how that connects with their own input toward the achievement of the organisation's goals. They also encourage their staff to recognise the contribution they and their colleagues make to the organisation, and recommend deserving colleagues for recognition. They implement an informal and formal evaluation of how their staff manage to keep on top of their expectations and offer constructive suggestions as the need arises. They also encourage a similar openness among their staff as they themselves enjoy with senior management, with the ultimate goal of an organisational culture of mutual support and encouragement..

To enhance wellbeing within the organisation, they encourage people to do work that plays to their strengths. They feel that when individuals play to their strengths they are happy and fulfilled and feel energised. Compared to asking people to do work they find dull and boring it's a no brainer! Then, they give people total control over what they do.

Cougar Automation seeks to reward their employees for their efforts in a variety of ways. They recognise everyone that gives 10 out of 10 for customer service. This is done every two months at the company wide meetings and again at the awards presentation and at their annual Company Day.

The company organises and pays for one charity initiative each year which anyone in the agency can join. They believe passionately that the event should put something back into the local community where they work. On the surface Covent Garden, and the borough of Camden, where they are headquartered, is a wealthy and vibrant part of London. Behind the scenes it is home to many disadvantaged and under-privileged people and children. Their Give Day is designed to undertake a project which makes an immediate, if small, difference to the community. In the past they have cleared ponds in local parks, doing work that would otherwise need to be paid for by scarce resources, or painted local community facilities which again would need to be paid for from limited funds.

The company organises and pays for one charity initiative each year which anyone in the agency can join. They believe passionately that the event should put something back into the local community where they work. On the surface Covent Garden, and the borough of Camden, where they are headquartered, is a wealthy and vibrant part of London. Behind the scenes it is home to many disadvantaged and under-privileged people and children. Their Give Day is designed to undertake a project which makes an immediate, if small, difference to the community. In the past they have cleared ponds in local parks, doing work that would otherwise need to be paid for by scarce resources, or painted local community facilities which again would need to be paid for from limited funds.

As an organisation they seek to enhance the wellbeing of employees by providing daily fruit portions for every member of staff and managing stress and losing weight. They have weekly exercise classes and encourage sporting events and participate in many local firm sporting activities. They organise monthly end of the week get-togethers to wind down in readiness for the weekend and close the office during office hours to celebrate Christmas. They also operate a Health Benefit scheme which provides counselling and has a general health enquiry line.

As an organisation they seek to enhance the wellbeing of employees by providing daily fruit portions for every member of staff and managing stress and losing weight. They have weekly exercise classes and encourage sporting events and participate in many local firm sporting activities. They organise monthly end of the week get-togethers to wind down in readiness for the weekend and close the office during office hours to celebrate Christmas. They also operate a Health Benefit scheme which provides counselling and has a general health enquiry line.

To say thank you and recognise the contribution that Centrica's employees and their families make to their success. They ran four CE Sunday events around the country over the summer. More than 2,000 people enjoyed fun in the sun, trying their hand at everything from dog training to archery. Live music provided the backing for the activities including pony riding, clay pigeon shooting and fairground rides. The events proved a big hit with employees. Colleagues who attended said that it was a ‘perfect day', ‘fun, safe and entertaining for everybody' and ‘to have the opportunity to see and speak with colleagues in an informal environment was great.'

This year Centrica Energy launched their new recognition guidelines with a series of workshops to help managers recognise examples of High Performance, Pioneering Spirit and Safety within their teams and individuals that really live The CE Way. They believe that recognition is important for everyone in Centrica Energy; saying thank you can have a positive impact on individual and team morale. It is encouraged in their business so people feel increasingly motivated and engaged. Managers thank their people in ways that suit the individual; it could be a bottle of their favourite wine, dinner at their favourite restaurant or even a thank you letter or card. Centrica's philosophy is: “it is encouraged, it is up to you, you can take ownership and decide who and how to recognise”.

They regularly support local charities that have a meaning or link to employees. They also support local educational establishments in work placements/work experience. This included taking eight students for a four week period where they gave them a specific project to work on supported by employee mentors and gave the students real life work experience to support university applications.

Building Adhesives offer an occupational health facility on site which is open to all employees. They are able to self-refer to discuss any issues with their health advisor, who are independent of the organisation and information is confidential. They provide counselling for individuals if they are having a difficult time, not just work related but if they have any issues in their personal life that they need support with. Building Adhesives also offer mini medicals for all employees.

As part of Brocade's global WellFit strategy all employees in Europe, including the UK, are invited to participate in all global contests and challenges by leveraging on line tools and resources. Wellness programmes provide unique fitness alternatives for employees and are designed to improve their overall health and wellbeing globally while decreasing benefits costs. Most recently this has included an Executive Fitness Challenge. In this challenge Brocade's CEO Michael Klayko and his direct reports challenged all Brocade employees to partner in teams of 12 to complete at least 30 minutes of exercise for two weeks. Over 500 people participated in 44 teams across all geographic locations. In the end the executives came in 28th place. Their CEO said it was a humbling experience for him and it was a fun event for all employees who participated. They also held TheHealthy Living Family Fun Challenge. In its first challenge designed for families, Brocade's WellFit team launched the Healthy Living Family Fun Challenge. Participants tracked the number of fitness minutes they completed with a family member. Another event was Specific for EMEA and was called The Step on it Challenge, Walking is simple and an easy way to get fit you can do it any time, anywhere, on your own or with your family. In this challenge, designed to meet the needs of Brocade's employee population in Europe, participants were given a free pedometer from WellFit so they could track steps and complete against colleagues.

As part of Brocade's global WellFit strategy all employees in Europe, including the UK, are invited to participate in all global contests and challenges by leveraging on line tools and resources. Wellness programmes provide unique fitness alternatives for employees and are designed to improve their overall health and wellbeing globally while decreasing benefits costs. Most recently this has included an Executive Fitness Challenge. In this challenge Brocade's CEO Michael Klayko and his direct reports challenged all Brocade employees to partner in teams of 12 to complete at least 30 minutes of exercise for two weeks. Over 500 people participated in 44 teams across all geographic locations. In the end the executives came in 28th place. Their CEO said it was a humbling experience for him and it was a fun event for all employees who participated. They also held TheHealthy Living Family Fun Challenge. In its first challenge designed for families, Brocade's WellFit team launched the Healthy Living Family Fun Challenge. Participants tracked the number of fitness minutes they completed with a family member. Another event was Specific for EMEA and was called The Step on it Challenge, Walking is simple and an easy way to get fit you can do it any time, anywhere, on your own or with your family. In this challenge, designed to meet the needs of Brocade's employee population in Europe, participants were given a free pedometer from WellFit so they could track steps and complete against colleagues.

The leader of the organisation is a person of high integrity, committed, passionate and a leader who has never lost sight of the Company's vision to be the premium provider in their sector. He has a most engaging management style, is open to ideas and listens to everyone. He is clear and reasonable, in setting objectives and supportive in their efforts to achieve these goals. In terms of interacting with employees, he is genuinely warm in his approach, has an astonishing capacity to remember names and a scary capability to remember previous conversations. At social events he is never happier than mixing with staff at all levels and always the first man to put his hand in his pocket. In summary he is a man that is recognisable as Casterbridge's leader and a leader who everyone is happy to follow.

Casterbridge's training department (The Casterbridge Academy) amongst other activities operates internally and runs apprenticeship schemes for Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications in Childcare and Young People's Workforce. The overall aim of Casterbridge Academy is to recruit, train, educate and progress the future leaders of the business. Taking on approximately 120 new learners each year, they are based in Casterbridge's nursery settings which provides them with the right balance of gaining excellent on the job experience with formal training courses and programme assignments and tasks. The apprenticeship programmes and the team of dedicated trainers and assessors work with the learners in order to develop their skills and knowledge to the level of becoming a premium childcare practitioner allowing them to offer only the highest standards of care to all their children and parents. Upon graduating from the Level 3 programme the learners are considered by the industry to be ‘qualified' and are allowed to work independently and even progress on to be Supervisors and Nursery Managers although Casterbridge provide them with a lot more training before then. As far as they are aware, they are the only company in the industry to offer internally run apprenticeship programmes.