Best Companies Factors: Wellbeing

The Recruitment Group

The Group is deeply invested in providing personal growth and development opportunities to its management teams, offering a Level 3 apprenticeship programme in management and leadership and a comprehensive six-week training programme for branch managers. These initiatives provide opportunities for skill enhancement and career progression.

The Recruitment Group foster team spirit through pulse meetings for branch managers, regionals and head of departments every 3 months. Weekly teams meetings with branch managers and regional managers, and the sales team help provide organisational clarity, and yearly awards evenings with dinner and accommodation provided celebrate the employees who have live the Group’s values.

The Group has an Employee Assistant Programme which all colleagues have access to. Employees can access counselling services 24/7 and a wide range of self-help plans from debt management to improving sleep. The organisation also has a number of Mental Health First Aiders across its branch network that provide further support.

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Recruitment

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The Utility Regulator

During the past year, the organisation promoted a new Kingsbridge Health plan to staff and also worked with Benenden Healthcare to provide information to staff who might benefit from monthly membership. It further supports it employees through Mental Health First Aiders, Inspire EAP, and training on Neurodiversity.

Utility Regulator has introduced a leadership development programme to reinforce need for collective leadership and the importance of basic management functions, and to improve communication on corporate issues, increase awareness of governance requirements, promote cross directorate ways of working and support learning and development.

Utility Regulator have held a number of fundraising events throughout the year for a staff nominated charity. Employees have donated money, items, and volunteered their time. The organisation is also an active member of Business in the Community NI, helping to support various charitable activities.

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Utilities

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Abbeyfield Living Society

All employees of The Abbeyfield Society have access to a range of wellbeing initiatives. These include an e-voucher scheme, a generous pay review and enhanced benefits, an Employee Assistance Programme, and financial fitness advice.

To support employee growth, the society provides access to an LMS containing multiple high-quality online learning courses, and career pathways. The organisation also offers apprenticeships and a leadership development programme.

All leaders participate in the society’s Leadership Excellence Programme accredited by The Institute of Leadership and Management (TILM) and endorsed by Skills for Care. The programme includes 24/7 access to the TILM My Leadership platform and a variety of learning initiatives to support continuous professional development. This includes workshops, blended learning and 121 coaching.

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SMS

SMS offers a number of different forms of leave depending on an employee’s circumstance including compassionate leave, fertility treatment, miscarriage, bereavement, and other unfortunate or unforeseen circumstances. Paid time for dependents - emergency cover, unpaid. It has 2023 increased our paternity leave package to two weeks of full pay.

SMS has continued to ensure engagement with its people. Organisational clarity has come from the CEO, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief People Officer having regular contact with employees via short video updates, e-mails, texts, pulse surveys, and five employee resource groups. The organisation’s mission, vision, and purpose were communicated via annual performance and development reviews.

It has also recently introduced a bespoke management development programme (MDP) - which has been designed to ensure its managers and team leaders have the core skills and competencies needed to perform their jobs successfully. The programme consists of a number of managerial, coaching, and developmental modules.

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Utilities

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SAUL Trustee Company

SAUL Trustee Company fosters a deep sense of pride in its team, with a strategic goal centred around employee engagement. Its efforts to create a family-like atmosphere where everyone is valued, contributes to a sense of belonging and the feeling of making a difference.

Managers at SAUL Trustee Company play an integral role in supporting employees. They actively participate in social initiatives, hold regular coaching conversations, and check-in with their teams regularly. This approach fosters a feeling of being cared for and trusted within the company.

SAUL Trustee Company prioritises employee wellbeing with mental health first aiders, an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) helpline, flexible working arrangements, and lunchtime workouts. This approach helps balance work and personal life, reducing stress and enhancing performance.

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Financial Services

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OFR Consultants

The purpose of the organisation’s OFR Mind Matters initiative is to promote awareness and educate colleagues about mental health to reduce the stigma and drive a supportive and healthy work environment. It aims to provide representation throughout the company to discuss, agree and manage ideas and initiatives. All representatives are trained Mental Health First Aiders.

OFR Consultants has always been an agile team and flexible in delivery. The team all got together for a few days at Rookery Hall for an away day. The organisation believes that while it is a team that can deliver remotely, the bonds formed when everyone meets together, are what make that possible.

OFR Consultant have further developed its Better Days programme, encouraging colleagues to volunteer their skills for charitable causes and give back to their communities. By providing each staff member with two days paid leave, this initiative promotes involvement and engages the team to undertake pro-bono work on a project close to their heart.

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Consultancy

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Namos Solutions

Namos Solutions provides managers with formal ILM training, enabling them to offer robust support to their teams. The company also promotes mental health awareness, arming managers with the tools to care for their team's wellbeing.

The company prioritises employee wellbeing by offering a comprehensive private health insurance scheme. The plan includes a robust wellbeing programme, mental health support, and an EAP, striking a balance between work and personal life.

Namos Solutions encourages its colleagues to build strong relationships by organising team building activities throughout the year. It further hosts an annual Spring Party which brings the business and teams together for a company-wide update.

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Technology

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High Speed Training

High Speed Training champions team spirit and a sense of belonging, showcased through the creation of the #fourwalls internal communication channel, bridging connections within the remote-working team.

The company nurtures personal growth, challenging its employees to utilise their skills and presenting opportunities for advancement, evident in their continuous recruitment drive for innovative talent.

High Speed Training prioritises wellbeing, with an employee assistance programme and trained mental health first aiders in place to support employees. Their 'remote first' initiative promotes a healthy work-life balance.

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Education & Training

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Frettens Solicitors

Frettens Solicitors offers a fair deal to its employees through annual salary reviews, performance-related bonuses, and a generous benefits package. This ensures that employees feel fairly rewarded for their work.

Frettens Solicitors emphasises the wellbeing of its staff by promoting flexible working hours and work from home options. The organisation also provides private health insurance and a cash back healthcare plan to support its employees' mental and physical health.

The leadership at Frettens Solicitors is visible, approachable and committed to the firm’s strategic goals. Regular strategy briefings and meetings with the Managing Partner ensure that the firm's direction and performance are clearly communicated and understood.

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Law

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Benefact Group

All employees have access to private health cover, a 24/7 virtual GP service and a 24/7 employee assistance helpline. The Group has also developed a 'mental health pathway' which links providers together to ensure effective routing to the right professional help first time, no matter who they contact first.

Developing team members is embedded as a core expectation of line managers and regular 1:1 meetings are expected. More formally, the company supports professional subscriptions and CPD, be that in insurance or professional specialisms. It tracks key talents and these processes feed into both the Benefact Emerging Talent Programme and the Benefact Leadership Development Programme.

Benefact Group runs a leadership programme for middle to senior leaders identified through the talent process as having future potential. This is a modular 18 month programme that covers Leadership and Emotional Intelligence, Innovation Tools, Financial Decision Making, Strategic Analysis and Collaborative Working Methods, delivered across 3 residential events.

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Insurance

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Wellbeing Matters

The Recruitment Group

The Utility Regulator

Abbeyfield Living Society

SMS

SAUL Trustee Company

OFR Consultants

Namos Solutions

High Speed Training

Frettens Solicitors

Benefact Group

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