The boundless energy of bosses brings a warm glow to staff at British Gas Business. Senior managers are highly visible, hopping between all of the firm's sites. All directors spend at least 60% of their time in the business — in the contact centre, in sales and regularly manning the phones. Communication is strong and the firm uses innovative and fun ways to remove barriers, consult staff and get feedback. More than 300 people have attended each of the firm's team days. They were invited to write questions on A4 paper, screw them up and throw them, as hard as they wanted, at the management team. The firm is proud to report that, even though it took a while, the directors answered every question that was literally thrown at them. Managers are keen to spend time with their staff on a one-to-one basis. As well as operating an open-door policy — leaders work in open-plan offices with their staff — they host business forums in which they meet a maximum of 15 people per session to find out what is going on. In our survey, employees give leaders a 79% positive score for regularly expressing appreciation for a job well done, say managers talk openly and honestly with them (81%) and that their bosses share important knowledge and information with them (80%, a top 10 result). The company has a range of online learning opportunities giving people the freedom to study at work or at home. To help staff achieve their career ambitions, a Foundations of Leadership programme is offered as well as "learn to", a management development programme for all first-line bosses, with courses such as learn to lead, learn to manage and learn to inspire. Staff feel their job is good for their personal growth (81%) and believe the company really tries to help its employees (80%).
