Business communications and IT specialist, Excalibur Communications, used its magic to help primary schools deliver remote learning during the pandemic and also donated laptops to people in the community for home schooling.

Swindon-based Excalibur started life as a mobile phone shop and is now a leading service IT and telecoms provider helping organisations improve the way they work and grow. Excalibur has more than 4,000 clients nationwide from schools to legal firms and premiership football clubs.

Excalibur doesn't just focus on what it does, but the way it does it, and expects staff to make the right call guided by its four core principles which are: to be fair, experts, bold and above all, personable. The firm's People Plan ensures it is doing right by its staff and during the global health crisis it dialled up its empathy and understanding as it listened to staff who were suffering coronavirus fatigue and juggling working from home with children.

It did this subtly in messages, team and one-to-one conversations as well as organising some fun for staff and their families with a hamper of goodies and face paints, recognising that home/life balance has become blurred.

Team leaders have held weekly huddles to ensure there is plenty of time to discuss challenges and gauge morale and last year those who worked throughout the first lockdown were given time off in recognition of their hard work. Excalibur prides itself on providing an interesting, challenging, rewarding and fun place to work.