THE MAD HATTER would have turned green with envy at the tea party thrown by Nationwide's head office in Swindon. More than 650 employees participated, making it the world's largest and earning them a place in Guinness World Records. The event contributed to £100,000 raised for Macmillan Cancer Support, the building society's partner for 22 years. The 17,735 staff at Nationwide, the world's largest building society, are well aware of the organisation's strong social conscience (an 85% positive score, ranking it top among Big Companies). Employees recognise that profit is far from the only thing driving this company (69%), and the environment is also high on its agenda (81%). More than 250 “green champions” have been recruited from across the business to help promote environmentally sound practices in the workplace. The firm is now a zero-waste-to-landfill organisation, and in March last year launched Nationwide Woodlands, a bid to plant 40,000 trees. First to get his hands dirty tree-planting was Graham Beale, a chief executive who leads by example, running the company based on sound moral principles (78%). He recently put together a team to find a way of working with Macmillan to help customers with cancer manage their financial affairs better. In January, Beale received a CBE for his services to the financial services sector. Making sure that everybody feels valued and content is consistently a top priority, and last year a series of “your say cafes” was held: hundreds of employees attended sessions in which they were asked to identify ideas that could be implemented to improve day-to-day working life, and a committee has been set up to drive through the best of the changes suggested. On top of rewards including cash bonuses, the firm holds an annual awards ceremony when employees who make an outstanding contribution are recognised. Last year, 300 people attended the event at Celtic Manor resort in Wales. Jessica Aulak, the latest overall winner, now writes a weekly blog for colleagues and represents the building society on the world stage. www.nationwide.co.uk
