Communicating with colleagues little and often, UKCloud's senior leadership team has worked closely with managers to keep the workforce engaged in the work-from-home era. The business owns and operates industry-leading multi-cloud platforms for the public sector from the government's Crown Campus in Farnborough, Hampshire.

It is dedicated to backing up public services with cheaper, faster and safer cloud technology. Senior leaders have been proactive to keep in touch in small but meaningful ways, acknowledging that everyday interactions have been lost while teams worked remotely. They sent everyone a KitKat to remind them to take a break, and a festive hamper at Christmas.

Communication was swiftly converted to operate in a virtual format. Strong values – passionate, accountable, do the right thing – infuse all levels of the business, which was set up in 2011. UKCloud's early career programmes, introduced in 2013, have been largely successful: more than half of undergraduates and students return after completing their courses and have become a key part of the growth and culture of its networks. The first apprentices started in late 2017.

UKCloud has agreed a formal system to embed praise and recognition and ideas can be submitted anonymously to senior leaders via YourVoiceMatters initiatives. All employees can each spend a day supporting a good cause and the business has announced that volunteering days can be carried over in 2021, as many charity events had to be cancelled in 2020.