About George P Johnson

GPJ prides itself on its corporate culture, which can be summed up as highly collaborative, team-orientated and supportive. People do work incredibly hard, but they ensure that for long hours work that discretionary time off is given. In addition, flexible working enables people to balance their work commitments to their personal commitments, whatever they may be - family, personal interests, travel.

The company is a socially focused organisation and rewards employees with an annual Christmas and summer party. For the 2012 summer party the company wanted to really involve every member of staff and gauge exactly the type of party they would enjoy rather than making any assumptions. They ran a competition called ‘The Best Party Proposition’ where they called for party themes and ideas. They have a superb response rate that really shed light on the type of social event staff would enjoy. The winning idea was executed (incorporating elements of other suggestions) and the person that submitted the winning idea received a prize on the evening. The evening took place at a Central London rooftop venue and the ‘Festival’ themed party was a night to remember. Employees were entertained from the moment they left the office – with rock n roll bingo, a fortune teller, a magician, karaoke, live music, a photo booth, a bbq and cocktails.

Overall, GPJ operates an 'open-door' policy, but it is worthwhile highlighting two ways that GPJ listens to its employees and gains feedback - 1) Monthly All Company meeting (AllCo) - held, almost without fail, every last Thursday of the month, this is to ensure that everyone knows that it is scheduled and everyone makes time to attend. The AllCo takes the format of presentations from each team where they update everyone on what has been happening over the previous month/plans for the coming months. In addition, they have showcases on projects/events that the teams are working on or have recently completed. This allows them the opportunity to celebrate the great work that everyone does. AllCos close with open questions from the floor or questions submitted through the 'suggestion box'. Following the AllCo, GPJ hosts drinks at a local bar, so that everyone gets the opportunity to meet with their colleague outside of the office. 2) Employee Engagement Forum - following feedback from the recent employee engagement survey, an Employee Engagement Forum has been set up. The idea is that the Forum, as a team, will not just be putting forward ideas to the management team, but outlining possible action plans to improve their business and the place we work and thinking through the impact on the business as a whole. The Forum will made up of 8 team members from across the business and the intention is to renew membership every six months.