About Version 1

The company has participation in the Global Corporate Challenge with www.gettheworldmoving.com. Teams of seven from companies globally participate in the 16-week programme. GCC focuses on encouraging people to increase their daily step count from 3,000 steps a day to 10,000 steps per day. There was a marked increase in lunch time walks, weekend hikes and cycling to work over the summer. They have implemented a technology suite which enables extremely easy home working. Employees have a full range of telephony and video conferencing tools (UCOffice, Skype for Business) and webinar facilities (GoToMeeting) to enable them to work together remotely. Their remote access facilities are second to none, with no tokens/cards required, laptops simply link to employees’ broadband with a direct link through to Version 1. Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint tools allow them to share and work together on documents and proposals seamlessly. All of these tools mean that whether an employee is working from home, from a different office or from a hotel, they have the same easy Version 1 technology experience. This considerably reduces stress and time overheads.

The Version 1 Community Trust was introduced in 2013. Each quarter, it provides ten grants to local or global community causes or charities, as nominated by employees. Employees are asked to submit a brief video outlining what the charity/community group do and how the funds would help them. All videos are put on Facebook for both employees and Version 1 friends and followers to vote on. Examples of submissions they have had include: buying tents for Edinburgh's Scouts Beaver Groups; cover for insurance costs for an U15s team Football Club; contribution to the rebuild of a community centre after a fire; new toys & carpet bought for a Pre School. Since the launch of the Community Trust, Version 1 has given over €100,000 in grants to more than 100 local & global community based causes. Fundraising for the Community Trust is one of the biggest unforeseen positive impacts on employee engagement, it allows individuals to rally behind a common goal and have some fun rallying votes from family and friends.

The Version 1 Profit Share is paid quarterly to all eligible employees. This is dependent on them achieving quarterly targets on all three sides of the triangle, namely customer satisfaction, profitability and employee engagement. Maintaining the focus and momentum on these quarterly targets has been a key driver of their success. On average 95% of employees meet the eligibility criteria and payments translate into between 20% - 25% of net profit being shared with employees. The profit share scheme remains one of their biggest ways of saying thank you as each employee receives a letter outlining their quarterly profit share and the total for the year to date. In addition, each letter is personally signed by their COO includes some personalised messages. In 2014, they introduced the Version 1 Growth Share Scheme. This is a share scheme which allows managers to share in the company’s growth and for them to become real shareholders. This provided them with extra meaning and connection and has led to 25 additional people actively engaged. In addition to paying for employee referrals, they also offer cinema nights, restaurant vouchers and concert tickets to those who refer someone who is interviewed (even if they don’t result in a new hire).