Fair Deal - How happy employees are with pay and benefits
Fair Deal itself doesn’t directly influence another factor. It’s classified as a hygiene factor. Sure, doubling everybody’s salary would make them happy but it wouldn’t make them feel any better about factors such as leadership and management.
Now although pay is not an engager, it is important that pay and benefits are at the right level as to not disengage employees further.
The in-house development programme, MINDS, gives employees from all pay grades the opportunity to progress through the business into senior roles. There is no recognised qualification but two previous candidates have gone on to become general managers within the company.
In 2020 launched its "Souls" programme focussing on the mental health and wellbeing of team members. Employees have also been encouraged to take part in activities such as Couch to 5k and online exercise challenges with one person cycling the equivalent distance from Land's End to John O'Groats.
There is a 25% discount on holidays at any of the company's parks for staff, family and friends. Employees also get 25% off food and 15% off drinks in park venues which can be used in and out of working hours.
All managers had mental health training and regular morning catch-ups with their teams to ensure they could spot early signs of stress and help those that needed it.
As part of its benefits package CoT offers private health coverage with an external healthcare provider which includes perks such as discounted Covid tests and free subscriptions to services such as the Headspace meditation app and Jessica Ennis's Jennis Fitness app.
Capital on Tap's values-based anniversary rewards ranges from £250 to try something new in their personal life after one year in the job to £500 to treat a loved one after two, £1,000 to spend on a holiday after three years' service and a four week paid sabbatical after four.
At the start of the first lockdown the company's You Make us Proud video applauded nursery teams even before the weekly clap for the NHS launched. At a time when income was severely impacted and restrictions limited occupancy, investment in core service provision and employee support initiatives was maintained and increased.
The company topped up the pay of anyone on furlough to 100% and all job advertisements highlight full partnership in the business to promote its employee-owned structure and the annual tax-free dividend payments made. The same maximum amount, based on hours worked, is awarded to all from apprentices through to Michael Thompson, the Chairman.
Colleagues elected Cancer Research UK as their charity of the year for 2020 – and raised more than £76,000 for the cause. The pandemic did impact fundraising, however – employees achieved a sum of £167,653.27 the year before.
The senior leadership team are focused on remaining active practitioners – more than 60% of their time is spent doing client work. They work directly alongside the team, integrating themselves by hot-desking. This helps them to retain credibility and lead by example.
Inspirational speakers from totally different fields are invited to share their stories with staff as part of Citypress's wellbeing strategy. In 2020, these included Lord (John) Bird of The Big Issue and Simon Binns of LadBible. Board games and book clubs encourage staff to take a proper break at lunchtime.
The agency makes 40% of its operating profit available for performance-related bonus rewards, and last year the whole team received a bonus for outstanding contribution. Everyone receives a £500 cash bonus at Christmas, and there are one-off bonuses of up to £1,000 for exceptional performance.
The council offers internships, work experience placements and apprenticeships, which can lead to a full-time job. It recently initiated a scheme with the University of Kent to develop a talent pipeline for the planning department and successfully recruited newcomers into graduate planning roles.
The organisational development team has delivered a full learning and development programme over the course of the pandemic, opting to embrace online methods and rolling out Zoom and Skype training. Managers asked for feedback and found that many people preferred the virtual learning experience.
Staff can get discounts at hundreds of retailers and hospitality venues through a Reward Gateway account. Winners of the authority's popular quarterly recognition scheme, who are nominated by colleagues for their commitment to key values such as Customer First, also receive £25 vouchers.
Staff get an annual £200 grant to put towards hobbies, activities or training to support their wellbeing and happiness. Golding has also launched a wellbeing programme and a range of activities have also been kept morale high including quizzes, water cooler chat moments, huddles, virtual coffees and lunches.
The remuneration package includes 28 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays, company pension contribution and life assurance plus flexible benefits, including a health cash plan, the opportunity to buy additional holiday, a cycle to work scheme, an onsite gym, and retail discounts
In response to the pandemic Golding launched a hardship fund giving £100 to residents struggling financially for essentials such as food, gas, and electricity. It also donated to homelessness charity, Porchlight and Maidstone Winter Churches Shelter, providing 55 hot meals over Christmas and sent hampers to local charities.
Throughout the pandemic the bank has continued to support its newest people managers with coaching and guidance, albeit virtually, to help them deal with the complexity caused by lockdown and remote-working. Ikano also arranged support webinars on a number of topics including resilience and leading in a crisis.
In addition to organising webinars on topics such as Leading in Times of Change, Addictive Behaviours, and Resilience, Ikano Bank collectively challenged staff to walk, run or cycle the distance from Nottingham to its offices in Sweden over the period of a week.
Traditionally Ikano Bank has rewarded staff with vouchers worth between £75 - £175 to share with their friends and family and has given digital gifts such as Echo Dots, Virgin Experience Days, additional holidays and even trips to Sweden to fully embrace the Ikano culture.
KGA implements the relevant actions that it gathers from each company survey. The last survey that was run was a feedback questionnaire on the KGA Community, where employees were able to share their thoughts on current communication strategies and on what they would like to see. This resulted in newsletters providing more uplifting content.
All employees receive a bonus based on personal and company achievements. In addition to this, all sales employees have an incentive scheme and earn commission payments based on their sales. To keep KGA people safe everyone completed a home-working risk assessment and there were appropriate Covid-19 evaluations for the office.
The Kenneth and Susan Green Charitable Foundation was formed about 10 years ago and KGA is a long-term partner of Look Good Feel Better, an international charity that provides free workshops and services for individuals struggling with the visual effects of cancer treatment. Kenneth has served on the Board of Trustees for over 25 years.
The firm created a new job title for its 30 secretaries who were feeling undervalued. In collaboration with them, it came up with a title that worked better for them and a pathway that formalised progression.
Kilburn & Strode is working on a transparent pay grid for its team of IP administrators. Last Easter all staff received a £25 gift card to buy something that would enhance their wellbeing.
Last year, the firm partnered with The Access Project, which helps disadvantaged young people gain access to university. Staff volunteer as tutors. The project found the programme boosted GCSE results by more than half a grade in the tutored subject and increased the chances of getting a place at a top university four-fold.
There is a simple ethos for training and development. LPF supports 100% any training that is required for people to do the work; any training that helps a colleague do their job even better; and any training that helps a colleague develop into a future role.
Technologies such as Zoom and Teams have been embraced by staff, who use them for collaboration, interaction and socialising. An informal chat lounge is very popular for sharing photos and memes, while team quizzes ensure people can stay in contact. The Christmas market was a virtual treat.
LPF increased the frequency of its recognition scheme from annual to quarterly. Staff can nominate someone who has gone the extra mile by helping a member or colleague or by thinking outside the box. Winners receive a Social Stories Club hamper, a branded pen and a certificate.
