Giving Something Back - The extent to which employees feel their organisation has a positive impact on society
Giving Something Back focuses on the organisation’s social responsibilities. If key factors such as ‘Leadership’ and ‘My Manager’ are performing well, it can influence the improvement of all the other factors, boosting your overall engagement.
On the Slack platform there are social channels for specific interests, ranging from recipes and reading — to cats. There’s also a working-from-home channel that provides a social space for sharing tips, anecdotes and news. The optional Slack Donut app pairs people randomly for a weekly chat.
Glean knows that wellbeing and work-life balance go hand-in-hand, so it makes sure staff protect theirs by providing flexible hours, muting notifications from 6pm-8am and giving them three days’ holiday to recharge at Christmas, on top of their 33 days’ annual leave. The company also offers a cash-back healthcare scheme.
The company donated £10,000 to charities, including education bodies and those nominated by staff. A one-off contribution was made in response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and Glean supported its staff Pride group by paying for its entry to the Pride parade in Leeds.
Staff have access to an external coach for personal or career-related advice and internal counsellors, who offer counselling support or general conversation about work or personal matters. There are also Speak Up Guardians who staff can go to if they have work-related concerns that affect their health. A wellbeing app offers a variety of resources.
A cost-of-living payment has been made to staff and supermarket vouchers are available. Enhanced sick pay is available and staff receive 25 days' leave a year, plus eight bank holidays. The organisation also gives staff the opportunity to buy or sell up to one week's holiday per year.
The trust is working to ensure its work incorporates a greener, eco-friendly output, including ground, air and water-source heat pumps, solar panels and the infrastructure to support electric vehicles. It is also working on a carbon-zero strategy and action plan.
There are central inductions for new starters, held quarterly. It's a chance for them to get to know each other and learn more about the charity, its values, processes and projects through group exercises and an intro from the senior leadership team. New recruits also get a 'buddy' to help them have a smooth start.
A performance management framework guides learning and development needs. A dedicated skills centre with an extensive training catalogue provides a range of learning activities to uphold the values and gives front-line staff and managers chance to grow and develop through job-specific training. There's also accredited management and leadership training on offer.
The Charity is giving by its nature. The St Giles Pantry food hubs offer more than a meal to those struggling to feed themselves. Hundreds of households are supported every year with face-to-face support to overcome barriers. As part of its Christmas Appeal, St Giles Trust pledged to provide 50,000 meals to families.
Staff collaborate at TLC Open Forum, an all-agency meeting to brainstorm ideas and initiatives to make the marketing agency a better place to work. A sports club on the Strava app brings people to share and take part. Both encourage cross-business teamwork.
In the summer, staff volunteers took 60 families with seriously ill children who are supported by the Rainbow Trust for a day out to Whipsnade zoo. The event gave families the chance to spend time together and allowed carers to have a break, because TLC Worldwide staff did all the leg-work.
The TLC People Academy programme offers skills training to each part of the business. The courses are designed as bite-size sessions of 45 minutes, followed up by a quiz. Those who pass qualify for a badge and once they've gained a certain number, they receive a TLC Worldwide reward.
Employee support takes many forms. It includes training so they feel more confident handling demanding customers or challenging safeguarding or domestic abuse situations. There are also more informal opportunities, such as virtual 'open space' sessions where managers can share their experiences and knowledge, and the Wednesday Wellbeing Walk. Counselling services are also available.
All staff, from Board to team members, are encouraged to develop their emotional intelligence. A colour-based psychometric tool helps them better understand their style, strengths and the value they bring. It also supports managers in building high-performing teams. And employee development is continually reviewed through one-to-ones and appraisals.
The Trust provides two community hub buildings for groups to use free of charge for holiday and social activities, youth clubs, food banks and warm hubs. Through its social value project, it's also supported the set-up of a community laundry and an outdoor learning space and has helped deliver anti-social behaviour impact awareness sessions.
In addition to a company-wide 3% inflationary salary increase, staff received a one-off cost-of-living payment to recognise the challenging times. The company also introduced innovative benefits that help employees' money go further and invested in targeted pay increases for roles it believed were falling below the industry benchmark.
The monthly company-funded lunch is popular with office-based and visiting staff, as it gives them the chance to socialise and interact with people from other departments and teams. TetraMapping workshops help employees to understand their nature and that of others. They provide a learning experience that strengthens understanding of others and improves collaboration.
The Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal was chosen as CitNOW Group's charity last year and various fund-raising events took place, including bake sales. Staff from across the globe also ran, cycled or swam the distance between Stirling, in Scotland, and Kyiv, in Ukraine — an impressive 3,070 miles — to help the cause.
Employees can recommend candidates for advertised positions, receiving £2000 if the person is successful and passes their three-month probation period. It benefits EMJ as it sources great-fit candidates via people who know the roles and the skills required. And staff feel trusted and valued by supporting the company's growth and success.
New and existing managers are supported through the new Manager Skills Toolkit. It involves monthly sessions with an HR professional, and covers a variety of content in bite-sized chunks, including handling difficult conversations, situational leadership, managing performance and personal effectiveness. The company also runs a Future Leaders Programme focused on building successful teams.
A dedicated Charity Board organises fundraising events for the team, including those for its community charity Kids Inspire, which awarded EMJ' Corporate Supporter of the Year' for raising more than £20,000 in 2021. Fundraising activities have included the 100k Thames Path Challenge and a fancy dress Halloween event.
Regular support sessions reflect real workplace concerns thanks to input from the employee voice Partnership Council, the organisation's four Inclusion Networks and the latest absence and turnover trends. Recent sessions have included a myth-buster on vaccines and infection control, and balancing work and family commitments.
There are development opportunities for every stage of leadership. These include courses for aspiring managers in partnership with University College Birmingham, front-line manager training and a 12-month Cranfield University training programme for senior leaders. Managers also benefit from ongoing support through coaching, mentoring and cross-functional management meetings.
Midland Heart is an early adopter of the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing to benefit its communities and the wider environment. It also looks to recycle wherever possible, whether that's the maintenance team separating waste before disposal or its development partners reusing old roof tiles when building new homes.
To help with living costs, a staff travel loan allows staff to borrow up to £250 at a time to cover costs such as new tyres, repair costs or a multi-trip travel ticket. It allows staff to spread big costs over six months. A season-ticket loan scheme of up to £3,000 is also available.
The trust launched its first management development programme last year. It also piloted a line-manager induction and development scheme. The training introduces key processes line managers are accountable for, as well as developing capabilities in the areas of coaching, feedback and development.
To further its aim of reaching net zero by 2030, the trust carried out energy audits of venues and provided energy-management training sessions to help staff build the skills and knowledge to implement energy reduction. It also undertook a biodiversity study to identify opportunities to manage sites with green space in a nature-positive way.
Annual awards recognise team members who exemplify the charity's values of "empowerment, respect, collaboration, compassion and passion". They are announced at an awards ceremony at the organisation's annual conference.
In July, Medaille gave all staff who were earning less than £30,000 a year, a 10% pay rise to reflect the rate of inflation at the time. The charity has also reviewed its job descriptions and pay structure to ensure they are fair and transparent.
At the Mersey service, an area of wasteland has been turned into an allotment, where residents plant and grow vegetables. Gardening is known to be good for mental and physical wellbeing, so it benefits residents but, on top of that, excess produce is donated to the local food bank.
