What are companies doing with regards to 'Giving Something Back'

Sphere offers enhanced paternity pay, flexible working hours and 3pm finishes on Fridays. Quarterly and twice-yearly pay reviews are based on targets and are not at the discretion of a manager, in order to eliminate bias.

Staff turnover is below the industry average — 18%, versus an industry average of 40%. Sphere believes that the clarity and transparency it ensures with regard to training, progress, commission, pay and incentives helps to retain employees.

Quarterly company meetings have become a global forum, where strategy is shared, work showcased, staff successes recognised and progress in terms of the organisation's principles demonstrated. A pass-the-mic section allows staff to share personal inspirations. Regular informal open-mic sessions with food and drink give staff the chance to ask questions or seek clarification.

The company salary-benchmarks roles annually to keep employees' pay in line with the industry. It means staff who have been with Wolff Olins for a long while do not need to jump ship to get better pay. It doesn't negotiate on salaries to avoid promoting a "those who shout loudest win" culture.

Huler wants to ensure staff feel as through they have a voice and the company fosters a friendly and open work environment. It offers different avenues for employees to share their opinions and feedback in a safe environment. Staff are encouraged to give "in the moment" feedback to their managers, peers and the people team.

Staff have access to a learning and development budget, which can be used to improve soft skills or role-specific skills, and to gain formal qualifications. Employees are given protected time to learn, grow and develop and e-learning modules are tailored to meet their needs.

Staff nominate colleagues who have lived by one of the five company values. The nominations are announced by the executive team in company-wide meetings and/or sent to the individual’s line manager for discussion during one-to-one meetings and reviews. Annual awards are voted for by staff. Winners receive an extra £500 from the company's 'passion fund'.

Every department has had more flexibility about where they work over the past 18 months. Applications to work fully remotely/overseas have been considered on a case-by-case basis. All team members have been able to decide how much time they want to spend in office. The only exception is the product development team.

New employees are part of the eduMe family before they even start. They get a welcome gift in the post, frequent check-ins, and introductory courses. Every new joiner gets a 30, 60 and 90-day joining plan and two buddies – one from their team and one from the wider company.

Every employee gets £500 a year to spend on learning and development. They are free to spend it on courses, conferences or books – anything to boost their skills and flourish personally or professionally. Developing a collective skillset is seen as a way to grow the business.

There are two mental health e-learning training packages available to staff and students and two mental health first-aiders on site. An employee assistance programme offers support, advice and information. Confidential counselling and online cognitive behavioural therapy sessions are provided.

Team away-days take place at the group's outdoor activity centre, the Anderton Centre, in Rivington, Lancashire's mini Lake District. Managers work in partnership with centre staff to run water- and land-based adventure and problem-solving activities as team-building exercises.

The company has set up a new reading corner to offer a quiet spot for staff to take some time out on breaks to read. It offers a library of books to choose from and take home. Reading has benefits for mental well-being, including reducing stress, improving sleep and boosting emotional intelligence.

Internal training concentrates on improving skills, such as getting to grips with Excel. External training provides staff with fresh and innovative learning that cannot be done in-house. Mentors play a critical role in coaching new joiners. Digital training aims to cover standard subjects required for new staff and refresher courses for others.

The wellbeing group selected the menopause as an important subject to tackle last year. Menopause-awareness workshops were run. Fifty women attended across a range of ages. Men were given a separate session and 12 turned up because they wanted to learn about managing female team members going through it or how to support partners.

As part of CHP's diversity and inclusion policies, a reverse-mentoring scheme, where employees mentor a senior manager to share experiences and knowledge and remove barriers, was introduced. Employees' personal stories of their perspective on diversity and inclusion are shared on video. These include reflections on antisemitism, anxiety, autism, LGBTQ+ experiences and racial discrimination.

A "lunch and learn" programme is run for staff by staff. An online learning platform contains mandatory courses as part of the induction process. Staff are encouraged to use the resources regularly. Membership of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations means all staff can access its resources.

The charity has reviewed and expanded its equality and diversity policy and refreshed its recruitment policy to be more actively anti-racist. A head of inclusion and organisational development has been recruited to drive its equality, diversity and inclusion policies. All staff and trustees have completed unconscious bias/anti-racism training.

A wellbeing activity calendar outlines the areas that will be focused on each month, including support for New Year's resolutions, lunchtime walking clubs, walking meetings, the cycle-to-work scheme, hydration awareness and flu vaccines. Managers are trained in mental health first aid and are encouraged to back home and hybrid working.

Each year, the leadership team commits to a set of priorities that focus on people. Leaders also act as role models for the company's values. The team meets daily and considers the values in all decision-making and activity.