Leadership - How employees feel about the head of the organisation, senior management and the organisation's values and principles
Leadership has the biggest influence on how employees feel about the organisation.
Leaders need to create inspiring visions and provide clear direction to positively Impact the My Company factor.
When it comes to Wellbeing, no amount of free fruit or stress busting classes are going to address an imbalance. Employee Wellbeing is a by-product of the leadership and management culture.
If there’s pressure at the top of your organisation, it won’t take long to be felt throughout.
There is weekly internal email communication from the CEO and an internal newsletter which reinforces organisational clarity and purpose. Organisational performance against agreed KPI’s is shared with colleagues so everyone can see how the charity is performing and training is provided where improvements may be required. Staff are encouraged to provide feedback and ideas.
The organisation runs a number of schemes including Employee of the Quarter and Year. These are colleagues nominated by their colleagues. Winners receive vouchers. It also launched 'Because Your Roarsome' where both colleagues and those outside of the organisation can give their thanks to a member of the team for their hard work/support.
An internal CPD accredited 10 week training plan was undertaken by all employees from Team Leaders and above. Areas covered included Building Relationships, Understanding Team Behaviours, Motivation. How to Give and Receive Feedback, Constructive Criticism, Time management and Effective Delegation, Assertiveness and Dealing with Difficult Situations; Communication and Learning Skills, and Coaching.
Verastar offers paid volunteering days for team bonding which help instil a sense of purpose and camaraderie among employees as well as supporting the wider community. Christmas and Summer socials are another way that the organisation brings its teams together in a festive and joyful atmosphere, reinforcing the bonds and developing the relationships between employees.
To support the ongoing business strategy, Verastar have launched a number of new initiatives, including system investment. The progress is underpinned by the CEO’s communication in his monthly newsletter, VNews, or via a senior leader cascade. It’s important that teams across the business are updated and can support each other with new ways of working.
The organisation operates a bonus scheme, STAR bonus. This scheme rewards colleagues with a quarterly bonus of up to 2.5% of their annual salary based on the achievement of specific objectives. Verastar also ensures that any goals set are stretching so that its employees are continually developing in their roles.
A newly refurbished office with employee breakout spaces and gardens encourages a social, friendly atmosphere and teamwork across the business. And Whitecode Consultancy takes on a fun family feel with a variety of social activities across the year, such as a summer party and quiz nights.
Questions and feedback are encouraged at the monthly business-wide breakfast meetings. Staff are updated on company progress and have the opportunity to make suggestions. Any issues raised are addressed asap, and progress updates are given at the next meeting. There are also weekly team meetings to discuss workload and any problems.
‘Whitcode Wishes’ is the consultancy’s own charity. It raises funds to make hampers and buy Christmas presents for underprivileged children to spread festive magic and support as many families as possible. And in terms of ‘giving something back’ to the environment, the company aims to be recognised as a leader in environmental design.
Employees benefit from regular communications and opportunities for feedback. 'The Loop' is sent out weekly, and there's a dedicated employee forum and monthly' virtual coffees' where the leadership team gives updates and answers questions. The Chief Executive leads an annual Town Hall reinforcing key principles, thanking colleagues and celebrating successes.
Employees who recommend a successful hire get £250 three months after the new recruit starts – £500 if the starter is in a more senior position. And awards are also made to team members who successfully recommend somebody for a temporary or fixed-term vacancy. They get £50 in shopping vouchers.
All employees get dedicated time with their line manager for two annual performance development reviews. All staff have access to online learning, and the organisation is undertaking a learning needs analysis to capture CPD for each directorate and any informal coaching needs. It also plans to introduce an accredited management development programme.
There are many opportunities for employees to have their say and get involved, including monthly all-staff meetings and issue-specific away days. There's also a voluntary employee forum and ones for wellbeing and equality, diversity and inclusion. And cross-team projects allow staff to flex their skills beyond their daily roles.
caba's developing a leadership framework to help managers become confident leaders capable of meeting the charity's future challenges. It already gives its leaders and managers the freedom to be creative and innovative. It trusts them to challenge actions that aren't in line with the charity's values and behaviours.
caba gives all candidates the interview questions in advance to promote a level playing field, particularly for those who are neurodiverse. There's also a buddy system to ensure new starters have a familiar face to turn to outside their team and plans for a new starter network.
Whilst it doesn’t provide a formal programme, Cloverleaf regularly looks at management development opportunities. Management have access to Level 5 qualifications, apprenticeships, and external management training. Managers also have monthly discussions where they can raise any concerns. It also encourages a peer support system, where managers buddy up to support their services and wellbeing.
Organisational clarity is key. Leadership runs a quarterly employee briefing to provide company updates and strategy. This is reinforced by a monthly managers forum which directors attend; this goes into further detail about the plans and workstreams so that the information can be passed to teams in team meetings and supervisions.
The charity has Mental Health First Aiders for its people to speak to regularly if times are hard. It subscribes to Perkbox so employees have access to its wellbeing platform which include fitness and mental health tools such as mindfulness podcasts. The charity also runs weekly mindfulness sessions.
At Admiral, its employees have access to a unique benefit – its Share Incentive Plan (SIP). This came into existence with the Finance Act of 2000 to give employees Tax and National Insurance advantages when given shares in their place of employment. The organisation believes share ownership helps to motivate and reward longer-term performance.
Admiral has partnered with industry specialists Bupa and Health and Her to offer a discounted menopause service for its colleagues. Both include access to specially trained menopause GPs along with varied benefits for each. Alongside this, it has worked with Brightlight coaching who provide the Bloom project to provide line manager training on women’s health.
Its senior managers sponsor the Ministry of Fun (MOF) which encourages colleagues to enjoy their time whilst at work. Each month a different department or group of departments are responsible for organising in-office and hybrid fun events, with each month sponsored by a different senior manager.
ARAG’s Wellbeing Champions meet regularly to discuss what they can do to help staff both proactively and reactively. Recent discussions have included the benefits of music and the reasons to hold meetings whilst walking. The company puts wellbeing at the heart of its manager check-in process, so colleagues know there are spaces for tough conversations.
The leadership team and other key staff use an all-staff cinema event to communicate the company’s overarching strategic goals. These goals are utilised throughout ARAG’s performance management system to ensure all staff can clearly see what their efforts mean to those goals. Clarity of message is reinforced through fortnightly updates led by the Managing Director.
Clarity is an essential value to ARAG. Company comms are achieved through a number of ways, including online video calls from key managers and leadership team members, general initiatives and outcomes that staff are not only responsible for but passionate about, news posts, intranet pages, videos, animations, and more.
