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.
The Leadership Team has been producing weekly vlogs to keep staff updated and maintain visibility. A number of executive team Q+A sessions have been held and all leaders have regularly attended virtual team meetings, not only in their own teams but with others too.
Virtual exercise classes and 'tea breaks' have given staff the opportunity to come together to chat to people they don't often come into contact, helping them stay fit and socially connected. Flu vaccinations have also been provided for those who want them.
The group's charity, Realise, has a programme of support for a wide range of projects worth approximately £300,000 a year and the Homeworks team has provided services throughout the pandemic to ensure neighbourhoods remained safe, clean and tidy, including removing several tonnes of fly-tipping.
Leaders have access to bespoke coaching to grow their skills. To support them with coronavirus-related challenges, 217 hours of bespoke coaching took place. This included a focus on traditional leadership topics with a remote angle, such as maintaining team culture remotely and running a virtual team meeting.
An intranet and communications platform called GWEN (Got What Everyone Needs) was developed and rolled out during the pandemic. This enabled the business to provide instant updates to staff in addition to the weekly videos from the chief executive, which became known as Corona Comms.
The business's UK office has been designed to minimise its environmental impact. The lighting and the appliances are low energy – and low water, where applicable – and have sensors that turn them off when not in use. All Austin Fraser and Austin Vita offices are 99% paperless.
Leaders became reliant on video calls during the pandemic, but made sure to not just chat or write emails to employees, but to engage in weekly socials, consistent team meetings and quick calls to discuss an issue or concern. The company believes in the lead-by-example approach.
Bark offers secondments to all its departments. The aim is to make sure there is a smooth transition from one role to another and that everyone is happy with the transition. A variety of internal or external training is available to encourage staff to increase their skills.
Weekly one-to-ones take place with all employees and there are also weekly team-building events, along with six-week and quarterly town hall meetings, which have been moved online. There are also online socials.
A mini MBA programme is a bespoke training scheme, created with London Business School, in which 20-25 future leaders take a two-week residential course to develop their leadership style and understand their future role in the agency, in terms of building internal and external relationships and acquiring enhanced management skills.
The agency has launched a BBH Parent Network, an advice site with its own interactive feed for working parents to connect and share tips and advice based on their own experiences of working from home. BBH Satellite was launched to connect colleagues living in the same area for non-work-related chats.
With many new recruits joining remotely, the People Team created a Virtual Onboarding Programme to help new employees to settle in their new roles despite not physically meeting their line manager or future colleagues. They were also paired with BBH ‘buddies' to assist their integration.
The joint managing partners held regular webinars during the pandemic to keep all members of the team updated on the business and other topics, such as Covid safety. Staff were able to raise questions, anonymously if they preferred, and the managing partners made sure every question was answered.
Communication pods were set up after the pandemic started to ensure staff kept in contact with their teams and allow managers to check, informally, how everyone was doing. This helped managers to identify people who were struggling to work from home and put in place measures to support them.
BHP provided online pilates classes for staff working at home. It also introduced a fortnightly mindfulness/meditation session, delivered on Zoom by a wellbeing professional. This was held during work hours, and recorded for use later by staff who could not join in because of other commitments.
The senior leadership team communicates with staff through company-wide meetings every quarter, which involve Q&A sessions where staff can choose to be anonymous. They spoke one-to-one to every employee at the start of the pandemic and set up weekly management calls to ensure the flow of information through the business.
When senior managers noticed that some staff were struggling with home working and isolation during the lockdowns, they set up a virtual social calendar which had events, challenges and drop-in sessions. On the agenda were coffee catch-ups, photo competitions, virtual bingo and virtual escape room.
Every Monday, on all social media channels, a ‘Meet The Team' campaign showcases one employee, who explains what their role is and shares some of their home life. The aim is to show that behind ‘Making Technology Human' is a human being.
Managers are tasked with building effective teams with clear objectives, focus and delivery and are provided with generous training budgets to allow team members to embrace new skills and ideas. Individual performances are managed, monitored and celebrated using KPIs and measurable goals.
To keep his teams connected, amused and fed, CEO David Ball set up ‘Doughballs', which invited in-work and furloughed staff to bake treats on Zoom. With yeast hard to find, Bell sourced supplies and sent them out to those who needed them. ‘Doughballer of the Week' has become a desirable accolade.
The first creative agency in the UK to achieve ISO accreditation for sustainability at both in-person and digital events, Brandfuel has appointed a sustainability ambassador to ensure the issue remains central to company culture. The agency helped found ISLA, a not-for-profit alliance promoting environmental best practice in the events industry.
The Senior Leadership Team pitched in to deliver PPE to offices and carers when required to alleviate pressure on branch teams. All branch bosses had daily calls from a member of the SLT at the start of the pandemic offering step-by-step support and guidance and these now take place weekly.
The Bright Care Training Academy has continued to run throughout the pandemic to develop employees, who all have a personal development plan. An in-house performance coach is available to help and support the mental and physical wellbeing of all employees.
Bright Care believes strong teams are formed by people who play together as well as work together so it actively encourages employees to plan social events together knowing that other teams within the organisation will cover this time out for them.
At the end of 2020, each member of the team received a personal letter, a bag of goodies and an award from the chief executive, Antony Mayfield, to recognise their hard work and say thank you for getting through a hard year.
A “Walk the Mind” team social involved the whole team committing to take time away from their screens, outside if possible, and share photos. They all took their walk at the same time, making them feel connected even though the pandemic kept them apart.
Brilliant Noise participated in a local scheme called Tech-Takeback, donating all its unused or old laptops, printers and hardware to be distributed to families who needed them for homeschooling. Staff have taken part in clean-ups on the nearby beach.
Managing director Helen Jackson, who took over in 2016, has expanded Bush & Co's services to meet clients' needs. In a weekly vlog, she joins colleagues listing what they are grateful for, and explains the thinking behind business decisions in a monthly Biscuit Briefing to all staff.
Bush & Co's first response to the pandemic was to emphasise how much the business cared for employees and their families. The firm set up an advice hub and sent “happy post” such as chocolate and sleep masks to people's homes. Managers joined in lunchtime yoga and mindfulness sessions.
Under a joint venture on case management services, in partnership with organisations such as the Child Brain Injury Trust and the Spinal Injuries Association, Bush & Co donates support funds for life to people who are referred as part of the litigation process, no matter how their injury was caused.
