My Company - The level of engagement employees feel with their job and organisation
My Company is what we call an ‘output’ factor, it focuses on people’s ‘love’ and ‘pride’ in working for your organisation.
Now unfortunately you can’t directly make people feel these emotions, but when all of the other seven factors are doing well, people will be far more likely to experience that love and pride ultimately improving the My Company factor as a result.
All salaries and benefits have been reviewed and a fair pay policy and job evaluation process introduced. This has resulted in most staff receiving a pay rise, benefits being streamlined and the gender pay gap being removed. A full-time learning and development specialist has been appointed.
Open Doors gives all staff the chance to go on a ministry trip to give them an insight into the experience of Christians oppressed for their faith. Trips are held in work time and are paid for by the charity, although fewer have gone ahead during Covid.
Online events providing a sense of community and fun have included a secret Santa, a crisp-tasting tournament and a knitting and crochet group. The usual two-day staff retreat was replaced with small group walks. These were held near people's homes, in line with Covid regulations.
Sales-focused though Optimus Search is, not only financial big hitting earns rewards; every month a different incentive award recognises contributions in areas such as going above and beyond to help colleagues or reaching non-financial goals. Rewards include extra holidays, vouchers, a gift of choice or points towards the next incentive trip.
Weekly training sessions for each team focus on sales-related group coaching, while lunch-and-learns incorporate more ‘life' elements – such as how to buy a house or understanding credit ratings – tailored to support young employees. Team members are brought up through the business under the guidance of director Richard Eggleston and new managers receive both in-house and external training.
Colleagues recorded congratulatory videos for each other to celebrate achievements and special occasions such as birthdays and work anniversaries during lockdown. A daily social group call helped keep team spirits lifted, plus there were quizzes, bingo nights and virtual games.
The Employee of the Month, who is nominated by colleagues is awarded £500 and there is Dinner with Phil, the chief executive, for all winners at the end of each quarter. The top three prizes for Employee of the Year range from £500 to £2,000 for the winner.
Several informal societies been formed including a Strava group who cycle, run and walk to quizzers, Scrabble players and a Fantasy Premier League. P2 has offered free laptops to employees whose children require them for home schooling and has continued to send staff birthday and special event hampers.
A company-wide bingo night and virtual fundraising events including quiz nights, a charity auction and best and worst Christmas Jumper competitions raised £2,606 for Great Ormond Street Hospital and Alzheimer's Society. Two company-wide competitions - bike riding in June and running in July - brought in £577 for the NHS.
The past year has brought new ways of working in a pub over and again, with changes implemented fast – from social distancing tables to how to serve ketchup. Peach added cleaners to pub rotas to keep up with new sanitising measures, sourced washable face masks and provided a strong pack of communication tools to help staff deal with challenging guests when The Rule of Six and Tier system came in.
A structured in-house training programme complements external courses such as Wine and Spirit Education Trust qualifications. On Peach Adventure Days teams head to big cities such as Manchester and London to soak up the restaurant and bar scenes and gain inspiration for Peach venues.
Most Peach pubs have continued to make meals for homeless people, including turning the pumpkins that would have been used to celebrate Halloween into soup and pasta for them. Some venues have used their facilities for charity or to help local needs in other ways and around 70% of employees have volunteered at some stage during the pandemic.
A quarterly employee recognition scheme recognises those going the extra mile with online vouchers. Rewards for employees going above and beyond on projects or tasks include restaurant vouchers or bottles of spirits. There are also long service awards for those putting in five or 10 years' service.
The comprehensive benefits package includes private healthcare, heavily subsidised gym membership and free access to mental health support during the pandemic. Peak Indicators also invests in ensuring that the office is a nice place to work and has also funded yoga and basketball sessions.
Staff donated their time pro bono to help to client Devon County Council identify Covid cases in schools and care homes and helping it streamline practices to avoid duplication across the county. Staff also planted trees as part of an Annual Team Day event (pre pandemic).
During the first quarter of 2021 plan.com has focussed on its core values: trust, passion and excellence, harnessing the help of motivational speakers Jason Fox, Ranulph Fiennes and Dame Kelly Holmes to communicate the messages. The quarter's top two ‘weekly heroes' win a luxury trip, which they can jet off on when restrictions allow.
The work-hard-play-hard ethic is ingrained at plan.com and the social calendar has remained packed with virtual events that have included cook-a-longs, family fun nights and an awards evening. Surprise gifts from the company, such as care hampers and Easter eggs, have also helped keep team spirit high.
While most large-scale activities happened on Zoom last year, staff at plan.com were able to go ahead with their Santa's on a Bike fundraising event in December – because the Isle of Man was Covid-free. Every employee takes part in the annual charity ride, and in 2020 they raised £31,000 for the Isle of Man hospice.
An instant values-led recognition scheme has been introduced to recognise staff going above and beyond. Nominations can be made by peers or line managers with the recipient receiving a personalised “thank you” card and shopping vouchers plus a shout out each quarter on the intranet.
In addition to a Wellbeing Week and personal resilience and mindset webinars, Porterbrook has promoted free workouts that staff might enjoy doing at home with their and run virtual social events including quizzes. It also arranged regular welfare checks on staff living alone.
In response to Covid-19 Porterbrook increased the limit on its Cycle to Work scheme from £1,000 to £5,000 to encourage staff to bike in. It also installed electric car charging points at its Derby office and is reviewing the company car fleet with a view to being carbon neutral.
A management development programme, which was delivered in person helped leaders evaluate their own performance and strengthen their skills. Our online platform offers modules to support managers lead hybrid teams and support all employees with their wellbeing. All managers are provided with annual employment law training from our solicitor at JEL.
In the last staff survey in December 2020, 95% of staff agreed senior leaders provide a clear vision of the direction of Premier and 97% agreed they understood the company values of integrity, efficiency, and trust. CEO Alastair Aird says he has “never worked with a leadership group that trusts each other so implicitly”.
Premier raised funds during the first lockdown for the Cavell Nurses Trust, the charity supporting UK nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, both working and retired, when they're suffering a personal or financial crisis often due to illness, disability, domestic abuse and the impact of the coronavirus.
Pure Planet provided full IT kit for those who needed it during lockdown, and even paid for desks in some cases. Once the initial lockdown lifted 10% of employees could come into the office, under safe social distancing guidelines, if they wanted a change of scenery or peace away from flatmates or family. Everyone gets the same parental leave and pay – regardless of gender, identity or sexual orientation, or whichever way they become a parent.
Along with an employee assistance programme and trained mental health first aiders Pure Planet has a Slack channel focused purely on mental, physical and financial wellbeing. Resilience-building videos by an external trainer and free remote yoga sessions have been offered company-wide. 80% of staff took part in a virtual walk from London to Lapland, adding their steps daily to a calculating app.
Pure Planet pays to carbon offset the commute of all employees – a policy that has remained in spite of the transition to remote working since March 2020. Company benefits are environmentally friendly, such a cycle-to-work scheme that includes e-bikes, a green car leasing scheme that supplies only electric vehicles and hybrids and an ethical pension fund.
Recycling Technologies has a lot of staff from overseas with no family in the UK, so the company provided support such as food deliveries and information about local activities they could enjoy during lockdown. Staff on furlough had a buddy to stay in contact with.
An apprenticeship scheme was launched during the pandemic, with seven recruits in the first cohort. The company ran virtual internships over the summer for 12 students and took on seven one-year placement students. Each staff member has a training budget that can be spent on professional courses or academic qualifications.
Recycling Technologies has changed its internet search engine to Ecosia, which spends 80% of its profits on planting trees in some of the harshest environments on Earth. During lockdown, the company supported local care homes with a postcard scheme for residents who could not receive visitors.
