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.
Fortunately, risual did not have to make any Covid-related redundancies, and staff on furlough – whose pay was topped up to 100% – remained actively engaged with the business via team meetings, company update calls and daily catch-ups, along with investment in their personal development. All colleagues took part in virtual social events too, such as quizzes and competitions.
With the 2020 Olympics postponed the virtual risual Olympics was born, formed of cross-divisional teams that sparked communication. The company encouraged all employees to be mentally and physically active during the pandemic, hosting varied activities from running, walking and cycling to reading books, watching films and a guess the baby challenge.
The risual founders took the company's social responsibility a step further in 2020, forming a charitable foundation. Work towards its aim of giving back to people, communities and businesses has already begun with the launch a careers club, designed to help people get back into work by deploying risual employees' knowledge and experience.
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SafetyCulture gave staff two recharge days (paid days off) and introduced “Summer Fridays” where employees finished at 2pm. Staff were sent restaurant DIY kits for the virtual Christmas party and team leads have a quarterly budget to organise team birthday and anniversary gifts and drinks and dinners, currently virtually.
SafetyCulture usually holds an annual event called ShipIt, flying all employees off to an international location for a week of collaboration, innovation and learning. It was in New Zealand in 2018. Last year, the Manchester team created its own mini ShipIt hackathon with workshops, speakers, barbecues and activities.
SafetyCulture created a virtual pub called Wolfpack Inn with various rooms for people to join every Friday night to mimic the feeling of going to different bars. It also sent staff monthly gifts, including hampers with champagne and home-baked goods, wellness boxes during Wellness month and Christmas sweaters.
To help staff return to the office, Salix hired parking spaces near its HQ to allow those with a car to drive in. Also it gave staff a £500 bonus to put towards something to help their mental wellbeing, such as yoga classes, while transitioning from working from home.
Salix has an unusually high number of female employees: the chief executive and 60% of the managers throughout the organisation are women. Just over a quarter of staff are from BAME backgrounds, with the workforce including staff from all over the world.
Staff were allowed to spend at least one day a week volunteering to help local individuals and community groups during the pandemic. The chief executive clocked up 280 hours of being available to shop and collect medicines for vulnerable adults who were sheltering.
During the pandemic, the executive board supported staff working at home by backing three key initiatives: staying informed about the business, keeping in touch with each other and being recognised for personal achievements.
The business created a wellbeing information pack, which contains practical advice to help colleagues manage all aspects of their health. It also gave each colleague £50 to spend on their own or their family's wellbeing and will be introducing a £150 annual wellbeing allowance.
Silva Homes manages a six-acre community garden. It provides an environment to grow produce and engage in activities to support biodiversity and the natural environment. The garden features an orchard, vineyard, polytunnel and three acres of cultivated ground. There are plans for a sensory garden.
The senior management team launched their Inclusion Pledge and initiatives including a quarterly inclusion survey. A Leadership Mentoring Scheme has also been introduced. This scheme invites applications from everyone, however, it particularly encourages them from employees from underrepresented groups and those who struggle to be heard or who think differently.
SB&G has created a central budget for peer-to-peer recognition, in the form of “Now That” rewards. Staff can recognise their colleagues in the moment with a personalised “Now That” reward of up to £50 with staff sending e-vouchers and deliveries to their colleagues throughout the pandemic.
During 2020 staff raised more than £45,000 for charity partner Macmillan Cancer Support through virtual fundraising including a day-long Coffee Morning, with escape rooms, bake-alongs, live quizzes and online bingo. Employees did skills based volunteering throughout the pandemic working with social enterprises and charities.
The new and improved version of the company's 12-month leadership development programme, first launched in 2017, is based on three main targets: more relevant, more flexible, more bite-sized. The lessons will contain skills and concepts immediately applicable to day-to-day work.
Much of the talent in the studio arrives through referrals from existing members of staff, reflecting the belief they have in the company. Referral bonuses are paid, up to £5,000 for the hardest-to-fill roles. Splash Damage's concerted push on diversity and inclusion has improved the variety of applicants.
Splash Damage ditched canned and bottled drinks in favour of drinks dispensers as part of its efforts to be kinder to the environment. This simple change saved more than 21,000 cans and bottles in the first three months alone. Recycling is encouraged as much as possible, including coffee grounds.
Team leaders have received virtual training on how to manage a team remotely. Rising stars can complete a professional development programme which consists of modules to furnish them with the skills to grow and develop. Topics covered include brand, culture, business development and marketing, finance, public speaking and networking.
Stephens Scown is the first large law firm to have introduced a shared ownership scheme. Employees own part of the business and share in 50% of additional profits over and above the published profit target figure. Employees are called ‘Scowners' and the scheme's strapline is 'There's no place like Scown!'.
Employees can take up to three paid days a year for voluntary work. This was extended to up to two hours a week during the pandemic to allow them to volunteer in their local community. The company does pro bono legal work and raised over £30,000 for charity this year.
A monthly recognition and reward scheme, Appreci8, allows employees to highlight good work by a team member, who is rewarded with a £25 gift voucher. During the pandemic, when morale was low, boxes of chocolates were delivered to hard-working employees.
Flexible working patterns and webinar tips were introduced for working parents who were homeschooling their children during the pandemic. The Restorative Café series also included mindfulness techniques.
Tai Calon's Green Earth team helped council staff and volunteers to create a butterfly garden at the Blaina Community hub, with native plants and shrubs to attract and sustain a wide array of pollinators.
Open and honest communication is key at TCS. This is illustrated by the way pay rises were handled during the pandemic. While the increases were initially put on hold, managers announced they were reinstated at the first possible opportunity – creating huge trust among employees.
Staff are paid to learn. Under the Elevate Wings 1 initiative, which was launched during Covid, junior to mid-level employees who complete specific training packages will not only upskill – they will also qualify for a salary increase of up to 25 per cent.
The Tata Group, TCS's parent company, has pledged over $200million to protect and empower communities during the pandemic. Working with the World Economic Forum, it made its remote learning software free to schools and colleges, to help some of the estimated 1.37billion children that risk having their education interrupted.
