My Team - Employees' feelings towards their immediate colleagues and how well they work together
My team benefits from a high scoring My Manager factor as the manager is key to creating and sustaining a productive and positive work environment.
An employee’s perceived team will be those they work with on a daily basis.
Additional programmes have been rolled out to support managers, including Managing Insiders, which provides training on recruitment, communication, managing performance, managing conflict and employee engagement. Managers are additionally offered the chance to complete an MBA on a part-time basis. Regular “round tables” allow managers to raise any issues of concern.
Founder Simon Martin has led from the front on the company's diversity policy, launching a Changemakers programme to coach employees on what it means to be anti-rascist, not just non-rascist. More than 40 changemakers have been trained and a dedicated Diversity & Inclusion lead hired.
Team interaction has not been curbed by the pandemic with the company introducing a range of initiatives including a weekly kid's club for work-at-home parents, exercise sessions, dance classes and entertainment from a comedian and a professional singer. Online mixology classes and a “Quarantini” virtual bar night have proved popular.
For anyone who was furloughed, the company organised training through the learning and development team and worked closely with their managers to ease them back into work. It encouraged every employee on furlough to learn a new skill that could support them on their return to work.
The bespoke Launch programme caters for people's individual learning needs. Each employee is assigned to a course which they complete over a number of months. The delivery is increasingly and sometimes wholly online, using tools such as Zoom to ensure content is delivered in an engaging manner.
The LHi Global Challenge, launched during Mental Health Awareness Week, connected people across the group and encouraged them to run, walk or cycle. During the pandemic there were virtual race nights, escape rooms, bingo, quizzes, workout classes, coffee breaks, book clubs and guitar lessons.
There is a simple ethos for training and development. LPF supports 100% any training that is required for people to do the work; any training that helps a colleague do their job even better; and any training that helps a colleague develop into a future role.
Technologies such as Zoom and Teams have been embraced by staff, who use them for collaboration, interaction and socialising. An informal chat lounge is very popular for sharing photos and memes, while team quizzes ensure people can stay in contact. The Christmas market was a virtual treat.
LPF increased the frequency of its recognition scheme from annual to quarterly. Staff can nominate someone who has gone the extra mile by helping a member or colleague or by thinking outside the box. Winners receive a Social Stories Club hamper, a branded pen and a certificate.
LTE uses a performance appraisal process to measure manager performance throughout the year. This is based on a number of key factors including contractual compliance, learner achievement and staff engagement – and the group's Best Companies results support these action plans. LTE aims to develop its performance management process further over the coming 12 months.
A core LTE value is being one team, with staff collaborating and contributing to company goals. The organisation's senior leadership team of around 60 people represents its current and future leaders and meets times a year to share performance and development.
Each month or so there have been group-wide team sing-alongs and mini-competitions to raise everyone's spirits. Many Teams groups were set up to prevent people from feeling isolated – especially those working at home, and a fitness challenge helped competitive colleagues to track their overall kilometres and achievements.
Engineering recruits who were not fully trained at the start of the pandemic were able to continue their development through virtual training sessions. The company invested in new camera equipment to help trainers using Microsoft Teams. Staff can also access learning material via the Workplace platform.
Openreach introduced #ThankYou days, where people tagged others who had supported them through the pandemic. Microsoft Teams, Workplace and emails were used to provide information and advice to staff, many of whom were working from home, and there was a “let's beat loneliness” campaign.
Colleagues who excel are recognised for their performance: managers can nominate individuals for a £50 reward and teams can share up to £500. When the annual awards ceremony was switched to a virtual event, the firm sent hampers to winners' houses so their families could enjoy the celebrations.
Staff were kept informed about health and safety issues and Oprema's sales figures during the pandemic. Update meetings took place on Microsoft Teams and, on the social side, there were remote quiz nights. Managers maintained contact and recognition by sending gifts to staff in the post.
Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp groups help colleagues to communicate with each other when they are not at work together. Company e-cards, which were designed in-house, have been a hit and enable the team to say thank you, well done and happy birthday.
Mind Cymru remains the company's charitable partner this year as it was unable to raise as much money in lockdown-affected 2020 as in previous years. In 2019 it donated nearly £10,000 to Macmillan Cancer Support. During the pandemic, it raised funds through the on-site tuck shop which it ran.
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.
Orwell embraced technology in bringing together disparate colleagues during the pandemic. Facebook Workplace was a big hit, providing a hub for information, motivation, celebration and social activities, such as Christmas charades and a best onesie wearer competition. The association invested in 144 laptops to help staff stay in touch.
A therapist was brought in for four months to help staff traumatised by a Covid-19 outbreak in their workplace. Additional wellbeing resources were introduced for all staff during the pandemic, including free NHS health checks, weight management and stop smoking support.
Alongside a generous suite of benefits, there are personalised rewards. To thank a colleague for solving an issue outside his normal hours, the CEO arranged a meal for him and his wife at their favourite restaurant. Wellbeing tokens, given to reward and thank colleagues, can be used at local businesses.
Managers helped people set up home offices during the pandemic and organised regular team meetings and online updates. Employees were given options to work flexibly to support home schooling or looking after dependants. New technology was brought in to facilitate e-learning and training management.
More regular company meetings and one-to-ones have been introduced, at which everyone is encouraged to use their camera. There are plans to divide the business into teams across functions and countries, to help build relationships and ease communication between staff who would otherwise have no opportunity to interact.
PHASTAR has a paperless office policy under which files are digital wherever possible. Last year digital signature was introduced for internal forms to reduce the need to print out documents. Offices have energy-saving lights and sensors to limit unnecessary usage, and recycling is the norm.
Managing director Sam Mudd led from the front as soon as the government advised people to work from home, sending regular videos recorded on her phone to keep people up to speed on issues such as getting hold of home office equipment. She also sent business updates and recommended Ted talks to keep people motivated.
A Friday quiz at 4.30pm has kept colleagues interacting over the past year, the £50 prize up for grabs donated to the winner's chosen charity. Staff have also united for virtual fitness classes, bingo sessions and ‘tea and toast' chats, while funny hats have lightened the mood of some team meetings.
Recognising that not-for-profit organisations were being hit hard by lockdown, due to the lack of fundraising opportunities, Phoenix extended its Azure Essentials Managed Service to these clients for free to help keep their IT systems running. All employees have a day per year to volunteer.
