What are companies doing with regards to 'Wellbeing'

Talent Works encourages employees to take paid volunteer days. They have been given information on local and national charitable initiatives such as telephone befriending services. This year the business will be supporting a local charity and staff will run the London Marathon on its behalf.

Staff are encouraged to have a development plan with SMART objectives. Some teams also have career pathway documents which allow employees and managers to score and track progression for those wanting to take a step up in their career.

Staff are encouraged to take screen breaks, especially when working from home. Training is provided on proper rest breaks. Employees are advised not to have work apps on their personal phones to avoid overworking and are discouraged from working overtime and at weekends.

The company believes in the accessibility of its leadership. It has a flat hierarchy with an open-door policy and an ethos of leaders who serve. Leaders adhere to the agile-working methodology and minutes of management meetings are published.

Tribe, one of the company's new magazines, celebrates good news stories such as weddings, Totemic babies and individual personal achievements. It highlights the activity in the company's charitable world and provides an informal focus on key people, revealing who they are and what makes them tick.

Staff almost filled the reception area with clothing, medical supplies, baby products and food, when they collected for relief in Ukraine. Totemic has also been working with the NHS to supply £10,000 worth of diabetic medication to the war-torn country. Every December, it makes up and delivers Christmas dinner hampers to 100 local families.

Staff demonstrating the council's "epic" values are recognised at bi-monthly EPIC Star awards, which are judged by heads of service, and individuals are recognised by their corporate director. The yearly Time to Shine events are lead and sponsored by senior leadership teams and the awards categories are centred around the values.

The council runs an EPIC management programme alongside micro-learns, to allow managers to grow and develop, but it also provides them with health and wellbeing training covering topics such as active working, menopause for managers and workplace adjustments. New and aspiring managers can attend its LEAP into Leadership programme, which was developed with Salford College.

As well as its charity efforts, the college has environmental initiatives in place. It promotes the cycle-to-work agenda and the number of staff signing up to it, instead of using cars or public transport, has increased. It also advocates recycling and has bins and stations across the campus.

There are twice-yearly celebration events and staff sports days. Social activities include a book club and a cycle club. Staff briefings involve all employees. There is also a biannual staff survey, as well as regular focus groups and staff newsletters. Staff can use the college's employee engagement app, Stribe, to leave feedback.

Quarterly senior leaders' meetings are a new concept at Connect and were launched to bring leaders together to bridge the gaps that have appeared as a result of a more flexible way of working. The three-hour meetings discuss the highs and lows of past quarter and pave the way for the next.

Training and development is promoted by the company and is discussed in quarterly assessments and regular one-to-one sessions with staff. Employees are encouraged to look at their skills and areas that need developing. As a result of the last company survey, Connect Software has created a nine- to 12-month leadership and management development programme.

Building on skills learnt over the past two years, Umega is using recorded communications to bring company policies, insights and analysis to life. Everyone is given access to them. The move has built trust and understanding because the spirit and tone of a message is communicated better than it would be in writing.

Staff are encouraged to gain the Association of Residential Lettings Agents Propertymark qualification. The company pays for exams, provides time off for study and pays for Propertymark membership once they are qualified. It also supports continuing professional development.

Approaching learning and development comes in the form of the ‘70:20:10’ model. This sees employees get 70% of their learning from daily tasks or challenges, 20% from social interaction, and 10% from formal training. There’s also extensive apprenticeship, mentoring, and shadowing programmes on offer and staff are often supported into more senior positions through secondments.

To encourage the switch to more environmentally friendly vehicles, a new electric vehicle (EV) salary sacrifice scheme has been launched. Staff eligible for the scheme benefit from income tax and national insurance contribution savings, as well as reducing their carbon footprint. Employees can make use of the free EV charging points at TriConnex’ head office.

Every employee is offered a formal training plan upon joining the company, tailored specifically to their career aspirations. This plan, along with a dedicated 1-2-1 mentor, provides them with the right tools and opportunities to progress. Every staff member can attend ‘Wednesday Workshops’, covering everything from new skills to looking after their mental health.

All managers are given an experienced mentor within the business to help and offer guidance. Along with this internal support network, managers and future managers are given access to a Leadership training program. This includes personality-based training where their natural skills are utilised to improve their leadership.

AAB believes in celebrating success and a special breakfast is laid on for those who have gained qualifications. Staff are also given a shopping voucher on their birthday. When Covid meant the cancellation of the annual Christmas party in 2020, the leadership team delivered gifts to every team member's home.

A two-day training programme is available for those looking to develop their role and their management skills. This year more than 50 staff have signed up to attend. The courses cover a range of skills, including building effective relationships, delegation and managing in the changing environment of remote working.