Engaging and Enabling your People - A 3D Approach

#1. An Appreciation Tree At City Taxis:

Sheffield's forward thinking taxi firm, City Taxis have set up an 'Appreciation Tree' in their office. It gives employees the opportunity to leave nice messages for their colleagues - a simple, but effective way of reinforcing their ethos of team work and caring. It's also a great way to highlight who's actually doing the things that count - that's 'Championing Your Champions'!

#2: My Name Is.....

Timpsons ask their employees to make up their own job title — something they feel represents their personality and role. Sometimes people go 'out there' with it, other times it's simple and straightforward. It does remind me of Samantha who as an apprentice working for us on our reception asked us what her job title was. We told her it could be whatever she wanted it to be, so she decided on 'Director Of First Impressions'!

#3: I'm Known As...

Still at Timpsons, they have a database called 'Known As' and everyone in the company has shared how they want to be called. When a new team member joins, they record their full name, but more importantly, how they prefer to be called. For example, Michael can be Mick, Mike or even Mikey. It’s simple stuff but allows them to engage with people 'personally'!

#4: How To Work With Me:

Monzo bank have 'Working With Me' documents where individuals can spell out their strengths, what they actually do and how they like to work. We all have different ways of working and communicating with each other, and this is a great tool to help people 'engage' with each other and personalise their approach to that individual. It can include anything from what they're good at, what they find challenging, or simply how they take their coffee! They're on Slack in people's profiles and it's a handy tool if you're meeting someone for the first time and want to know their unique working style. By giving people a 'heads-up' about a particular individual and his or her style allows people to adapt the way they work and communicate with them. It's totally voluntary by the way, as they recognise that not everyone feels comfortable sharing these things with others, which they say is OK too!

#5: Have A Month Working Abroad:

Ocado Group allows their working from home staff to move abroad for a month if they wish! Ocado’s teams are still being actively encouraged back into the office but are also given the chance to take one month each year to work from abroad - it's particularly popular with those who have families overseas because they can see them without using up their holiday allowance.

#6: Learn And We'll Pay!

Amazon is paying college tuition fees for more than 750,000 of its frontline staff. The internet shopping giant plans to spend in the region of $1.2bn (£870m) over the next four years on the education and skills initiative for its US employees, including those who pack and ship online orders at its warehouses.

#7: Where You Work - Let The Team Decide!

Canva has unveiled a new flexible work model that will allow teams to determine how often employees will need to work from the office. Apparently, internal surveys showed 81% of its employees wanted to continue working flexibly after current lockdowns were relaxed. The company has said it is focusing on flexibility and connection and is abolishing any formal rules around office attendance, and is empowering its teams to decide on the number of days employees are expected to attend work in person. 

 #8: £50 To Spend On 'Wellbeing' - Whatever That Means!

Social Chain provides everyone in their team with a £50 wellbeing benefit each month. They can spend it on whatever 'wellbeing' means to them. That could be a gym membership, a skincare treatment, or even a train ticket home! Basically, it's up to them how they spend it - demonstrating the fact that 'wellbeing' means different things to different people!

#9: 'Wellbeing Days' At A Solicitors!

Staff at solicitors Irwin Mitchell are given 'Wellbeing Days' to pause & take some time out for themselves to promote their health and wellbeing. 

#10: Take The Week Off!

Nike shut down its global headquarters for a week and ordered thousands of office workers to down tools in an effort to mitigate burnout from the pandemic. Office based employees were told "Do not work" and were encouraged to “unwind, de-stress and spend time with their loved ones”. 

And a bonus iDea....

#11: Help With Your Wedding!

Back to our friends at Timpsons, when one of their team members gets married, they give them a £100 bonus, an extra week off work for their honeymoon and the use of the company limousine and driver for their wedding car. Some of the other 'benefits' at Timpsons include use of a holiday home, a £25 Mothercare voucher on the birth of your baby and an entire day off for your child’s first-ever day at school!

Okay, so you might not have a wedding car or allow people a full week off, but what can you do to show your team that you value them? Get thinking about it, get thinking 'Dramatically and Demonstrably Differently' about it. If you don't, your competitors just might!