Television broadcaster UKTV operates according to its philosophy of working together to create a better organisation and in line with its set of values: create, learn, influence, challenge and collaborate.
Keeping its 279 employees highly engaged has been vital to the organisation’s success, and its incentive and recognition schemes have helped it to achieve this.
One of its most popular initiatives is awarding staff with chocolate bars containing an instant reward such as a lie-in, early finish or duvet day.
In 2016, UKTV introduced a new initiative that gives all employees an additional day of annual leave on their birthday.
Claire Astley, HR director at UKTV, says: “While we have one clear strategy, we offer a range of things that will incentivise everyone. People are motivated by different things, so you need to make sure that with a range of motivational benefits there is something for everyone.
“We have built a creative, collaborative and, above all, fun working environment that inspires entrepreneurial and innovative thinking, and motivates people to do their best. Our unprecedented growth as a business in recent years shows everyone here is doing exactly that.”
For instance, any employee who becomes a new people manager at UKTV is enrolled onto its Management Academy programme. A key part of the training is around how to motivate staff to make sure everyone in the business can reach their full potential, and to ensure managers have the skills they need to feel confident in their role.
UKTV also believes in generating ideas for all areas of the business to improve the organisation. Astley says: “Generating ideas is one of our core behaviours, so when we see it, we reward it.”
To do this, UKTV hosts its annual internal awards, which celebrates individual and team successes across the network. Staff can nominate their colleagues in categories such as Inspirational manager, Unsung hero and Team of the year, and winners are announced at a ceremony attended by all staff.
Employees can also be nominated for a Create, Learn, Influence, Challenge and Collaborate (CLICC) award by their peers throughout the year, with winners receiving a pre-loaded voucher.
Almost all (95%) of UKTV’s staff believe they can make a valuable contribution to the success of the organisation and 86% feel proud to work for the organisation.
The organisation has also gained external recognition for its efforts; it has been named in the Sunday Times’ Top 100 Best Companies to Work For 2016 list, where it has been commended for its appealing working environment and clear set of values.