It is not every company that would think to provide kayak racks for employees wishing to travel to work by boat, but that is precisely what Capital One did when it opened a new canal‐side building at its European headquarters site in Nottingham, UK. The move reflects an important philosophy at...

Millions of pounds a year are saved by “UK plc” through increased efficiency in using technology to address customer queries, but it is probably losing an even larger sum by failing to monitor and measure the performance of the people using that technology, says Russell Bradshaw, research...

We listen hard and talk straight, with no sugar coating and no filters. Trust is impossible without early, accurate and reliable communication, so we strive for “brutal” openness and honesty. All of us know where we stand, face reality and act on it. We are open to ideas from everyone,...

The UK’s ninth‐largest law firm has changed over the last five years from being regarded in legal circles as the “rottweilers from the north”, with a “revolving‐door culture”, to being a great place to work. DLA was 35th in the 2004 Sunday Times Great Place to Work table – its...

A survey carried out among all 3,800 employees of a UK logistics and distribution business revealed generally high levels of employee satisfaction, but also opportunities to improve the working lives of employees and the profitability of the company. Founded in 1925, Palmer and Harvey, of Hove,...

Purpose – Details how T‐Mobile UK successfully transferred its employee newsletter, open , from paper to an electronic format. Design/methodology/approach – Provides a case study of the T‐Mobile experience and draws out the lessons that other organizations can learn from it. Findings –...

Purpose – The article's aim is to outline the importance of fluid communication patterns that develop certain employee attributes and improve organizational performance. It seeks to focus on the examples of McDonald's and Ford. Design/methodology/approach – The article draws on work carried...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how hairdressing company, Popham, has become an Investor in People champion and the benefits that have flowed from this. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explains the background to the Investor in People award and the policies that...

Purpose – Describes the human‐resource management policies that helped UK pest‐control company Cleankill to win an Investors in People bronze award. Design/methodology/approach – Explains the importance of knowledge sharing, training, empowerment and good internal communications at...

Purpose – This paper aims to describe the policies that have helped UK medical‐device company Coloplast to earn a place in the Sunday Times list of the top 100 companies to work for. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explains the reasons for the policies, the form they take and the...