2. Athene Communications is a successful and fast
growing full service communications agency operating
across three main areas of activity:
• PR and marketing
• internal communication and change management
and
• community engagement
In the first two areas we have a strong client base in
the health, financial services, manufacturing and local
government sectors.
Our community engagement practice is developing a
range of clients across the construction, housing and
renewable energy industries.
Our client list includes; Serco, British Energy, Kier
Group, Larkfleet Homes, Royal Haskoning, Balfour
Beatty, the Indesit Company, BGL Group Ltd,
Unisys, Pearl Group, NHS Trusts, Peterborough City
Council, Vivacity (arts, tourism and leisure Trust for
Peterborough) and the Great Eastern Run.
C
Introduction
3. Kelly Field, Associate Consultant
Athene Communications Ltd
25 Priestgate
Peterborough
Cambridgeshire
PE1 1JL
T: 01733 207340
07771 928369
E: kellyfield@athene-communications.co.uk
www.athene-communications.co.uk
Contact
Athene launched its Sunday Times Top 100 health check in 2012, to help
companies looking to gain a place in the 2013 Top 100 Best Employers list.
This product has a 100 per cent success rate with our highest achieving
company in the top 25.
Led by internal communications specialist, Kelly Field, our approach helps
organisations to assess their employee engagement practices against Best
Companies’ criteria and then position themselves for success. The health
check comes at a fixed price and can be tailored to suit the needs of any sized
organisation working in the private and not-for-profit sectors.
The health check
• A desktop review of any previous staff survey results
• A desktop review of current employee engagement and communication
policies and channels i.e. reward and remuneration package, staff
newsletters, intranet copy, briefings
• A half to full-day planning session with the senior team and key personnel,
as deemed appropriate
• Focus groups with staff to test out key messages and responses using
Best Companies’ eight engagement factors
• A written report on the findings of the desktop review and planning session
together with recommendations for next steps including timescales for
registration into the process
The health check is based on a fixed price of £4,875 for organisations with
up to 3,000 employees. For organisations over this size the cost is dependent
on an organisation’s geography in terms of the number of sites and structure.
We will always work to tailor the health check activities to best suit each
business’ needs and budget.
Athene’s optional support package post the health
check includes:
• Development of an action plan and timeline
• Staff and board member briefing sessions to explain the process
and benefits
• Tailoring of internal communications and key messages to ensure ‘buy-in’
• Internal communications support, pre and post the staff survey
• Completion of the Best Companies’ organisation questionnaire (split into
four parts the majority of which is an evidence and PR gathering exercise)
• Internal and external publicity of your success and results to staff,
stakeholders and the media
Costs for the above would be based on a retainer day rate tailored to your
needs and budget.
Our approach
4. www.athene-communications.co.uk
The Best Companies Accreditation follows the elite ‘Michelin style’ star
rating system for organisations that demonstrate high levels of employee
engagement. Based on staff feedback, organisations receive a Best
Companies’ index score which will determine their star rating compared
to a fixed standard.
One star is first class, two stars are outstanding and three stars are
extraordinary.
Best Companies uses the same process for both the Best Companies
Accreditation and The Sunday Times 100 Best projects.
The process consists of two elements:
• An employee survey
• Organisation questionnaire (this consists of four parts)
Your organisation’s score comes from the employee survey and is
dependent upon how highly your people score the organisation according
to the eight factors the survey measures.
The required percentage of completed surveys is as follows:
• Small companies (50-249) - 40% or 30 whichever is the greater
• Mid-sized companies (250-4,999) - 40%
• Big-sized companies (5,000 plus) - 30%
The Sunday Times Top 100
and Best Companies Accreditation
– how it works
Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
Company registration
Surveying of employees
Completion of Company
Questionnaire
Evaluations and site visits
Notification of star status
Awards presentation
The timeline
The costs
Best Companies provide an online calculator to assist organisations with
planning and budgeting for the process. To find out more visit:
http://www.bestcompanies.co.uk/listmechanics.
aspx?SurveyType=Accreditation
Best Companies’ costs includes a top line summary to reveal how an
organisation has scored in each of the eight workplace factors that Best
Companies measure: Leadership, My Manager, Personal Growth,
Wellbeing, My Team, Giving Something Back, My Company, and Fair Deal.
Detailed analysis is available through Best Companies at additional cost.
5. Kelly Field, Associate Consultant
Kelly joined Athene in January 2012 after nearly eight
years heading up communications at Peterborough’s
largest housing association, Cross Keys Homes.
During her time there she developed a successful
award-winning brand which engaged staff, customers,
stakeholders and the media alike.
In addition to The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies’ success Kelly
led on the company’s achievement of the government’s Customer Service
Excellence award (2009 and 2011), Investors in People accreditation and
Personnel Today Magazine’s Employer Branding Award 2007.
Kelly chaired the National Housing Federation’s (NHF) East of England
PR and communications practitioner group for six years. In this role she
was responsible for co-ordinating regional campaigns and supporting 25
communication professionals in their awareness raising of the NHF.
She has spoken at national events on a range of communication topics,
including employer branding, customer engagement and customer
feedback. She previously worked as a senior news and political reporter
on an evening newspaper.
Our Team
Richard Astle, Managing Director
Before setting up Athene in June 2003, Richard
was Corporate Affairs Director for AMP Pearl, one
of the country’s leading financial services groups.
He specialises in developing comprehensive
communication plans for a range of projects and
change programmes, working mainly in the financial
services and public sectors. Richard won the Institute
of Public Relations Sword of Excellence for public affairs in 2000.
In addition to Kelly and Richard, Athene has a 10-strong team of
communication and marketing professionals, who work across the PR
and communications, marketing and community engagement specialisms.
