Apprenticeship software company invests in employee learning and development to win CIPD award

OneFile: a story of award-winning cultural change, fairness and family

OneFile don’t do things by halves. The UK’s leading apprenticeship software company has won loads of prestigious accolades over the years, and now they’ve claimed their first ever award for company culture – and it’s a big one: CIPD Best SME people management initiative.  

OneFile has always focused on people. Their mission is to shape people’s futures – people completing apprenticeships, people using their software and the thousands of people who make up the OneFile community. OneFile always puts people first – and that goes for their staff too. OneFile is a family – so it’s fitting that they called their latest people management initiative ‘OneFamily’.  

After a blip in their company culture, OneFile’s senior management team knew they needed to bring the family together, so they embarked on a programme of changes to help improve the company culture – OneFamily. They appointed a new CEO: Susanna Lawson – the well-known face of OneFile.

They introduced a new behavioural framework, new company objectives and a new people management system. They also hired an organisational psychologist to support leaders, facilitate away days and develop trust between managers and staff.

OneFile also increased their investment in employee learning and development, gave all employees dedicated time to complete charity work, and introduced a platform to help staff celebrate each other’s success.  

And the result has been outstanding. In just under a year, OneFile has become a family again. Staff are happier, more engaged, better trained and deliver outstanding customer service. And their enthusiasm came across to the CIPD judges:  

‘OneFile had an honest story to tell. Using the science of human behaviour, they empowered staff, gave them the why and worked together to develop the how. They had strong buy-in at the top and delivered their initiative with high energy and passion. They achieved a lot in 12 months.’ 

But more than just winning an award, OneFamily has made OneFile a better place to work. They’re so proud of the changes their staff have made: ‘Their willingness to embrace change, think positively, and get involved in workshops has made OneFamily a success and made OneFile into a company our staff love to work for.’ 

It’s a fantastic achievement for OneFile. After winning so many awards for their software – including the Queen’s Award for Innovation – it’s amazing for them to win such a prestigious accolade for their team.  

And if a CIPD award wasn’t enough, OneFile is also celebrating the launch of their brand-new website.