The UK’s best companies revealed
by Elizabeth Harrin (London)
The Sunday Times has once again produced a list of the best companies to work for in the UK, and this year the competition was fiercer than ever. Over 200,000 employees were interviewed in a bid to find the best big and small companies from all sectors.
Topping the Best 100 Companies list was Beaverbrooks, a jewellery firm with sales of £82m where 84% of the staff are women.
Over 85% say they love to work for the company and 90% said it was run on strong principles. “I see Beaverbrooks as my future,” says one of their female employees in a short video released to support their win. “I don’t see myself going anywhere else now – they’re stuck with me!” It’s clear that the Beaverbrooks staff have clear leadership and direction, with 84% agreeing that the senior management team live the values of the organisation. “I’m now in what I would class as my dream job,” says another woman at the company.
The top legal company, and third on the overall list was Pannone LLP, a Manchester-based full service law firm with roots that can be traced back to 1852. The company has fewer than 800 staff members, and 67% of those are women, including over a third of their senior managers. The staff turnover at Pannone is a low 13%. As with many legal firms, there is sometimes the requirement to work long hours, but over 70% of staff feel they get enough time away from the office and the company’s approach to employee well-being was the best overall.
Disappointingly, only one of the top five best big companies – American Express Services Europe – has women making up a third or more of the senior management team. KPMG, Bourne Leisure, Marriott and consultancy firm Mott MacDonald have some way to go. Lexis Public Relations was nominated Best for work and home balance in a special award sponsored by the Chartered Management Institute. Staff at Lexis’s London offices finish early on Fridays to avoid the beginning of the weekend crush and they all have the ability to work from home. It’s clear that the company supports and nurtures talent: the new CEO Margot Ragget started out as the company’s first-ever graduate trainee.
Claire Crutchley, the New Business Director at Lexis, is another example of how the company ensures it supports its people. “I’ve been at Lexis for over ten years and have worked in a number of guises, from five years client handling to being able to have a total change of direction into the new business function. I’ve benefited enormously from working in a business which has supportiveness at its heart – surviving through two maternity leaves and subsequently being able to develop a really successful and enjoyable jobshare as joint new business directors,” she says. Jobsharing is one way that companies can retain talented leaders and this in turn contributes to enhanced employee satisfaction. “Undoubtedly one of the big motivations is about working for a company that has such a strong client base and for whom we deliver work that we’re all proud of, but from a ‘working mum perspective’, knowing that Lexis understands that the need to be flexible works both ways makes the juggling of work and life outside of work that bit less stressful,” Claire adds.
Activa Healthcare, the UK’s market-leading compression therapy company, was named the 4th best small company to work for – moving up two places from last year. “I get up in the morning knowing that I am going to work for a wonderful company,” says Pam Pajor, Customer Services Assistant at the company’s Head Office in Burton. “I love my job and would not want to work anywhere else. Activa really cares about each individual in the company and no matter what yourposition you are made to feel special.” Sixty per cent of the Activa workforce are women.
Mothercare, a specialist retailer of products for mothers-to-be, babies and children up to the age of eight, was named the 13th best big company to work for, an improvement of their ranking of 18th last year. The vast majority of staff are women (89%) and most of the 7221 employees earn less than £8,000. As you’d imagine, maternity benefits at the company are great with 10 weeks leave on full pay for expectant mothers. Fathers aren’t forgotten either, with generous paternity benefits. The company also has a significant amount of women among its senior management population and 70% of employees reported that they had confidence in the leadership skills of senior management.
