great place to work 2010 uk report

10th Anniversary

Edition

UK’S BEST WORKPLACES

Baringa Partners: The Best Workplace in the UK

Trust: Driving loyalty and growth in tough times

The Upturn: How Best Workplaces are preparing

GREAT PLACE TO WORK® SPECIAL REPORT MAY 2010 www.greatplacetowork.co.uk

The views and comments in this publication are those of the Great Place to Work®Institute UK and are not backed or in any way endorsed by The Financial Times Limited.

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CONTENTS4 Preparing for theUpturnAs we emerge from the recession, business has a rare chance to become more competitive by focusing on employees, says Nic Paton

6 The WinnerA culture emphasising communication and trust has helped Baringa Partners to scoop the top award of best workplace in the UK. Widget Finn explains how

8 A healthy approachGrowing numbers of businesses are recognising the importance of health and wellbeing, particularly the Best Workplaces. Kate Hilpern explains

10 Word from the topWhat are the key assets an organisation holds that make it a Best Workplace? We asked the people at the top

12 UK Top 50From biotechnology to social services and government, this year’s 50 Best Workplaces in the UK covers a wide range of sectors

15 UK Best SmallThis year, for the fi rst time, we highlight the top 10 best small workplaces in the UK

4

EDITORAnna Scott

DESIGN Redactive Media Group

PUBLICATION DIRECTORWilliams Johnson

PROJECT COORDINATIONPaula MeloVijay Mistry

PEER REVIEWRichard Widdowson

RESEARCH AND ASSESSMENTGreat Place to Work® Institute UK

PUBLISHED BYRedactive Publishing Ltd, 17-18 Britton Street, London, EC1M 5TP, Tel +44 (0)20 7880 6200

DISTRIBUTED BY The Guardian The Financial Times Business Life Magazine

FRONT COVER MEESON/hitandrunmedia.com

BEST WORKPLACES 2010

16 The TrendsProfessional services and consulting is one of the best performing sectors in this year’s Best Workplaces Programme. We examine the other trends that have emerged in the UK and Europe

18 European Top 100The Best Workplaces Programme in Europe covers the top 50 small and medium-sized workplaces across the continent

20 Small and perfectly formedWith rock solid retention rates and staff encouraged to contribute suggestions at any time, it’s not surprising Centor Insurance and Risk Management have won the Best Small Workplaces Award 2010, says Widget Finn

22 Trust: the smallest word that makes the biggest differenceIt drives loyalty and growth and can help organisations survive in tough times. Liz Hollis looks at why a culture of trust is essential for a great workplace

24 The ExpertsThis year, the Great Place to Work® Institute UK, has introduced a new Special Category Excellence Award – for learning and development. We outline the winners of this and the rest of the awards

26 Generational divideWith generational diversity being such a hot topic in today’s workplace, how do Best Workplaces manage different age groups? Andy Allen fi nds out

28 A common goodOrganisations can no longer afford to ignore corporate responsibility issues, especially the environment. But it is in the truly great places to work that responsible business practices are part of the DNA, writes Hannah Prevett

30Hall of FameFor the fi rst time in the history of the Best Workplaces Programme in Europe, two organisations have received the Great Place to Work Masters trophy for achieving a place in the UK ranking for 10 consecutive years

Transforming society by creating better workplaces

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FOREWORDThis year we celebrate the 10th edition of the Best Workplaces Programme. Since its inception in the UK, the initiative has been welcomed and employed by some of the largest and most respected organisations in the country.In this period, we have recognised more than 500 exemplary UK workplaces and over 4,000 workplaces in Europe across our 17 national Best Workplaces initiatives. But, it’s not all about recognition. We have worked with these organisations and their leaders to measure their workplace climate and give them metrics and intelligence to assess how they were doing in their journey to create their own great workplace cultures.

A key element of our mission is to create role model workplaces. In a year in which role models have seemed to be few and far between in both business and political arenas evidenced by the many scandals that were constantly in our media headlines, we feel a renewed sense of purpose from awarding the Institute’s Masters Award, for the irst time in the history of the programme in Europe, to two outstanding workplaces. Wragge & Co and Admiral Group have received this life-time award after 10 consecutive years of success in our rankings. So what makes these workplaces and their leaders role models? It’s certainly not the fact that they won this accolade

but it is what they do on a daily basis to earn and sustain the trust and respect of their people. Leaders of Best Workplaces have long understood that progressive people management practices and generous bene its could only get them so far in this journey and unless they are backed up with real meaning and substance these ingredients won’t equate to a great workplace culture. In this 10th anniversary, let’s celebrate the examples of these workplaces and their leaders who so clearly demonstrate that leadership is not just about commanding trust and respect but giving it and setting the example. Tom O’Byrne Chief executive of icer, Great Place to Work® Institute UK

Will Hutton Executive, vice chair,

The Work Foundation

Tom O’Byrne Chief executive offi cer,

Great Place to Work®

Institute UK

WHAT MAKES THEM ROLE MODELS IS WHAT THEY DO ON A DAILY BASIS TO SUSTAIN TRUST AND RESPECT


We all know it when we come across it, even if we lack a common language to describe it. It’s that buzz, that something. That X factor. If those organisations and workplaces that have it could bottle it up and sell it, they could diversify into a sure-fire winning product. But instead, as we all know, it takes years of subtle application, wrong turns and downright hard work to get right. So what is it? It is easy to overdo the mystery. Thanks to the efforts of researchers, we know much that we didn’t in previous generations about what makes for good work and good workplaces. It is in the mix of performance, engagement and fairness: a steely commitment to excellence and quality; a sense of integrity and high trust in working relationships; and

developing the practices, structures and (whisper it) terms and conditions that help people feel valued and well treated and facilitate their participation in the life and objectives of organisations. But knowing the recipe does not mean we can all make the dish. One of the conundrums of the modern workplace is why “high performance” or “people centred” management is so patchy. Some do it brilliantly. Most don’t. But if it works, why

is it so rare? Is it weak incentives, ignorance, inertia, a conscious decision to keep trundling on the low road? Both policy and business worlds are right to worry away at the problem. In the meantime, however, let’s celebrate (and study) the stellar examples that are showing the way.Will Hutton Executive, vice chair, The Work Foundation

www.greatplacetowork.co.uk 3

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Unemployment may inally be on a downward trend but, as workers and businesses begin to feel more con ident again, so employers face the return of an old, pre-recessionary challenge – retention of staff. Not only are we starting to see signs of hiring again in some industries as order books slowly pick up, but workers who have perhaps stayed put for longer than they might have done otherwise because of the uncertain climate are becoming more prepared to dip their toes back into the jobs market.In March, a poll of almost 400 managers by recruitment irm StepStone Solutions found that one-third expected to lose key people as the recovery gathered pace, while four out of 10 chief executives in a poll by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers in February said they expected to be

15.4%BEST WORKPLACES’ AVERAGE REVENUE GROWTH IN THE PAST YEARBEST WORKPLACES 2010

however well you deal with it. We had never made redundancies before, so it was a massive culture shock,” she says.Yet the irm went to great pains to ensure there was not a communication vacuum into which morale-damaging gossip, rumour and intrigue could rush. Initiatives included posting up an extensive question-and-answer document on the company intranet. Every question posed through the staff council or directly on to the site was answered and then added to it. “It was a massive commitment but it meant if one person asked a question – which perhaps 10 others had wanted to ask but had not wanted to raise their head above the parapet – it got answered,” says Ms Bellis.In a second round of redundancies in the summer of last year the company ensured senior partners also got closely involved and that the emphasis on honest, open communication continued. “People do not want it dressed up or spun. We have intelligent and highly skilled people here, and they just want to be treated as adults,” adds Ms Bellis.Teams were asked to come up with their own solutions. The process led to 86 staff members temporarily moving on to more lexible working patterns in, says Ms Bellis, almost 86 different ways. “It might have been, from the HR point of view, a bit of a nightmare to manage, but it did make people feel they were more in control of their destinies.”Even in irms that have had a relatively “good” recession, how people have been treated and managed is vital when it comes to preparing for the upturn,

agrees Jez Langhorn, head of talent and education at McDonald’s in the UK.“Almost everyone has experienced some sort of effect from the recession, whether it is in their family life or in their income. So it is important that companies make every effort to engage with their people and provide additional support,” he advises.Recent initiatives at the fast-food chain, which employs 80,000 staff and runs 1,200 restaurants in the UK, have included the launch in January last year of a hospitality apprenticeship scheme, offering staff the chance to gain the equivalent of ive GCSEs.“The average crew member stays with us for about three years, while managers stay on average for 15 years. Our turnover has never been lower than it is now,” says Mr Langhorn.“People do value it when an

hiring new people over the next few months. Even in irms where the outlook remains uncertain, there are signs of growing con idence among workers. While two in ive workers in a poll earlier this year by the Keep Britain Working campaign said they anticipated being asked to reapply for their jobs because of continuing recessionary pressures, nearly two in three also said they would now be prepared to take their chances rather than do so.What all this indicates is that the irms that may have the competitive edge as we go into the new business climate are those that have gone out of their way to look after their workers during this recession, and managed to maintain rather than erode trust, loyalty and engagement – in other words, those irms that appear on the Great Place to Work® Institute’s latest list of the UK’s Best Workplaces.This recession has been a bruising experience for many, says Linda Bellis, HR director at law irm Wragge & Co, one of two organisations that has achieved a place in the ranking 10 consecutive times. The irm, which employs just over 1,000 people, was forced to make 97 people redundant during the downturn, 42 of them through compulsory lay-offs.“People still feel wounded,

PREPARING FOR THE UPTURNAs we emerge from the recession, those businesses that have been focusing on their employees are likely to prove more competitive, writes Nic Paton


“If one person asked a question – which perhaps 10 others had wanted to ask – it got answered”

Appetising offer: a hospitality apprenticeship has helped McDonald’s

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6,000 NUMBER OF JOB APPLICATIONS BEST WORKPLACE WL GORE RECEIVED IN THE PAST YEAR

2.2%AVERAGE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN EUROPEAN BEST WORKPLACES, DESPITE THE RECESSION THE UPTURN

investment is made in them, even in a recession. When the economy does turn the corner, those people will be more loyal,” he adds.Honesty and openness are essential if you want to maintain trust and therefore build momentum going into the recovery, says Tom Nicholls, group HR director of London and Quadrant Housing Trust, which employs

the key,” says Sam Theobald, HR manager at brand communication company IncrediBull, which employs 25 people. “We, for example, made a point of sharing information, including why we were not able to hire anyone extra, or why people might have been having to work longer hours. But it is also important to be true to your words.”

KEY LESSONS:

■ Firms that have managed to maintain trust, loyalty and engagement may have the competitive edge in the new business climate

■ Open and honest communication with employees is essential

■ How staff are treated and managed is vital when it comes to preparing for the upturn

THE BEST FOR QUALITY OF LIFEWhen asked the following statement: “People are encouraged to balance their work life and their personal life.”

Rank Company 1 Impact International 2 Tandberg 3 Taff Housing 4 Total Jobs Group 5 McDonald’s Restaurants UK

1,100 people.The company, for example, has over the past 18 months developed a new L&Q Leadership Academy for managers, with around 170 managers so far having gone through its three-day residential programme.“It is about developing leadership skills, but also looking at our culture and how we can work more collaboratively,” says Mr Nicholls.The company has also developed a new bonus scheme linked to resident satisfaction, launched in April last year, whereby staff receive a bonus of up to 5% of salary that comes out of any additional pro it made as a result.“It has been more important than ever to be able to demonstrate to people that we are prepared to listen and respond,” says Mr Nicholls.“Open communications are

“In our business, clients come to us because of our people; because they want to work with our people. So their ability to manage their contacts and those relations, and the enthusiasm and engagement they project in the process, are important. We have been fortunate to pick up some of our biggest clients during this recession,” adds Ms Theobald.For Wragge & Co, which opened a new of ice in Paris in April, things have certainly begun to pick up. And Ms Bellis is hoping the company’s hard work in maintaining morale and trust during the tough times should put it in a stronger position for the future.“You are never going to get rave reviews from handling redundancies. But when you look at some of the disastrous reviews other law irms have got, I think the things we did, and the reputation we have generally towards our people, will help us with recruitment and retention,” she says.

“We made a point of sharing information, including why people might have to work longer hours”

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Baringa Partners

“I love this place and I love the job I do.” So says one of the employees at the winning company of this year’s Best Workplaces award, Baringa Partners. “I believe we are all excep-tionally proud to work for such a unique, encouraging and fair com-pany,” another staff member adds.Baringa, a management con-sultancy that specialises in the energy and utilities markets and the inancial services industry, has a company culture that focuses on supporting and growing talented and motivated staff, says managing partner Mohamed Mansour. “All our senior people are involved in every recruiting decision we make. We use personal networks, select-ing the best people we have worked with, alongside more traditional methods of inding new talent.” Recruiting in this way makes a dif-ference to the psychological contract Baringa has with its employees: the emphasisis is not just on ensuring staff are suitable for the organisa-tion, but also that the organisation is suitable for staff. The company provides a budget for all new pro-spective employees to be taken out socially to understand more about the company.Guy Munton, who joined Baringa in 2008, is in charge of recruitment within the inancial services practice. Coming from a


Head Offi ce: London

Website: www.baringa.com

to have someone to answer simple questions such as ‘how do I do my timesheet?’ or ‘where are company meetings?’ – the sort of thing you don’t want to bother your manager with, but which are vital to getting up and running straight away.”All staff members, as part of their induction, are also assigned a career advisor who acts as a mentor throughout the individual’s time at Baringa, providing guidance, iden-tifying opportunities and training, and evaluating career progress.Communication and trust are essential to Baringa’s success, claims Mr Mansour. “We have no big central of ice where everyone gets together round the coffee machine. Our consultants spend most of their time at client sites, so we use regu-lar company meetings every six weeks to catch up with colleagues, meet new joiners, get up to date with strategy and achievements, and give everyone an opportunity to have their say.” The meetings contribute to the open, honest and consistent communication needed to build trust. The meetings are followed by more casual interaction, adds Mr Mansour. “After the of icial meet-ing, there are informal drinks to which partners are invited. We hold the events in London or a country hotel, and later this year the whole company plus partners are meeting in Sorrento, Italy.”One employee says: “Everyone is open, honest and approachable, with a can-do attitude to getting things done as a team. Nobody is left to do things on their own, which is excellent and a vast improvement on previous places I have worked.”Baringa Partners has a lat hier-

archy, which encourages a free low of information around the organi-sation. Senior management is committed to being frank and open about bad news as well as good tidings, says Jim Hayward, senior partner with responsibility for HR. “E-mails are sent to everyone applauding signi icant individual efforts and congratulating people who have been promoted. Updates and summaries of the latest client engagements are circulated. E-mails inform all employees of individual resignations, personally written by a director and detail-ing the employee’s successes and conveying the company’s thanks. We also strive to give honest expla-nations when we have to request short-term extra efforts and longer hours, so that everyone under-stands the reasons.”Celebrating success is a key way to motivate people. Baringa gives a quarterly award of £500 to an individual who has demonstrated an exceptional contribution to the company’s core values, with annual awards for Team of the Year, the Star Player, One to Watch and Cheerleader. Teams hitting mile-stones mark the achievement with drinks and dinners, company away weekends celebrate successes with families, and, importantly, promotions are based on skills and contribution, not time served. Management consultancy is a male-dominated profession, with women accounting for only around 25% of staff. The Baringa Women’s Forum is a support network for the 33 women in the company. Pentony O’Hagan at Baringa sees it as a forum for discussing and monitoring women’s issues in

large consultancy, he found Barin-ga’s recruitment process “friendly and amiable. After the irst round of interviews, candidates are encour-aged to talk to someone who is at a similar level in the company to ind out what it’s like to work here.” Successful candidates are sent a bottle of champagne, and their arrival is announced to the whole company via email. At their irst company meeting, they’re pre-sented with a company t-shirt to show they’ve joined the team. As a new joiner, Mr Munton was paired with a “buddy” for his irst year. “Everyone has a buddy who can provide advice and unof icial help. I received a phone call from my buddy on my irst day in the of ice to welcome me. It was great

THE WINNER

A culture that emphasises communication and trust has helped Baringa Partners scoop the top award of best workplace in Britain. Widget Finn explains how


‘Everyone is open, honest and approachable with a can-do attitude to getting things done’

2009 2008 2007 2006 2

DANONE GOOGLE BEAVERBROOKS BAIN & CO ?W

PAST WINNERS

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WINNER PROFILE

the workplace. “For example, we looked at our recruitment statistics and saw that women were more successful as candidates, but there were fewer female applicants. We identi ied that our maternity policy wasn’t offering the best options – and for many women the mater-nity package is more important than remuneration. A new mater-

nity package is in its inal draft. It’s great to see something that the Women’s Forum has identi ied and changed.”Mansour believes that: “Being a successful company and creating an enjoyable working environ-ment are intrinsically linked. The combination creates a GPTW cul-ture and motivated staff who have a high impact on clients. We ind that our corporate social respon-sibility (CSR) programme, where individuals and teams take part in voluntary work and charity events, is a great way of having fun. People enjoy giving something back to the community.” Baringa exempli ies two of the key characteristics of best work-places identi ied by the Great Place to Work® Institute – pride and camaraderie. One employee says: “This company has a true family feeling where, from the day you

Pride and camaraderie: two members of the Baringa ‘family’

KEY LESSONS:

■ A friendly and amicable recruitment process helps new starters with a “buddy” for the fi rst year and a careers advisor

■ A fl at hierarchy encourages a free fl ow of information

■ A sustainability programme gives a source of engagement and pride

start, you are guided and accepted into the Baringa ‘family’. There are ups and downs in any business; however, everyone from the senior management to lower levels, sticks together and makes the best of the situation. This gives the feeling that you are never alone in any of the challenges you face in your work-ing – and personal – life, since you have the Baringa support crew.”

The company’s CSR programme started with a “last day pro its donation” says Nicola Salmon, who is responsible for the charity pro-gramme. “The day’s pro its for the last day of the inancial year goes to four charities,” she says. “We’re now getting staff involved in volun-teering schemes. A group went to a local primary school to do a garden makeover, turning a concrete area into a play area. It was a good team-building day, giving us a chance to get out of the of ice.”And it’s not just management that sees the CSR programme as a source of pride and engagement for employees. One employee says: “I think the company has worked hard to improve its impact on wider society, implementing the CSR ini-tiative and exploring opportunities to take part in the carbon agenda.”What’s more, Baringa Partners has continued to grow its business despite the recent recession. “Our success has been built on the qual-ity of our people and the culture they’ve developed,” says Mr Man-sour. “I’m proud to see our staff’s careers grow in a workplace that gives them the opportunity to real-ise their full potential.”THE MOST SOUGHT AFTERHow many people applied for jobs in the past year (excluding current employees)?

Rank Company Applicants 1 McDonald Restaurants Ltd 350,000 2 KFC UK and Ireland 100,000 3 Maybourne Hotel group 26,000 4 British Gas 17,000 5 Beaverbrooks the Jewellers Ltd 14,000

2005 2004 2003 2002 2001

O ?WHAT IF! ?WHAT IF! ASDA ASDA CISCO SYSTEMS

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At Happy Ltd, you’re more likely to hear the word “wellness” than “sick-ness.” Having decided to switch the focus as part of its health and well-being strategy ive years ago, the training company has since experi-enced a 75% drop in the effects of staff sickness, as measured by the Bradford Factor – a bespoke tool that recognises that a person taking two weeks off for an operation has less impact on the business than someone taking one or two days off every month. Happy’s irst move was to give all staff a £100 wellness budget every year. “They spend it on what-ever they feel will help keep them healthy. Examples so far include a light to Venice, a massage, a Wii Fit board and game and some vitamin tablets,” says chief executive Henry Stewart.Happy then set about giving every employee their birthday off if they’ve scored well in their indi-vidual Bradford Factor. Meetings and emails were set up to keep staff abreast of health and well-being issues and annual appraisals started being used as an opportu-nity to ask the question: “How does Happy help you achieve a good life balance?” with results being meas-ured. “We see wellness not just as

76%OF BEST WORKPLACES PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH CARE UNDER THEIR HEALTH BENEFITSBEST WORKPLACES 2010

lexible working has meant an extended service to clients. Happy is also experiencing a lower turno-ver of staff, a more committed and engaged workforce, and a reputa-tion that means higher numbers of quality candidates apply when new positions come up. The Happy brand has, in short, excelled owing to its holistic focus on health and wellbeing.Around 170 million working days are lost to sickness absence every year, according to the latest CBI/AXA Absence Survey. It’s a problem that the Chartered Insti-tute of Personnel and Development reports as costing UK plc £692 per employee per year – and in the thick of the recession, probably more. Indeed, recent research by mental health charity MIND found that one in 10 people have visited their GP for mental health support as a result of recession-induced stress. Mental health problems alone cost British businesses £26bn a year, says the charity, whose new campaign “Taking Care of Business” aims to tackle this problem. After all, this sum equates to 70 million lost workdays each year – more than that caused by heart disease and stroke combined, and three times more than that caused by cancer. Obesity is another major problem – costing 18 million sick days and about £1bn a year. Perhaps even more worry-ing than the igures themselves is employers’ attitude. Forty- ive per cent of employers believe there are no mental health issues at work and

of those who do acknowledge their existence, many don’t think they are prevalent. Even employers who do realise there’s a problem often act half-heartedly, focusing on getting bottoms on seats. According to the Health and Safety Executive, in 2008/09 1.2 million people who worked were suffering from an illness they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work.It is not all doom and gloom, however. Growing numbers of business leaders are, like Happy, recognising this is an important business issue, with 81% of FTSE 100 companies now reporting publicly on employee health and wellbeing, according to Business in the Community (BiTC) research from 2007. Employees are wising up, too, with 6 in 10 workers

physiological but psychological too,” says Mr Stewart. “In fact, we go one step further, recognising that family is often at the heart of people’s wellbeing. To that end, we offer 100% of our people the right to choose to work lexibly. We accept that things such as childcare arrangements can sometimes go pear-shaped, in which case children are welcome to come to the of ice. We also recognise that people typi-cally leave their manager, not their job, and we therefore enable people to choose who manages them. Staff can even change their manager at anytime if they want to.”Happy’s philosophy is simple but effective. Last year alone, it saved the equivalent of 4% of pro its. Meanwhile, the focus on

A HEALTHY APPROACHGrowing numbers of business leaders are recognising how important health and wellbeing are as business issues, particularly those from organisations in the Best Workplaces ranking. Kate Hilpern explains

Health kick: many Best Workplaces provide free fruit to staff

“Strategies and policies are usually easy to replicate and don’t necessarily cost much.”


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1.2mNUMBER OF PEOPLE WITHAN ILLNESS THEY BELIEVE WAS CAUSED BY WORK IN 2008/09

68%OF BEST WORKPLACES COVER ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS SUCH AS ACUPUNCTURE HEALTH AND WELLBEING

saying they would consider leaving employers who failed to promote health and wellbeing and 8 in 10 considering employers’ attitudes towards health a signi icant factor when making job decisions.“We are living in a stakeholder, not a shareholder, world and just like other stakeholders, employ-ees expect certain things, not just a salary from their employer,” explains Jennifer Simnet, director of workplace transformation for the Great Place to Work® Institute. “They want to feel they can iden-tify with the company. This is good news for employers, too, because the staff members can then be ambassadors for the company and that ‘feelgood factor’ can permeate out to others – notably customers.”Among the organisations in the Best Workplaces ranking, 79% of

employees report that their expec-tations on health and wellbeing are met. “It is no coincidence that in

these companies, sickness absence is 30% lower than the national average,” says Mr Johnson. “That’s at least a saving of £20,760 in a company of 100 people, and if you take a company like The Co-oper-ative Group, which has 120,000 employees, that is a saving of over £24m. These are massive igures that can be achieved just by look-ing after employees better.”Even better news for employ-ers, says Kirsty Tait, director of corporate affairs at Novo Nordisk, is that the strategies and policies employed by the Best Workplaces are usually easy to replicate and don’t necessarily cost much. “For example, when we have meetings, there’s always an exercise element. Recently at a sales conference, we did a Strictly Come Dancing Exer-cise. It’s not seen as, ‘Now we’ll do the health bit’ because it’s part of our ethos.”Other winning initiatives at the company include offering staff the chance to work remotely and providing generous maternity and paternity leave. There is a staff restaurant where employees have free healthy food and drinks on offer, along with dedicated coffee break areas on each loor, encour-aging them to take regular breaks. Employees can also sign up to a smoking cessation programme and get free 30-minute health checks to measure things such as BMI and blood pressure. In addition, Ms Tait points to the irm’s online stress toolbox, which enables employees to test their own psychological

KEY LESSONS:

■ Companies that have a health and wellbeing strategy often report an increase in profi ts and lower staff turnover

■ 81% of FTSE 100 companies now publicly report to shareholders on employee health and wellbeing

■ Occupational health, health and safety and HR departments must be fully integrated within an organisation

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state, with follow-up support if required. “That’s about taking the stigma away from stress, as much as anything else,” she says.As with many Best Workplaces, Novo Nordisk regularly surveys staff on the issue of health and well-being. “We use external auditors to see what’s working and what isn’t, and we always take action where gaps are identi ied,” says Ms Tait. A focus on health and wellbe-ing doesn’t have to mean people work less hard, insists Samantha Carey, head of business develop-ment at Impact International. “Our consultants’ working time is 60% of others in our sector on average, and we offer unpaid leave and lexible contracts to everyone on an individually assessed basis. We offer lexibil-ity with appointments too – even for the hairdressers. We also have a massive emphasis on enabling staff to complete projects in the community. The impact of all this is very positive. If people are happy, healthy and engaged in their work, they perform at their best.”Louise Aston, director of Busi-ness Action on Health, believes that employers instinctively know this. “There is so much evidence linking a healthy, happy workforce to higher productivity, but there is often a lack of integration between occupational health, health and safety and HR. They operate in silos. Without a link between the three, the best strategies in the world simply won’t work.”

THE BEST FOR LEARNING & DEVELOPMENTResponses when asked: “On average, how many hours per year do the employees of the largest occupational group receive formal job training?”

Company name Hours of trainingFactSet Europe LTD 180DIAGEO GB 125British Gas 125Bright Horizons Family Solutions 124UKFast 120

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Luca MigniniSC Johnson

Senior VP, Europe, ANZ, Japan“It’s gratifying to know our people come in each day and enjoy their workplace. Meeting the needs of the site’s diverse population is a critical focus at SC Johnson. I’m happy to see our people being recognised for creating an inclusive workplace that’s supportive and effective.”

Fiona ThornFishburn Hedges

Managing Director“We know that treats, such as chocolate fountains, help create a good of ice atmosphere. But a great workplace, as opposed to just a fun one, inspires and challenges in equal measure. It provides employees with the freedom and support to give their best while continually developing their skills and experience.”

Adam GrantDanone Waters UK & Ireland

Chief Executive Offi cer“We’re proud of our open, encouraging culture where at all levels we work to help each other reach our targets. Rewarding exceptional work and recognising those who go ‘above and beyond’ is an important part of our employee engagement approach.”

WORD FROM THE BEST WORKPLACES 2010


45%AVERAGE PROPORTION OF WOMEN ON THE MANAGEMENT TEAM OF BEST WORKPLACES

SCOTLAND WELCOMES BEST WORKPLACES INITIATIVE

Since its foundation in 2000, the UK’s Best Workplaces Programme has been welcomed and employed by some of the largest and most respected companies in Britain. Despite the undeniable success of the initiative, the vast majority of programme participants are England-based organisations. The Institute believes that workplaces and business leaders in other parts of Britain could greatly bene it from the knowledge and tools the programme can give them to create their own high-

the employee so nowadays it’s often the talented individual who chooses his/her workplace rather than being chosen. So, countries and organisations have to become better at developing their employer brand. Scotland has a thriving economy, being a world leader in manufacturing and shipbuilding. But, like most other advanced industrialised economies, Scotland has seen a decline in the importance of manufacturing and a rise in the service sector,

which is now the largest sector in Scotland. Therefore, the ability of Scotland to attract and retain talent will be key to Scotland’s future growth and we believe the Best Workplaces initiative will make a difference. “Scotland’s Best Workplaces is a valuable innovation to Scotland’s business landscape,” says Dr Lesley Sawers, chief executive, SCDI. “A time of economic uncertainty sharpens the focus on the importance of creating cultures of productivity and value for all in the workplace.”

performing workplaces. That’s why the Institute has partnered with Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Council for Development and Industry to create a Best Workplace Programme for Scotland. The success of Great Place to Work® programmes and rankings all over the world re lects the competitive nature of labour markets in today’s globalised economy. Emerging modern economies such as Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the BRIC countries are working hard to create the right conditions to attract global talent and retain their own, fuelling the war on talent. But, it’s not easy. People are what set businesses and labour markets apart from competitors. Yet, the globalization of the economy shifted the power from the employer to

“The Best Workplace initiative shares our aims of continuous employee improvement and growing the economy”Mr Willie Row, chairman, Skills Development Scotland

Williams JohnsonManaging Director

Great Place to Work® Institute UK

010-011 CEOs FT.indd Sec1:10010-011 CEOs FT.indd Sec1:10 29/4/10 16:45:4929/4/10 16:45:49

CEOS1 in 10FTSE BOARD DIRECTORS ARE WOMEN

NorwayTHE FIRST COUNTRY TO INTRODUCE A 40% QUOTA OF WOMEN ON CORPORATE BOARDS

TOP

Camilla SoenderbyAbbott UK

General Manager“Abbott continues to invest in training and development, lexible bene its and work, and health and wellness programmes, which provide the best environment for our people to build varied and ful illing careers.”

Carole EdmondBright Horizons Family Solutions Managing Director, UK“We have a talented team of people, each bringing something unique to Bright Horizons. We know that we play a part every day in making a real difference to children and families. We all care passionately about what we do and support each other, encouraging professionalism, growth and diversity. “

Martin ShukerKFC UK & Ireland

Managing Director“We are proud of our distinctly supportive and friendly team culture. One of the things that makes KFC a great place to work is our core value of ‘belief in all people’ which makes us passionate about celebrating and challenging our people, to help them realise their true potential.”WE ARE SEARCHING FOR SCOTLAND’S BEST WORKPLACES

REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW OPENFor further [email protected]+44 (0)870 608 8780

In strategic partnership with Published by

010-011 CEOs FT.indd Sec1:11010-011 CEOs FT.indd Sec1:11 29/4/10 16:45:5829/4/10 16:45:58

Top 10 Ranked OrganisationsHeadquarters (UK Sites) Website

Employees UK(Outside UK)Minorities | Women

TurnoverIndustry Sector

No. ofPreviousAwards

What Employees Feel Most Positive About

1 Baringa PartnersEsher (01) baringa.com

130 (0)22% | 26%

21.6m (£) Professional Services

2 Danone LtdLondon (01) danone.co.uk

96 (31,200)undisclosed | 56%

219m (£) Manufacturing & Production

3 Impact InternationalWindermere (02) impactinternational.com

103 (143)19% | 49%


cc

4 Microsoft LtdReading (09) microsoft.com/uk

2,573 (88,905)undisclosed | 29%

undisclosedInformation Technology

cc

5 Novo Nordisk LtdCrawley (01) novonordisk.co.uk

492 (29,329)undisclosed | 65%

270m (£) Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals

6 NetApp UK LtdMiddlesex (05) netapp.com

300 (8,000)undisclosed | 20%

38m (£)Information Technology

7 DIAGEO GBLondon (04) diageo.com

598 (22,000)undisclosed | 39%


8 General Mills UKUxbridge (01) generalmills.co.uk

160 (29,500)12% | 57%


9 Danone Waters (UK & Ire.) LtdLondon (01) danone.co.uk

106 (33,000) undisclosed/43%

136.6m (£) Manufacturing & Production

10 Admiral GroupCardiff (06) admiralgroup.co.uk

2,957 (3,743)2% | 50%

1.08bn (£) Financial Services & Insurance

cc

N.B

. AR

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P 1

0Professional Development (%)

Quality of Life (%)

Job security (%)

Pay & Benefi ts (%)


26 23 26 25

26 23 31 21

19 27 29 24

27 24 24 24

26 23 26 26

26 24 27 24

29 23 25 24

23 26 29 22

27 25 28 20

27 23 28 22

25 22 28 24

25 21 32 23

27 21 28 24

25 23 27 24

27 25 28 21

27 26 29 18

25 23 24 28

26 24 25 26

27 22 25 26

26 27 27 21

25 23 29 22

23 24 26 27

27 18 29 25


The rest of the Top 50 OrganisationsHeadquarters (UK Sites) Website


Turnover Industry Sector



AbbottMaidenhead (04) abbott.co.uk

1,199 (83,000)undisclosed | 59%

381m (£) Healthcare

ALMAC GROUPCraigavon (04) almacgroup.com

1,726 (2,727)undisclosed | 42%


New entry

ApaTechElstree (01) apatech.com

83 (145)22% | 43%

2.9m (£)Health Care

New entry

Beaverbrooks the JewellersSt Annes-on-Sea (66) beaverbrooks.co.uk

790 (0)undisclosed | 83%

undisclosedRetail

bigmouthmediaEdinburgh (02) bigmouthmedia.com

110 (200)20% | 38%

48m (£)Media

Bright Horizons Family SolutionsRushden (142) brighthorizons.co.uk

2,352 (19,000)30% | 96%

65m (£)Education and Training

British GasStaines (25) britishgas.co.uk

25422 (0)19% | 30%

12.56bn (£)Utilities

Cadbury UK (Head Offi ce)Uxbridge (09) cadbury.co.uk

4,958 (44,958)19% | 39%

1.16bn (£)Manufacturing

Chiswick Park Enjoy-WorkUndisclosed (01) enjoy-work.com

100 (0)80% | 38%

10.6m (£)Construction & Real Estate

Chubb Insurance Co. of Europe SELondon (09) chubb.com/uk

664 (10,200)undisclosed | 45%

395m (£)Financial Services & Insurance

New entry

Cisco SystemsFeltham (05) cisco.com/uk

2,122 (59,133)undisclosed | 23%


Coca-Cola Great BritainLondon (01) coca-cola.co.uk

133 (92,400)10% | 68%

undisclosedAdvertising & Marketing

DAIICHI SANKYO UK LtdGerrards Cross (01) daiichi-sankyo.co.uk

128 (15,000)29% | 52%


012-013 top 50 FT.indd 12012-013 top 50 FT.indd 12 29/4/10 17:01:3729/4/10 17:01:37


23 24 30 22

23 23 31 23

28 22 27 23

28 17 28 27

26 24 24 26

26 23 29 23

28 25 27 20

29 22 26 24

26 19 29 25

25 27 26 22

24 20 34 22

27 22 27 24

26 24 26 24

23 22 31 23

26 27 27 21

25 22 29 25

25 24 29 23

26 23 29 22

28 22 29 22

22 24 30 25

25 26 28 21

22 26 27 25

28 23 29 20

26 24 29 21

23 26 28 22

27 26 25 23

30 22 28 20

N.B

. AR

RA

NG

ED

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PH

AB

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ICA

LLY

FactSet Europe LtdLondon (02) factset.com

294 (2,962)undisclosed | 41%


Fishburn Hedges GroupLondon (01) fi shburn-hedges.co.uk

161 (0)4% | 60%

22.7m (£)Advertising & Marketing

Grünenthal LtdStokenchurch (01) grunenthal.co.uk

104 (5,200)undisclosed | 62%

20.2m (£) Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals

New entry

Huxley Associates LtdLondon (04) huxley.com


undisclosedProfessional Services

Kellogg’sManchester (03) kelloggs.co.uk

632 (14,835)15% | 55%

580m (£) Manufacturing and Production

Ketchum PleonLondon (01) ketchum.com

166 (2,000)31% | 73%

15.8m (£)Professional Services

KFC UK and IrelandWoking (784) kfc.co.uk

10,163 (1.3m)undisclosed | 40%

333m (£)Hospitality

New entry

Lansons Communications LLPLondon (01) lansons.com

99 (0)14% | 76%

11.2m (£)Public Relations

Leaseplan UK LtdSlough (04) leaseplan.co.uk

525 (6,400)31% | 50%

476m (£)Financial Services & Insurance

New entry

Liberty Information Technology Ltd Belfast (01) liberty-it.co.uk


17.5m (£)Information Technology

New entry

L&QLondon (22) lqgroup.org.uk

1,082 (0)35% | 61%

306m (£)Construction & Real Estate; Housing

Maybourne Hotel GroupLondon (04) maybourne.com

1,000 (1,000)undisclosed | 41%


McDonald’s Restaurants UKLondon (485) mcdonalds.co.uk

80,000 (1.5m)undisclosed | 45%


National InstrumentsNewbury (01) ni.com

80 (5,000)undisclosed | 35%

undisclosedManufacturing & Production

Novozymes Biopharma UK LtdNottingham (01) novozymes.com

100 (5,000)undisclosed | 40%

16.5m (£)Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals

New entry

PepsiCo UK & IrelandReading (12) pepsico.co.uk

5,000 (285,000)13% | 23%

1.2bn (£)Manufacturing & Production

New entry

Quintiles LtdBracknell (03) quintiles.com

1,652 (23,000)undisclosed | 67%

405m (£)Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals

New entry

Rackspace HostingUxbridge (04) rackspace.co.uk

501 (2,774)24% | 26%

100m (£)Information Technology

SapientLondon (02) sapient.com

284 (7,052)undisclosed | 28%

72m (£)Professional Services

SC JohnsonSurrey (01) scjohnson.co.uk

450 (12,000)undisclosed | 38%

191.6m (£)Manufacturing & Production

Taff Housing AssociationCardiff (06) taffhousing.co.uk

144 (0)13% | 65%

8.2m (£)Social Services & Government Agencies

TANDBERG UKStaines (03) tandberg.com

263 (1,628)undisclosed | 18%

50.1m (£)Telecommunications

New entry

The Children’s TrustTadworth (01) thechildrenstrust.org.uk

540 (0)2.6% | 86%

22m (£)Health Care

New entry

The Co-operative GroupManchester (5,986) co-operative.coop

103,000 (0)undisclosed | 62%

11.6bn (£)Retail

The Totaljobs Group London (07) totaljobsgroup.com


undisclosedStaffi ng and Recruitment

UKFastManchester (03) ukfast.co.uk


9.2m (£)Information Technology

New entry

Wragge & Co LLPBirmingham (02) wragge.com

1,010 (5)10.7% | 67%

103.4m (£)Professional Services

012-013 top 50 FT.indd 13012-013 top 50 FT.indd 13 29/4/10 17:01:4429/4/10 17:01:44



WORD FROM THE TOP


“OUR SUCCESS IS BUILT ON HIRING AND RETAINING THE BEST TALENT IN THE INDUSTRY. WE WORK HARD TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE PEOPLE CAN DO THEIR BEST WORK.”Gordon Frazer, Microsoft Ltd, UK Managing Director

Did you know....■ On average, 46% of the UK’s Best

Workplaces are composed of women.

This is refl ected across Europe’s Best

Workplaces with an average of 44%.

■ 12.2% of directors in FTSE

100 companies are women; the

equivalent is 24.3% in the UK’s Best

Workplaces.Government Equalities Offi ce: Factsheet (2010); www.equalities.gov.uk

■ European champion Norway jumped

to having 44.2% women on boards

as a result of quota legislation. This

clearly demonstrates that quotas are

an effective way to accelerate growth

of female representation on boards.http://www.europeanpwn.net

■ Gordon Brown has called the lack of

women in UK boardrooms “completely

unacceptable”. Under new proposals,

companies may be required to report

on their progress in this area

Tony LanghamLansons Communications

Chief Executive“We have great people, with pride in the business, who care about each others’ wellbeing and about doing fantastic work. We communicate honestly about where the company’s going, and strive to be a good citizen in our communities. Keeping a fresh outlook is important.”

Quentin PooleWragge & Co

Senior Partner“Our workplace culture thrives because we support each other as a single team. Get that right and everything else follows – people enjoy what they do, and our clients get the best service.”

Sanjay GuhaCoca-Cola Great Britain

Business Unit President“It’s our wide range of initiatives that help associates enjoy a good work-life balance. Our lexible working arrangements and annual learning allowance, which employees are allowed to spend on any area of personal development that interests them, all contribute to making this a Best Workplace.”Dr Simon CloughDAIICHI SANKYO UK Ltd

Managing Director“The performance-driven culture at Daiichi Sankyo has been integral to the success of our business for many years. We set high standards, work hard, have fun and treat people as individuals. This culture is delivered with a high degree of accountability and transparency which is measured across the company.”

014-015 CEOs-make the grade FT.indd Sec1:14014-015 CEOs-make the grade FT.indd Sec1:14 29/4/10 16:46:2829/4/10 16:46:28

UK’S BEST SMALL WORKPLACES


The Best Workplaces Programme is more than just a ranking. It’s a developmental programme designed to equip organisations and leaders with knowledge and tools they need to create a healthy workplace and engaged workforce. The programme encompasses three areas: mea-surement and benchmarking, access to thought leadership through research, and best people practice and knowledge sharing.Over 4,000 organisations are involved in the global Best Work-places Programme, making it the largest of its kind. The Great Place to Work® Institute conducts the initiative in more than 44 nations, including 17 national studies

The Trust Index© employee survey measures the levels of trust, pride and camaraderie within a company’s culture through 58 statements that employees respond to on a ive-point scale. It allows employees to give anony-mous feedback on key aspects of their workplace experience, includ-ing tangible aspects such as the perception of training and devel-opment, and those intangibles, such as whether the company’s leaders “walk the talk”. It accounts for two-thirds of the score, making the employee the ultimate judge of this ranking. With over 1.5 million users across the globe, the Trust Index© survey is the irst and most widely used tool to measure trust in the workplace. The Culture Audit© manage-ment questionnaire – to which HR professionals in the compa-nies respond – covers nine areas and provides in-depth insights into values, policies and practices that support the organisational culture. It makes up the inal third of a company’s score.

in Europe. For the 2009-2010 edition of the European Best Workplaces Programme, more than 1,300 European companies participated, representing more than 293,911 employees.The methodology used to assess organisations is validated by 25 years of research and ongoing interaction with high-performing workplaces worldwide. It derives from the Great Place to Work® Model© which de ines a great workplace as an organisation where employees trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the colleagues they work with the Institute uses two assessment tools for selecting organisations.

THE GREAT PLACE TO WORK® INSTITUTE

Founded in 1991, the Institute is a global research and management consultancy with expertise in workplace culture transformation and a presence in 44 countries worldwide. The Institute is a commercial organisation with a social mission – to better society by helping organisations to transform their workplaces.

www.greatplacetowork.co.uk

Top 10 Ranked OrganisationsHeadquarters (UK sites) Website


Turnover (£)Industry sector



1 Centor Insurance & Risk Management Ltd London (01) centor.co.uk

34 (0)3% | 44%

3.8m (£) Financial Services & Insurance New entry

2 IncrediBullLondon (01) incredibull.com

24 (26)5% | 54%

3m (£) Advertising and Marketing

New entry

3 INTUIT LtdMaidenhead (01) intuit.co.uk

30 (7,700)23% | 55%

10.5m (£) Information Technology

New entry

4 Mapledown School London (01) mapledownschool.co.uk

60 (0)38% | 84%

2m (£)Education & Training

New entry

5 HomeAway Holiday-RentalsLondon (01) homeaway.co.uk


Undisclosed Advertising and Marketing

New entry

6 Happy LtdLondon (02) happy.co.uk

50 (0)40% | 63%

2.4m (£)Education & Training

7 Synergy SponsorshipLondon (01) synergy-sponsorship.com

35 (0)0% | 57%

7m (£) Advertising and Marketing

New entry

8 Virgo HEALTH LtdSurrey (01) virgohealth.com

44 (0)20% | 85%


New entry

9 Aquamarine Power LtdEdinburgh (03) aquamarinepower.com

44 (0)0% | 32%

Undisclosed Manufacturing & Production

New entry

10 fi rmus energyAntrim (01) fi rmusenergy.co.uk

55 (0)0% | 40%

Undisclosed Utilities

New entry

Professional Development (%)

Quality of Life (%)

Job Security (%)

Pay & Benefi ts (%)

MAKE THE GRADE

26 24 26 24

24 23 30 30 23 23

21 25 29 24

27 21 27 26

27 27 26 20

25 27 29 19

29 18 30 23

27 21 29 24

24 26 34 15

25 22 28 25

014-015 CEOs-make the grade FT.indd Sec1:15014-015 CEOs-make the grade FT.indd Sec1:15 29/4/10 16:46:3529/4/10 16:46:35



PolandIreland

NorwayPortugal

NetherlandsDenmark

FranceUK

BelgiumSwedenGreeceFinlandAustria

ItalySpain

GermanySwitzerland

44.433.629.327.725.725.525.224.323.723.222.619.817.617.315.411.79.6

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES SURVEYED IN EUROPE

293,911NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING COMPANIES IN EUROPE

1,300

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES REPRESENTED IN EUROPE

Over 1,6 million

BEST WORKPLACES IN EUROPE - BY INDUSTRY

20% Professional Services - Consulting 19% Manufacturing & Production14% Financial Services & Insurance14% Information Technology11% Other Industries8% Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals5% Retail3% Social Services and Govt. Agencies3% Staffing & Recruitment3% Health Care

20%

19%

14%14%

11%

8%

3%3% 3%

5%

AVERAGE GROWTH OF THE BEST WORKPLACES IN EUROPE

4%8

6%59

7%102

7%109

3%37

5%53

3%44

Ireland

Portugal

Belgium

UK

Switzerland

Spain

France

WOMEN IN EXECUTIVE/SENIOR MANAGEMENT (%)

Revenue Employees

2.2%

15.0%

92%OF EUROPEAN BEST WORKPLACES EMPLOYEES AGREE THAT “TAKING EVERYTHING INTO ACCOUNT, THEIR COMPANY IS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK

EUROPEAN TRENDSAs the world recovers from one of the worst recessions since the 1930s, when business growth sank to historic lows, there was an average 15% revenue growth for European Best Workplaces in 2010, the Institute reports.Like other businesses, Best Workplaces faced some real challenges in the past year. These workplaces had to resort to sabbaticals and lexible working arrange-ments to keep their talent pool and in many cases make people redundant to keep a loat. The Institute recorded a 3% average drop in employees’ perception of their workplace experience. This was

due to a number of factors including pos-sible anxiety about the general economic outlook and potential concerns about additional work generated by lay-offs.Despite the added pressures, Best Workplaces continue to grow their workforce at 2.2% and productivity by an astounding 12.9%. The recession marked a paradigm shift from a share-holder to a stakeholder society where the successful companies of tomorrow will be those that help society to deal with major societal challenges and listen and engage their most important stakeholder – their employees.

016-017 map FT.indd 16016-017 map FT.indd 16 29/4/10 15:37:2129/4/10 15:37:21


THE TRENDS

SwitzerlandIrelandGreece

SwedenAustria

UKFinland

SpainDenmarkBelgiumPortugalGermany

ItalyNetherlands

FranceNorwayPoland

NA1.41.51.82.02.02.12.12.52.52.62.62.73.13.33.75.9

NetherlandsNorwayGreece

PortugalItaly

IrelandFinland

SpainUK

BelgiumDenmark

AustriaSweden

GermanySwitzerland

PolandFrance

9889827167676261605655535148474544

THE BEST WORKPLACES IN EUROPE - BY COMPANY AGE

49% 11-30 years39% 30+ years12% 0-10 years

12%

39%

49%

5%64

19%178

0%1

1%2

4%50

6%63

4%36

14%116

4%52

4%59

4%43

Denmark

Norway

Finland

Greece

Netherlands

Austria

Sweden

Italy

Germany

Luxembourg

Poland

100 BEST WORKPLACES IN EUROPEAVERAGE SCORES BY DIMENSION (%)

2003

76

78

80

82

84

86

88

90

92%

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

CredibilityRespectFairness

* For the largest occupational group

PrideCamaraderie

AVERAGE HOURS OF FORMAL TRAINING PER YEAR *

AVERAGE RATE OF ABSENTEEISM (%)

KEY TO MAP DATA

No. of Best Workplaces recognised in the history of the programme

% of Best Workplaces recognised in 2010

37 YEARSTHE AVERAGE AGE OF EUROPEAN BEST WORKPLACES

4.7%THE VOLUNTARY EMPLOYEE TURNOVER IS LOWER THAN EVER

ILLU

ST

RA

TIO

N: IN

FO

ME

N

016-017 map FT.indd 17016-017 map FT.indd 17 29/4/10 15:37:2629/4/10 15:37:26

Company nameWebsite

Country(employees)

Sector

1 Microsoft microsoft.com

15 countries(12,464)

Information Technology

2 ATPatp.dk

Denmark(777)

Financial Services & Insurance

3 SMA Solar Technologysma.de

Germany (2,736)

Electronics

4 3M Deutschland/3M ESPEmmm.de

Germany(4,255)

Manufacturing & Production

5 IRMAirma.dk

Denmark(2,182)

Retail

6 Coca-Cola HBC Greececoca-cola.gr

Greece(2,275)


7 SAS Institutesas.com

4 countries(503)


8 Accentureaccenture.com

Finland, Sweden (2,069)

IT Consulting

9 domino-worldTM

domino-world.deGermany(550)

Health Care

10 PepsiCo (Tasty Foods – Greece)pepsico.com

France, Greece, Ireland (1,737)


11 Nordea Liv & Pensionnordealivogpension.dk

Denmark(607)


12 DIS AGdis-ag.com

Germany(927)

Staffi ng & Recruitment

13 EnergiMidtenergimidt.dk

Denmark(574)

Energy Distribution

14 Telefónica O2

O2.comGermany, Ireland(7,482)

Telecommunica-tions

15 W.L. Gore Associatesgore.com

Germany, France, Italy (1,349)


16 Louis Vuittonlouisvuitton.com

Spain(756)


17 Cisco Systemscisco.com

6 countries(2,098)


18 Schoenen Torfstorfs.be

Belgium(508)

Retail

19 SBK (Siemens-Betriebskrankenkasse) sbk.org

Germany (1,350)

Health Insurance

20 DIAGEO GBdiageo.com

UK(627)


21 Randstad Group Belgiumrandstad.be

Belgium(1,356)

Staffi ng & Recruitment

22 A1/mobilkom austriamobilkomaustria.com

Austria(3,004)

Telecommunica-tions

23 Vodafone Españavodafone.es

Spain(4,000)


24 FedEx Expressfedex.com

Belgium(790)

Package Transport

25 Novo Nordisk Farma Oynovonordisk.com

Finland, UK(573)

Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals

Company nameWebsite

Country(employees)

Sector

26 Admiral Group admiralgroup.co.uk

UK(2,896)

Auto Insurance

27 AMEXamericanexpress.se

Sweden(938)

Financial Services

28 Elicaelica.com

Italy(1,227)


29 Carecare.be

Belgium(1,085)

Social Services & Govt Agencies

30 McDonald’smcdonalds.com

Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, UK (34,281)

Hospitality

31 Bright Horizons Family Solutions brighthorizons.co.uk

UK(2,409)

Education & Training

32 Novozymesnovozymes.com

Denmark, Switzerland (2,663)


33 NetDesignnetdesign.dk

Denmark(518)

IT Consulting

34 KBCkbc.be

Belgium(16,384)

Financial Services

35 Sparda-Bank Münchensparda-m.de

Germany (664)

Financial Services

36 Johnson & Johnsonjnjgermany.de

Germany(750)

Health Care

37 CSUcsu.nl

The Netherlands(11,324)

Professional Services

38 H. Lundbecklundbeck.com

Denmark(2,341)

Pharmaceuticals

39 Techniker Krankenkassetk-online.de

Germany(11,386)

Health Insurance

40 HOCHLAND Deutschlandhochland-group.com

Germany(1,408)


41 E.ON Führungsgesellschafteneon.com

Germany(4,057)

Energy Distribution

42 ING-DiBaing-diba.de

Germany(2,794)

Financial Services

43 CIBA VISIONcibavision.de

Germany(969)


44 Athenian Brewerybeerexports.gr

Greece(1,277)


45 Volkswagen Financial Servicesvwfsag.de

Germany(4,028)


46 EMC Irelanduk.emc.com

Ireland(1,650)


47 Hiltihilti.com

Switzerland(1,922)


48 Tetra Paktetrapak.com

Italy(704)


49 Grupa IKEA w Polsceikea.com/pl

Poland(2,602)

Retail

50 Unicarepharmacyunicarepharmacy.ie

Ireland(850)

Retail

Large companies: 501+ employees

50 BEST LARGE WORKPLACES IN EUROPE 2010


018-019 european chart FT.indd 18018-019 european chart FT.indd 18 29/4/10 15:47:3429/4/10 15:47:34

Company nameWebsite

Country(employees)

Sector

1 &samhoud samhoud.nl

The Netherlands(108)

Management Consulting

2 Middelfart Sparekassemidspar.dk

Denmark(186)

Financial Services

3 Reaktorri.fi

Finland(120)

IT Consulting

4 Roche Pharmaceuticalsroche.dk

Denmark(128)


5 noventum consultingnoventum.de

Germany(75)

IT Consulting

6 4fl ow4fl ow.de

Germany(87)


7 Frøs Herreds Sparekassefroes.dk

Denmark(138)

Financial Services

8 Consol* Softwareconsol.de

Germany(187)

InformationTechnology

9 Creativ Companycchobby.dk

Denmark(95)

Retail

10 Autisme Center Vestsjællanda-c-v.dk

Denmark(361)

Health Care

11 Baringa Partnersbaringa.com

UK(119)


12 Bofællesskaberne Edelsvej Denmark(51)

Social Services & Govt Agencies

13 Softonic.comsoftonic.com

Spain(164)


14 Bain & Company Ibéricabain.com

Spain(73)


15 Procter & Gamble Austriapg.com

Austria(98)


16 SCA Hygiene Productssca.dk

Denmark(85)


17 Management Eventsmanagementevents.fi

Finland(70)


18 GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaglaxosmithkline.dk

Denmark(130)

Health Care

19 Mjølner Informaticsmjolner.dk

Denmark(68)

IT Consulting

20 SimCorpsimcorp.de

Germany(172)

Software

21 Sparkasse Neuhofen Banksparkasse.neuhofen.at

Austria(62)

Financial Services

22 atrias personalmanagement atrias.de

Germany(55)

Staffi ng and Recruitment

23 Liberty Seguroslibertyseguros.pt

Portugal(447)

Insurance

24 OMICRON electronicsomicron.at

Austria(282)

Electronics

25 Pipelife Finland Oypipelife.fi

Finland(95)


Company nameWebsite

Country(employees)

Sector

26 Everis Portugal everis.com

Portugal(203)

IT Consulting

27 OC&C Strategy Consultantsoccstrategy.com

Germany(80)


28 Danonedanone.co.uk

UK(114)


29 Euro Car Parkseurocarparks.com

Ireland(210)

Construction & Real Estate

30 NetAppnetapp.com

Switzerland, UK(346)


31 Abbott Laboratoriesabbott.com

Denmark, Ireland, Norway (328)

Health Care

32 Borgerservice Haderslev Kommune haderslev.dk

Denmark(55)

Government Agencies

33 Marsmars.com

Finland, Ireland, Italy (396)


34 Kantegakantega.no

Norway(66)

IT Consulting

35 LEGOlego.com

Germany(167)


36 Fondia Oyfondia.fi

Finland(55)


37 ConVista Consultingconvista.com

Germany(146)

IT Consulting

38 Bristol Myers-Squibbbms.com

Greece, Poland(334)

Biotechnology &Pharmaceuticals

39 Psimitispsimitis.gr

Greece(75)

Health Care

40 Grupo Visual MSvisualms.com

Spain(51)


41 TANDBERGtandberg.no

Norway(473)


42 Centiro Solutionscentiro.se

Sweden(59)


43 ORMITormit.nl

The Netherlands(152)

ManagementConsulting

44 Novia Finland Oynoviafi nland.fi

Finland(90)


45 Webstepwebstep.no

Norway(180)

IT Consulting

46 House of Performancehofp.nl

The Netherlands (54)

ManagementConsulting

47 Worthington Cylindersworthingtoncylinders.com

Austria(368)


48 Impact Internationalimpact-dtg.com

UK(103)


49 Jones Lang LaSallejoneslanglasalle.ie

Ireland(74)

Construction & Real Estate

50 Accuracyaccuracy.fr

France(77)

Consulting

SME-sized companies: 50-500 employees

50 BEST SME-SIZED WORKPLACES IN EUROPE 2010


018-019 european chart FT.indd 19018-019 european chart FT.indd 19 29/4/10 15:47:4229/4/10 15:47:42

Centor Insurance and Risk Management

“I get great pleasure from making my staff happy – and it de initely rubs off on our clients,” says Neil Walton, CEO of Centor Insurance and Risk Management, winner of the 2010 Best Small Workplaces Award. With a staff of 38, the annual retention rate of the business is 94%. Mr Walton comments: “So we must be doing something right – though we are losing a senior manager. She came over from Ire-land for six months and stayed with us for 23 years but she’s decided it’s time to go home.”Centor has celebrated several long-service awards in the past 12 months, including those to three staff who have been there for more than 20 years. “We’re proud that their loyalty re lects our investment in our staff,” says Mr Walton.One of these awards went to Roger Wiseman, the compli-ance and training of icer, who

Head Offi ce: London

Website: www.centor.co.uk

relationship – between manag-ers, employees and customers. In a trusting environment, people co-operate, leading to greater pro-ductivity and higher pro its.”Mr Walton agrees that trust is of key importance to a successful business. “If you lose that trust, you might as well give up. We have an open relationship with our staff. The whole company meets monthly to discuss inancial results and operational activity. We have a large whiteboard on the wall of our trading loor which displays our income against budget, so eve-ryone can see at a glance exactly how we’re doing. We celebrate good news but also tell them the bad news – otherwise people go away worrying, and put two and two together to make 24.”Not that there’s much bad news at Centor – the business has achieved an impressive 62% growth rate in the past ive years,

and celebrating successes are an important part of the company culture. When Centor won Silver in the Investors in People awards everyone enjoyed a glass of cham-pagne, while all those involved in the 2009 UK Broker Awards attended the prize-giving cere-mony. Individual achievements are regularly recognised, with practices such as inancial awards for those who achieve passes in professional exams.As Mr Wiseman’s long-service award shows, the opportunity for career development is an impor-tant incentive for people to stay in a company. Centor prides itself on

has worked for Centor since 1989 – a remarkable record in a sector where people tend to move on after three or four years. He explains why he stayed so long: “I was able to progress within the company, so I didn’t have to leave to get a promotion. I joined as a broker, then became a team leader, and now provide technical support, mentoring and coaching, and compliance auditing.”Mr Wiseman will spend his long-service award – £5,000 towards the holiday of his choice – on travelling to France, America and Italy.What makes Centor a work-place that people ind it dif icult to leave? Richard Widdowson, senior consultant at the Great Place to Work® Institute UK, argues that trust is the essential ingredient in holding onto staff. “In a great workplace, trust shows in every

SMALL AND PERFECTLY FORMED

With rock solid retention rates, long service awards and staff encouraged to contribute business suggestions at any time, it’s not surprising that Centor Insurance and Risk Management has won the Best Small Workplaces Award 2010, writes Widget Finn

“In a trusting environment, people co-operate”

Asda & ?What if!THE ONLY TWO COMPANIES TO ACHIEVE NUMBER 1 FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS IN THE UKBEST WORKPLACES 2010


Centor prides itself on its commitment to continuous people development

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Centor, and after inishing her col-lege course returned as a full-time administrator. Since then, she has passed the C11 exams; her enthu-siasm and dedication have earned her promotion to junior account handler; and she will follow a struc-tured training plan to enable her to meet the responsibilities of manag-ing a client account.A great workplace has people who take pride in their job, and understand the importance of their role and the contribution they can make to the team effort. At Centor, the Suggestion Box encour-ages staff to come up with ideas to improve systems which will ulti-mately bene it the business. Any ideas that are adopted earn the individual £25. In the past three years, 31 suggestions have been taken up. “Often they’re simple things,” says Mr Walton. “A shoe-cleaning machine, pooled mobile phones and company briefcases have all been staff ideas that help people look and work smarter.”The company also encourages people to complete a “War Sto-ries” form when they have done something well, or overcome a particular problem. This is cir-culated to the entire company so other employees are made aware of what that person did, and can learn something in the future.Mary Burns, the of ice manager, is responsible for ensuring visit-ing clients get the message that Centor is a great place to work – her unof icial title is “director of irst impressions”. “We want our visitors

to feel welcome. They appreciate the attention to detail such as comfy sofas and serving coffee in attrac-tive china.”What makes Centor special? Ms Burns believes it’s the people. “There’s a real camaraderie, and people care not just about your work but your personal life too.” This culture re lected in lexible working practices, including the introduction of a part-time role to suit the skills of a working mother, and provision of technical sup-port for a home-based employee who is the main carer for his two children.Ms Nunn agrees that the people make Centor’s workplace great. “Everyone works as a team, and our charity volunteering projects are a fantastic bonding opportunity away from the of ice.” The company raises money for Children in Need. Staff can spend two paid days a year working in small local charities. “It’s great for morale-building and developing new skills.”Trust, pride and team spirit are all essential ingredients for a great place to work, but a successful business is judged by whether its customers are satis ied. Centor’s client retention was 98% in 2009.“To be a Centor person means to care about our clients, but also about our colleagues,” says Mr Walton. “This is instilled through-out the organisation from the top down. Our ethos is to love our clients to bits, and we can do this only by making Centor a compelling place to work.”

KEY LESSONS:

■ A fi nancial incentive scheme rewards employees’ long-term commitment

■ “War stories” require employees to promote each others’ achievements

■ Senior staff coach more junior employees who are preparing for professional exams

FinlandTHE FIRST COUNTRY TO INTRODUCE A RANKING FOR SMALL WORKPLACES

MicrosoftHAS HAD MORE THAN 70 OPERATIONS RECOGNISED IN THE EUROPEAN LIST BEST SMALL WINNER


LARGEST NUMBER OF WOMEN (full- and part-time)

Rank Company

1 The Co-operative Group 44,8882 McDonald’s Restaurants UK 16,7513 British Gas 7,6714 KFC UK and Ireland 4,0655 Bright Horizons Family Solutions 2,267

its commitment to continuously developing its people, and the Investors in People (IIP) Outstand-ing Individual Achievement award was recently won by one of its staff, Carly Nunn, who is responsible for managing internal people policies. After joining Centor as a secretary in 1997, Ms Nunn progressed to of ice manager and is now responsible for HR, IT and business projects, work-ing with the Board to provide staff with a range of opportunities for personal growth. Another member of staff, Alison Field, has made good use of these opportunities. Three years ago, aged 17, she did work experience at PH

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Sham political expenses, respected brands vanishing from the high street and once lofty inancial institutions crumbling. This reces-sion has been characterised by an erosion of trust in society and its institutions – and similarly it’s now in critically short supply in many workplaces. “The importance of trust in the workplace, and the damaging effects when it is lacking, have been magni ied by this recession. Yet it still remains the vital requirement for a great workplace culture and a thriving successful organisation,” says Williams Johnson, managing director of the Great Place to Work® Institute UK.“It underpins and affects the quality of every relationship, com-

achieved and maintained work-place trust in such challenging conditions?Firstly, by acknowledging the lynchpin role of trust in the work-place rather than assuming it is merely an “extra” that can be sacri-iced in tough times, points out Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University Management School. “If there is trust employees feel valued and have autonomy and control, which are the most motivating factors. So they feel engaged and will perform at their optimum – vital for surviving the recession,” he says. Under pressure, some organi-sations resort to micromanaging, explains Professor Cooper, keep-ing a tight watch on employees’ every move and taking away autonomy and control. This results in low morale and reduced performance.Dr Martin Clarke, senior lecturer at Cran ield School of Management, says trust in the workplace is essen-tial – especially during a downturn. He leads a business course called “Employee engagement in dif icult times”. “My experience from the recent downturn is that the best strategy is to treat employees as adults – informing and trusting them. They will show they are just as capable as their bosses at reading what’s going on in the world and will use their initiative to reduce costs and ind new business.”He suggests a more nuanced approach to the concept of “trust” – distinguishing between motives-based trust (Do I trust you as a

person?) and competence-based trust (Do I trust you to do the job?)“We are hardwired to trust the motives of less than 10 people,” Dr Clarke says. “All organisations are full of politics and competing interests – and this must be fac-tored in.”Employees may be competing for the same resources or promo-

munication, project and effort. Organisations that maintain and improve levels of trust experience improved business performance.”Trust has a fundamental effect on a company’s bottom line, according to author Stephen M.R. Covey. The speed at which trust is established between organi-sations, clients, employees and other stakeholders is essential for organisations to achieve high performance levels. Despite this zeitgeist of distrust and a backdrop of inancial reces-sion, the organisations recognised in the UK’s Best Workplaces rank-ing have still managed to maintain a high trust culture. Indeed it has become an important catalyst for their revival. So how have they

TRUST: THE SMALLEST WORD THAT MAKES THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE

It drives loyalty and growth and can help organisations survive in tough times. Liz Hollis looks at why a culture of trust is essential for a great workplace

“Organisations that maintain and improve levels of trust experience improved business performance”

62%THE DROP OF TRUST IN BUSINESS DURING THE RECESSIONBEST WORKPLACES 2010


THE MOST FUN ANDFRIENDLY WORKPLACESBased on percentage of employees who believe their workplace is fun and friendly

Rank Company 1 UKFast 2 Baringa Partners 3 Tandberg 4 National Instruments 5 Impact International

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tion, so “trust” must leave room for employees to challenge strategy and goals. “Trust is a positive set of atti-tudes and behaviours enabling high job performance which is in tune with the organisation’s mission,” Dr Clarke adds.At Admiral Group employees meet managers face to face and are encouraged to question and challenge. Justin Beddows, Admiral’s communications director, says: “We hold regular ‘friendly forums’ where employees chat to senior management over coffee. No topic is off limits.”“Rather than send newslet-ters, managers personally inform employees about what’s going on in the company. We have never shied away from telling our staff the truth and they appreciate that. Thankfully, we’ve had no bad news to give them in the recession!”Such ability to be interested

in what others have to say, listen to their ideas and build strategy around these ideas is a practice common to high-trust workplaces. “Leaders encourage debate, listen rather than impose – and value differences of opinion,” says Dr Clarke. “They demonstrate a sincere belief in employees’ well-being. They leave space for per-sonal choice, development plans, KEY LESSONS:

■ Trust underpins and affects the quality of every relationship, communication and project

■ Autonomy and control are the biggest motivators

■ Leaders in workplaces with a high level of trust value differences of opinion

HOW BEAVERBROOKS THE JEWELLERS CREATES A CULTURE OF TRUST

3%THE INCREASE IN THE CREDIBILITY OF BEST WORKPLACES LEADERS IN THE RECESSION

‘

“TRUST IS LIKE THE AIR WE BREATHE. WHEN IT’S PRESENT NOBODY REALLY NOTICES. BUT WHEN IT’S ABSENT, EVERYBODY NOTICES.” WARREN BUFFETT TRUST


This family-owned jewellery retailer has a mission statement about “enriching lives” that is called “The Beaverbrooks Way”. Every employee has a copy. “It sets out the purpose and value of the business and behaviours we all agree to work to,” says Phil Jepson, head of HR. This includes “tell the total truth faster” – a system where employees are straight and honest as quickly as possible rather than allowing questions to fester. “The main thing that makes us stand out from other companies is that a lot of our communication is face to face. We have 66 stores, and the managing director and senior team spend a lot of time going out to talk to people – holding focus groups.”“People know if they bring an issue up, something will happen as a consequence.”“We also have an internal suggestion scheme. But ours is different because everybody gets a response from the executive team. It’s then passed to the best person to deal with it and we decide if it’s something we can use.”All employees are kept up to date with the inancial performance of the business – either face to face or via a DVD announcement rather than written notes. “You feel trusted and part of the business because you are given all the information about how the business is doing,” Mr Jepson says.

lexible bene its, local innovation and feedback for policies and ideas. High-trust leaders also encourage knowledge exchange at the lower end of the busi-ness.” At McDonalds, trust and employee engagement drive loyalty and business growth. Employee website www.our-lounge.co.uk allows staff to communicate across all levels. Head of talent and education Jez Langhorn says: “This increases engagement, as do the employee quali ications we offer.” The fast food giant is an accredited educational body which awards quali ications.Meanwhile, at Microsoft, employees take part in focus groups and the MSPoll – a survey that asks staff what they think and is followed up with real change. Trust is also central to future success in an increasingly dig-ital, lexible workplace. The 1990s’ command and control management style is no longer effective. Now employees need to be trusted to work anywhere at any time but still deliver results. So leaders need to learn how to extend trust as well as building trust in them.“If there’s trust it means work-ers can be relied on to get the job done to a high standard wherever they are working – whether it’s at home, in the of ice, or at the airport,” says Professor Cooper. A workforce that can be trusted to perform at all times is crucial to a thriving organisation. Mr Johnson says that the downturn has meant many employers forgot that trust was an important element in a suc-cessful organisation. “When employees lose trust, and for example, don’t view infor-mation that comes from the CEO as credible, that organisation will pay a huge cost. It will take time to restore trust again,” he says. “However, in great workplaces trust has lourished despite the chal-lenges and leaders have improved their credibility – evidence that engaging employees pays off.”

Trust: a vital requirement for a great workplace culture

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Corporate Responsibility Excellence Award

Winner Ketchum Pleon

Supported by

Finalists

■ Baringa Partners

■ Impact International

■ Lansons Communications

■ Novo Nordisk

Award descriptionThis award is concerned with how companies actively integrate CR into their organisation’s culture. Companies recognised are those that maintain a high standard of managing and reporting their environmental, social and economic impact, and use innovative ways of ensuring changes actually happen, such as linking performance management in corporate responsibility to staff remuneration packages.The winning companyKetchum Pleon stands out as a irm making a major contribution to society; it has moved from commissioning pilot social and environmental projects to aligning corporate responsibility to its core business strategy. Crucially, each employee is assessed in their performance appraisal on how they consider the company’s values.“There are great pro bono work opportunities here” Employee’s comment

Learning & Leadership for Sustainability Excellence Award

Winner Novo Nordisk

Supported by

Finalists



■ Ketchum Pleon

■ Lansons Communications

Award descriptionOrganisations helping their employees and senior leadership to understand and respond to socio-environmental challenges are suitable candidates for the Learning & Leadership for Sustainability Excellence Award. In particular, this award assesses how organisations are attempting to understand and provide their people with the skills required to effectively address broader socio-environmental issues, such as climate change.The winning companyNovo Nordisk receives this award for its efforts to bring employee engagement in sustainability issues to life. Its TakeAction! employee volunteering programme has given staff the space to de ine the goals and approach of their volunteering, and reinforce their learning in the process. “The company interacts with its stakeholders in an ethical manner” Employee’s comment

Health & Wellbeing Excellence Award

Winner Lansons Communications

Supported by

Finalists



■ Ketchum Pleon

■ Novo Nordisk

Award descriptionThis award recognises how organisations demonstrate a genuine sense of caring for their employees’ health and wellbeing. In particular, the Health & Wellbeing Excellence Award assesses the support and bene its companies provide for their staff and the efforts they make to promote a healthy lifestyle, while providing and actively encouraging a good work-life balance.The winning companyLansons Communications takes an active and strategic approach to wellbeing. Health and wellbeing are embedded within the company’s culture, and there is a champion dedicated to the issue in the boardroom. The PR and public affairs consultancy emphasises physical, emotional and social health, recognising the link between wellbeing and engagement to productivity.“Once a month we leave early on Friday, and cereal and fruit are provided for breakfast” Employee’s comment


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THE EXPERTS

DisabilityExcellence Award

Winner Wragge & Co

Supported by

Finalists

■ ApaTech

■ Almac Group

■ Beaverbrooks the Jewellers

■ The Totaljobs Group

Award descriptionOrganisations actively promoting disability equality are recognised by the Disability Excellence Award. The aim is to highlight organisations that incorporate a number of best practices which go beyond legal compliance, and are also able to demonstrate that a positive attitude towards disability is embedded in their workplace culture, rather than being a simple “add on”.The winning companyWragge & Co has provided some real evidence of how it has gone beyond legal compliance to strive for best practice on disability. It sees action on disability as an opportunity to widen its talent pool and support its employees, rather than focusing on issues such as health & safety.

“The irm is very good at making adjustments for disabled employees” Employee’s comment

Learning & DevelopmentExcellence Award

Winner NetApp

Supported by

Finalists


■ Danone Waters

■ London & Quadrant Housing

■ McDonald’s Restaurants UK

Award descriptionThis new award rates organisations on learning and development. Learning, not training, initiatives should not only be the remit of HR and learning and development departments, but be sponsored at the highest levels of the organisation. A great variety of learning methods must be offered.The winning companyNetApp focuses on learning and development rather than on training alone. It uses a number of learning pathways, emphasising a blended approach to learning. This strategy maximises the transfer of knowledge, facilitates the development of individuals in remote locations, and makes modules available to all employees. NetApp also ensures the aims of the programmes are linked to the organisations’ goals.“Working here has given me an extra boost to stretch myself that bit further” Employee’s comment

Most Trusted Leadership Excellence Award

Winner Baringa Partners

Supported by

Finalists

■ Danone Ltd


■ McDonald’s Restaurants UK

■ NetApp

Award descriptionThis award, introduced last year, is designed to commend an organisation for its leadership efforts to create a high-trust culture. Building trust is a critical success factor for management, yet there are few examples of it consciously doing this. Management should bring integrity to the business and develop a culture where words are reliably followed by action. The winning companyThe leadership of Baringa Partners received the highest scores on the level-of-credibility dimension of the award. Over 95% of the staff believe that management delivers on its promises. Almost 100% of staff believe that management is open and honest. These results demonstrate a solid commitment and effort made by the management team to create a high-trust culture.“Senior management expects you to challenge their opinions” Employee’s comment


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From the way today’s youth is often portrayed in the media, one might expect that the presence of 2,000 employees aged 55 or over in a workplace dominated by 50,000 under-21s would be the recipe for a hotbed of genera-tional con lict.In fact, this was far from the picture seen by researchers from the University of Lancaster when they studied 400 McDonald’s res-taurants.Instead of feckless young people slinging jibes at their elders over trays of Big Macs and fries, researchers discovered that sales in restaurants with two or more people aged over 60 in the workforce improved by 20%.Jez Langhorn, head of talent and education at McDonald’s Restaurants UK, believes the research proves that, far from age warfare going on, different generations actually complement each other.“There’s an almost grand-parental role going on in those stores,” says Langhorn. “Younger people are less likely to be lip-pant or disrespectful, and older people pick up something from the vigour of having younger people around them.”Generational diversity is a hot topic in today’s workplace.

to switch jobs and likely to ask what an organisation can do for them rather than vice versa. At the other end of the spec-trum are the Baby Boomers, born after 1946 (or 1948, depending on which de inition you use), accounting for around 30% of employees. The “boomers” as they known, are associated with loyalty to their employer. The meat in the sandwich, effectively, is Generation X (Gen X), born between 1964 and 1978, which accounts for around 32% of employees. Generation X entered the workplace during the worst job market since the Depression and are used to uncertainty. A recent study portrayed mem-bers of this generation as more likely to take a “JR from Dallas” results-orientated approach to business. So how do the stereotypes stack up as far as HR managers are concerned? At PepsiCo UK, Rick Kershaw, head of resourcing, believes one important difference when it comes to motivating Gen Y compared with previous gen-erations is that an employer’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) offering needs to be real and substantial. Paying lip serv-ice to CSR, as was often the case in the past, will not work with this generation. PepsiCo has embarked on a series of initiatives ranging from turning a patch of waste ground into a vegetable patch to donating food to ensure healthy breakfasts for children. Kershaw says anec-dotal evidence is showing this is becoming much more important to employees than the perception

According to the Of ice for National Statistics, by 2020 the UK workforce will be made up of signi icantly larger numbers of 50- to 69-year olds than present and signi icantly fewer in the 35-50 bracket. At the same time, the tech-nological savvy of the latest generation to enter the workforce has become highly desirable to companies. Generation Y (Gen Y), born between 1979 and 1991 and accounting for 27% of the UK workforce, had the luxury of growing up in prosperous times and entering a booming econ-omy. Members of this age group, which has been much discussed, have gained a reputation as “high maintenance”, notoriously ready

GENERATIONAL DIVIDEWith generational diversity being such a hot topic in today’s workplace, how do Best Workplaces manage different age groups in the workplace? Andy Allen fi nds out

Strength in diversity at PepsiCo: a mix of ages in the workplace can be ofbenefi t to the business

88% OF GEN Y EMPLOYEES ARE PROUD OF THEIR BRANDBEST WORKPLACES 2010


“The technological savvy of Generation Y is highly desirable to companies”

of the power of the employer’s consumer brand.At McDonald’s, Jez Langhorn believes Gen Y is often unfairly stereotyped. “I think it’s fair to say they are what could be called “needy” because they’re used to getting answers very quickly.Having grown up in an inter-net culture where information is instantly and freely available, Gen Y can become frustrated by the slower processes to which

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older generations have become accustomed, in Mr Langhorn’s opinion. To get the best out of this generation, an organisation needs to ensure there is rapid two-way communication, access to infor-mation, and a culture of fairness and lexibility.Technology company Cisco needs to pay especially close attention to Gen Y as it is an age group that is likely to use tech-nology in different ways from previous generations. But Charlie Johnston, human resources direc-tor for Cisco UK and Ireland, says it is important not to treat one group in isolation.Mr Johnston believes there are certain qualities associated with different age groups. He characterises Gen Y as socially active, with strong views on values, tolerant of diversity, and freedom and lexibility. Gen X, in his view, has the strength to challenge things. Baby boomers,

meanwhile, enjoying relative inancial security, have been open to helping employers in the recent downturn by working on a consultancy basis. But in Mr Johnston’s view, these qualities are neither exclusive to members of that generation nor universal among them. As a result, Cisco focuses on managers, creating a leadership style that suits all generations, though it fosters an attitude that would perhaps be most closely identi ied with Gen Y.Key to doing so is training the managers. Individual leaders’ per-formances are measured through surveys which ask, for example, if their employees feel they’re being fairly recognised, if they receive coaching from their manager, and if they are having regular develop-ment discussions with them. This process identi ies any managers who are falling short, and also allows the company to

measure employees’ attitudes towards its employer.“We’re asking them, do they believe in our strategy and vision? Are we having fun? Are we pro-viding an environment where they can be themselves?” says Mr Johnston.To demonstrate the impact of this two-way communication, the most recent survey achieved

96%OF GEN Y EMPLOYEES DESIRE AN ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACE

89%OF GEN Y EMPLOYEES VALUE CELEBRATING SPECIAL EVENTS, 5% MORE THAN THE AVERAGE THE GENERATIONS


THE BEST WORKPLACES FOR GENERATION YResponses from under-25-year-olds when asked: “Taking everything into account, I would say this is a great place to work.”

Rank Company 1 Baringa Partners 2 NetApp UK Ltd 3 Rackspace Hosting 4 Danone Waters (UK & Ireland) Ltd 5 National Instruments

KEY LESSONS:

■ Organisations need a “real and substantial” responsible business strategy to motivate Gen Y employees

■ Companies must ensure that there is rapid two-way communication and access to information between different generations

■ To manage different generations, organisations need to create a leadership style that suits all generations, by training the managers

an 80% response rate.When re lecting on the compa-ny’s past approach to generational diversity, Mr Johnston says: “I think in the past when we’ve talked about Gen Y we might have alienated other parts of the workforce, because they believe we’re talking about creating the right workplace for that speci ic group.”Many organisations are prob-ably still making that mistake. If one considers the extent to which today’s employers focus on the need to attract and motivate Gen Y rather than other generations, it is unsurprising if there is resent-ment going on.Yet if this means the best employers raise their game, it is something that all generations will bene it from.

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Responsible business practices

Ask the CEO of any FTSE-100 company about their strategy for responsible business prac-tices and they’ll probably point you towards a dedicated depart-ment and an entire chapter on sustainability in their annual report. But this practice hasn’t always been so trendy. Back in 1981, when David Williams, founder and CEO of Impact International, persuaded one of his irst clients to get their hands dirty helping the National Trust

in the Lake District as part of a leadership development pro-gramme, few people knew what responsible business practices and corporate social responsi-bility (CSR) even meant.Now, however, with the green agenda increasing in importance – as highlighted by high-pro ile events such as the Copenhagen

the current economic climate. A project started by food manufacturer General Mills to help disenchanted teenagers in Hillingdon couldn’t have come cheap, as it involved buying two mobile youth centres fitted with DVD and sound-recording equipment. And neither could Impact’s 25th anniversary project to teach HIV charities in Zambia better leadership skills. But sustainability pays divi-dends – just not always in the

traditional way, says Peter O’Reilly, General Mills’ head of customer inance and credit risk and a ierce proponent of responsible business practices for the past decade. “We threw a lot into the programmes in terms of inance, in terms of people, because we recognised how much good it does in the community. It’s good for us too, in particular helping us to attract and retain talent,” he says. Neil Davidson, public affairs manager at Aquamarine Climate Conference or recent campaigns against companies questioning the ethics behind business practices – organisa-tions can no longer ignore CSR.At Impact, a leadership devel-opment company, management and employees take responsible business practices – or “our way of making a difference”, as Mr Williams calls it – seriously. Several long-running initia-tives are in place – from giving employees three days a year to volunteer in the community to coaching secondary school chil-dren with behavioural problems and taking deprived children on holiday once a year. “We don’t see it as a bolt-on strategy; we see it as part of our DNA,” says Mr Williams. Organisations are certainly placing more importance on demonstrating leadership in responsible business practices. However, while an increasing number of companies see the benefit of taking a more sus-tainable approach to business, historically there has been one stumbling block: cost. For many companies, the costs associated with drafting and implement-ing a strategy to act more responsibly can be a bitter pill to swallow – especially given

A COMMON GOOD

Organisations can no longer afford to ignore corporate responsibility issues, especially the environment. But it is in the truly great workplaces that responsible business practices are part of the DNA, writes Hannah Prevett

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58%OF BEST WORKPLACES INCLUDE SUSTAINABILITY IN PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENTBEST WORKPLACES 2010


“CSR is a key element in ensuring people want to work here”

Happier staff: many Best Workplaces, including Pepsi-Co, believe CSR activities boost employee motivation

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Power, a marine energy com-pany, agrees that responsible business practices encourage employee engagement and can help with attracting top talent – especially from Generation Y. “Our workforce is relatively young, and more than half of our staff either have a PhD or a Masters degree – so these are bright young people who have come in to our business looking for something more than simply monetary rewards,” he says. “CSR is not an added extra; it’s an intrinsic way of how we do business and a key element in ensuring people want to work here.”This anecdotal evidence is supported by empirical research. According to the Great Place to Work® Institute, 86% of Best Workplaces believe that the corporate responsibility activi-ties of their organisation affect employee motivation, engage-ment, satisfaction and loyalty. The responsible business practices that such companies are engaging in have clear ben-e its for them: research from Business in the Community has found that the FTSE-350 companies on its Corporate Responsibility Index had more stable prices than those that were not, and increased share-holder value – between 3.3% and 7.7% a year more than those not on the index.For companies such as Impact and Aquamarine, responsible business practices are part of their core business – it pays to be seen to be green. Does that mean allowances should be made for companies in other sectors or industries where responsible business practices are lower on the agenda? Mr Davidson thinks not. “Whatever business you’re

in, you can make CSR part of your business,” he argues. “We consider it to be part of the DNA of what we do, but it’s not just because the output of our busi-ness is a green energy device – it’s also about how we deal with people.”Mr Davidson makes an important point. Often respon-sible business practices are closely associated with the increasing prevalence of the environmental agenda and cli-mate change. But this is only one piece of the puzzle, he says. “It’s not corporate environmental responsibility. It’s social respon-sibility, which encompasses how you deal with a wide variety of stakeholders – not just your own people, but suppliers, contrac-tors, and the communities you work in.”One of the ways in which companies can demonstrate their responsible business prac-tice credentials is by ensuring that sustainability permeates through every level of the organi-sation. This means getting board buy-in, but also making sure that employees on the ground are au fait with responsible business practices too, says Mike Peirce,

deputy director of the Univer-sity of Cambridge’s Programme for Sustainability Leadership. “I think that initiative displayed by employees can go to waste or not really be capitalised upon, unless there are people at management level supporting and incentivis-ing this behaviour,” he says. “I would distinguish this from a top-down approach, although you do need to have the board understand why these things matter. Without it, there’s a real limit to what you can do.”General Mills’ Mr O’Reilly agrees that joined-up manage-ment and leadership is crucial to the success of any responsi-ble business practice strategy. At General Mills, there is no CSR team or department; instead, “everyone can contribute”, he says. “We have a cross-functional team representing every depart-ment within the business; it’s very much a part of the business rather than senior management or the executive team making those decisions.”The importance of highlight-ing sustainability role models through schemes such as the University of Cambridge and Great Place to Work® Institute’s

KEY LESSONS:

■ Responsible business practices must run through the organisation’s culture

■ 86% of Best Workplaces believe responsible business practices affect employee engagement

■ Tangible business benefi ts derive from responsible business practices

74%OF BEST WORKPLACES DISCUSS SUSTAINABILITY AT BOARD LEVEL

60 %OF BEST WORKPLACES HAVE AN HOLISTIC APPROACH TO CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY


Learning and Leadership for Sustainability Award makes it easier to spot companies that are truly committed to the cause – and, by contrast, those using CSR as a public relations after-thought. “It has to be in the blood of the organisation,” argues Mr O’Reilly. Impact’s Williams agrees: “People are not stupid. Employees can tell whether a CSR strategy is in place because it’s the right thing to be seen to be doing or whether it’s actually part of the values of the organi-sation.”The future for CSR is unsure – the efforts of the minority may not be enough to persuade government that a tighter legis-lative framework is needed. But the one thing that is for certain is that those who ignore respon-sible business practices do so at their peril. If and when more legislation does appear, those who are ahead of the curve and are demonstrating leadership in responsible business practices will be at a distinct advantage. As Mr Williams says: “The ones who wait for legislation to come along are the ones who will ind it dif icult to adapt to that new environment.”

THE BEST WORKPLACES FOR WOMENBased on responses from female employees when asked: “Taking everything into account, I would say this is a great place to work”

Rank Company 1 Fishburn Hedges Group 2 The Totaljobs Group 3 Cisco Systems 4 Danone Ltd 5 Lansons

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HALL OF FAMEBEST WORKPLACES 2010


Wragge & Co gets the basics right in good times and bad. And it has innovative extras. So it’s not surprising the law irm, which turns 175 this year, has achieved the Best Workplaces ranking for the 10th year. Hundreds of companies have attempted to achieve this dif-icult feat, but just Wragge & Co and one other (Admiral Group) have managed it. The reason for this? Perhaps it has been the law irm’s ability to sustain a strong business performance despite the recession. The last 18 months have not been an easy time. The

irm hasn’t been immune to the recession and has had to make two rounds of compulsory redundancies. “This has inevi-tably put some strain on our people, culture and values,” the irm states. “What we have tried to do is be open and honest about our situation, and to work with our people to ind con-structive and creative solutions to the almost unique pressures we found ourselves under.”The solutions have included transforming the recruitment team into an in-house outplace-ment team, which has found roles for several people outside the business, and consulting on lexible working options to

minimise compulsory redun-dancies. “The partnership has a genuinely collegiate approach to life which is rare in large law irms.” says one employee.A strong and visible organi-sational culture helps. The company has ive values run-ning through its culture, which it uses to recruit and assess employees against. One of those values – a “single team” which works together in the best interests of clients and the irm – has been identi ied as the irm’s new vision: to become a top 20 UK-based law irm by April 2014. Its other four values, a caring meritocracy, openness and honesty, responsibility and

energy, support this vision. “The single-team culture has really helped us stick together and get through the past year, which has been very hard for us all,” says one employee. The measures Wragge & Co’s management put in place have helped employees and the business to cope in tough recessionary times, having the by-product of increasing lead-ers’ credibility and maintaining the high-trust culture. One employee concludes: “I would not have stayed here through-out my working career if the irm was not special or did not have a working environment that I enjoyed.”

For the fi rst time in the history of the Best Workplaces Programme in Europe, two organisations have received the Great Place to Work® Masters trophy for achieving a place in our ranking for 10 consecutive years

“If people like what they do, they’ll do it better, so we go out of our way to make Admiral a good place to work,” states the car insurance irm, which is honest about the fact that call centre work can be stressful and demanding. This simple philosophy underpins every-thing the company does and is one of many reasons it has made the Best Workplaces ranking for the tenth consecu-tive year.Leading by example is a key management style. CEO

Henry Engelhardt, when writ-ing the initial business plan for Admiral Group 17 years ago, stated the importance of a happy family life. Consequently he does not believe in working long hours and ensures that he takes a lunch break every day. He emphasises that employees must do this too.Senior management joining Admiral are expected to work in the call centre for the irst month, to give them a good understanding of the work the majority of staff do every day. “There does not seem to be an ‘us-and-them’ attitude between

managers and staff, or between different departments,” says one employee.The company has a detailed staff suggestion scheme, Bright Sparks, which allows any employee to post a sugges-tion and possible solution to a problem online. The solution is then sent to a manager who decides if it can be imple-mented. All employees can see all suggestions, assessments of suggestions, and the outcome.Admiral Group has also started a choir which has sung at the Royal Albert Hall and other events. Inspire Choir

currently has 50 members who are surveyed regularly – 95% say their con idence in work has improved, while 82% say their motivation has improved.The success of Admi-ral’s culture is borne out by employees’ responses to the Great Place to Work Institute® Survey. According to the latest one, 90% of staff say manage-ment is approachable and easy to talk to, and 91% say people care about each other at the organisation. “Admiral takes care of staff as much as cus-tomers,” says one employee. “I am proud to work here.”

Admiral Group

Wragge & Co

54%OF THE TOP 50 BEST WORK-PLACES SUBSIDISE NON-WORK RELATED COURSES

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HALL OF FAME HALL OF FAME


Historical laureates16 organisations have achieved the status of Laureate in the Best Workplaces programme

Admiral

Asda

American Express

Bain and Company

Beaverbrooks theJewellers

British Gas(Business)

Capital One BankEurope

Fishburn Hedges

Huxley Associates

Irwell Valley HousingAssociation

LansonsCommunications

London & QuadrantHousing Trust

RackspaceManagement Hosting

Morgan Stanley

Timpson Ltd

Wragge & Co

Bright Horizons Family SolutionsThe childcare and education provider considers its culture to be the main competitive advantage by continually investing on learning and development for all organisational levels. As example, the company has introduced a 12-month management development programme to “grow” Bright Horizons future leaders.

Happy LtdThe training and education company has recently involved all its employees in the decision to buy a building when the rent on its current premises comes up for renewal, with all staff visiting two buildings. Employees can also contribute suggestions on how the company spends £25,000 improving the premises. A vote will be taken on how this money is spent.

Impact InternationalThe people management consultancy has reassessed where employees physically work within the organisation and moved all staff into its main of�ice, freeing up another of�ice for occasional use and reducing energy usage. This has also allowed people managers to sit in the heart of the of�ice nearer their individual teams and made them more accessible.

National InstrumentsFollowing its inclusion in the Best Workplaces programme, this engineering technology provider decided it wanted to become an even greater place to work and set about inviting employees to participate in focus groups in different areas. These groups have presented proposals to senior management about how to make the workplace even better.

In 2010, four organisations have achieved the status of laureate, meaning they have achieved a place in the ranking for 5 consecutive years

Happy people: employees have direct input into how the company spends money improving its premises

Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Impact International

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Happy Ltd

more accessible.

National InstrumentsFollowing its inclusion in the Best Workplaces programme, this engineering technology provider decided it wanted to become an even greater place to work

8 daysAVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS PER YEAR FOR FORMAL JOB TRAINING IN BEST WORKPLACES

76%OF BEST WORKPLACES EMPLOYEES ARE OFFERED TRAINING OR DEVELOPMENT

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BE PART OF ITUK’S BEST WORKPLACES PROGRAMME

Registrations are now open for the 2011 Best Workplaces Programme and 2011 Best Small Workplaces Programme. To find out how you can get involved and begin the journey to becoming a Great Place to Work, please contact us on 0870 608 8780 or [email protected]

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