Beaverbrooks triumphs in award for best UK company

TOTAL REWARD

Beaverbrooks triumphs in award for best UK company

The Sunday Times has published its ninth annual survey identifying the best companies to work for in Britain. Beaverbrooks the Jewellers is this year’s winner.

As Alastair McCall writes in The Sunday Times: “This is not a victory founded upon high salaries, bumper bonuses and a champagne lifestyle. Almost half the staff earn less than £15,000 a year; just 52 earn more than £35,000 a year. No, Beaverbrooks’ advance from third place last year to first is founded upon things money can’t buy. Love and respect. A positive score of 86.2% for loving to work for the high street jeweller is exceptional for the retail sector.”

%ADVERT%

The competition for the Best Big Companies to Work For survey was topped by KPMG, the accountancy giant, repeating its success of 2008.

Each year Best Companies Ltd and The Sunday Times celebrate the best small, mid-size and big workplaces in the UK:

  • Best small companies: 50 to 249 employees

  • Best mid-sized companies: 250 to 4,999 employees

  • Best big companies: 5,000+ employees.

Employees from participating organisations are surveyed based on a rigorous methodology. This enables Best Companies to compile lists of the 100 top companies in each size category which The Sunday Times publishes. In all, 997 companies entered the three lists in this year’s Best Companies to Work For contest.

Want to know more?

Title: "The 100 Best Companies to Work For 2009", The Sunday Times, 8 March 2009.

Survey sample: The three surveys captured the opinions of more than 200,000 employees, up from 180,000 in 2008, who were canvassed across a range of 66 questions in eight clearly-defined areas.

Methodology: The process consists of two elements:

  • employee survey

  • company questionnaire.

At least 90% of your company’s score comes from the employee survey and is dependent upon how highly your people score the company according to the eight factors the survey measures. There is a discretional 10% of your company’s score that can be derived from the company questionnaire.

The best companies methodology identifies workplace performance and best practice according to eight key factors. These factors are particularly significant as they are defined through the results from the survey process, and therefore by employees themselves, as critical factors in workplace engagement.

  • Leadership - How employees feel about the head of the organisation, senior managers, and the company’s values and principles

  • My manager - How employees feel about and communicate with their direct manager

  • Personal growth - What employees feel about training and their future prospects

  • Wellbeing - How employees feel about stress, pressure at work, and work-life balance

  • My team - Employees' feelings towards their immediate colleagues and how well they work together

  • Giving something back - The extent to which employees feel their organisation has a positive impact on society

  • My company - The level of engagement employees have for their job and organisation

  • Fair deal - How happy employees are with their pay and benefits.

To find out more about the methodology visit www.bestcompanies.co.uk//Methodology.aspx.

Availability: For more details of the "100 best" plus a batch of feature articles check out The Sunday Times web site, click here.

Best Companies Ltd researches, develops and compiles the Best Companies to Work For lists, published annually in The Sunday Times. To find out more and participate in next year’s listing visit www.bestcompanies.co.uk.