Best Companies to Work for in the South West - Insider Media Ltd

Recognising the

Best in the South West

We're unveiling our annual list of the Best Companies to Work For in the South West based on responses from those that matter the most ? the employees.

Leading workplace engagement specialists Best Companies compiles the list every year to discover which companies are doing it right when it comes to their workforce. The companies on the list show they value their employees, enable them to have a say and allow a caring culture to spread beyond the walls of their premises through initiatives like charitable giving and supporting the community.

People are a company's greatest asset and that's why an engaged workforce is the cornerstone of every successful business. Organisations that go the extra mile for their employees are a step closer to a highly motivated workforce, which can subsequently have a positive impact on profits and growth.

Findings show that companies that have engagement levels high enough to achieve a place on the national Best Companies to Work For lists, consistently outperform the FTSE 100. Furthermore, employee engagement has a positive correlation with customer satisfaction suggesting the more highly engaged the workforce the greater the customer service they will deliver*.

Measuring engagement

Best Companies works with organisations to measure and improve levels of workplace engagement. Through the b-Heard survey, they provide tools and expertise to empower organisations to understand how their employees feel, and give them guidance on how to drive effective change.

Organisations are measured across eight factors of workplace engagement. Employees respond about a range of topics such as leadership, opportunities for personal growth, how they feel about their team and how happy they are with their pay and benefits. Those responding to the survey score statements on a seven-point scale, with all the responses from each region combined to create a Regional Best Companies Index (RBCI) score.

We can see that nationally, scores for the Giving Something Back and Personal Growth factors have improved this year. This suggests businesses are placing a greater emphasis on their social impact and the development of their employees.

Loyalty rules

Businesses in the South West are clearly doing something right. Compared with the national figures, employees in the region would be less inclined to leave their job if they were offered another, a quality which was identified as a topscoring statement last year. Respondents also believe they can make a valuable contribution to the success of their organisation (81% positive score), a high scoring statement last year, too. This sense of loyalty is supported with employees saying they feel proud to work for their business (78%).

Sentiments like these no doubt contributed to the South West scoring highly in the My Company factor (75%), this has been their highest scoring factor for two years running.

Caring and sharing

Strong relationships thrive in this region, with people in their team caring for each other (77%) and believing their teams are fun to work with (79%). Both of these statements scored higher than the national average, as did the strong sense of family that workers have within their teams. All these qualities were high scoring last year too, suggesting colleagues value the interactions they have at work.

There appears to be an emphasis on Wellbeing in the region, as it scores higher than the national average for this factor (1% difference). People in the South West tend to believe they have a better work-life balance (1% difference) and feel under less pressure to perform well at work (1% difference).

All in all, the South West enjoys a sense of amity, and is a region in which people feel they have a good work-life balance. Loyalty is strong for organisations and one another which, combined with the pride taken in their work, creates a setting where people want to stay and flourish.

*Key Trends in Employee Engagement (Best Companies, 2020)

Measured and compiled by

The 8 Factors of Workplace Engagement

The list of the Best Companies to Work For in the South West is compiled using the 8 Factor methodology.

My Manager Leadership

My Manager How employees feel about and communicate with their direct manager

Leadership How employees feel about the head of the organisation, senior management and the organisation's values and principles

My Company

My Company The level of engagement employees feel with their job and organisation

Personal Growth

Personal Growth How employees feel about training and their future prospects

My Team

Employees' feelings towards their

immediate colleagues and how well they

My Team

work together

Wellbeing

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

Fair Deal How happy employees are with pay and benefits

Fair Deal

ing Something B

ack

Giving Something Back The extent to which employees feel their organisation has a positive impact on society

Giv

1

Digital renewable energy supplier Pure Planet is creating a smart, sustainable, shared future by making renewable energy affordable and available to all.

Achieving this goal lies at the heart of the business's culture and is what engages people to play their part in achieving it. An independent company founded and run by friends from telecoms and finance backgrounds, Pure Planet has put people at the heart of its culture, creating an environment that was inspiring, motivating and meaningful. One of their first actions was to recruit a people director, demonstrating this approach, and all three founders sit in the open-plan office so they can be available for face-to-face chats.

Wellbeing is important and there are two fully trained mental health first aiders available to discuss any issues people have as well as an external employee assistance programme. The business also believes in existing for a purpose as much as profit. Over the last two years, there has been a Carbon Free Commute day in June, with team members asked to reduce their carbon output to zero as they travel to work.

2

3

New World Trading Company (NWTC) is breaking the mould on what it means to be a hospitality establishment. Made up of seven restaurant brands serving a host of clients from all walks of life, has 26 sites and a team of 1,500 people.

The business champions an innovative employee engagement project called TRIBES, which brings together team members from across departments and venues to allow a sense of community to evolve. There are also incentives throughout the year, including a free bottle of wine for anyone who gets mentioned on TripAdvisor and weekly ?50 vouchers for the team member with the highest spend per head.

Personal growth is important and there are a number of development programmes in place, including an educational subsidies benefit, which pays for employees to do courses as diverse as horticulture and mindfulness-based stress reduction.

RedRock Consulting helps organisations embrace new ways of working using digital, mobile and emerging technologies. Founded in 2005 by six directors with a background in IT recruitment, the business now employs more than 50 people.

Getting together as a team is important for RedRock, with monthly gatherings celebrating good news and anyone who has gone the extra mile. Employees mark their birthdays by spinning the `birthday wheel' where they can win anything from extra annual leave to a dress down day.

Managers have access to tailored development workshops run with the University of the West of England and are encouraged to approach leadership with their own authentic style. Wellbeing is also a priority, with a large breakout area and collaboration pods created during a recent refurbishment.

4

Childbase Partnership aims to be the preferred provider of childcare and education within the communities their nurseries serve and is built on four core principles ? people matter, quality matters, sustainability matters and communication matters.

The business runs an apprenticeship programme, which supports more than 200 apprentices to achieve professional NVQ qualifications and gives candidates two months off the job to focus on their development. Leaders spend most of their time out in the field and provide opportunities for colleagues to express their views in an informal atmosphere.

Communication is vital with an open-door policy at head office and senior managers joining colleagues at training sessions, breaks or lunch to get feedback. The chance to give something back is important and a volunteer policy gives one day of paid leave every year to support the community or do charity work.

5

Privately owned, family-run Churchill Retirement Living specialises in developing purpose-built one and twobedroom apartments for the over sixties to enjoy an independent retirement.

The organisation has more than 160 developments in prime locations throughout the country and aims to be the most successful housebuilder in the UK.

The business operates a referral scheme known as Buddy Bank where employees can refer a friend or family member for a vacancy and receive ?2,000 if that person is successful. The business encourages communication between team members and managers, meaning employees can freely discuss anything that is troubling them in a private space. A one-to-one document is designed to encourage open dialogue before issues escalate.

The effectiveness of managers is also carefully monitored, with new starter surveys assessing the employee induction process and regular one-to-one reviews carried out.

Here's to another great year

PY COLLEAG

AISED FOR C

Y LEADING M

ANDS ON CE

N THE COMM

HAP ?1.5M R INDUSTR

H ACTIVE I

UNITY O ARGINS HARITY UES

With a friendly and open culture, it's no wonder there's a real family feel to Churchill Retirement Living. We're proud to say we have a hands on CEO, strong family values and a great reputation, which has earned us a recurring place in the Sunday Times Best Companies To Work For list. As we continue to grow, we're always looking for more talented individuals

to join our teams across the UK. Want to find out more? Visit churchillretirement.co.uk/careers

O U R H ERITAG E . YO U R FUTU R E

B U I LT O N I NTEG RIT Y AN D TRUST

What is RBCI?

The Regional Best Companies Index (RBCI) is the most academically rigorous way of measuring engagement. Using the Best Companies b-Heard Survey, employees are asked to score 70 questions on a 7 point scale from `Strongly Disagree' to `Strongly Agree.' The results are then calculated from the responses to 49 scoring questions aligned to the 8 Factors of Workplace Engagement. The final score is normalised for company size and calculated out of 1000.

70

8

Measured and compiled by

1

Pure Planet

2

New World Trading Company

3

RedRock Consulting Limited

4

Childbase Partnership Ltd

5

Churchill Retirement Living

6

BT Consumer

7

Willmott Dixon Construction

8

Hobbycraft

9

HIT Training Ltd

10

Pelican Business Services

11

Excalibur Communications

12 Heat Recruitment

13 ForrestBrown

14 COOK

15

Coventry Building Society

16 Utility Point Limited

17

Julia's House Dorset & Wiltshire Children's Hospices

18 Savers Health & Beauty

19

Marriott Hotels International Ltd

20 Devon Air Ambulance

21 Creed Foodservice

22

Pertemps Recruitment Partnership

23 Accord Marketing

24 Arcadis UK

25 Brunel Group

RBCI:

861.4

RBCI:

860.3

RBCI:

852.5

RBCI:

817.4

RBCI:

813.8

RBCI:

793.4

RBCI:

788.7

RBCI:

780.6

RBCI:

759.3

RBCI:

759.1

RBCI:

756.2

RBCI:

753.5

RBCI:

748.9

RBCI:

743.9

RBCI:

740.8

RBCI:

740.4

RBCI:

737.2

RBCI:

736.1

RBCI:

735.6

RBCI:

733.1

RBCI:

725.2

RBCI:

724.8

RBCI:

720.1

RBCI:

719.7

RBCI:

719.2

Happy as Larry

In fact, Larry's just one of our consumer division colleagues that say they love working for us. That's why we've made the Sunday Times list of 25 Best Big Companies To Work For.

If you'd like to join our team visit careers

1%

higher than the national average for wellbeing.

An average question score of

81%

Organisations in the South West are encouraging charitable activities.

26 DJS (UK) Limited

27 Rick Stein Group

28 Hydrock

29 Stephens Scown LLP

30 Berry Telecom

31 Openwork Limited

32 Curo

33 Bishop Fleming

34 Barnett Waddingham

35 Five Guys

36 David Lloyd Clubs

37 The Entertainer

38 Gloucester City Homes

39 Go Ape

40 Bible Society

41 Fundamentals Ltd

42

Lifetime Training Group

43 Lakeland

44

Meridian Business Support

45 Young Devon

46 theworks.co.uk

47

Sykes Holiday Cottages

48 ISG

49 Howdens

50 Michelmores LLP

RBCI:

716.9

RBCI:

715.7

RBCI:

708.2

RBCI:

707.8

RBCI:

706.9

RBCI:

701.9

RBCI:

701.1

RBCI:

700.5

RBCI:

700.5

RBCI:

697.9

RBCI:

697.6

RBCI:

696.3

RBCI:

695.7

RBCI:

694.9

RBCI:

694.5

RBCI:

693.6

RBCI:

691.3

RBCI:

691.2

RBCI:

689.7

RBCI:

689.1

RBCI:

685.4

RBCI:

683.8

RBCI:

681.3

RBCI:

680.7

RBCI:

680.3

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