Over 190,000 UK employees have told Great Place to Work® UK that Reward & Recognition, Wellbeing and People Development are the most important factors to them when rating their workplace. Using the data gathered from research-backed and anonymous employee experience surveys, Great Place To Work has announced its annual UK’s Best Workplaces™ list.
Each entered business is studied against a thorough and rigorous criteria, to rank and reveal which workplaces have received an award for 2023. Taking into account both culture audits and employees’ perspectives from a whole variety of industries and company sizes, the list comprises 344 organisations this year across four categories; small (20-50 employees), medium (51-250 employees), large (251-1000 employees), and super large (1001+ employees).
Positive experiences of recognition & reward, wellbeing and people management top the insights from Best Workplaces in 2023. Statement scores around leaders being seen as positive role models (‘embodying the best characteristics of the organisation’, ‘delivering on promises’ and ‘actions matching their words’) showed the most notable lift, particularly for medium-sized organisations. This commitment was mirrored in relation to CSR and wider social impact as well, with the UK’s Best Workplaces donating just shy of £139m last year.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was also highlighted as a fundamental practice employees feel strongly about. 84% of employees at best workplaces feel good about the ways their company contributes to the community, this sentiment was particularly celebrated by those in the medium sized category seeing a 5% growth on the results from last year.
Our data is showing a long-term, possibly permanent, change in how managers manage and communicate along with how managers recognise employee achievement, leadership behaviour, moral and ethical behaviour within organisations, and about greater focus on work-life balance.
As the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place to Work’s mission has always been to build a better world by helping organisations become a great place to work for all. It strongly believes in the notion of ‘better for business, better for people, better for the world’.
Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director, Great Place to Work UK comments on the 2023 report: “Best Workplaces™ consistently put people first – not just in terms of looking out for their own employees but also by caring for and supporting their surrounding community and environment. This year is no exception, these themes ran throughout all size categories in our UK’s Best Workplaces list. We’re incredibly proud to be able to recognise the very best organisations committed to being ‘for all’ through diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and strategies, that are all fundamental to Best Workplaces.
“Being ranked a Best Workplace is a huge cause for celebration for any organisation. But being a Best Workplace does not stop once the awards have been handed out, organisations that are ranked study their feedback to formulate plans to address any areas that need improvement. Best Workplaces are engaged in a constant process of asking, listening, learning and acting. Along with recognising the value of employees, listening to them and acting on what they say is a basic tenet of being a Best Workplace. It’s also crucial to remember to embrace all employees for this to be effective.”
What makes a company qualify for a Best Workplace recognition?
Here are the top 10 qualities of Best Workplaces for all that have been considered and scored for the rankings:
- Benefits are tailored to employees’ needs and wants
- Genuine thanks and recognition given to individuals, teams and departments
- Opportunities for fun and social engagement
- Great employer branding that attracts and retains top talent
- Opportunities for professional growth
- An emphasis on creating and maintaining holistic employee wellbeing
- A strong focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and fostering fairness for all
- Values-led behaviours at all levels
- A clearly embedded organisational strategy, effectively communicated from the top
- Outstanding communication channels that allow employees to share ideas, give feedback and ask questions
Key findings across the four categories
Small (20-50 employees):
- Hatmill (supply chain and logistics company) tops the 100 Best Workplaces in its first year running in this category
- Top 5 in this category: Hatmill, ResourceIT, Monday.com, BlakYaks and edison365 – all 5 are new entrants
Medium (51-250 employees):
- This year, software company Braze takes the number one spot on the list of 100 medium businesses
- Top 5 in this category: Braze, Evolved Search, Reachdesk, Elements Talent Consultancy and Bryson
- Braze’s Marjorie Armitage, General Manager, EMEA, said: “I feel so passionate about our culture, I know that the words will flow effortlessly, with enthusiasm and a big smile. People will just feel it and want to feel that way too. This year, it’s simply how our employees feel about Braze that shone through and put us at number one.”
Large (251-1000 employees):
- For the second year running, tech company NVIDIA tops the list of 87 companies in this category,
- “We believe in doing the right thing, not just what’s prescribed by policies or processes, and our employees trust in this.” says NVIDIA’s regional HR manager Rebecca Ebdon
- Top 5 in this category: NVIDIA, Slalom, Credera UK, Lindt & Sprüngli UK Ltd and xDesign
Super Large (1001+ employees):
- Cisco heads up the list of this year’s 57 Super Large Best Workplaces
- Top 5 in this category: Cisco, Hilton, Salesforce, Baringa and Version 1
- Cisco’s David Meads, Chief Executive, UK & Ireland, comments: “Leaders set the example for the organisation – how they are operating, being authentic and consistent in the decisions they make. We have guiding principles for what we call our conscious culture – ‘give your best’, ‘give your ego the day off’, ‘give something of yourself’, ‘take accountability in everything that you do’, ‘take difference to heart’. You can think in the moment, ‘Am I living those values?’. These values are the guiding principles for how we operate – the decisions we take with one another, with customers, internally and externally. This is how we see ourselves moving forward in the right direction as a company.”
https://www.greatplacetowork.co.uk/awards/uks-best-workplaces/uks-best-workplaces-2023/
