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Best 50 companies to work for in Britain
The Sunday Times has just published its first annual survey identifying the best companies to work for in Britain. The survey is based on the work of Milton Moskowitz and Robert Levering, authors of Fortune's influential 100 great places to work.
According to Moskowitz and Levering, Britain's best companies score lower marks than their counterparts in America. Across the Atlantic, employees are seduced by a wide array of distinctive and unusual benefits. And the best British workplaces lag far behind their US counterparts in matters such as childcare and flexible working hours.
But the authors reckon the elite do have many things in common. The winners are providing an environment in which their workers are treated as important contributors rather than as hired hands. They pay their staff fairly and give them more of a chance to share in the profits. Almost without exception they provide unique benefits that go beyond statutory requirement, offering opportunities to learn new skills and flexible schedules to help staff balance work and family lives.
Benefits are not the big story
So how do companies get listed in the Best 50? For Richard Caseby, managing editor of the Sunday Times, while benefits such as holidays, pensions and share schemes are important, so too is flexibility, allowing people to achieve a better balance between their work and family lives. But one of the most significant factors is how managers pass on the conviction that the contribution of every individual is valued.
Moskowitz and Levering agree that benefits are not the big story here. The defining nature of the companies on the list is reflected in the emotional responses we received from the employees who were polled. While they do talk about extraordinary benefits, they focus more on the quality of life at their companies.
Employee benefits in Britain's 50 best companies
|
| Incidence of benefits |
| Onsite nurseries | 4% |
| Job protected maternity leave above the statutory maximum | 10% |
| Flexitime | 16% |
| Career breaks | 20% |
| Private health insurance | 64% |
| Maternity pay above the statutory minimum | 70% |
| Benefits for domestic partners | 78% |
| Paid paternity leave | 82% |
Source: Sunday Times.
Survey details
Title: 50 best companies to work for , by Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz, Sunday Times, 4 February 2001.
Methodology: Companies are rated on a 175-point scale. Most of the scoring (125 points) is based on a 55-question employee attitude survey — the Great place to work trust index . The final 50 points are based on an evaluation of a company's policies, programmes and culture.
Survey sample: Nearly 16,000 employees completed the questionnaire. The 50 best companies represent a cross-section of the UK economy. Their workforce's range from Asda's 100,000 to Bacardi Martini's 543. More than half of the companies are publicly quoted.
Business sectors: Three industries dominate the listing: financial services (ten companies featured), high technology (nine), and professional services (11).
Survey sample: 234 companies competed for a slot this year.
Availability: For more details of the 50 best check out The Sunday Times web site. Go to the menu Selection of specials from Sunday Times and you can access the 50 Best under the Society section . . . www.sundaytimes.co.uk.
Or take a look at the www.greatplacetowork.co.uk