The 2010 Best Companies to Work For survey has revealed that the companies awarded the highest accreditation are also those where job satisfaction amongst employees is highly valued by managers.
Despite a turbulent and challenging year, the survey shows that staff engagement is still high on the agenda for UK organisations – and that an employee’s relationship with their line managers has become more important in keeping them engaged and motivated than more senior leadership.
Almost 90 per cent of staff in three star companies - the highest accreditation achievement available - say their manager cares about their job satisfaction, and 89 per cent in this group say their manager motivates them to give their best. Among companies that did not achieve accreditation, these scores are just 64 per cent and 56 per cent respectively.
The survey of over 270,000 employees reveals that overall engagement among participating organisations is down slightly from 2009, from 70.9 per cent to 69.3 per cent.
A record 1,086 organisations from the private and public sectors applied for Best Companies Accreditation this year, showing how high a priority staff engagement is. Of these, 773 made the grade. Just 50 companies achieved three stars, a slight dip on 2009. In the Isle of Man, Fairbain Private Bank (three stars) and The Children’s Centre (two stars) made the grade.
This year, Best Companies has undertaken a specific project with the public sector. Among this group, 69 per cent organisations achieved One to Watch accreditation or above, compared to 88 per cent from the private sector. This suggests the public sector still has some way to go in engaging staff ahead of a potentially difficult year, but is already getting close to the high standard set by the best of British business.
Jonathan Austin, CEO and founder, Best Companies comments, "An engaged workforce is essential as organisations move out of the recession and into a more stable economic situation. No doubt many organisations have tackled redundancies and rapid change this year. But only those that have kept on engaging their staff and making sure they are involved in the business will be in a good position for the future.
"Those that have ignored this and lost the trust and goodwill of their staff will find the recovery more difficult. In fact, they may never win back the faith of their employees. The companies that have achieved accreditation are among the best employers, and are to be congratulated.
"This year’s survey also underlines the important role managers have in keeping their team productive and motivated. For the first time in the ten years of our research, employees have cited their own manager as a more important factor in their engagement than the leader and senior management."
Best Companies established the accreditation award scheme to acknowledge excellence in the workplace. Based on staff feedback, it looks at employee engagement as an integral part of a company’s success and growth, and sets a benchmark for other employers.
The accreditation scheme follows a Michelin star-style system, with companies awarded one star for first class, two stars for outstanding and three stars for extraordinary performance.
The Best Companies 2010 star status accreditation ceremony will be held at The Art of Engagement, the groundbreaking event being opened by Best Companies later in the Spring. The Art of Engagement will use the latest technology and 10 years of best practice examples to help managers and HR staff experience what good engagement feels like for themselves, and enable them to create bespoke plans to help drive up staff engagement in their organisations.
To find out how to become accredited in 2011, visit www.bestcompanies.co.uk
