Admiral Group

Accenture, Admiral Group (pictured), Deloitte, EY, Halfords and Lookers are among the organisations recognised in the Sunday Times’ 25 Best Big Companies to Work for 2019 list.

The Sunday Times’ Best Companies lists are based on the results of anonymous, 70-question employee engagement surveys, designed to allow employees to comment on all facets of their working environment, relationships and organisational culture. The surveys cover eight aspects of workplace engagement: leadership, my company, personal growth, my team, my manager, wellbeing, fair deal and giving something back. The results are used to create a Best Companies Index score, by which organisations are ranked.

Insurance provider Admiral Group topped the 25 Best Big Companies list, which includes organisations that have at least 3,000 full-time employees. Also featured on this year’s list are telecommunications organisation Vodafone, retailers DFS and River Island, utilities provider Northumbrian Water Group and national defence organisation AWE.

David Stevens, chief executive officer at Admiral Group, said: “We are delighted to have been named the UK’s best big company to work for, and to have won three special awards, particularly as the results are based on feedback from our staff. To have been recognised for 19 years in a row for being a great employer is incredibly rewarding.

“It’s our people that make Admiral such a special place to work and we want them to feel supported and valued and enjoy the time they spend in work. Thank you to all our staff who work hard every day and make Admiral such an amazing workplace.”

Beaverbrooks the Jewellers, Churchill Retirement Living, Connect Catering, Dishoom, PKF Cooper Parry and The Landmark London are among the organisations on the Top 100 Best Companies list, which includes businesses with at least 250 full-time employees.

The top 10 organisations on The Best 25 Big Companies 2019 list are:

  1. Admiral Group
  2. Explore Learning
  3. Direct Line Group
  4. Savers Health and Beauty
  5. Bourne Leisure
  6. Marriott Hotels International
  7. Vodafone
  8. Iceland
  9. UK Power Networks (Operations)
  10. David Lloyd Clubs
The top 10 organisations on The Best 100 Mid Companies 2019 list are:
  1. Connect Catering
  2. Churchill Retirement Living
  3. LifeSearch
  4. Willmott Dixon Construction
  5. The New World Trading Company
  6. The Landmark London
  7. UKFast
  8. Karmarama
  9. People’s Postcode Lottery
  10. Beaverbrooks the Jewellers
Steve Varley, UK chairman at EY, said: “I am very proud to see EY named again as one of the UK’s best big companies to work for, especially given the benchmark is based on the views and opinions of our people.

“Each year, we look for ways to improve the experience of our people, [while] they are with us. We aim to set new best practice in employee wellbeing and create an inclusive environment where our people feel they belong.”

Andy Bruce, chief executive officer at Lookers, added: “We are immensely proud of the relationship we have with our people and these awards and accreditations confirm that we are very much heading in the right direction. People are the life blood of this business and we have made huge strides in ensuring that their needs are met, right across the business, as well as celebrating the differences between us and how these differences result in unique contributions to our businesses.

“Of course, we will be making further changes over the coming 12 months to ensure that we reflect the changing needs and trends of the modern workplace. Being acknowledged by two such highly respected organisations will certainly go a long way to inspire these changes.”

Andrew Pace, HR director at UK Power Networks, said: "We are hugely proud to once again be recognised as being among Britain’s best big companies to work for. Our vision is to consistently be the best performing network operator, backed up by a strong set of values.

“One of the ways we measure our progress is through the annual survey which helps us to listen to employees and act on their feedback. This year, for example, we have progressed several projects as a result of staff wanting to contribute to the UK’s cleaner air quality, adding electric vehicles to our company car list, replacing up to 100,000 plastic water bottles used during summer months with aluminium versions, and we have started a trial recycling plastic buckets that normally get sent to landfill.

“There is a well-established link between levels of employee engagement and high performing businesses. Our goal now is to continuously improve and keep this a great place to work.”

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