best big companies 2022

Construction business Wilmott Dixon and insurance firm Admiral Group have topped the list of Best big companies to work for in Q4 2022.

The Best Companies accreditation and rankings are based on a proprietary anonymous employee survey, which tracks engagement and generates a score for each employer of between 0 and 1,000. This then feeds into their accreditation, or 'one to watch' status, depending on their score, as well as their position in the league tables relative to other businesses.

For 2022, Best Companies shifted to a quarterly league table approach to these awards, which tracks employers' performance quarterly, as well as streaming them nationally, regionally and within their sector. The business noted that this allows employers to choose the best time to survey their organisation, as well as increasing the opportunities to be recognised.

The final league tables for accredited businesses were announced at the Best Companies Live event on 3 November at Battersea Power Station. The event also featured a programme of discussion with winners and those being recognised.

The top 10 Best companies to work for in 2022 in each size category were:

Big (2,000+):

  1. Wilmott Dixon
  2. Admiral Group
  3. Skipton Building Society
  4. Roche
  5. Hobbycraft
  6. MBDA UK
  7. UK Power Networks
  8. J Murphy and Sons
  9. Hotel Chocolat
  10. Howdens
Large (200-1,999):
  1. Hickory's Smokehouse
  2. Clarion
  3. AND Digital
  4. the7stars
  5. Octopus Energy Group
  6. Beaverbrooks
  7. Softwire
  8. Kingsley Napley
  9. Inzpire
  10. HSO
Mid-sized (75-199):
  1. Premier Group Recruitment
  2. FSP
  3. Educ8 Group
  4. Gearset
  5. Equilibrium Financial Planning
  6. Gleeson Recruitment Group
  7. Eagle Eye Solutions
  8. Landbay
  9. RocketMill
  10. Tritility
Small (25-74):
  1. Sphere Digital Recruitment
  2. Masentó Group
  3. M and DH Insurance Services
  4. Hall Brown Family Law
  5. Stanton House
  6. Daemon
  7. Prime People
  8. Macildowie
  9. Searchability
  10. Leap29
Andrew Thorning, CEO of Premier Group?Recruitment, said: “We had a really good night and we had a good number of our team here and it was great to share it with them. We’ve had a journey with Best Companies so getting to the top spot this year means a lot to all of us.”

Rick Lee, chief people officer at Wilmott Dixon, said on the subject of the business' university programme: "It started from listening to our people who wanted more opportunity to grow and we wanted to make sure that everyone was clear on how they can help the business grow. We worked with Cambridge University, London Business School, and Sandhurst to develop our leadership training to empower employees to empower our business.”

Jonathan Austin, CEO of Best Companies, added: “I must say this is the Best Companies Live event I have been looking forward to the most. Being able to have everyone back under the same roof and hearing their inspirational stories in person has given me a huge energy boost. The excitement that everyone has brought to the event is what Best Companies Live is all about.”

Cristina Nestares, CEO of Admiral UK Insurance, said: “?Not only am I thrilled with our placement, but I’m incredibly proud to also be recognised with a special award as Best big company for wellbeing.

"We love to see colleagues thrive in the workplace and supporting colleague wellbeing is fundamental to the success of our people and our business. Our progressive culture, core values, and commitment to diversity and inclusion helps us create an environment where people can be themselves, share ideas and feel valued. We aim to give all colleagues the opportunity to grow and progress, whether that’s embracing new opportunities, self-development or making a difference through volunteering in their communities."

Kim Healey, chief people and culture officer at Everton FC, which ranked 10th on the Best Companies leisure and hospitality league table for 2022, said: “We are again extremely proud to have been named on the list of best employers for the fifth year running. This acknowledgement recognises the hard work done by the club, community and free school and our talented, dedicated and ambitious colleagues. It is also a reflection of the people-centric leadership instilled by our chief executive, Denise Barrett-Baxendale.

“As a responsible employer we always aim to ensure we are communicating and engaging with colleagues to help in any way possible, both at work and in their home life. The survey provides us with further evidence that The People’s Club is living up to its name and we couldn’t be happier with the results.”

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