Facebook and Northern Gas and Power among UK’s best organisations for workplace culture

Joe Wiggins

Facebook, HomeServe UK, Northern Gas and Power, and Peninsula are among the top 20 organisations for best workplace culture, according to research by recruitment website Glassdoor and professional management body the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

Its first Leadership and culture at work: the CMI/Glassdoor top 20 report is based on analysis of reviews posted on the Glassdoor website by current and former employees across more than 700,000 organisations.

To be included in the final report, organisations needed to have at least 50 culture ratings on its Glassdoor profile that totalled a culture score of at least 4.1 overall, a minimum of 50 senior management ratings resulting in a score of at least 4.1 overall, and a minimum of one review from a UK-based employee showing on the organisation’s Glassdoor profile page between 1 January and 30 June 2017.

Energy management organisation Northern Gas and Power topped the 2017 list, closely followed by hospitality technology organisation Fourth in second place and software consultancy Equal Experts in third place.

The top 20 organisations with the best working cultures in 2017 are:

  1. Northern Gas and Power
  2. Fourth
  3. Equal Experts
  4. RHP
  5. Bain and Company
  6. HomeServe UK
  7. Lookers
  8. Rentokil Initial
  9. Auto Trader
  10. Epos Now
  11. Facebook
  12. First Utility
  13. VistaBee
  14. Skyscanner
  15. MediaMath
  16. Badoo
  17. Baringa Partners
  18. Peninsula
  19. Cloudreach
  20. Thomas International

Patrick Woodman, head of research and advocacy at CMI, said: “The CMI/Glassdoor top 20 highlights the best [organisations] for corporate culture and leadership in the UK. At a time when trust in business is at an all-time low and there are major worries about the UK’s poor productivity, every organisation can learn from these fantastic examples of well-managed businesses. These 20 [organisations] show how quality management and leadership makes a real difference in inspiring and motivating employees.

“The [organisations] featured in the top 20 point towards a new way of defining management. Traditionally, getting on at work meant getting into management and climbing the ladder, but this hasn’t always led to a perfect fit between people’s skills and the demands of the role, especially when employers spend too little on training. Many of the best employers are now changing how they do things to make sure they put people with the right skills in the management roles that are critical to their [organisation’s] success.”

Joe Wiggins (pictured), head of communications, Europe at Glassdoor, said: “Today’s employees and job candidates are more informed than ever before thanks to transparency and more [organisation] information available online. Organisations that have a strong culture will attract the best people, and in turn this will lead to stronger financial performance. Culture is so important [because] it is second only to salary in terms of influence on a job candidate’s decision to join an employer.”