Best Workplaces Publication 2022

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All for one and one for all

The second year of the pandemic has further highlighted the different experiences people have at work. From women often bearing the brunt of childcare responsibilities when schools were closed, to young people working from home without suitable equipment or space, some groups of people in society have been disproportionately affected. The same applies to different sectors. Many of those industries able to shift easily to homeworking arrangements have thrived, while those forced to restrict operations have struggled and had to adapt.

The differences that bold leadership and a culture driven by shared values and a sense of purpose can make to organisations are clear. The Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns or operates 58 of the world’s most iconic venues, including the Playhouse Theatre in London, was forced to restrict its operations for long periods. Yet ATG continued to support staff in the UK through the government’s Job Retention Scheme – even those on casual contracts – going against the industry norm of making instant redundancies, and it focused a great deal on regular communication. ATG has been named a Best Workplace™, for the first time, in the Super Large category.

We have also seen dramatic shifts in awareness of inclusion and diversity issues and the environment. Business leaders need to examine their organisations’ strengths and weaknesses and adapt to shifting employee expectations, such as increased equity, transparency, flexibility and purpose in their work. Whatever life throws at businesses, bold leadership is required. Best Workplaces™ put people and purpose first. That starts with employees, but extends to local and global communities. Like us, they see a need to address inequalities in society and use their skills and resources to support others.

It is our global mission at Great Place to Work® to help create great workplaces for all and to recognise those organisations that do. Take a look to see who they are and find out more about the inspiring work they do to create a great workplace.

Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director, Great Place to Work® UK

CONTENTS

Better for the world Best Workplaces™ are shaped by a mission to support communities

Putting people and purpose first

Great Place to Work® UK’s Director of Marketing and Growth explains why this matters so much

A flying start to top quality

From new entrants to veterans, find out what makes a Best Workplace™

Small category list (20-50 employees) Ryan tops the 80 Best Workplaces™ for the second year running Medium category list (51-250)

This year, Tanium takes the number one spot among 105 organisations Large category list (251-1,000)

Tech company NVIDIA goes straight to the top of 67 companies on its first entry

Super Large category list (1,001+)

Salesforce heads up the list of this year’s 38 Best Workplaces™

EDITORIAL Helen Wright, Anna Scott

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Joanna Marsh

EDITING Anna Scott, Caroline Taylor

DESIGN Glen Wilkins

ANALYSIS Abigail Animwa, Megan Martin, James Bufton, Thomas Meek, Marianna Zajac, Adeola Taiwo, Sarah Nichols, Jess Arasilango

ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS Abigail Animwa, Dr. Eduard Berndt, James Bufton, Megan Martin

GREAT PLACE TO WORK® UK Abigail Animwa, Adeola Taiwo, Amy Ong, Ann-Marie Haycox, Antoni Pippas, Benedict Gautrey, Beth Taylor, Claire Knights, Daniel Clarke, Eduard Berndt, Elliot Slade, Emdad Khan, Helen Wright, James

Bufton, Jonathan Mercer, Kay Chesterman, Keith O’Gorman, Kelly Ross, Kunle Malomo, Luciana Barchet, Magda Parkinson, Mariana Skirmuntt, Marianna Roach, Mark Fowles, Mathew Hellela, Megan Martin, Michelle Magalhaes, Mukesh Sachdev, Musteyde Oluwole, Nick Honour, Nicola Papenfus, Olga Londono, Osheni Desilva-Patel, Paula Griggs, Payal Shah, Petrina Carmody, Phil Wilson, Sara Silvonen, Shalagh Fredericks, Will Harrison, Zarah Patel

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Published April/May 2022

FOR BUSINESS, FOR PEOPLE,

CGI UK

IT consultancy CGI UK recognises the need ‘to change how we think, work and travel to protect and future-proof our planet’. It has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2026 through its ‘No Planet B’ employee resource groups.

“CGI is a highly ethical business that cares a huge amount about its employees. I’m incredibly proud of the work being done in our communities, particularly the sciencebased targets for net zero.”

As the world continues to transition into a post-pandemic reality, millions of employees are readjusting their priorities and demanding more than ‘just a job’ to pay the bills. Today’s candidates are looking for meaning and a sense of fulfilment from work, with increasing numbers quitting their current jobs to find it, leading to fiercer competition to recruit and retain the best talent.

Looking at this year’s Best Workplaces™ data, we found that employees in certain industries feel that their job does have ‘special meaning’.

As the global authority on workplace culture, our mission at Great Place to Work® has always been to build a better world by helping organisations become a great place to work for all. We strongly believe in the notion of ‘better for business, better for people, better for the world’.

Best Workplaces™ consistently put people first – not just in terms of looking out for their own employees but also by caring for their surrounding community and environment however they can.

In 2021, Best Workplaces™ donated over £118 million to charity. But they also

found creative and innovative ways to play their part in building a better world.

What employees say:

Employee Principality Building Society

The company created a Wellbeing Hour, when employees are encouraged to say ‘no’ to meetings and phone calls to spend time on an enriching activity during working hours, such as going for a walk, doing yoga or just relaxing. This allows staff to focus on their wellbeing by prioritising themselves.

“The culture is unique. It really feels that colleagues live the ‘where home matters’ trademark. The staff mortgage helped my family get on the property ladder, as we were able to buy our first house with a 10% deposit when only one other firm offered that.”

Employee

Best Workplaces™ are shaped by a social mission to support their surrounding communities and the environment

“My work has special meaning –this is not just a job”

“I feel good about the ways we contribute to the community”

Salesforce

Software company Salesforce believes that business is the greatest platform for change. It has applied a 1-1-1 model of integrated philanthropy globally, committing 1% of its equity, technology and time to improving education, equality and the environment for everyone.

As part of the Pledge 1% movement, employees have invested time in projects supporting a range of goals, such as digital transformation, virtual education for students and development opportunities for jobseekers in a remote-work world.

Such social good has also created a chance for employees to be recognised through Salesforce’s Citizen Philanthropy programme.

Employee

Charity begins at home

The huge demand for skilled workers around the world means that employees can be selective when seeking a new role. They can (and should) demand that employers take corporate social responsibility seriously, while providing a great place to work for all – something at which Best Workplaces™ excel.

PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST

“Accenture’s core values are admirable – that is the principal reason I decided to join, followed by its global approach and inclusion, not forgetting the sustainability targets and goals. It makes me feel I am in the right place and doing the right thing.”

Accenture employee

“For my whole career, I have worked in the hotel trade, which has never been known as a great place to work, with low pay, poor conditions, etc. Hilton has become a real exception. I really feel our leaders are always looking for ways that they can make the place a great place to work for everyone, everywhere, all the time.”

Hilton employee

“The 1-1-1 model – where we give back 1% of employee time, 1% of equity and 1% of products to the community – is a great example of what makes Salesforce unique.”

Putting people and purpose f irst: why it matters

business can go is up. Happier people accelerate business performance by driving higher revenues, improved retention rates and better service.

About six months ago, I became a statistic for one of the most popular topics of 2021-2022 – I joined millions of others around the world in the ‘Great Resignation’.

As a mum-of-two with a comparably secure job and income, I felt uneasy with the idea of resigning from a role in which I wasn’t completely unhappy, especially since I had the privilege of being employed when many others weren’t so lucky. I loved the people I worked with, what I did for a living, and was acutely aware that my partner and I needed two incomes to support our family. But, like so many others, the pandemic had

provided an opportunity to reassess my priorities and life balance.

For me, work is an integral part of life that offers many positives and strong links to personal purpose and feelings of accomplishment. Rather than talking about work-life balance, I prefer to see my life as a DJ’s mixing board, comprising various demands, pleasures and plans. At the time of my resignation, I was simply no longer in control of the levels – my life balance was off.

I know I’m not alone in this. According to McKinsey, 40% of employees are considering quitting in the next three to six months1. For HR leaders, these numbers can be truly terrifying. Our own data shows that millennials in particular – who make up the largest generational working cohort in the UK (more than 14.2 million) – are desperately seeking equity, transparency, flexibility and purpose.

Ensuring a great experience for all

What is clear is that millions of employees are now demanding a new type of company, where purpose is manifested into core values and practices that can endure over time. When your purpose is to create a great experience for all – from C-suite leaders to frontline staff and everyone in between; across all genders, age groups and ethnicities – the only way the

The Great Place to Work® mission is to ‘build a better world by helping organisations become great places to work for all’. Those last two simple words resonate now more than ever and drive a unique methodology that enables us to get the whole picture of an organisation, not just what managers want us to know – or believe to be so. It is why I joined the company and why our clients trust our data and the insights it provides, returning year after year.

It’s all about trust

At its simplest, Great Place to Work® helps to understand and quantify workplace culture. We assess each organisation’s values; its ways of fostering innovation and financial growth; the effectiveness of its leaders; how they help employees maximise their potential; and, most importantly, trust. Using these insights, which are based on the authentic, anonymous employee feedback we receive, our team

UK’s new Director of Marketing and Growth, Claire Knights, explains what makes a great place to work

empowers leaders to create a high-trust work experience for all their people.

Through more than 30 years of global research, we’ve proven that a truly great workplace is one where employees trust the people they work for, have pride in the work they do and enjoy working with their colleagues. Trusting others to do their jobs creates a productive and engaged relationship with the organisation, allowing people to achieve the work-life balance we’re all looking for.

Trust is the glue that binds people together. In fact, it’s so critical to workplace culture that we measure it.

Year after year, our data shows that organisations with high levels of trust have better workplace cultures and better outcomes across a whole raft of performance metrics. Our latest data shows that, yet again, Best Workplaces™ enjoy high levels of trust – 82% compared with 74% at non-Best

people first. And recognition is not based solely on what leaders say makes their workplace great. Being one of the best can only happen when employees have told us they love where they work and feel supported by their employer.

At a time when our sense of stability has been rocked by the pandemic, Best Workplaces™ have provided their people

Workplaces™ have an effective management culture that focuses on the individual, their strengths and potential. All of this promotes innovation within organisations – and the associated economic success.

I am extremely proud to have joined Great Place to Work® and look forward to working with more UK organisations and employees across the globe as we continue our mission to build a better world through positive workplace cultures.

Workplaces™. And best of all? It’s what makes 89% of employees say ‘this is a great place to work’. Sadly, the UK average is just 54%. It is these inequalities that drive our mission to create great workplaces for all

Ranking the best of the best Organisations that have been recognised in this publication must first achieve accreditation as a Great Place to Work-Certified™ company. The Best Workplaces™ are those accredited firms that have achieved the highest scores in the country after undergoing a rigorous assessment of their culture.

Both forms of recognition signify outstanding organisations, characterised by high levels of trust and putting their

with a sense of meaning and belonging. They display bravery in acknowledging weaknesses and refuse to become complacent – even after winning awards for their great culture. But it’s not just about awards, great as they are for employer branding and attracting talent – it’s also about insights, which organisations use to help drive the improvements that keep them on top.

At Best Workplaces™, the shared pre-pandemic mantra of ‘purpose over profit’ has stood firm, even in times of uncertainty when many organisations reverted to a money-first mentality.

These outstanding organisations outshine their competitors in key areas of credibility, fairness, respect, camaraderie and pride. In addition, Best

If you would like to nominate your organisation as a great place to work, or find out more about the Best Workplaces™ featured, please visit www. greatplacetowork.co.uk or scan the QR code. Who knows, perhaps we’ll see you in this publication next year too.

Ayming UK is an international innovation and performance consultancy, combining highly specialised knowledge – across a range of fields – with hands-on collaboration to enable our clients and their people to go further.

We are 1300 employees operating in 15 countries across Europe, North America, and Asia. We have a proven track record of providing leadership and sharing insight for over 30 years. By focusing on innovation, finance and people, Ayming consistently delivers a strong return on investment.

Innovation is fundamental to staying competitive, but funding and tax in this field are complex and often under-exploited, as is the importance of company-wide engagement. We open new possibilities.

People are a company's most important resource. While R&D enhances products, our People Consulting enhances People, equally critical to business success. By finding new ways to engage and motivate employees, we help companies reach their potential.

We base our work on a deep understanding of need and context because every case is different. We deliver real results by executing and implementing projects alongside our clients on the ground and seeing them through until they make a genuine impact. A collaborative, human approach mixed with digital efficiency brings new energy to organisations by helping improve decision making at all levels.

We build trust and a supportive environment of continual improvement. Through extraordinary relationships, we achieve extraordinary results. In research and development funding alone, we generate €1bn a year for our clients. Together we go further.

VISIT US AT AYMING.CO.UK

Elavon are ranked 58/250 for Wellbeing

“

Over the last two years we have put time, effort and focus into creating a culture of wellbeing and inclusion for our employees. We believe that the culture of a company starts with the employees, creating a safe environment for them to be themselves and ensuring their wellbeing is always centre stage.“

Elavon is a top-five global payments provider with more than two million customers, in over 30 countries. A subsidiary of U.S. Bank, we are backed by the strength and stability of U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the US and rated one of the world's most ethical companies.

For 25 years, we've helped more than one million customers around the world grow their business through payments. Our flexible, secure and innovative solutions help businesses attract and keep customers, develop partner relationships, process payments and simplify operations. We are the leading provider for airlines and a top-five provider for hospitality, healthcare, retail and public sector/education. www.elavon.co.uk

A f lying start

“We have learnt the importance of providing employees with an opportunity to make a change and to have a voice within the company, as well as discovering the value of collaboration and teamwork in creating a positive and harmonious working environment. Not only has this process highlighted our strengths but it has also made us aware of how we can change to become a stronger working force – this is invaluable to our growth as a company.

KATIE LYDON, Managing Director, M&C Saatchi Merlin

“Our efforts won’t stop here – the accreditation is just the beginning. The Best Workplaces™ programme also provides a benchmark for us to continue to do better – both for our existing colleagues and for new and potential team members. In a challenging recruitment market, we want to strengthen our employer brand (which this accreditation will support) and we want to stand out when it comes to what matters most to people looking to shape their next career move.”

NICOLA BRAZEWELL, Region Head of HR, Hilti GB and Northern Europe

“We believe that the foremost reason for our positive result, despite the challenges of the past two years, is our unique culture and values, which are embodied by all of our brilliant teams. We want everyone to feel at home within our working spaces, as those that are comfortable enough to be themselves are also comfortable to offer their ideas and opinions. This helps us to evolve in a way that reflects the diverse voices in our company. We believe we’re better together, working collaboratively towards a shared goal.”

LUCY CLAMP, People and Culture Manager, Freddie’s Flowers

“Our mission, of helping to create a better tomorrow for everyone, means that we create products and services that make a real difference to the financial lives of people all over the world. We have learnt how important our purpose is to our employees and the role it plays in the engagement they have with our business. The survey told us that over 90% of our colleagues agreed that people are treated fairly, regardless of their social or economic status, sexual orientation, race or gender. This provided reassurance that the focus we have on creating an inclusive business is resonating with our employees.”

RACHEL DUNCAN, HR Director, UK & Ireland, Experian Ltd

“At HelloFresh, our culture is our secret sauce. It is our dedication to living and breathing our values that allows us to foster such a supportive and inclusive workplace. We took part in the Great Place to Work® Certification programme this year to get recognised for our culture externally. We knew this was an important step in our recruitment strategy to attract future talent and retain our incredible team.”

NADINE

WYNCOLL, Senior People Director, HelloFresh

UK

“To create and sustain our approach of ‘one company: one great culture’ globally, we know how important it is to provide our staff with a voice. The Best Workplaces™ programme provides an opportunity for our leadership team to hear firsthand from the Moose Toys family, as well as a mechanism to further enhance the work experience for everyone and enable us to deliver on our purpose of making kids super happy all around the world. We have learnt the importance of having clarity of vision that everyone is aligned with, strong communication and collaboration, and a clear set of values to govern us on the journey.”

NEIL SHINER, CEO, UK & Europe, Moose Toys Ltd

Nearly 150 of the organisations ranked Best Workplaces™ this year are new entrants to the programme. They tell us what they’ve learnt

thinking – about the business,

the offering,

clients,

UNiDAYS

SAY

NOVOS

“It has been extremely valuable to learn what our people truly feel about working here.

It is important for us to enhance the areas where we are doing well and focus on the areas where we can improve. We gained levels of insight that we have never had before. Being able to analyse the data by different demographics has proved very valuable and has already helped develop our people agenda. We also realised the additional benefit of being recognised as a Best Workplace™ and receiving encouragement for our current people initiatives, reinforcing our belief that this is a great workplace and being able to celebrate this with our people.”

PHILIPPA STRUB, Managing Director, Laithwaites

“We’ve learnt that we have a culture in which people feel fairly treated, regardless of who they are; that people can be themselves at work, have fun here and are proud to tell others they work here. We’ve learnt that our actions on the diversity and inclusion front have made a difference and are having a positive impact – although there is still a lot to do. We’ve learnt that our efforts across the pandemic have been well received and made a difference to how people feel about working at ATG. And we’ve learnt that we need to do more to make our employees feel recognised and rewarded.”

FLEMING,

Tomorrow

SOFIA

Chief HR Officer, Ambassador Theatre Group

WHAT EMPLOYEES

“Citrix offers true flexibility to work in a way that meets your personal needs – and it is given with full management support.”

Citrix Systems Ltd

“Never had I been so apart from my work and my colleagues, and yet never had I felt so part of the company.”

Ambassador Theatre Group

“The gifts we receive as thanks and the opportunities to take part in activities that are not necessarily associated with work are very much appreciated and not something I have experienced in a workplace before. Also, even though I’ve only met my colleagues virtually, I feel I’ve made some amazing friends and support networks, which shows the company’s level of uniqueness.”

“The company is always forward-

about

about our

about our people. There’s never a sense of resting on our laurels – always of striving to be better.”

“I feel a real family vibe at NOVOS. Everyone cares about each other and their wellbeing, but they also care enough to challenge people if they want to make an active change or see a new solution to a problem.”

in society and make a positive impact.

Organisations including the NHS, Home Office, Financial Conduct Authority and Metropolitan Police trust us to deliver services that are crucial to the running and wellbeing of the UK. This has fostered a strong sense of pride among our employees and has led to bold leadership decisions that create a great place to work and help benefit wider society. We have taken a real lead in the field of social value to shape our world for the better. We aim to

make business and technology a force for good by improving social mobility, driving inclusive economic growth and promoting diversity. We have engaged with several charities and organisations to use the individual efforts of employees and the expertise of Sopra Steria to make a real difference to groups of disadvantaged people.”

JOHN NEILSON, Chief Executive, UK, Sopra Steria Limited

“Happy employees = happy customers = happy profits. In the pandemic, we initially lost 95% of our business, as it was mainly classroom-based. We turned that around to the extent that July 2021 was the most profitable month in our 34-year history. What our team did was truly amazing, in building online programmes and making them as involving and interactive as live events. The core of that was that people knew they had full responsibility to act and felt truly cared for. When we asked our people how well supported they felt in the crisis, 12% said ‘good’, 23% said ‘excellent’, and 63% said ‘fantastic’. That is the core philosophy of Happy. Care and support your people and give them full trust and freedom. Our culture is one where people are encouraged to play to their strengths, have full freedom and trust, and do not need approval from above. Our people know that they can step up, they can take risks and – if it goes wrong – we will celebrate any mistake. It is that culture, that knowledge that anybody can take as much responsibility as they want that has driven Happy’s success over the past two years.”

“We set out to encourage people to bring their best to work, to be more productive by trusting the firm and the team around them, and to enjoy the journey while doing so. In a practical sense, this means having a workforce who both challenge and contribute to the development of the business (many of our best ideas have come from the bottom up, not the top down) and who also get to participate in a meaningful way in the success of our collective ideas. All employees, at all levels, share in the profits of the firm through our profit-share scheme. This is what ‘bold leadership’ means to us. We believe true leadership is empowering those around us, which is why we are proud to share this small snapshot into some of these initiatives, all centred around a collective commitment to shaping a bright future together. By putting people first, we believe we can create impact that lasts.”

ADRIAN BETTRIDGE, Managing Partner, Baringa

“We’ve always been conscious that our business needs to play a wider role

“WE AIM TO MAKE BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY A FORCE FOR GOOD” “WE CASE STUDIES

BELIEVE TRUE LEADERSHIP IS EMPOWERING THOSE AROUND US”

Top quality

“Our conscious culture makes us all accountable and empowered, creating a positive and fulfilling workplace. We encourage everyone to have a voice in matters that affect them, both within the business and in their communities. We promote open discussion about the way we do things, to build on what is working and tackle what is not. Everyone is enabled to share their unique experiences and have brave conversations, to help us understand each other better, address unconscious bias and nurture empathy. All these qualities contribute to a truly great place to work for all.”

JEN SCHERLER-GORMLEY, Head of HR, UK & Ireland, Cisco UK

“TRUST, SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE EMPLOYEES TO BE BOLD, CREATIVE, INNOVATIVE, BUT, MOST OF ALL, TO RESPECT EACH OTHER”

“Our unique model encourages commercial acumen combined with corporate social responsibility.

Profits generated by our commercial companies are gift-aided to our charitable partners; one previous example is £1.4 million gift-aided to Pine Court Housing Association, which used the money to build 18 new affordable homes, helping to meet housing need, create career development opportunities and tackle homelessness. The group will continue to trust, support and encourage employees to be bold, to think creatively, to be innovative, but, most of all, to respect each other and to value teamwork – the notion being that we can achieve more together.”

ROY WILLIAMS, Chief Executive Officer, The Sovini Group

“Having a clear strategy and strong values are vitally important to the success of any business. But the real key is ensuring that colleagues buy into your strategy fully and live your values. This has been the bedrock from which Home Group has built its success over many years. We ensure that our colleagues, across the organisation, are clear on our aims and objectives, and work towards them within the fabric of our values – accountable, commercial, caring and energised. Our key aim as an organisation is meeting our customers’ expectations. That is the focus for all colleagues, which means that living our values is paramount.”

SUSAN FULTON, Director of People, Home Group Limited

TOP 10 QUALITIES OF BEST WORKPLACES™ FOR ALL

1. Benefits are tailored to employees’ needs and wants

2. Genuine thanks and recognition given to individuals, teams and departments

3. Opportunities for fun and social engagement

4. Great employer branding that attracts and retains top talent

5. Opportunities for professional growth

6. An emphasis on creating and maintaining holistic employee wellbeing

7. A strong focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and fostering fairness for all

8. Values-led behaviours at all levels

9. A clearly embedded organisational strategy, effectively communicated from the top

10. Outstanding communication channels that allow employees to share ideas, give feedback and ask questions

‘OUR CULTURE is constantly moving in a cycle’

Ryan ranking as the top Best Workplace™ (Small) for the second year in a row is no mean feat. The company explains how it focuses on continuous improvement

Few organisations talk about normalising failure; however, Ryan doesn’t shy away from it. The leading tax services and software firm, which has been ranked number one in the Small category for the second year in a row, has sought to reframe what it means to fail – shifting away from the sense of finality or going backwards that usually accompanies missteps – towards a process that keeps companies and employees continually moving forward and innovating.

“For us, normalising failure is about reframing it to be part of the innovative and iterative process,” says Tony Bridwell, Ryan’s Chief People Officer. “When there is an oversight or an idea that doesn’t work, it is part of the process that keeps us moving. If something doesn’t work, we check, adjust, and keep moving forward. That’s continuous improvement at its finest.”

Cycles are an important part of how the company works. “How we think and feel at work drives our engagement and what we do,” Tony adds. “What we do always produces an outcome – either good or bad – that always tells a story or creates an experience. Our culture is constantly moving in this cycle.”

The company saw topping the Small category in 2021 as a new starting point, according to Jon C Sweet, President of Europe and Asia-Pacific Operations. “It was very important for us to take a look at the places where we could further improve,” he says. “Frankly, as well as we did in the ranking, we saw improvement opportunities everywhere and went to work immediately, establishing a feedback loop. The scores this year

went to a whole new level, and I think that’s a testimony to our culture and the people that are building that culture.”

Culture is the starting point for everything within Ryan, and is defined by the experiences of its employees. “We are very intentional in how we manage our culture,” Tony says. “We have a process that we teach everybody on day one of joining the company about how our culture works. We give them tools and models to show how experiences and stories affect our mindsets and how we think and feel.”

Strengthening that company culture is also a constant and ongoing focus. After Ryan’s previous Best Workplace™ entry suggested there were pockets in the organisation that did not understand what psychological safety was or how to create a sense of it, the company started having conversations about the concept, and the scores on the following year’s Best Workplace™ entry “went through the roof”, Tony says. “We taught people what it meant to be psychologically safe, but, most importantly, we taught people what it looked like to create a psychologically safe environment.”

This is a crucial part of the inclusive people practices on which Ryan prides itself and continues to influence changes to the company’s strategy. “In the coming year, we are going to focus on three areas of our culture – how to enhance our cognitive fitness, because we are all just mentally and emotionally exhausted,” Tony says. “We’re also going to work on how to express our voice. We taught everybody psychological safety – how to feel psychologically safe; now we need to look at how to better express one’s voice in a meaningful way, and how to engage in work with others. For us, it’s about continuous improvement.”

‘OUR

VALUES steer employee culture’

Succeeding PHOTOGRPAHY: TANIUM

This year, for the first time, we asked organisations as part of Best Workplaces™ how they demonstrate bold leadership –not just to employees but also the communities in which they live and work. For Tanium, this year’s top-ranked Best Workplace™ (Medium), this means not only hiring diverse talent but also ensuring that the company contributes to a more equitable world overall.

“With leadership comes responsibility, and we are leaders in the cybersecurity and tech space,” says Tobias Julen, Chief People Officer at the company. “Therefore, we have the responsibility to address some of the systemic inequities in the industry. For us, it starts before we

even open a role - we are committed to partnerships that address inequities.

“We have a values-driven approach to hiring. We always look for diverse candidates, and take various approaches to eliminate bias in recruiting processes. Once we find a candidate, we really work to ensure they feel welcome, included, and enabled through a very robust orientation programme,” Tobias adds. This is backed up by inclusive policies, benefits and training, including learning about unconscious bias and sensitive conversations about diversity.

Underpinning all this are three values: doing the right thing, winning as a team, and being unstoppable in the pursuit of the company’s vision and mission. The values are ingrained in the workforce because of the way they were developed. “Many companies brainstorm what they would like their corporate values to be, and then build them around that,” he says.

Instead, the company codified and wrote down what was already there that made Tanium a successful business with an amazing culture. “The approach meant that the values immediately resonated with all our employees and were instantly meaningful,” Tobias says.

They are also inextricably linked with Tanium’s business strategy, which is simplified as “providing certainty in uncertain times”, according to Steve Murphy, Senior Vice-President, EMEA. “We believe that is one of the highest callings you can have in technology today. We protect our customers from the ever-increasing risk of cyberattack with a platform that is unique in the industry. We enable them to safely embrace digital transformation and support remote work, changing how businesses are run and how we both work and live.

“So, a value such as ‘doing the right thing’ means much more than how we work with each other,” he adds. “It permeates through the technology we deliver and how we support customers.”

Consilient Healt h has a rich heritage of commercialising products in areas such as women’s health, endocrinology, bone health and urology. For more information, please visit our website: www.consilienthealth.com

Tuesday 17 May 2022

Earning accreditation as a Great Place to WorkCertified™ company is your first step towards Best Workplaces™ recognition.

Keep your eyes on social media on 17 May, when tens of thousands of Certified™ companies will join our #CertificationNation day to celebrate their great workplace cultures!

We are proud to be recognised as a ‘great place to work’

‘OUR VALUES are unchanging and clear’

Tech innovation is competitive and needs a strong, principled company culture to enable it. NVIDIA, ranked number one in the Best Workplaces™ (Large), outlines its underlying values

Entering Best Workplaces™ for the first time is a major undertaking. But entering for the first time and coming top of the list is quite an achievement –one reached by tech company NVIDIA, which has a long history of pioneering innovation in computer graphics and artificial intelligence. “As a company, we always have high expectations of every individual, so to win is really rewarding and exciting news,” says regional HR manager Rebecca Ebdon.

She puts the achievement down to the company’s five core values, which have remained unchanged since it was founded in 1993. “We make decisions based on our values,” she adds. “People know those values underpin how we get our jobs done and that’s why they continue to adhere to them.

The values are unchanging and clear, and we consistently hold on to them.”

The success of the company’s values shows in many ways – including a low churn rate; the fact that many senior managers and leading engineers started out as interns; and that the company is still led by its founder, despite its huge growth. “Our people feel valued and looked after. A consequence of that is that they have a pride in their work and in their company,” Rebecca says.

Employees also work within an environment in which they are able to innovate, which is one of NVIDIA’s five values. “Take all the engineering tasks that are the beating heart of NVIDIA,” Rebecca says. “We’re right at the edge

of artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, healthcare, environmental issues, and more. That innovation also trickles down into people management and the peripheral aspects of any decision the company makes.”

For example, when NVIDIA announced about 18 months ago that it was building the UK’s most powerful supercomputer – Cambridge 1 – aimed at helping UK healthcare researchers to use AI for solving medical challenges, it also announced that it would be the most environmentally friendly data centre possible, using renewable resources to cool the centre.

“We weren’t just pushing at the edge of technology and how that technology was going to be appointed, whether in healthcare or finance, for example. We also looked at how it was being built and how we could do that differently and innovatively,” Rebecca says.

Encouraging innovation means encouraging risk-taking and understanding that it’s okay to fail. “When we are making decisions, we look at what is possible and what we could do, as well as what our competitors are doing,” Rebecca explains. “That doesn’t always mean doing things differently, because what our competitors do might be the best thing. But when it’s not, we need to be brave enough and supported enough to take risks and fail.”

Set these principles within a company that prioritises compassion and it’s clear how NVIDIA ranked top. “There’s no point in saying you’re one team if you don’t look after that team,” Rebecca says. “It starts at the top, and you can’t just say you’re compassionate, you must be compassionate.” By combining this approach with innovation and a strong set of values, NVIDIA demonstrates its Best Workplace™ credentials.

“WE NEED TO BE BRAVE ENOUGH AND SUPPORTED ENOUGH TO TAKE RISKS AND FAIL”

‘WE’RE INTENTIONAL about building an equitable workplace’

Equality in all areas is a key focus for Salesforce –this year’s Best Workplace™ (Super Large)

At the end of 2020, Salesforce announced that it had appointed Zahra Bahrololoumi as its CEO for UK & Ireland, making it one of the few large IT firms to have a female leader in the top role. The shortage of women in senior roles in the sector has long been identified as an issue, and Zahra – who joined from Accenture, where she led the technology practice – believes there is a long way to go before technology companies become truly diverse and inclusive.

“The reality is that many women think they are barred from technology, because they have no formal digital education,” she says. “I am proof that you can succeed in tech without any technical education. I have progressed and succeeded throughout my career one keyboard tap at a time.”

She has also succeeded in leading Salesforce to rank top of the Super Large Best Workplaces™. “This is the third

time we’ve received this recognition, and it is a big source of pride for us,” Zahra adds. “Great workplaces start with great people, and, at Salesforce, we’re lucky to have a lot of them. The pandemic has changed the way the world works, and we’ve been working hard to reimagine what success looks like, and design a better workplace where everyone can feel supported and connected.

“Diverse companies are more innovative and better positioned to succeed,” she says. “Our new UKI Equality Board will elevate our diversity and inclusion efforts. We constantly review our initiatives, and recently announced global, gender-inclusive benefits to provide transgender and non-binary employees with the critical financial and emotional support they deserve.”

The company is also focused on addressing equal opportunities and pay, environmental issues and racial equality and justice. “We’re intentional about building an equitable workplace that looks like the society and communities we serve, and we’re committed to making an impact,” Zahra says.

Some measures have included eliminating gender pay gaps in the workforce and focusing on “the global journey to net zero” to create a sustainable, low-carbon future. In addition, one of the company’s largest equality groups, the Salesforce Women’s Network, has catalysed several important gender equality programmes, including the ‘Women Aiming Higher’ initiative.

“Our free training platform, Trailhead, is a force for good in terms of revolutionising the path to female digital employment and pioneering the Supermums training programme, which trains mothers in the Salesforce customer relationship management system, offering a route to a rewarding, well paid, flexible career that fits around family life,” Zahra adds.

“All businesses should do more by promoting female careers in tech (especially ethnic female careers) as a platform for progression, lifelong learning and for enjoyment.”

This year, Salesforce has several priorities, including the health and safety of the workforce, and the extreme changes to the way people work, travel and communicate.

“Inequality is growing - from income to education to gender. The pandemic has made many of these inequalities even worse - at home, schools, with gender disparities, and access to vaccines,” Zahra concludes.

Against this unpredictable backdrop, the company remains “laser-focused” on supporting its employees, customers and communities.

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The Best Kept Secret

At ProCook we strive to be the best kitchenware brand. What sets us apart is our passion for designing and curating beautiful, stylish and high quality pieces for the kitchen and dining room. and an emphasis on inclusivity, wellbeing and positive employee engagement.

team who are the key to our success. procook.co.uk/careers