Broadcast from Media City in Salford, Manchester, on Friday 20th May, the second ‘Best Companies Live’ of 2022 revealed which organisations had achieved an employee engagement score high enough to gain a place on the national, regional, and sector-based League Tables of the Best Companies to Work For in the UK.
If any question is likely to draw a diverse pool of answers, it’s “what would be your ideal working arrangement?” and deciding just what level of flexibility works for everyone is a challenge many organisations are currently facing. In the following article, we review the highlights from our panel discussion looking at flexibility in the workplace during February’s Best Companies Live.
After a constant battle with change and disruption in many employees’ personal and professional lives, the rise of burnout and the effect of fatigue is a reality that some are now facing. Here, we review the highlights from this session during February’s Best Companies Live, where we hear from our guests about the approaches they’ve taken to look after their employees’ wellbeing.
With the ‘great resignation’ seeing more employees than ever choose to move on from their roles, just what is the best tactic for recruiting and retaining talent in the current climate? Here, we review the highlights from this session during February’s Best Companies Live, where we heard from the organisations that are leading the way in their approach to catching the eye of the jobseeker and creating a workplace culture that people don’t want to leave.
Leading and managing people is hard at the best of times but throw in the challenges of the last two years and it becomes particularly difficult. So just what are the hallmarks of great leadership in a changing world? In the following article, we share the highlights from our discussion at February’s Best Companies Live.
The climate crisis is arguably one of the most pressing subjects of our time. But how can making organisational commitments to protect the planet benefit both business and engagement? In the following article, we hear from our panellists speaking at February’s Best Companies Live event as to why being environmentally responsible matters.
Broadcast from Media City in Salford, Manchester, on Friday 18th February, the second edition of ‘Best Companies Live’ revealed which organisations had achieved an employee engagement score high enough to gain a place on the national, regional, and sector-based League Tables of the Best Companies to Work For in the UK.
It goes without saying that in any year improvements in employee engagement should be celebrated. However, for those that have managed improvements so significant that they have made the biggest change to their previous survey score in their size category – it is more important than ever. In this article, we hear from the winners of the Special Award for ‘Best Improver’ at Best Companies Live, where they discussed how they made such an achievement in such a challenging year.
Putting an emphasis on delivering training is undoubtedly more difficult during a pandemic, however, some organisations found innovative and unique ways to continue their employees learning and development when Covid-19 hit. In the following article, we hear from the winners of the ‘Personal Growth’ Special Award at Best Companies Live, where they shared the practices they put in place and how their learnings will shape the way that employees train, develop and grow in the future.
Discover how untrained ‘accidental managers’ are costing UK businesses billions in lost productivity and damaging culture. Learn why leadership development is critical and how Best Companies’ Elevate platform transforms managers into confident coaches.
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Go Ape’s name may reflect its fun adventure activities, but when it comes to ensuring that its people are engaged and their wellbeing prioritised, the organisation isn’t monkeying around. As the UK's leading forest adventure company, Go Ape believes that ‘adventure should be for everyone’.
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Discover the four critical HR priorities for 2026: AI integration, adapting to human-machine collaboration, leading through constant change and building a culture that drives performance.
The UK’s Best Companies to Work For in 2025 have been unveiled during the Big Reveal. Companies across the UK celebrated those organisations that have prioritised employee engagement and organisational health over the past year. Discover the key insights and strategies discussed during the event that are shaping high-performing workplaces.
The UK’s Best Companies to Work For in 2023 have been unveiled during a spectacular event that firmly put the spotlight on employee engagement and organisational health. The leading workplaces were praised for demonstrating they truly care for their people, particularly in challenging times.
Research shows that companies that prioritise employee wellbeing are more likely to be successful. Our Red Chair panellists discussed how their organisations had built their workplace cultures around employee wellbeing, what practices they have implemented to do this, and answered the question: how are workplace wellbeing and culture related to each other?
We believe that strong team spirit is essential for any successful organisation. In this session, valued members of our community discussed the cultures their managers and teams had instilled to ensure team spirit is high. We hope these insights will inspire you to create a workplace where employees feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves.
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Take a deep-dive into how the leaders of your organisation can effectively lead with purpose from our Best Companies Live event for Q3. Valued members of our community took to the famous red chairs and discussed the initiatives their companies have implemented to improve their employee engagement against the workplace factors of Leadership and Giving Something Back.
Communication is everything to an organisation. Our data and MC³ model shows that managers who can not only effectively inform their employees, but listen to them too will build greater relationships and improve their engagement scores. We know management is one of the most important aspects of a company, that's why our Best Companies Live event for Q2 was dedicated to effective people management. See what insights were shared from valued members of our community who took to the coveted red chairs.
Close working between team members is not an issue in itself; it can hone specialisms and skills. A problem arises when collaboration between teams is rare rather than routine. Has the hybrid working explosion further cemented silo mentalities, or has a post-pandemic change in attitude and workplace norms – including greater use of tech – boosted team communication?
It's a tough time for business. The economic downturn and the rising cost of living are proving just as challenging for organisations as they are for their employees. In times like these, it's easy for businesses to hunker down, but companies need to play the long game, recognising that prioritising employee engagement and continuing to invest in their workforce can strengthen resilience during tough times and help them bounce back faster.
Guest article from Andrew Avanessian, CEO at AppLearn. In February I appeared on Best Companies Live alongside a panel of other business leaders to discuss how we break down silos within our organisations. I think it often goes overlooked, but a business that can break down silos and encourage better collaboration can be stronger and more resilient in an ever-changing landscape.
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Organisations prioritising their employees' personal and professional development – their capabilities, skills and competencies – reap the awards in many ways. They can attract new staff. A global survey of Millennials and Gen Zs found learning and development opportunities to be the second most important reason for joining their current organisation. More than a quarter (29%) see it as a priority.
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What is corporate social responsibility (CSR)? It's a phrase commonly heard across workplaces. For some businesses, it may be choosing a charity to donate to. For others, it may be doing something to support the community in which they're based.
The best in employee engagement has been celebrated in a three-day event (2nd-4th November) at Evolution London, bringing together 'Best Companies Live Q4' and 'The Best Companies Awards 2022'. All aspects of the event were live-streamed and free to access. This included daytime reveals of the Q4 winners, topical panel discussions on the iconic red chairs and the annual awards showcase, attended by thousands.
Since early 2020, organisations have faced challenges unlike any in recent memory. However, despite such adversity, some organisations have led and managed their people in such a way that they have seen an improvement in their Best Companies accreditation status. During August’s Best Companies Live, we spoke to a selection of the best improvers, across all size categories, to find out how they’ve gone about listening to their people and implementing positive change to help create an even better workplace.
