Did your firm make the shortlist for the Best Places to Work in IT Awards?

The shortlist for the Best Places to Work in IT Awards 2007 highlights the most progressive employers across all vertical sectors.

Many firms have worthwhile corporate programmes for their employees, but the IT departments that stood out this year went one step further. The judges were looking for IT departments that stood out from the rest of the organisation.

If there is one overarching theme for this year's entries, it is work/life balance. It is clear that organisations are giving much more thought to the area than they were a year ago.

This year's shortlisted candidates scored highly on offering flexible working. This ranged from allowing staff to work from home, to letting employees shift their working hours so they can meet domestic requirements. More employers are also offering long-serving staff sabbaticals, both paid and unpaid.

The judges were also looking for evidence that organisations are investing in the continual professional development of their IT staff. The best employers offered in-house training, including evening training courses, to help their staff keep their skills up to date.

A number of organisations had knowledge transfer schemes to pass knowledge and skills on from senior to more junior staff. Others offered creative thinking courses.

Training of softer skills, including communication skills, team skills and presentation skills featured prominently in many entries, reflecting the demands on IT to become closer to the business.

But the best organisations scored highly across a range of criteria. The judges gave weight to companies that created a positive working environment, firms that offered team building, total benefits packages, and whether the organisation was genuinely a fun place for staff to work.

Food also seemed to crop up a lot this year, with many of the entrants offering perks like cakes and biscuits, or sometimes, more healthily, fruit, to keep their staff happy.

Book a table at the awards ceremony

The Best Places to Work in IT Awards 2007 will be presented on 2 March at the Grosvenor Marriott Square Hotel in London.

Now in its fifth year, the lunchtime ceremony will play host to the UK's best UK IT employers.

With IT departments from leading companies of all sizes, representing every sector of UK business life, the awards offer a unique networking opportunity.

To guarantee your place, and secure your opportunity to network with the UK's best IT employers, go online or contact Siobhan Abbott:

020 8652 3887

siobhan.abbott@rbi.co.uk

www.computerweekly.com/bestplacestowork

The shortlist

Banking

• Barclays Bank
• Birmingham Midshires
• Citigroup Technology
• HBOS Group Technology

Business and professional services

• Berwin Leighton Paisner
• Imprint
• KPMG

Central government

• British Army (Land - CBM AIS)
• Companies House

Construction, agriculture and mining

• Arup
• Atkins
• Smith Group UK
• WSP Group

Hospitality, entertainment and leisure

• American Institute for Foreign Study (UK)
• BBC Worldwide
• Betfair
• Expotel

Financial services

• Aviva
• Denplan
• Friends Provident
• Norwich & Peterborough Building Society
• Totemic

IT services suppliers (including outsourcing providers)

• Cobweb
• Imerja (UK)
• ITRM
• Rhyme Systems
• The Internet Group
• TheCitySecret

IT software and hardware suppliers

• Citrix Systems (R&D)
• cScape Strategic Internet Services
• Data Connection
• Erudine
• Dell
• Microsoft
• Welcom Software

Manufacturing and engineering

• Procter & Gamble
• Whitman Laboratories

Local government

• City of London Corporation
• Kent County Council
• Lancashire ICT Services
• Liverpool Direct
• London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
• London Borough of Towerhamlets

Public services and non-profit sectors

• Audit Commission
• British Transport Police
• Crown Prosecution Service Business Information Systems Directorate
• New Charter Housing Trust
• Opportunity Links
• Coal Authority
• WWF

Retail, wholesale and distribution

• Asda Stores
• South West Trains
• Carphone Warehouse

Utilities and telecommunications

• BT Group
• Cable & Wireless
• Kingston Communications

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