The shortlist has been drawn up for Computer Weekly's
sixth annualBest Places to Work in
IT competition.
Congratulations are due to those teams who made it on to the
shortlist, beating plenty of good companies to the top spots.
Quality was high this year, with many employers going the extra
mile to make their company one of the best places to work in
IT.
The shortlisted entries were the best of the bunch, and their
entries offer plenty of ideas for improving working life.
One company on the shortlist pays for its employees to take
their partner and children out for a meal if their family time has
been disrupted by work.
Another provides employees with broadband connections, laptops
and even office chairs to encourage employees to work from home.
And at one smaller company, shortlisted in the category for
businesses with fewer than 200 employees, every employee gets their
birthday off.
Great ideas
Other great ideas to surface from the shortlisted group include
taking regular soundings of staff opinions, listening to their
views on what it's like to work for the company and assessing any
changes that might be made.
One company said, "Each year we carry out a staff survey where
they rate the company, their managers, and working life. We take
the survey seriously, publish the results, and create an action
plan at team and company level.
"This has led to all sorts of changes, from toasters in the
kitchens, to hand cream in the loos, to extra holiday."
Another company is tackling pay gaps, with a policy of
transparency around salaries. Every member of staff has access to
an online spread sheet with details of everyone's salary - right up
to the CEO. The same company also has a policy of "celebrating
mistakes" to make sure people feel free to innovate. And it seems
to work. "We have over 2,000 people waiting to hear about new
jobs," the company said. "This has reduced our external recruitment
costs to zero."
Ask the staff
Computer Weekly didn't just ask the companies who entered why
they were good to work for - we asked their staff as well.
Each company was sent questionnaires for their staff to fill in,
which included chances for them to rate their own company on how
good it is to work for. These ratings were collated to give a
company an average score, which could then be compared to the
scores of others. Those companies with a higher than average score
made the shortlist.
The IT staff we surveyed came up with plenty of praise for their
employers, as well as a few suggestions for how to improve
things.
To improve their working lives, some want a subsidised office
canteen, others want an on-site creche, one employee asked for a
free bar, and another wanted to see bean bags in the workplace for
a midday rest. One went even further and asked for "relaxation
booths with beds for power naps".
Some employees would prefer it if their offices were greener and
more environmentally aware, and others want more women in senior
positions in the company. Staff are also keen to get rid of
"incompetent middle management", get better, clearer career paths
and have improved bonus schemes for good workers. Improved
communication is also high on the wish-list of many employees, as
is the option to work flexible hours "without being made to feel
guilty."
Staff appreciate a range of things in different organisations.
One member of staff at a financial services company expressed
gratitude that the firm had a "prudent fiscal policy", providing
job security while other financial companies get hit by the credit
crunch. In other companies, staff appreciate having colleagues they
get along well with, getting recognition from management, and the
ability to achieve a good work-life balance.
The
competition winners will be announced at a ceremony at the
Royal Lancaster Hotel in London in May.
For more details on the competition, and to book a table for the
awards ceremony, see
www.computerweeklyawards.com.
The shortlist
Retail & wholesale
- Sainsbury's
- Shop Direct Group
Manufacturing, engineering, Construction &
utilities
- Atkins
- Boehringer Ingelheim
- Danone
- Proctor & Gamble
- Shepherd Construction
IT software & hardware
- Box UK
- Data Connection
- Erudine
- Human Recognition Systems
- Perforce Software UK
- Snow Valley
- Softwire
- Sunrise
IT services suppliers
- Happy
- Imerja
- Information Management Group
- ITRM
- Network Rail - Information Management
- RDF
- Sense Internet
- SFW
- Zen Internet
Health, social care, non-profit
- Central Borders Housing Group
- IDIS
- National Foundation for Educational Research
- WWF-UK
Government & public service
- City of London Corporation
- Transport for London
- Network Rail - Information Management
Business & professional services
- Creditsafe Group
- Denplan
- KPMG
- Mouchel
- Quintiles
- Thompsons Online Benefits
Banking & finance
- Allianz Insurance
- Britannia Building Society
- Motability Operations
- Royal London Asset Management