The best companies to work for in the United Kingdom and abroad share several similarities regardless of their differences in organisation and structure, mission and vision, and corporate culture, among other aspects. Job hunters like you who want to enjoy the best of both worlds – a good compensation package with good prospects for career advancement coupled with a good working environment – should look for these traits and, thus, increase your opportunities of working for the best companies in your area of specialisation.
Active Engagement in the Accreditation Process
In the UK, companies can be accredited as one of the best companies to work for by accreditation organisations. Keep in mind that companies undergoing the accreditation process – and succeeding at it – have to demonstrate their strong commitment and actual compliance with best practices in a range of matters from human resources and customer relations to financial management and inventory management.
Indeed, companies accredited with the Best Companies badge like Morgan Hunt have an edge against their non-accredited counterparts on many levels. Think of it: Your opportunity for working in companies with active and positive employee engagement increases and, hence, your enjoyment of a great career.
Active Employee Engagement
Of course, you must go beyond the Best Company accreditation because it is not the be-all and end-all of finding the best company for your professional needs and wants. Ask the employees of the companies you are applying in about the following aspects of active and positive employee engagement:
• Measures toward taking an active interest in the personal and professional welfare of employees. In the office, the workplace environment has a conducive energy because of open communication, mutual respect, and strong camaraderie, for example. Outside of the office, employees are encouraged to participate in family day and sports day, among other extracurricular activities.
• Measures toward continuing education and career advancement of employees. The best companies to work for provide upward mobility for their employees via merit-based performance reviews, incentives, and promotions as well as continuing education training, among others.
Your main goal: To find the company where your contributions will be valued, your skills will be honed, and your career will be promoted.
Active Business Planning
Obviously, even companies with the best practices in human resources management will fall short when their business planning side leaves much to be desired. Do your homework about the companies – including those with the Best Companies accreditation – on these aspects before submitting your job applications:
• Strategic business planning (i.e., look at their annual reports for clues, assess the clarity of their mission and vision)
• Finance management (i.e., look at the companies’ public financial records, news, and press releases)
• Customer relations management (i.e., become a customer, if possible, and read customer reviews to determine the companies’ dedication to excellent customer relations – a must for survival in any competitive market)
• Product and services range (i.e., determine your potential ability to contribute to the range and, hence, become a valued member of the team).
Ultimately, the only way to know whether any company is, indeed, deserving of its Best Companies accreditation is to become one of its employees. But doing your homework first maximises your chances at actually working for the best company.
