11 March 2008
Audit firm tops The Sunday Times list
KPMG beats 43 other firms to become best big employer.
The Sunday Times newspaper last weekend listed its 20 best big companies to work for, with KPMG coming top for the second time in 3 years. 44 organizations, each employing more than 5,000 employees took part in the “best company” survey.
Employees rate personal growth and wellbeing
- 1st place: KPMG (audit, tax and advisory services) – also winners in 2006. In the 66-point questionnaire, staff ranked the firm first in 3 out of the 8 survey question “factors”. The 11,872-strong workforce rated their opportunities for personal growth highly, scoring it at 80%. Staff relationships with their managers are better at KPMG than any other big company.
The Sunday Times concludes that many employees are vague about leadership issues and likens this to 'floating voters' during an election.
- 2nd place: Britannia Building Society (mutual building society). Employees gave managers a 77% score for expressing appreciation for a job well done – ranking the firm first on recognition. Staff also gave the firm a top score of 70% for the “wellbeing” factor.
- 3rd place: Goldman Sachs (financial services). Employees feel very favourable towards Goldman Sachs leadership and the company as a whole. The 5,712 UK staff are proud to work for the bank, giving it an 89% score. They're excited about the company and love their jobs. The company provides great gym facilities, has generous policies for paternity and maternity leave and staff have good career prospects.
"Floating voters" could go either way
In analyzing the responses to its survey questions, The Sunday Times concludes that many employees are vague about leadership issues and likens this to “floating voters” during an election. The research company, Best Companies, says these staff are a good target for an organization seeking better engagement.
“People who feel connected to their company’s leadership will generally feel good about their boss, senior managers and the organization’s values,” says The Sunday Times. They back this assertion by saying that staff in the highest-scoring organizations also have the clearest views on leadership.
Have your say
The Sunday Times' “floating voters” idea is an interesting one, implying they could fairly easily be brought closer to the organization’s managers and values – but could also easily become permanently disconnected.
What’s your organization’s tally of “floating voters”? How do you go about engaging them – and what is your success rate?
Discuss these issues with other comms practitioners by joining the Internal Comms Hub members' group on the Communicators' Network.
Other recommendations:
Charity's daily meetings make for winning strategy
Got a news story? Contact the newsdesk