Despite severe weather conditions last Tuesday (27th February), employers traveled to Tattersalls in Newmarket to learn more about Best Employers Eastern Region. This initiative provides businesses with the opportunity to gain unique data on employee engagement levels within their organisation, to benchmark their business against others, and to be in with a chance of becoming one of the region’s best employers.
The event was hosted by Lynn Walters, Executive Director at Pure, the co-founders of Best Employers Eastern Region. As a professional recruitment company, Pure is committed to supporting organisations across the eastern region to recruit the best talent. It developed the Best Employers initiative in partnership with psychometrics experts eras ltd in 2012, based on the shared ambition of supporting organisations to create workplaces which are stimulating, motivating and bring out the best in their people.
The first step for organisations participating in Best Employers Eastern Region is to ask employees to complete a free confidential survey, which measures employee engagement, company culture, and values. George Sik, a consultant psychologist at eras ltd, which developed the survey, explained how it is now even more flexible, simple to use and easy for organisations to customise.
Highlighting the importance of understanding employee engagement levels were three guest speakers. Ian White, Chief Executive at Beckett Investment Management in Bury St Edmunds, Minnie Moll, Joint Chief Executive at the East of England Co-op and Ian Watson, Chief Executive at Start-Rite Shoes in Norwich. All shared their experiences of developing and maintaining engaging workplaces designed to attract and retain the talent their organisations need to grow and thrive.
Lynn Walters said: “I would like to thank all our guest speakers. They provided fascinating insights into how these renowned regional organisations are passionately focussing on employee engagement and recognising the business benefits behind it. Whether it was making a conscious effort not to do what everyone else does, understanding how the smallest of things can make a big difference or the ultimate rewards of tackling the challenge of changing employee attitudes, there was plenty to inspire everyone.”
Delegates also had the chance to engage in a panel discussion with the speakers. This was led by Jeanette Wheeler, Partner and Head of the Employment Law team at regional law firm Birketts, sponsors of Best Employers Eastern Region alongside Archant, publisher of the Eastern Daily Press and East Anglian Daily Times.
To date, more than 120 companies across the East of England have signed up to take part in Best Employers Eastern Region 2018.
George Sik said: “We’ve had a fantastic response from organisations of all sizes wanting to take part. They are attracted to the opportunity of using an expertly designed survey which is delivered by an external organisation, therefore encouraging more honest answers from employees. Plus it also comes with tailored guidance on how they can progress and maintain a motivating workplace, and the chance to compare themselves within their sector. What’s more, the survey is completely free to enter and there are no hidden costs.”
Participating organisations are automatically entered into prestigious Best Employers Eastern Region Awards, with the winners selected based on the engagement scores from the survey. Organisations with the highest engagement scores will have the opportunity to submit further evidence to be assessed by a panel of expert advisors who will endorse Platinum and Gold accreditations.
Lynn Walters concluded: “We developed Best Employer Eastern Region, to raise the recruitment profile of organisations and the region as a whole, to bring business professionals together to share ideas about leadership and employee engagement and to ultimately help the growth of the eastern region through increased employee productivity.
“Employers know they need to focus on their employer brand if they are to retain and attract the best people in their organisation. Best Employers Eastern Region provides a perfect tool to capture the information needed to develop an attractive culture, it also showcases the many fantastic employers in our region through both awards and accreditations. This provides a wealth of opportunities to highlight the organisation as a great place to work and to further promote employer brand.”
For more information, or to register to take part, visit www.best-employers.co.uk