Chief Executive, Steve Woodford, attending the Sunday Times/Best Companies Awards Dinner, 25^th February 2010, commented:

“Following our growth, this is our first year to be classed as a medium sized company (250 to 5,000 staff) and we are absolutely delighted to have come in to the list at 26^th.  This is a great accolade to our staff whose work brings them into contact with some very challenging and rewarding people”

The Best Company Survey is carried out via a confidential online questionnaire with staff; the questionnaire asks them to give their views on eight factors.  These include:

• Fair Deal - satisfaction with pay and conditions
• Personal Growth – opportunity for personal development
• Wellbeing  - work/life balance
• Leadership – the organisation is run on strong moral values

Foundation also achieved a two star accreditation for the first time – alongside only 190 organisations nationally classed as two or three stars.

Jonathan Austin, Chief Executive and founder, Best Companies comments:

“An engaged workforce is essential as organisations move out of the recession and into a more stable economic situation.  No doubt many organisations have tackled redundancies and rapid change this year.  But only those that have kept on engaging their staff and making sure they are involved in the business will be in a good position for the future.  Those that have ignored this and lost the trust and goodwill of their staff will find the recovery more difficult.  In fact, they may never win back the faith of their employees.  The companies that have achieved accreditation are among the best employers, and are to be congratulated.”

Congratulations to key partners of Foundation – Calico HA in Burnley – who we were not surprised to see rise in the top 100 list to number 15 in the country.

http://www.bestcompanies.co.uk/survey_list.aspx