Employees have spoken! Despite an incredibly challenging year for businesses, Northumbrian Water was able to sustain its award-winning culture, ultimately achieving a 25th place ranking on the 2021 UK’s Best Workplaces™ list in the Super Large category, published by Great Place to Work® UK yesterday.
This fantastic announcement follows the utility giant’s achievement of being identified as a Centre of Excellence for Wellbeing 2020-21 by the Great Place to Work Institute as well as being awarded Ambassador Status as part of the 2020 Better Health at Work Award assessment process.
Northumbrian Water, which is the only water and sewerage company to make the list, is among the 183 UK-based organisations recognised by its employees as an organisation that promotes a healthy workplace culture through trust, pride and camaraderie during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Being customer-focused is just one of the reasons why employees love working at Northumbrian Water even during a crisis. Supporting local communities is something the water company feels passionately about and 81 per cent of its people agree saying that they feel good about the way it contributes to the community.
Last year more than 550 Northumbrian Water employees took part in volunteering in their local areas, giving time and supporting more than 230 different organisations through its Just an hour scheme.
NWG’s CEO Heidi Mottram, said: "Our employees are at the heart of everything we do and with 86 per cent of our people giving us feedback on how they feel working here, this gives us lots of insight so we can continue to make our company a ‘great place to work’.
"Being recognised nationally as a top employer alongside other big names like Cisco and Hilton, is also a brilliant acknowledgement of the great company we are and that’s all down to the amazing people we have working here.
“Yesterday’s announcement feels even more special in the backdrop of Coronavirus and the challenges we’ve faced both at work and personally over the last 12 months. The one team approach I see every day across our business, providing our customers and communities with an unrivalled experience, whilst protecting our environment, is something that I think sets us apart from the rest and I’m enormously proud to work with such passionate and committed people."
Understanding the perspective of employees is key to building a successful workplace environment. To determine an organisation’s ranking, Great Place to Work® administers their comprehensive employee survey which represents 3/4 of an organisation’s final score. The remaining quarter of the score comes from the Culture Audit® -a business-driven questionnaire that uncovers and evaluates the organisation's HR and leadership practices, policies and culture.