Top employers get certified

A ‘Top’ time was had by all on Wednesday night when 71 UK organisations were awarded certificates at the Guildhall by the Top Employers Institute.

After a Gala Dinner and a comedy turn by Jimmy Carr – ‘The first few weeks you go to Weight Watchers, you’re just finding your feet,’ etc. etc. – the employers heading for stage included ASDA, Bentley Motors, KFC, Estée Lauder, SAP and Virgin Trains East Coast.

The Top Employers certification recognises excellence against an international standard and tests entrants against nine ‘topics’: Talent Strategy, Workforce Planning, On-boarding, Learning & Development, Performance Management, Leadership Development, Career & Succession Management, Compensation & Benefits and Culture. The introduction of a tenth topic, Recruitment, is currently being considered.

David Plink, CEO of the Top Employers Institute, told HRville that he saw two interlinked trends in submissions. First, that people strategy was increasingly occupying the minds of the higher echelons within organisations; second, that entrants were getting much better at measuring the effectiveness of, and ROI on, HR policies.

It’s definitely awards season for Plink. Over just nine days, Top Employers will be hosting awards in eight different countries.

And what, given his global overview, characterises the UK awards? ‘The UK is much more competitive, with organisations more driven to improve on their scores. The idea that it’s the taking part that counts – well, that doesn’t hold true here.’

A select number of competitive employers have won the UK certification ten times: Saffery Champness, JD Wetherspoon and Whitbread. Others – specifically ING Bank, Pfizer and Thomson Reuters – were certified for the first time this year.

About the author

Andrew Baird

Andrew is the CEO of HRville. He is also Employer Brand Director of Blackbridge Communications, Editorial Director of Professionals in Law and an associate of The Smarty Train. Previously, he was the MD of TCS Advertising.