Kainos recognised as demonstrating “outstanding commitment to workplace engagement” in annual Best Companies To Work For rankings

In a year like no other it was with slight trepidation that I approached our annual participation in the Best Companies To Work For survey.

The survey measures employee engagement, and a positive result would demonstrate that we care about doing things right, that we value our people, and that we understand the importance of a truly engaged workforce – all things that are more important to us than ever in the new and different world we have found ourselves in.

Throughout the pandemic we have put our people first, transitioning our teams to safe home working immediately, supporting them financially with personal home office setup, implementing a comprehensive Wellbeing programme, producing remote working aids and by rewarding their dedication and commitment with a £2000 bonus payment, all while ensuring we listened to their feedback and prioritised their needs at every step.

The results of the Best Companies survey would answer the question that remained at the forefront of my mind throughout all the upheaval: had we done enough?

Thankfully I needn’t have worried. The results are in and I am absolutely delighted that we achieved an amazing 86th position on the Top 100 Best Companies, out of over 2000 organisations who participated in the mid-sized companies (250-2000 people) survey.

As well as this overall achievement, we also achieved a coveted 2-star accreditation, reserved for those organisations which demonstrate outstanding commitment to workplace engagement. And we placed highly on several of the other lists, including:

• 25th place in the Top 50 Best Technology Companies
• 41st place in the London Top 75 Best Companies
• 43rd place in the Midlands Top 100 Best Companies
• 7th place in the Northern Ireland Top 10 Best Companies

I – along with the rest of the Senior Leadership Team here at Kainos – am absolutely delighted at our placing. These results are a great indicator of our progress towards our number one ambition of "being a great employer" and we’re so gratified that the hard work has all been worth it.

And of course we continue to be in awe of our incredible people, who have come together as a team over the past 18 months to encourage, support and celebrate each other, all while maintaining a fantastic level of service for our customers. This recognition simply could not have happened without their efforts, and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of this wonderful team.

But of course, the hard work doesn’t stop here. The kind of honest, unfiltered feedback we get through taking part in the Best Companies survey is invaluable for me and my team, and as soon as we got the results we immediately jumped into action, with our employee experience team (made up of representatives from across our business) using the feedback to create Employee Experience Improvement plans for FY21/22.

And as a growing and global organisation, we continue to review the best avenues to measure employee engagement… so watch this space to find out where the next step of the journey will take us.