REVEALED: UK survey points to best employer in the county
By Simon Hacker | 13th May 2024
Monday might not be the best day to ask, but bosses across Gloucestershire will be digesting the findings of a deep dig into employee happiness published at the weekend and asking themselves a big question: how happy are the people who work for me?
The Sunday Times commissioned extensive research across 70,000 organisations through employee experience specialists WorkL and, while the broad findings might identify big demographic challenges for employers as they seek to engage and retain a Pandemic-pumelled workforce, they also pour praise on businesses who go the extra mile to make Monday mornings at least engaging, if not joyful.
Making the list this year though, only ONE Gloucestershire firm is bathed in glory: the Cotswold Energy Group, who are based in Stonehouse and who began just five years ago over a chat between three blokes in a pub.
Jon Bonnar, managing director, told Punchline-Gloucester.com: "We're blown away to think that a business idea which has quickly grown to employ 100 people has achieved this recognition.
"We're really proud of such an accolade – our culture is family centric, which means that staff wellbeing, happiness and engagement is at the absolute top of our priorities. When we focus on that – innovation, consistency and dedication tend to come back in spades."

The paradigm for what keeps a worforce happy has shifted since the Pandemic, he said: "You might think it's just a case of free lattes and bean bags on a Friday, but there are so many aspects of what you need to offer as an employer. Crucially, after the Pandemic, people woke up to a realisation that the old pattern of office, travel and home didn't have to be set in stone."
Also cited in the top ten high fliers for the Very Big category of winners were utilities giant Veolia UK.
Among its national concerns, the firm operates Rose Hill Recycling, a composting and recycling facility in Dymock, a site that processes up to 35,000 tonnes of food and farm waste per annum.
The newspaper said the survey identified how Gen Z employees (born between the early 1990s and the early 2010s) can be "quiet quitters" who "do the bare minimum in their jobs". They constitute the people least likely to be happy, not least as a result of the psychological impact of the Pandemic. Some 28% are consequently looking for a good moment to quit.

Employers face a challenge over how best to engage such a demographic, the paper added, but said that WorkL's survey of 70,000 organisations pointed to a simple answer: "make them happier".
● The Sunday Times Best Places to Work awards asked 26 questions in an employeer survey, with the key areas being reward and recognition, instilling pride, information sharing, empowerment, wellbeing and job satisfaction. In special commendations for SPotlight Awards, the survey also looked at considerations for disabled employees and cited Cotswold Fayre and Flourish for an 85% engagement rate for seven members of staff, while 110 employees enjoyed "solid benefits, compassionate leave and sabbatical options for personal growth".
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