Ecological Consultancy Reveals the Formula for a happy remote working environment.
In a recent Best Places to Work 2024 edition published by The Sunday Times recently 70,000 UK organisations were analysed. Behind the survey was employee satisfaction experts WorkL who gathered the results used the six factors of reward and recognition, instilling pride, information sharing, empowerment, wellbeing and job satisfaction as qualifying criteria.
What do the best businesses in creating a happy remote working environment look like?
All businesses that made the shortlist were chosen based on the decisions of a panel and the employee data collected by WorkL. Chester-based ecological consultancy Arbtech featured within the list of Best Medium Organisations for companies with between 50 and 249 members of staff.
Specialising in surveys to support planning, Arbtech is headed by CEO Robert Oates, who has made it his mission to offer the fairest salaries, the most flexibility, and the best working environment, and make Arbtech the number one career destination in the ecology sector. He believes in the importance of putting employees first and providing them with generous benefits. This helps contribute to a happy workplace culture with low staff turnover and employees who are happy to go the extra mile for clients and each other.
Current perks of working for Arbtech include a 40-day holiday allowance, a subsidised gym membership, a free Fitbit, a selection of free subscriptions (Audible, Pret A Manger etc), an unlimited continued professional development (CPD) fund, and a โCheers Mateโ scheme that enables employee-to-employee bonuses from individual wish lists any time someone goes out of their way to help another member of the team.
Most recently, Arbtech started a โPaid As You Level Upโ scheme whereby employees receive a bonus for completing books from a reading list that will benefit them both personally and professionally. With surveyors situated all over the country, Arbtech also allows remote working and the ability for employees to arrange all-expenses-paid social events as an opportunity for staff to come together and reconnect in a relaxed setting.
Another recent addition to the list of company incentives has been the introduction of sabbaticals for long-term employees in exchange for a temporary salary deduction. It means that an Arbtecher with five, 10 or 15 years at the company will be entitled to a pre-arranged one, three or six-month period away from work respectively.
Arbtechers comment on their experience of working for the company:
โI canโt believe how much training Iโve been lucky enough to receive over the last few years, even gaining a degree in arboriculture that Arbtech paid for.โ โ Nicole Gullan, Senior Ecologist
โAlthough most of us work from home, the daily support between the team and frequent all-paid socials massively brings us together.โ โ Olga Hermann, Ecological Surveyor
โFrom day one, youโre made to feel part of the team and are supported in everything you do or want to do.โ โ Chris Jarvis, Finance Administrator
โGiven the exceptional socials on offer โ including a recent skiing trip to Austria โ you wonโt go long before your colleagues become some of your closest friends.โ โ Emily Kempson, Senior Arboriculturist
Everyone puts in so much effort to help each other out, including rewarding one another through the โCheers Mateโ scheme.โ โ Dean Meadows, Principal Arboriculturist
โThe flexible workdays are truly flexible, and they allow me to fit work around my life instead of fitting my life around workโ โ Shaun Rowe, Graduate Arboriculturist
โHaving worked in other consultancies, the biggest culture shock at Arbtech was the flat management structure, as it makes sharing knowledge and requesting help so accessible.โ โ Harley Stone, Consultant Ecologist
โEvery employee is fully trusted to do their job without unnecessary micromanaging, but at the same time, help is always on hand for anyone who wants it.โ โ Andy Ward, Marketing Manager
More about Arbtech – leading business in happy remote working environments
Through nationwide coverage and specialisms in a multitude of areas, Arbtech offers tree surveys, ecology surveys, biodiversity net gain plans, numerous protected species surveys and an array of other services related to planning. On average, the team at Arbtech assists more than 8,000 projects every year and has so far supported over 50,000 projects since starting work in 2005.
Founder and CEO Robert Oates speaking on the main aims of Arbtech:
โAt this company, employees come first. Every time. Ask the directors of the firm you work at currently, whatโs at the heart of their businessโ strategy and success, and they start talking about client relationships. What they should be talking about is employee relationships.โ
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