What’s the best British company?

The 20 companies with the best workplace culture and leadership development – as chosen by employees – have been named in new research by professional management body the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and job site Glassdoor.

Second was hospitality tech firm, Fourth, which promotes a split leadership structure, clearly distinguishing between two types of manager: the technical specialists and the people specialists.

The third highest-rated company in the study was software consultancy Equal Experts, which aspires to be a ‘company of grown-ups’, where staff are recruited on the premise that they will be able to act autonomously, seeking advice on the decisions they make, rather than adhering to a strict hierarchy.

The firms were scored through analysis of the reviews posted on the Glassdoor website by current and former employees of more than 700,000 companies.

Patrick Woodman, Head of Research and Advocacy at CMI, said: “The CMI/Glassdoor Top 20 highlights the best companies for corporate culture and leadership in the UK. At a time when trust in business is at an all-time low and there are major worries about the UK’s poor productivity, every organisation can learn from these fantastic examples of well-managed businesses. These 20 companies show how quality management and leadership makes a real difference in inspiring and motivating employees.

“The companies featured in the Top 20 point towards a new way of defining management. Traditionally, getting on at work meant getting into management and climbing the ladder, but this hasn’t always led to a perfect fit between people’s skills and the demands of the role – especially when employers spend too little on training. Many of the best employers are now changing how they do things to make sure they put people with the right skills in the management roles that are critical to their company’s success.”

Also in the top 20 were travel tech firm Skyscanner, international consultancy firm Bain & Company, and social media behemoth Facebook. Managers at Facebook are said to be self-selecting, with the company adopting a ‘very flat’ culture, recognising that not everyone enjoys a purely management role and that becoming a manager is seen as ‘lateral move, not a promotion’.

Joe Wiggins, Head of Communications, Europe at Glassdoor, said: “Today’s employees and job candidates are more informed than ever before thanks to transparency and more company information available online. Organisations that have a strong culture will attract the best people, and in turn this will lead to stronger financial performance. Culture is so important as it is second only to salary in terms of influence on a job candidate’s decision to join an employer.”

The top 20 UK companies are:

1. Northern Gas and Power
2. Fourth
3. Equal Experts
4. RHP
5. Bain & Company
6. HomeServe UK
7. Lookers
8. Rentokil Initial
9. Auto Trader
10. Epos Now
11. Facebook
12. First Utility
13. VistaBee
14. Skyscanner
15. MediaMath
16. Badoo
17. Baringa Partners
18. Peninsula
19. Cloudreach
20. Thomas International