One to watch

Edge Hill University has been ranked as one of the best places to work in the UK.

The institution has been named in the 2010 Best Companies Accreditation. This awards scheme, organised by the company which conducts the surveys for the renowned Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For survey, acknowledges excellence in the workplace. Based on staff feedback, it looks at employee engagement as an integral part of an organisation's success and growth.

This is the first time Edge Hill has received the accreditation and it has been awarded ‘One to Watch' status. The aim is to now build on this success and move up the Michelin star-style rankings. Best Companies Ltd awards one star for first class, two stars for outstanding and three stars for extraordinary performance.

To measure an organisation's success, its staff are quizzed on 70 questions spanning eight points:

• Leadership - how employees feel about senior managers and the organisation's values and principles
• My manager - how individuals communicate with their direct manager
• Personal growth - what staff feel about future prospects
• Wellbeing - how they feel about pressure at work, and work/life balance
• My team - feelings towards immediate colleagues and how well they work together
• Giving something back - the extent to which employees feel their organisation has a positive impact on society
• My company - the level of engagement staff have with their job and organisation
• Fair deal - how happy they are with their pay and benefits.

This year, 1,086 organisations applied for accreditation through the scheme.  Of these, 900 organisations made it through the process and, since September, more than 276,000 employees from these companies have been surveyed. In total, 410 organisations have received accreditation. These winners will receive their awards in March.

Ann Collins, Edge Hill's Director of Human Resources, said: "The recognition from Best Companies is especially welcome, particularly given the current difficult economic climate and the challenges in Higher Education.

"Best Companies base the award on feedback provided directly from our staff reinforcing the outcomes from our own Staff Survey which indicates that our employees believe Edge Hill is a great place to work. This is excellent news for the University and for the 2000+ staff who work here."

Jonathan Austin, Founder and CEO of Best Companies, said: "Many organisations have tackled redundancies and rapid change this year, but organisations like Edge Hill University, which have kept on engaging their staff and making sure they are involved in the business will be in a good position for the future and should be congratulated for their efforts."