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Each year the competition to be recognised in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For rankings is rife.
The rankings, which showcase the most positive workplace cultures, the best employers and shine a light on those businesses which strive to really make a difference, is a recognition that most HR practitioners yearn for. Not only does this illustrate an outstanding employee experience and environment in which to thrive but, similar to Glassdoor reviews, this recognition acts as a public stamp of approval that a company is a good place for prospective employees to join. But the rigorous process means that getting into the rankings is not always plain sailing and it may take employers a couple of attempts to successfully make it onto the list.
Yet, one firm, who previously tried to make it into the rankings but were unsuccessful, channelled their disappointment into re-evaluating their internal processes and sparking company change that helped them enter the rankings at a later date. An appetite for success helped The Landmark London enter the rankings in 27th position last year but its sheer determination to improve didn’t stop there. In this year’s rankings, the iconic hotel jumped forward to sixth position. Nicola Forshaw, HR Director at The Landmark London attributed a large portion of its success in the rankings to one thing: executive training.
She explained that training started to focus on the executive team with help from an external training provider. “We had to find training that really challenged them and maybe made them think differently and freshened up the approach,” she added. Now, before any training is rolled out across the company, the executive team complete it first to evaluate whether it is appropriate for the whole hotel to do it. “It [creates] a whole buzz around the training as well, because if the executive team have done it before they roll it out to the hotel, people really want to do it themselves”.
