In recognition of its continued focus on developing a talented and motivated team and providing a great working environment, Burton pub company, Punch Taverns has been rated the 21st ‘Best Big Company’ in the UK!
Punch participated in ‘The Sunday Times Best Big Companies To Work For’ survey for 2011 and has become the only major pub company to receive recognition in the Top 25.
The survey assesses an organisation’s performance in all areas of the workplace, in particular its commitment to its most important asset – its employees.
Punch’s overall response rate to the survey was 78.9%, far exceeding the Best Company average for a company of Punch’s size of 48.9%.
Last year, Punch were rated a Best Company ‘One to Watch’ and its scores for 2011 have increased across all categories. Particularly strong were; My Manager, My Company, My Team, Well Being, Personal Growth and Leadership.
Commenting on the success, group HR director, Karen Caddick said: “We’re extremely proud and I’d like to thank all of our employees for their continued dedication and commitment. Despite what has been a challenging time for the pub industry and for Punch over the last couple of years, we have retained a team of talented, highly engaged and motivated employees. It’s a huge achievement.”
Punch conducted its own in depth employee engagement last year. Over 10,000 employees participated with 91% clear on the company’s goals, 94% prepared to work hard for the company and 80% satisfied with their jobs.
Karen continues: “We have been extremely proactive to address the key areas of focus that emerged from both the Sunday Times survey and our own engagement survey, placing huge emphasis on fostering talent at all levels of our business. We’ve mapped out a distinct career pathway so all of our employees can see a viable route to progress to the next level or perhaps move into a different area of the business.”
Punch has seen almost 200 members of its pub teams participate in its Apprenticeships scheme and several have progressed to new roles since completing the course.
It is also piloting and developing a number of other aspirational qualifications, including working with the BII on a business development qualification for its business relationship managers (BRMs) and even a Masters Degree for its high performers and future leaders.
Karen adds: “We also ensure our teams are rewarded for their hard work with a bonus scheme, a highly competitive pay and benefits package, and our recently introduced flexible benefits scheme allows employees to tailor their benefits to suit their individual lifestyles.”
“The Sunday Times rating is testament to this work combined with the ongoing dedication of all of our employees. We will continue to work on addressing the areas of focus emerging from our own engagement survey and the key themes that came out of the Sunday Times and ensure that our teams are kept up to date on this progress.”