Hydrock one of the top companies to work for in UK

Prestigious 'Sunday Times Best 100 Companies to Work For Survey 2009' has placed construction services group, Hydrock, amongst the top companies to work for in the UK for the third year running.

This year, no fewer than 997 organisations and 200,000 employees took part in the biggest survey of workplace opinion and employee engagement in the UK.

Hydrock first took part in the survey in 2006 and achieved 12th place in the "Best 100 small companies to work for" category.

Now with 350 employees, Hydrock has been placed 13th in the medium-sized category, which covers organisations with up to 5,000 employees.

The survey, sent out to a random selection of employees, includes questions on a range of issues from leadership, wellbeing, work/life balance and personal growth to pay and benefits, and companies are assessed on the views of their own staff and independent researchers.

Jackie Orme, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, sponsors of The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For, said: "Being a Best Company to Work For is not just about prestigious listings and names up in lights.

It can make the difference between success and failure.

The importance of being a great workplace does not diminish in tough times.

Things may look different, but what remains constant in these companies is the commitment to motivated employees.

"Engaged staff understand when times are tough and will respond by going the extra mile.

Their companies will be the ones best placed to emerge strongly in a recovery.

We congratulate each and every one of the organisations who have made this year's Best Companies listings and all the people who have worked so hard to get them there".

The awards were announced at a ceremony in London's Battersea Events Arena on Thursday 26th February where Hydrock personnel received the prestigious award.

As an employer, Hydrock, is engineered to work like a well oiled machine.

Culturally, the firm ensures that families come first, and it promotes a sense of fun, consistent communication and swift policy delivery at work.

Hydrock's top ranking, for the third year running is in part due to the inspirational leadership of managing director Brian McConnell.

Staff have a great deal of faith in him (earning an 85% positive score) which is a score bettered by only three other business leaders in this survey.

The company has seen considerable growth since it was founded in 1995 and intends to keep on growing despite the economic downturn.

With such commitment coming from the firm, employees feel a strong sense of pride in the organisation.

Staff love working for Hydrock (a 78% positive score) and are proud to do so (84%, a top 20 score nationally).

Staff believe colleagues go out of the way to help each other (80%) and feel teams are fun to work with (83%).

This is Hydrock's second recognition for exceptional employee engagement in as many months, as the organisation was awarded the 'Best for Work-Life Balance' award in the New Civil Engineer Employer Review 2008.

In its submission, Hydrock defined work-life balance as 'making sure that we can not only give our families the commitment and support they need, and that we enjoy a fulfilling life outside of work, but also that life is rewarding, enjoyable and stress-free, so that when we do go home we have the time, energy and means to enjoy our home life'.

The judges agreed that Hydrock encapsulated 'everything that is good about work-life balance' and were able to best convey to the judges how work-life balance fitted in with the company ethos.

Dr Brian McConnell, Hydrock Managing Director, who received the award on behalf of Hydrock, has always been an advocate of putting people at the heart of the business and working together for the common good.

"It's great to get the recognition for what we have done, but to me the most important thing is that our employees are telling the world that they truly believe in our company.

That's a powerful message which will help us to recruit the highest calibre staff possible and to continue to grow our business successfully.

We set out to make Hydrock the best company to work for in our industry and we intend to make sure we stay there".

Hydrock was established in 1995 and now employs more than 350 people from bases in Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Stoke-on-Trent, Northampton, Plymouth and Woking.

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