We take a look at award-worthy employers who vied for the top spot in the category

One of the staples to a fantastic company is a fantastic employer. This category incorporates all aspects of being a well-respected employer. It celebrates the slick and professional recruitment processes, positive staff experiences and exceptional training and development opportunities as well as focusing on the employment of apprentices and their retention.

A key factor of being a great employer is the ability to communicate with your team. A great example of this is the winner of our Employer of the Year Award, Elmtree Garden Contractors Ltd. It has set in place a multitude of different ways for employers and employees to communicate with each other from weekly updates, 1-2-1 meetings and even Facebook groups.

In addition to Elmtee’s fantastic communication with its staff, it puts the health and safety of its 58 staff as a top priority. Elmtree’s managing director, Paul Lynch, has commissioned specialist Mental Health Training since 2018 through EDP Training Ltd, and now has six qualified Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs), equating to 10% of its workforce. Its great application prompted our judges to say that “a good working culture appears to be at the heart of the business.”

Within its final statement, Elmtree said: “We genuinely care about our staff and are committed to offering them the best in terms of training, support, work opportunities and rewards. This not only to drives quality and customer satisfaction, but supports our employees achieve their goals, aspirations and be the best they can be.”

Green-tech, one of the four shortlisted candidates, impressed the judges with its team spirit and culture. One judge commented: “Fantastic mental health initiatives and demonstrates an excellent collaborative workplace.”

The other three shortlisted candidates were John O’Conner (Ground Maintenance) LTD, whose ethos continues to be that directors and managers should always be approachable and available to all staff. Maylim, which has launched an apprenticeship scheme and internal development programme, was also shortlisted, as was TMA Environment Consultants, with one of its core values being to make TMA a clearly rewarding, stimulating and enjoyable place to work.