GREENE & CO. ONE OF ‘100 BEST SMALL COMPANIES TO WORK FOR’ FOR SECOND YEAR
3rd March 2008
For the second consecutive year Greene & Co., one of North West London’s most successful estate agencies, has received the honour of being named as one of The Sunday Times ‘100 Best Small Companies to Work For’ and this year, climbing from position 79 to 60.
With a 2-star rating for outstanding performance Greene & Co. is the only estate agency in the UK to receive accreditation this year. The accolade follows their award of Best Customer Services Agency at the national Estate Agency of the Year Awards 2007 - a benchmark for exceptional standards of service and achievement within the industry.
Jacqui Daley, Greene & Co.'s Marketing Manager and Jenny Khan, Greene & Co.'s Property Management Manager receiving the award.
The annual ‘100 Best Small Companies to Work For’ list has been published by The Sunday Times since 2001. Compiled by workplace engagement specialists Best Companies Ltd. the accreditation scrutinises workplace engagement and sets a rigorous benchmark or employers. This year’s research canvassed the views of more than 140,000 UK employees across 558 organisations, of which 307 achieved ‘Star Status’.
David Pollock, Managing Director of Greene & Co. since the company was founded in 1990, has created a business that is customer and employee friendly. He believes in caring for his staff to motivate them to do their best and commented: “We are very proud to receive this accreditation for a second year. We have maintained and improved on the high standards that we set ourselves and are always aiming to do better.”
Greene & Co.’s company philosophy centres on the idea that staff will not be successful unless they are enjoying their work and feel that they are growing as individuals. In return staff feel that their contribution is valued and are proud to work for the company. Leadership gets a significant score of 89% (compared to 47% in non-accredited companies), with staff saying that David Pollock is an inspirational leader.
Unusually within estate agency Greene & Co. retain high levels of staff loyalty, with 86.7% of staff saying that they feel engaged within the business vs. only 71% of staff from non-accredited companies. 90% are positive about their team.
82% of staff are happy with their own personal growth, reflecting the success of the initiatives that Greene & Co. employ to ensure that staff feel involved in the business and are continually motivated to improve their own skills. These include: a staff nominated Colleague Representative to discuss work issues with; fortnightly visits from a life-coach; regular career counselling and training; £100 incentive to give up smoking; regular one-to-one meetings with the MD; £100 pa to spend on personal development courses; a day off for birthdays; and a monthly staff suggestion scheme on how to improve the business - with staff paid for their suggestions. As firm advocates of proper regulation and licensing of estate agencies Greene & Co. also pay for all negotiators to sit for their NAEA exams and reward them financially when they pass.
Jonathan Austin, Chief Executive, Best Companies, stated: “I would like to congratulate Greene & Co. on their outstanding achievement. It confirms their commitment to the on-going journey of workplace engagement.”
The data from this year’s research reveals big differences in the attitudes of employees working for accredited companies compared to those in organisations that are still striving to engage their staff. In one of the most significant findings, employers that gain Best Companies accreditation are far more likely to snap up good staff and win the war for talent. At Greene & Co. more than eight out of 10 (89)% of staff would ‘strongly recommend’ working for the company – compared to only 64% in non-accredited companies. To highlight the size of the challenge facing many employers, almost a third of employees working for the non-accredited companies say that they would leave tomorrow if they had another job.
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