Feature: Agencies named as the best to work for

Agencies Meteorite, Haygarth, JJ and RPM are among employers from the marketing and media sector to be named as the best small companies to work for.

Comments and voting from their own workforces helped them to win the accolade in the first league table published in the annual Sunday Times Best Companies To Work For surveys.

Integrated marketing agency JJ made it into the list for the fourth consecutive year. 83 per cent of staff gave a positive response when asked if they enjoyed being in their teams, while 84 per cent claimed to enjoy an honest and open relationship with their managers. Company policy ensures employees are always kept in the loop with six-monthly agency updates, regular internal meetings between teams, and brainstorming sessions guaranteed to ensure the agency remains truly integrated.

The past year at JJ has seen the refurbishment of a new gym for employees, plus nights-out at the races and a comedy club, and a Christmas party at Oxford’s luxurious Randolph Hotel. There is also an ongoing commitment to environmental awareness and charity work.

JJ chairman James Goddard said: “To be included in The Sunday Times Best Small Companies list for the fourth year running shows that JJ’s commitment to providing a supportive and enjoyable place to work is a longstanding one and we are delighted that our employees continue to see JJ as a great place to work.”

Erin Green, human resources manager at JJ, said: “Our employees are what set us apart as an agency. Therefore it’s only natural that we want to encourage, support and reward them in every possible way. This means ensuring that they are cared for within their roles and their teams, right through to offering a variety of social events where they can relax and enjoy spending time together away from the demanding work we do as an agency.”

At Haygarth, staff praise the company’s atmosphere, saying they had fun with their colleagues (a 90 per cent positive score) and that working in their group gave them a buzz (81 per cent). Nearly two-thirds said they had found their dream job. Most people enjoyed performance-and profit-related pay and staff get a day off for their birthdays. Three-quarters said training was of great benefit and 84 per cent said they loved working there.

Staff working at experiential agency RPM said they loved their job (giving an 87 per cent positive score) and found their work stimulating (81 per cent). Hugh Robertson’s leadership made working at RPM a positive experience, gaining a top 20 score of 86 per cent. People gave Robertson an 89 per cent score for being inspiring. Chairman Graham Kemp has a chat with a different group of employees every month and people said senior managers listened to them (78 per cent) and that they were confident in the leaders of the company, giving a score of 84 per cent.

Staff felt their manager expressed appreciation when they did a good job (80 per cent) and that their colleagues went out of their way to help each other (84 per cent). Managers were approachable and talked to staff openly and honestly (83 per cent). Group training and team-building days nurtured the family environment people feel (85 per cent).

The atmosphere at Meteorite received high marks. There was a strong sense of family, which got a positive score of 90 per cent, and a lot of fun to be had with the team (91 per cent), while staff felt fully involved at work (89 per cent). Employees enjoy unusual nights out, with quarterly company meetings followed by events such as “sock monkey” contests in the pub, awarding prizes for the most creatively dressed puppet made from a sock. Employees felt a good sense of job security (87 per cent) and said work was an important part of their lives (88 per cent). There was an incentive to stay, with a sabbatical after five years.

Marketing and media companies in the top 100 small companies list (by their ranking within the top 100)

• 9 Meteorite
• 13 Brand Learning
• 14 TBG London
• 23 Hotwire
• 28 Consolidated
• 31 Wieden + Kennedy
• 33 Nelson Bostock
• 37 Pearlfisher
• 38 Haygarth
• 43 Zed Media
• 44 GolinHarris
• 47 Feather Brooksbank
• 49 Tandberg
• 50 RPM
• 55 PPS Group
• 63 JJ
• 80 Elmwood
• 82 Lexis
• 86 Trimedia
• 87 Vizeum Media
• 100 Digital Window

The full list and details of all the companies are at www.timesonline.co.uk.