The South West’s largest business organisation and the Bristol office of a national accountancy firm have been named among the best companies to work for.
Business West, which runs Bristol Chamber of Commerce, is ranked as one of the top 20 best business services employers in the UK while the Haines Watts’ Bristol base appears in the table of the South West top 50 companies to work for. 
Business West, based at Leigh Court, near Bristol, is the South West’s largest chamber of commerce.
It employs around 200 staff and works with 20,000 businesses across the region, enabling them to start, grow, export and innovate, as well as lobbying government on their behalf.
Since the beginning of the pandemic it has introduced measures such as a monthly working from home allowance, one-off Friday night takeaway bonuses and regular all-staff meetings.
Meanwhile, Haines Watts Bristol put its appearance in the table down to investing in staff wellbeing, culture development and mindfulness support during the pandemic.
It has introduced initiatives to support colleagues’ welfare, such as a series of mindfulness, yoga and stress awareness training sessions.
The tables are produced by employee engagement specialist Best Companies.
Its founder and CEO Jonathan Austin said: “I would like to congratulate Business West on achieving a place on the Business Services’ 20 Best Companies to Work For List 2021.
“I would also like to congratulate Haines Watts Bristol on its achievement. Best Companies has been producing the accreditation standard since 2006 to acknowledge excellence in the workplace.
“Organisations like Haines Watts have continued to focus on their employees and have been rewarded with an engaged workforce who tell us that this is a best company to work for.
“Being named as a ‘best company; is something that organisations the length and breadth of the nation strive for – but only the very best achieve.”
Based on an anonymous survey capturing the views of employees at more than a thousand companies nationwide, the study ranks employers on a variety of factors that shape the employee experience, from office perks and pensions to CSR and equal opportunities. It is a standard of excellence towards which many companies aspire. 
Business West, whose staff are pictured, right, comes in 15th in the ‘Business Services – 20 Best Companies to Work For’ list and was praised highly by a panel of experts for putting staff mental health and wellbeing first throughout the pandemic.
This prestigious accolade comes as Business West also obtains B Corp status – an internationally recognised certification that is awarded to select companies demonstrating the highest moral, ethical and environmental standards.
Business West managing director Phil Smith said: “Business West’s purpose driven ethos and its commitment to putting people and planet first – even in these most turbulent of times – is reflected in the overall happiness and satisfaction of our staff.
“To be recognised as one of the best companies to work for nationally this year of all years in the face of unparalleled disruption to our working lives is testament to the hard work and dedication of all our staff and in particular, the compassionate leadership of our management teams.
“Our Sunday Times ranking demonstrates that Business West is an organisation that punches well above its weight, not only in unlocking the growth potential of our clients, but as a high calibre employer.
“This award underlines our core company values and it is fantastic to be recognised by an external organisation as one of the best business service companies to work for in the UK.”
Since 2015, Business West has featured regularly in the annual Best Companies to Work For lists owing to what it says are its friendly and inclusive atmosphere, generous pension contributions and flexible working arrangements.
Haines Watts’ Bristol office’s appearance came as the firm as a whole was named as one of the top 10 accountancy firms to work for in the UK, securing a prized one-star accreditation for employee engagement from Best Companies.
According to Best Companies, the 1-Star accreditation shows ‘very good’ levels of workplace engagement.
Over the past 12 months, two new qualified trainees have bolstered Haines Watts Bristol’s staffing, complementing a recruitment drive of nine trainees taken on in the past three years. 
Haines Watts Bristol managing director Matthew Bracher, pictured, said: “We are delighted to have been named as one of the top 50 companies to work for in the South West.
“We have always prided ourselves on employee engagement and that has become more important than ever since the start of the pandemic.
“We have made major investments into our people, culture and support systems and want to ensure Haines Watts provides a safe and positive environment in which our staff can flourish.”
Over the past 12 months, Haines Watts has introduced a significant average wage increase, while staff turnover dropped by 30% compared to the previous year. The firm has protected the number of its workforce throughout the pandemic and continued with its apprenticeship programme.
In addition, a large cohort have completed managers’ skills courses and leadership development programmes and a number of senior staff are taking part in an executive leadership development programme.
Best Companies has over 20 years’ experience in helping organisations measure and improve employee engagement using a robust methodology, with their accreditation standard certifying excellence in the workplace since 2006.
