Launched in 2012, Best Employers was created with a simple ambition: to encourage organisations to listen more closely to their people, learn from one another and place employee engagement firmly on the leadership agenda. At a time when employee engagement was still an emerging concept for many organisations, the programme set out to demonstrate that investing in people wasn't simply the right thing to do. It was fundamental to building stronger, more successful businesses.
Over the past fourteen years, Best Employers has grown into one of the region's most respected workplace engagement initiatives, supporting more than 600 organisations from across the private, public and charitable sectors. Through employee surveys, benchmarking, accreditation, leadership conferences and the sharing of best practice, the programme has helped leaders understand what great workplaces look like and, perhaps more importantly, how to create them.
Throughout the programme's lifetime, eras limited provided the employee engagement survey platform and benchmarking that underpinned the accreditation process, while Pure Resourcing Solutions led the development, delivery and growth of the Best Employers initiative.
Throughout its lifetime, the programme has:
- Supported over 600 organisations and 45,000 employees across the East of England.
- Recognised over 75 accredited employers.
- Delivered more than 25 leadership conferences and learning events.
- Raised more than £70,000 for local charities.
- Enabled over 25 charitable organisations to participate in the programme free of charge.
One of the defining characteristics of Best Employers has always been its spirit of collaboration. The programme brought together hundreds of business leaders and HR professionals through a series of conferences and events, creating a unique opportunity for organisations to share ideas, challenge thinking and learn from one another. Leaders from many of the region's most respected organisations generously shared their experiences and insights, encouraging others to adapt new ideas and, as the programme often described it, to "borrow with pride."
Over the years, Best Employers helped to create a genuine community of organisations committed to becoming better employers. Many businesses that began their employee engagement journey through the programme have since gone on to achieve national recognition through initiatives such as Great Place to Work® and Best Companies, demonstrating how the foundations established through Best Employers have supported continued success.
Lynn Walters, Founder and Director of Pure Executive, part of Pure Resourcing Solutions, said:
"When we launched Best Employers, we hoped it would encourage more organisations to put their people at the heart of their business. We never imagined the scale of the impact it would go on to have or the incredible community that would grow around it.
One of the things I have been proud of is the willingness of organisations to share what they had learned. We often talked about 'borrowing with pride'—taking great ideas from other businesses and adapting them for your own organisation. That openness created something very special and helped raise the standard of leadership and employee engagement across our region.
It feels right to conclude the programme at a point where it has achieved so much. The workplace landscape has evolved enormously since 2012. Employee engagement is now firmly embedded in leadership thinking, and organisations have access to a wide range of sophisticated tools, surveys and development resources to support their own journeys. We are incredibly proud of the role Best Employers has played in helping shape that progress across the East."
As the programme concludes, eras limited will continue to provide employee engagement surveys and benchmarking data. Organisations that have previously participated in Best Employers will still be able to undertake the Culture & Engagement Survey directly and compare results with their historic Best Employers survey data. This continuity will enable organisations to track progress over time, maintain valuable benchmarking insights and continue building stronger workplace cultures using the trusted methodology developed throughout the programme's history.
Lynn concluded:
"The greatest legacy of Best Employers isn't the accreditations we've presented or the conferences we've hosted. It's the hundreds of organisations that have listened more closely to their people, learned from one another and created better places to work. If we've played even a small part in that journey across the East, then we can be incredibly proud of what the programme has achieved.
As we bring this chapter to a close, I would like to thank every organisation that has taken part, every speaker who has generously shared their experience, our partners and sponsors. Together, we've created something that has made a lasting difference to organisations and their people across our region, and we wish every one of them continued success for the future."
As one chapter closes, Pure Resourcing Solutions remains committed to helping organisations across the East attract, develop and retain exceptional people through executive search, professional recruitment, leadership development and board advisory consultancy.
We look forward to continuing to support organisations as they build outstanding workplaces and exceptional leadership for the future.
