QS Employer of the Year

Winner

John Rowan + Partners
John Rowan and Partners has a truly impressive range of initiatives to support its employees. The consultant provides staff with financial support, advice and study leave to complete MSc degrees and postgraduate diplomas and has a training programme and mock interview system in place for all employees undertaking the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence. A comprehensive management training programme is also run externally.

This devotion to staff development is underpinned by some serious funding - every year, 2% of the annual turnover is dedicated to training. In the past year this policy has been rewarded by Investors in People accreditation, and appearances in the Sunday Times’ Best 100 Small Companies to Work For (the only construction consultant to make the cut) and Building’s first Good Employer Guide. Oh, and not surprisingly, there is a very low staff churn rate.

Runners-up

DBK Group
DBK Group has one of the highest retention rates in the industry, with less than a 7.5% churn rate per year. And it’s easy to see why. The company offers extensive training schemes for staff, equating to £700 per person per year, as well as mentoring schemes and various forms of benefits. The consultancy vows to keep employees involved in the future planning of the business and has installed a ‘best practice steering group’ which shares innovation on a company-wide level and allows closer interaction between employees working out of different offices.

Rider Levett Bucknall
Rider Levett Bucknall describes itself as “employee-owned”, as a third of the staff are shareholders in the company. More importantly, the consultancy boasts of its very open and accessible management and offers various forms of training and career progression. The RLB Academy is an online facility that helps staff to develop within existing roles and take the next step up.

Additionally, RBL promote diversity in the workspace, and encourages young applicants through its work in schools and universities and its “young board”, which reports to the main board.

Thomson Bethune
Training is central to Thomson Bethune’s philosophy. A “staff and training working party” carefully monitors the training requirements of all staff, there are in-house seminars from guest speakers, and its structured training programme is currently leading seven graduates and eight apprentices towards full professional qualifications. But it’s not all work.The company also continually strives to improve staff morale through regular days out and events.

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