Employer of the Year: Top 50 marketing employers 2005

it requires give and take on both sides to ensure a happy working
relationship, and it is those employers that understand the need for
more flexibility in relation to hours and place of work, or benefits and
training, that score highest with their staff.

This year, more than 2000 employees from 283 companies ranked their
employers on a range of issues that affect their working lives.

Of these companies, 151 received votes from five or more employees - the
number required to qualify for a place in the top 50.

Claire Owen, managing director of recruitment consultancy Stopgap, which
conducted the survey in conjunction with Marketing, says: 'There is a
greater awareness of the need to invest time and energy in staff. People
are much more demanding these days and want more than just a wage
cheque.'

However, some companies have still to be convinced that they will enjoy
sufficient return on their investment if they improve staff benefits or
introduce flexible working. 'There is a degree of cynicism and not as
much appreciation as there could be of what employers get back in
return,' says Owen. 'Employee-friendly policies lead to greater
retention and more-satisfied staff. People do not want to move jobs -
they like to stay if they can - and organisations are coming around to
understanding that.'

Senior managers at the companies that scored highest stressed the
importance of staff enjoying their work, recognising that a happier
workforce is more productive.

NatWest Primeline was the winner in the client category for the second
successive year. Head of marketing John Wills says: 'We have a code of
conduct with five key points which people work by, and we aim to ensure
people enjoy coming to work.' This fits with a second crucial element.
'It is all about communication and respect,' says Stopgap's Owen.

'Companies need to respect the fact that people have different needs and
circumstances at home.'

Top agency Redmandarin also repeated its success of last year. Both
overall winners were notable for retaining their senior management,
emphasising the fact that the loss of a well-regarded boss can affect
how employees rate an organisation.

Many companies appear in the top 50 for the first time. While others
have slipped out of the table, major names such as Reed, Volvo and
Virgin have maintained a presence, although they have fallen down the
ratings. Owen suggests that companies which adopted staff-friendly
policies early have suffered as other companies have followed their
lead. It appears that staff may be starting to take long-standing
workplace benefits for granted.

TOP CLIENT EMPLOYERS
Rank Company 2004 rank
1 NatWest Primeline 1
2 Reed Business Information 4
3 Lloyds TSB n/a
4= Procter & Gamble UK n/a
4= Barclays 2
6 ING Direct n/a
7 Emap Consumer Media n/a
8 Totaljobs Group 12
9 Diageo n/a
10 Alliance & Leicester n/a
11 CACI n/a
12 Real Radio n/a
13 Guide Dogs for the Blind Association n/a
14 Campbell Grocery Products 17
15 TML Financial Solutions n/a
16 General Mills n/a
17 Onspeed n/a
18 BT n/a
19 Homeserve GB 6
20 Bring Me n/a
21 National Instruments UK n/a
22 Nestle UK n/a
23 Maxxium UK n/a
24 VisitBritain 18
25 Adobe Systems UK n/a
26 UKTV n/a
27 Virgin Mobile 14
28 London Underground n/a
29 T&F Informa UK n/a
30 BUPA 25
31 National Express n/a
32 Loans.co.uk n/a
33 Mencap n/a
34 Marlow Foods n/a
35 Volvo UK 8
36 Yorkshire Tourist Board n/a
37 Emap Communications n/a
38 Shell International n/a
39 Jenks Sales Brokers n/a
40 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors n/a
41 British Gas n/a
42 Best Western Hotels GB n/a
43 National Blood Service n/a
44 Expolink Europe n/a
45 Group 4 Technology n/a
46 NCP n/a
47 Westminster City Council n/a
48 Business Link for London n/a
49 John Dickinson Stationery n/a
50 Ferrero n/a

TOP AGENCY EMPLOYERS
Rank Company 2004 rank
1 Redmandarin 1
2= Claydon Heeley Jones Mason n/a
2= Added Value n/a
4 Momentum n/a
5 Consolidated Communications Mgmt 11
6 ?What If! n/a
7 Oxford Strategic Marketing n/a
8 Bespoke Communications n/a
9 Brand Learning n/a
10 Brave PR n/a
11 Hotwire 13
12 Red Door Communications n/a
13 Cow Communications n/a
14 Shine Communications 4
15 23red n/a
16 Dynamo 16
17 Latitude n/a
18 Toast Marketing n/a
19 Presky Maves n/a
20 Forward n/a
21 Fuse PR n/a
22= Acclaim Events n/a
22= Pearlfisher n/a
24 MarketingFile n/a
25 Gekko Partners n/a
26 Target Marketing Communications n/a
27 BI n/a
28 Jack Morton Worldwide n/a
29= Red Cell Response n/a
29= iris n/a
31 glue london n/a
32 Alcone Marketing Group n/a
33 Loewy n/a
34 RPM n/a
35 Crazy Horse Brand Warriors n/a
36= The Forster Company n/a
36= Vital 3
38 Loyalty Management UK n/a
39 Bluhalo n/a
40 Research International 24
41= Avvio n/a
41= CHA n/a
43 Tree n/a
44 TRO n/a
45 Attention n/a
46 Barrett Dixon Bell 21
47 iD n/a
48 Flagship Consulting n/a
49 Brahm n/a
50 Incite Marketing Planning n/a

TOP CLIENT: NATWEST PRIMELINE

Staff: 14, of whom eight are in marketing

Description: Personal banking service, generally for more affluent
customers

Achievements of past year: Won Your Money special award, cited as a
business that focuses on customers. Scored 98% customer satisfaction in
own survey.

Success due to: 'A strong planning process that involves the whole
team,' according to head of marketing John Wills. 'We focus on
alternative development to test people's communication skills and
creativity. One of our team worked with underprivileged children in
Scotland for a week. He came back a stronger person. Customer comments,
both good and bad, are regularly circulated. We share the compliments as
well as those things we could do better.'

TOP AGENCY: REDMANDARIN

Staff: 15

Description: Sponsorship consultancy

Achievements of past year: Underwent a change of ownership after owner
Incepta merged with Huntsworth, and is now being divested to Media
Square. Management at Redmandarin handled this transition, keeping
employees informed, while also winning significant new business -
including contracts with UBS and Atos Origin.

Success due to: 'Increasing flexibility as to how people work',
according to chief executive Sally Hancock. 'So much of our work is
international and people travel a lot. We try to make sure the workforce
is multicultural and multilingual. It brings a real freshness to the
business.'

BEST PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Client: CACI

Agency: Brave PR

To feel valued, employees need to know they are progressing and
developing their skills. They are also more likely to remain at a
business that offers training.

Investment in professional development is about improving individual
performance. It may be offered internally or externally, depending on a
firm's resources.

CACI is a data company that specialises in direct marketing and retail
and location planning. It offers training tailored to the roles of
employees.

Head of marketing Paul Lewis says: 'A select few get training in public
speaking and media skills to raise their profile. If people can't get
the training they need in-house, I encourage them to do a course
outside.'

Annabel Hillary, joint managing director of Brave PR, has put
professional development at the company's heart. 'Our philosophy is
about developing people from the moment they arrive,' she says.

This requires a degree of input from senior members. 'There is lots of
training on the job and the directors get involved,' Hillary
explains.

'We do a training session every two weeks when everyone writes a press
release for a hypothetical brand and tries to turn it into a news story,
as well as one-to-one training on new accounts.'

Hillary is a believer in incentives. The predominantly young workforce
has shown little interest in pensions, gym membership or private
healthcare. Instead, everyone has a Top Shop card.

TOP 5 CLIENTS
1 CACI
2 NatWest Primeline
3 Barclays
4 Emap Consumer Media
5 Reed Business Information
Source: Stopgap/Marketing survey

TOP 5 AGENCIES
1 Brave PR
2 CHJM
3= Momentum
3= iris
5 Fuse PR
Source: Stopgap/Marketing survey

BEST LEADERSHIP AND BRAND VALUES

Client: Real Radio

Agency: Bespoke Communications

It takes more than a mission statement to ensure employees live and
breathe a brand.

A combination of leadership, vision and focus on core values are
required to ensure all staff work toward the same goals.

Marketing services company Bespoke Communications displays its
principles in its name. 'It is bold and simple,' says managing director
John Milsom.

'We started the agency determined to avoid the things we did not respect
in the agency world. This is a civilised, grown-up, supportive
environment.' He thinks the values are acquired through 'osmosis', but a
dinner every two months and drinks every Friday help reinforce the
message.

For Real Radio, which is part of the Guardian Media Group and has
stations in Scotland, Yorkshire and Wales, the management style is 'lead
from the front'. Group marketing manager Helen Dickinson says: 'Our
chief executive John Myers is inspirational. Radio is all about people
and the management team's passion is infectious.'

Real Radio sets out its vision and values annually in a leaflet. 'We
share information with suppliers and advertisers,' says Dickinson.

Its strategy is to focus on its own performance rather than react to
what its competitors are doing.

TOP 5 CLIENTS
1 Real Radio
2 NatWest Primeline
3 Guide Dogs for the Blind
4 ING Direct
5 Onspeed
Source: Stopgap/Marketing survey

TOP 5 AGENCIES
1 Bespoke Communications
2 CHJM
2 Momentum
4 Redmandarin
5 Added Value
Source: Stopgap/Marketing survey

BEST RECOGNITION OF MARKETING

Client: Procter & Gamble UK

Procter & Gamble is an example of a company with marketing at its core:
97% of general managers at the company began in marketing and half of
the UK board is made up of marketers.

'We are a marketing-driven company; it is rooted in our philosophy,'
says corporate marketing director Roisin Donnelly. 'We are the biggest
marketer in the UK, we have the biggest budgets and we want marketers to
be loyal to P&G.

'We give early responsibility and a lot of coaching. All the managers
are responsible for coaching and developing people - it accounts for a
huge part of our time.'

The marketing department is surveyed every three months in a 'passion
poll' to highlight areas requiring attention. The latest brought up
demands for more coaching and concern about the work/life balance.

'We're testing things at the moment such as a "cut the crap" initiative
which frees up time on low-value work to spend more on better stuff,'
says Donnelly.

TOP 5 CLIENTS
1 Procter & Gamble UK
2 Diageo
3 ING Direct
4 NatWest Primeline
5 Real Radio
Source: Stopgap/Marketing survey

BEST EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Agency: Redmandarin

Sally Hancock, chief executive of Redmandarin, prides herself on the
'generous' benefits the sponsorship consultancy offers.

The standard package includes pension, health insurance and a financial
bonus. 'We know what works,' says Hancock. 'It helps that we are small
and doing well.'

The heavy workload and large amount of travel mean flexibility is
crucial.

'We have a number of people who work flexible hours and we try to be
democratic,' she says.

TOP 5 AGENCIES
1 Redmandarin
2 Added Value
3 Consolidated Comms Mgmt
4 ?What If!
5 CHJM
Source: Stopgap/Marketing survey