We’re thrilled that we have been accredited by Best Companies with ‘Very Good to Work for 2023’ status and named as one of the top 75 mid-sized companies to work for in the UK for Q2 2023.

But that’s not all.

Ahead of the expected target date for achieving this accreditation, we we’re also placed in the top 50 best companies to work for in the south west, and the top 10 best housing association to work for in the UK.

How did we do it?

As a completely new organisation (Brighter Places was formed just over two years ago following a merger) we started this journey just over 18 months ago.

For us to thrive and give high levels of service we need skilled, motivated, and fully engaged colleagues from diverse backgrounds.  So, for the last 18 months we have focused on driving improvements for colleagues in key areas:

• Communication
• Management and leadership
• Wellbeing
• Learning and development
• Pay and Benefits

We partnered with Best Companies to improve our engagement with colleagues and identify further areas of improvement. Our aim was to raise engagement levels and gain accredited as one of the Best Companies to work for.  Our aim was to raise engagement levels and gain accredited as one of the Best Companies to work for.

Colleagues key to success

Following a tough 12 months we have achieved this accreditation in our first year which is testament to our amazing colleagues, their commitment and hard work every single day. Our colleagues are key to Brighter Places’ success as an organisation and the services we provide.

Colleague engagement is not only crucial to our success but is at the forefront of our decision-making, and that is embedded into our People Strategy which sets the standard for us to become a great place to work over the next five years. By introducing schemes such as the funded Brighter Places University programme, traineeships, and enhanced investment in learning and development in 2022/23, we have seen one in four promotional opportunities filled by internal colleagues and 50% of management opportunities filled internally.

Commenting on Best Companies accreditation, Brighter Places Chief Executive Anna Klimczak said, “Being a Great Place to work is one of Brighter Places three strategic priorities and sits alongside Great Customer Service and Great Homes and Partnerships. For Brighter Places, a Great Place to Work is about creating an environment where diversity and lived experience are valued, where colleagues are supported in developing skills, where job satisfaction is high and where our leaders are emphatic role models. As a newly formed organisation, we’ve been through two years of significant change and undertaking our first Best Companies survey was of huge significance for us so we could independently benchmark how are colleagues are really feeling. Achieving accreditation from our first survey is a fantastic result for us and will help us to keep listening and keep improving so we continue our journey of having an engaged and successful workforce.”

Our journey ahead

Whilst this is a great achievement, we’re not stopping there. The hard work continues, and we will use the data we have collected and together move from good up the ranks to world class!

A big thank you to all our colleagues for the amazing things they do every day. Thank you for your support on this journey and for helping create our unique culture.

Join our fantastic team

Come and work with us.  Take a look at our careers page and keep an eye on our social channels, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to hear about our latest vacancies.