Staff at Atkins, the largest engineering consultancy in the UK, find that the company is just as keen to make sure they fulfil their personal ambitions as their professional goals. For instance, if an employee wants to take time out to train with the Territorial Army, the company provides paid leave. Taking a career break to work for Oxfam is also no problem — and there is still a job at Atkins at the end of it.

Employees have racked up an average of almost seven years working for the firm. They say their job is good for their personal growth, giving a 75% positive score.

Atkins has completed projects in more than 150 countries. Keith Clarke, the chief executive, has been with the firm for three years and staff have a great deal of faith in him (70%).

Surveys are carried out annually so that management and senior management can monitor staff satisfaction and act on feedback. The firm’s leadership makes an effort to interact with staff, from working alongside them at recruitment fairs to enjoying company social events. Staff say senior managers truly live the values of the organisation, giving a 71% score.

Social activities include sailing, dragon boat racing, archery, theatre visits and trips to France and Italy. Colleagues care for each other and have confidence in each other’s abilities, with a 77% score for each question.

Staff say the company really tries to help them (70%). A wide and flexible portfolio of training courses is available to all employees. Management and graduate development centres and senior manager development programmes ensure those staff who are ready for more responsibility are not overlooked. Employees feel the experience they gain from the job is valuable for their future (74%).

Hundreds of staff work in Atkins’ environment division. Only two big companies returned a higher score when staff were asked if they felt their company made a positive difference to the world we live in (67%).

As well as taking steps to become more environmentally-friendly, including adopting a “green” tariff for electricity in all the UK businesses, the company supports a number of charities. Last year’s nominated causes were WaterAid, Register of Engineers for Disaster Relief and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Association. Staff say they are proud to work for the organisation (73%).

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