When 35 employees of Softcat went to Fiji on a team-building trip, the aim wasn’t to slurp cocktails and lounge in the sun. Instead, they set to work with a charity, building an orphanage and a family home in a local village.

It is no surprise that the 156 employees of Softcat feel a strong sense of camaraderie, placing the firm fourth in the survey overall for questions on their teams (90%).

The company, based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and established in 1993, solves the IT problems of other small businesses, for example providing Marylebone cricket club (MCC) with anti-virus software.

Business and staff numbers are growing steadily and employees are a key part of the growth: about two-thirds of staff have taken up share options in the private firm.

Related Internet Links

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• Softcat's entry in 2007

Turning up the Heat pays off

Strong training and a sense that work is to be enjoyed add up to Heat powering past its rivals into top spot this year

BACKGROUND

• Hats off to great leadership

• Getting the message across loud and clear

• Fly high with the X Factor

• Why it pays to know what you’re doing

BACKGROUND

• Charity wins top small company award

• Special awards for best practice

• Rules of engagement

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Multimedia

• Best Small Companies to Work For 2008

• Highlights from the awards ceremony

There is a refreshing honesty here, evidenced by Martin Hellawell, the managing director, jokily commenting on an award last year for being the most improved company in the Sunday Times list, saying: “You could argue that we were ‘most improved’ because we were rubbish last year.”

He added, though: “I’m a great believer in the dictum that the only way to deliver outstanding service is to have an outstanding workforce who are motivated and believe in what they do, and love the company they work for.”

He must be feeling the love, because employees gave a 90% positive score for their passion for the organisation. They say their teams are fun to work with (93%) and give them a buzz (85%). Once a year, they even get to vote for which teams they work with and the manager they would like.

The senior management are all available and sit within the teams, and people aren’t too scared to voice their concerns to them (88%).

Actually, though, it sounds as though there aren’t too many, since Softcat has the highest score of the entire list for there being nothing that people would change (66%).

It seems everything gets aired at the Monday morning meetings for all staff, anyway, from discussing somebody who is leaving to somebody who is getting married. Another firm might call it gossip, but here it is all about “erasing” internal politics.

Most people earn less than £35,000 but staff are happy with their pay and benefits (83%), and also with the balance between work and home life (82%). Holiday starts at the statutory four weeks but everyone has two days of free leave over Christmas, in addition to the firm’s incentive trips — which can add up to 14 days of extra away time.

Softcat’s generous benefits include performance-related pay, critical illness cover, life assurance and profit-related pay for everyone. About two-thirds take advantage of the dental cover and private healthcare, and the subsidised sports facilities for which all are eligible.

Managers are supportive (90%) and although staff are mostly in charge of their own training and development, there is a structured programme for the first year of employment.

The firm’s values are just as bouncy as its workforce appears to be: the buzz words are “alacrity, cheerful, willingness and eagerness”, and people would rush to recommend Softcat to all of their friends (93%).

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