Think people. Think Penna. The human resources consultancy strives to make itself an employer of choice by developing a culture based on listening to employees.

There have been 10 surveys in the past three years to find out how people feel about working for the company and senior managers work closely with staff members by having no fixed base but instead visiting all regional offices to stay close to the business.

Penna strives to create an environment where people can give of their best. The company constantly seeks feedback from employees in order to learn and develop, and seeks to inspire staff members to achieve their goals by providing support, encouragement and coaching.

As well as flexibility in working patterns, Penna people are given the freedom to choose how they want to do their job.

Penna staff, who help charitable organisations and financial institutions across the UK and Europe find the right people for the job, feel they can make a valuable contribution to the success of the company, earning it an 82% positive score.

The London-based organisation wins particularly high marks in our survey when it comes to staff rating their bosses and colleagues. It gets top 15 scores for workers caring a lot about one another (85%) and people going out of their way to help each other (82%).

Managers do even better, getting top five rankings for caring about staff as individuals (84%), sharing important information (83%) and regularly showing appreciation when people have done a good job (82%). Penna is reaping the benefits of its Leader as Coach programme, which encourages managers to listen rather than tell and helps individuals understand their own capabilities and development needs.

All new employees attend a company-wide orientation programme over two days in their first three months. Every six months staff and associates are invited to attend a meeting hosted by the senior management team to discuss business performance and future plans.

Penna thinks about people outside the firm too. Staff act as mentors to teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds, helping with subjects such as CV writing and interview preparation. The company also donates £50 to those who embark on a challenge to raise funds for charity and allows time out of the office for fundraising activities.

Other than salary, there are no differences in benefits and bonuses between the chief executive, senior managers and the rest of staff. All employees have private medical insurance and get at least 25 days’ holidays a year (it has become a tradition to give an extra day or two off at Christmas).

As well as profit-related pay, a share option scheme, a wellness programme, childcare vouchers and a contributory pension, Penna provides a service where employees can talk to a GP on the phone at any time.

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