Almost every month for the past 12 years, Admiral chief executive Henry Engelhardt has invited six or seven employees from across the company to tea. He also meets every new starter during their three-week induction and regularly walks around the office talking to staff. His hands-on approach is paying off: just over 80% of employees believe he is inspirational while more than 81% claim they have a great deal of faith in him.

The City appears to share the staff’s faith in the motor insurance company. It was founded in 1992 and floated on the stock market in September last year. More than 1,400 workers held shares and received windfalls, which averaged £39,000 — naturally enough, more than 82% of its employees say that they are excited about where the organisation is going.

The vast majority of employees (more than 1,100) earn between £7,500 and £15,000. The overall package, however, includes incentives such as profit-sharing, childcare vouchers and rewards for loyalty — more than half the staff have worked for the company for more than three years.

One of the firm’s values is that “people who like what they do, do it better”. The company has a young profile with almost 50% of staff aged under 25, which makes managers particularly aware of the need for work to be fun. There are radios on all the floors and televisions, videos and game consoles in all the chill-out rooms. Departments also take it in turns to run the “ministry of fun”, responsible for social activities such as conkers and ping-pong tournaments. The company spent more than £128,000 on social events last year.

Employees have got the message — 90% report that they laugh a lot with people in their teams and nearly 86% describe them as fun to work with. Nearly 81% of staff say they would “miss this place” if they left.

There is a supportive and appreciative management structure, with most managers opting for an open-plan desk rather than an office. Employees endorse this approach. At least eight in 10 say their manager talks openly and honestly with them, expresses appreciation for a job well done and trusts their judgment. Just 19% feel they lack support from their manager.

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