People, potential and possibilities — these are the three Ps that make up P3 the social inclusion enterprise, which offers people routes out of social exclusion and homelessness. It has also been a Sunday Times top 100 best small company for five years running, despite some massive changes.

Last year, P3 merged with three organisations, Kings Cross Homeless Project, Kilburn Youth Centre and Unique. As a result, the organisation, based in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, has grown from 132 to 159 staff.

Chief executive Martin Kinsella believes that the larger scale only puts P3 in a stronger position to provide more services and compete with the private sector.

Employees tell us that a genuine charitable spirit runs right through P3, which has a positive score of 80% overall (the seventh highest result) for questions about Giving Something Back. It makes a positive difference to the world we all live in (89%), gives a lot to its local communities (79%) and isn’t driven only by budgetary concerns (90%). P3 recruits people with direct experiences of its services: more than 35% of staff have experienced mental health problems, been homeless or used social support services.

The company also cares for its workers in some unexpected ways: it has one policy to support staff who are victims of domestic violence, helping two employees in 2008.

Staff are happy with the balance of their work and home lives (86%), say that work doesn’t interfere with family concerns (88%) and there isn’t too much pressure to concentrate (85%, and all top five scores).

Employees feel they have a chance to develop with P3. Training is of great personal benefit (85%), work is never boring (89%) and the whole experience is valuable for the future (90%). Finally, as staff members near the end of their working careers, P3 even has a retirement policy to help them prepare for the next stage of life.

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