The Carphone Warehouse relies on its staff to bring it success as much as its customers rely on their product knowledge for advice on which mobile phone and network to go with, so it invests time and money to ensure they can provide answers.

A range of incentives helps boost pay and self-esteem, from earning up to £2,000 for recommending friends for a job to an annual awards ceremony hosted by celebrities. Our survey shows strong support for the firm’s values — employees earn it an 81% positive score for belief in these principles, the third highest score among the big firms.

The company, which reported pre-tax profits of more than £55m last year, holds 38 annual conferences but it’s not all work for its 8,579 staff — conferences often include a pantomime and a celebrity. Monthly beer nights and other events also strengthen working relationships; staff say their team is fun to work with (81%) and that their colleagues care a lot about each other (79%).

The firm supports the scheme run by the Prince’s Trust to help homeless people back to work and last year 61 staff helped renovate a primary school in Namibia.

Charles Dunstone, the chief executive, and his team (many of whom began on the shop floor) like to walk the floor. The 77% score for staff thinking the boss is doing a great job is the highest and helps win the company our special award for leadership.

Although many feel exhausted when they get home (44%), flexible working hours mean that employees do not feel that work interferes with their responsibilities at home (a 63% positive score).

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