Feeling wanted makes all the difference to staff working at Atkins. The company secures a string of top 10 scores for employees saying their managers care about how satisfied they are in their jobs (earning a 66% positive score), feeling they can make a difference within the organisation (72%) and feeling the firm is good for their personal growth (73%).

The largest engineering consultancy in Britain, Atkins was established by Sir William Atkins in Westminster in 1938. Today the firm operates in Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and the Americas and works with both the public and private sectors including local government, financial and retail companies, manufacturers, utilities and other blue-chip companies.

All employees have access to a portfolio of training and development programmes and the consultancy is constantly increasing the range, flexibility and quality of the development on offer; staff feel they made a difference within the organisation, the 72% score here putting the company in eighth place nationally while most of the workforce believe they can make a valuable contribution to the firm, the 75% score bettered by just six other companies.

<!--var randomdate=new Date();var randomtime=randomdate.getTime();var randomnumber=randomtime;document.write('<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript" SRC="http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/adj/business.timesonline.co.uk/best100companies;pos=middle1;com=atk;sz=300x250;ord=' + randomnumber + '?">');-->

Atkins encourages feedback from staff, and an intranet site and newsletters ensure company information is handed down. Furthermore, many businesses within the organisation produce specific publications for their staff. Honesty and openness among managers is highly rated (72%).

The company and its staff donate time, expertise and financial assistance to projects worldwide. Technical aid was given following the Asian tsunami and the firm is still providing services to the Sri Lankan government. The 65% score for making a positive difference to the world is the sixth-highest result in our top 20.

Individual businesses within Atkins have the autonomy to decide the best ways to ensure a good work/life life balance. In Exeter, for instance, several members of staff with families are following a four-day flexible working schedule, while at the company’s Atkins Water division flexible working is available for everybody, not just employees who are entitled to it under family-friendly legislation. The firm also considers requests for sabbaticals. This translates to a 65% positive score for fair workloads, beaten by just three others.

Explore Best 100 Companies

• Best 100 Tables