Good communication is all part of the business for Vodafone UK, the mobile phone network, which is just as well given the army of staff it needs to keep motivated and engaged. The company has grown from employing a handful of people in 1985 to more than 10,000 working from eight main locations and more than 300 stores.

And it seems that Vodafone UK, which recorded pre-tax profits of £975m last year, is serving its staff as well as they serve its 16m customers. Many staff feel fully involved and love working for the firm, scoring 67% and 64% respectively for these questions.

The company invests heavily in training and making sure it rewards the efforts of its staff. Every year 100 winners of the Legends awards for outstanding contribution and their other halves are taken to Dubai on an all-expenses five-day holiday. Last year the company spent £2.5m on staff social events.

Staff get on well with their workmates and managers, and the company records a string of good scores as a result — staff say their colleagues are fun to work with (73%), that they have confidence in the abilities of others in their team (78%) and that their manager cares about them (70%).

The company’s values are shared by staff (shown by the high 75% score) although the 47% score for sometimes being taken advantage of is among the poorest.

Benefits include a subsidised gym at the headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire, a final- salary pension scheme, childcare vouchers and two weeks’ paternity leave on full pay.

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