It’s good to talk and, as the credit crunch begins to bite, it is more important than ever to keep up the morale of staff worried about paying their bills and job security, according to Neville Richardson. The Britannia Building Society’s group chief executive is confident his approach will boost the resilience of his 5,124 employees. “Don’t expect staff won’t be concerned at things they see on the 10 O’Clock News — they will,” he says. “But you have to communicate harder. In times like this you need an engaged group of people.”

Richardson has just that. Britannia ranks second in this year’s 20 Best Big Companies to Work For, beaten only by accountancy business KPMG. Richardson was also crowned the best leader of a big company in March’s supplement.

So just what is it that makes a successful leader of a big company? “One of the crucial things is that people believe that the senior management team, and in particular the leader, is accessible,” says Dr Pete Bradon, head of research at Best Companies Ltd. “Traditionally, everyone has assumed it’s harder for big companies. Britannia’s results have demonstrated that even big firms can do it, they just need strategies in place.”

The leader of a small firm might be able to hold meetings with the whole workforce, chatting to each one personally. A bigger one may be a different beast, but the principle is still the same. “Big companies can’t afford to be that informal,” Bradon says. “They need specific strategies to get the feedback. A lot of small and mid-sized businesses could learn from the big companies.”

Richardson agrees: “Once you get beyond a certain size — 50 or 100 staff — the challenges don’t change. It’s how you put structures in place to communicate well and listen well.”

The workforce may be spread across Britain, but Britannia’s group chief executive doesn’t let distance get in the way of face-to-face communication. Five and a half years ago, he travelled round the country on 37 roadshows to launch the Britannia strategy.

This core strategy helps all staff see how they fit into the big picture. It is this which keeps employees engaged, makes them feel valued and helps them understand the importance of the role they play in terms of the business as a whole.

If workers had to travel for more than an hour to attend the presentation, Richardson and his director colleagues would go to them, often addressing the staff of individual branches. His was a sporting analogy: rugby has different rules to football, so the two cannot be played together. The roadshows communicated a clear strategy to each member of the workforce and ensured that everyone was engaged in playing the same game.

If staff engagement results are anything to go by, Britannia is in the premier league. Leadership is the factor in which it is furthest ahead of the big companies’ average, with a score of 76.8% — 7.7% above the benchmark figure.

According to Richardson, authenticity and integrity are central to the rules of the game. “Don’t say you’re going to listen and then not listen. The minute people perceive there are double standards, you lose them.”

Bradon echoes Richardson’s emphasis on communicating a clear vision. “Equally important to having an accessible leader is that employees have a clear idea of the organisation’s values, mission, of what is expected by the leadership, and the direction the company is going in.”

Britannia’s scores in the leadership factor show that staff think Richardson runs the organisation based on sound moral principles (an 80.9% positive score) and that they have a great deal of faith in him (79.6%). The chief executive is not surprised by the score, but is modest in explaining how it was achieved.

“My close executive board team are absolutely critically important. People see a cohesive team.

“We challenge each other a lot harder because we respect each other. This is something we try to engender throughout the organisation.”

Every month Richardson holds a “mutual understanding” business review with 70 senior members of staff. “Within two weeks I know that the same briefing topics will go to all 5,000 people in the organisation,” he says. “Those 70 people hold meetings with the next tier of employees, and so on, until everyone has been involved.”

In 2005, Britannia took over Bristol & West. Richardson is proud that, within 18 months, he considered the Bristol & West workforce had integrated into the expanded main organisation.

“It’s almost impossible to be engaged with a company if you don’t know the intentions of the leaders and what the future holds,” says Bradon. “Richardson has proved the point that it isn’t difficult. You just need to allocate time to it, and that’s what some companies do badly.”

Richardson takes feedback very seriously. “You must act on it, and show people how you’re acting on it. But you should be equally prepared to say, ‘This is why we’re not acting on it’.”

Is Richardson ever worried about this exposure, and the risk he is taking, allowing staff to challenge his practices or the way the company works? “You’re only scared of it if you’re not going to listen to it.” The same could be said about the Best Companies survey.

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