Barrhead Travel has been named one of the top 100 large companies to work for in the UK – the only leisure travel agency on the list.
It is the first time the agency chain has featured in the national list, which measures and recognises workplace engagement.
Barrhead has been named 96th in the list of the top 100 best large companies to work for in the UK in 2022, based on a survey between July 1 and September 30 of private and not-for-profit organisations employing 200 to 1,999 people.
The accolade credited the company with having an open-door policy which encourages open dialogue with the senior management team to foster a culture of respect and positivity among staff. The business has more than 1,000 staff across its 86 travel agency stores, offices and call centres.
Barrhead Travel president Jacqueline Dobson revealed the results at the company’s first conference since the Covid pandemic, held at Turnberry Hotel & Resort in Ayrshire.
She said: “Every business wants this accolade. We have been striving to get this for some time. We are the only [leisure] agent in the top 100 in the UK currently.”
Dobson said the company had worked hard over the past four years to improve employee engagement and change the company’s culture.
The company now has five mental health trained first aiders who have “gone above and beyond in the last year” while staff training has been significantly increased over the past 24 months.
Dobson added: “We are constantly looking at upskilling. This year all our managers have been through leadership training.
“We have really tried to change the culture of the business and have put a lot of focus on wellbeing. We have launched a wellness programme and we now have 50 staff trained on mental health and wellbeing who know what signs to look for.”
Sales and marketing director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell said the company now had an “open door policy” and encouraged feedback from all staff.
“Everyone’s door is always open and we respond to feedback. We care about the business and we look after our people,” she said.
In the Barrhead survey which contributed to its top 100 listing, 71% of staff said they were happy with their home/work life balance, 82% had confidence in the leadership skills of the senior management team, and 82% agreed the company encouraged charitable activities.
The survey concluded Barrhead’s managers were trained to understand the interactions between wellness and work and recognised the importance of empowering staff and were open to flexible working requests while leaders were credited with running a company with no hierarchy, including a monthly Brew with the Boss allowing a cross section of staff to share ideas with the senior team.
The list, compiled by Best Companies, also named business travel agency TravelPerk in the list of the 100 best large companies to work for. It came 27th in the same fourth quarter league table survey.