The ‘Michelin Style’ star accolade was handed out to only 259 UK businesses in recognition of organisational excellence in the area of workplace engagement.
Chess Chief Executive, David Pollock and Business Development Director, Warren Pryer collected Chess’ Accreditation plaque at a high profile event in London’s Knightsbridge. Guests heard Gordon Ramsay speak about achieving his three Michelin Stars, before sampling a five-course taster menu at Ramsay’s restaurant, ‘The Boxwood’.
Best Companies surveyed Chess employees in September 2005 using a rigorous methodology, developed by its specialist cognitive research team. It identifies workplace performance and best practice based on eight key factors including leadership, well-being and personal growth. Chess’ was awarded its star accreditation based on its high Best Companies Index (BCI) score, derived from the survey responses.
The top 100 scoring companies are listed in the Sunday Times, with Chess narrowly missing a place on the 2006 list. Richard Caseby, Managing Director of the Sunday Times said, “it takes a brave boss to allow an organisation to freely survey their people.”
David Pollock was delighted for Chess to be awarded the Best Companies Accreditation and was not worried by the survey process. “There is a strong culture of honesty and openness at Chess and we encourage all Chess people to express themselves. The surveying for Best Companies 2006 Accreditation took place prior to the launch of our Blueprint for Success last year and we are eager to repeat the survey process this year to identify where we have improved since its launch. We were awarded one star accreditation, which is a fantastic achievement, but we do not stop here. There are three stars available and Chess is an ambitious organisation. We are looking forward to being awarded more stars in the future and hopefully securing a place in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For.”
Jonathon Austin, CEO of Best Companies Ltd said, “Our aim is to acknowledge and reward organisations that provide excellent workplaces, excellent workplace practices, and great leadership as defined by their own employees. Best Companies takes advantage of the academic rigour; of the leading edge methodology that we have developed over the years to accurately and definitively assess Workplace Engagement.”