Leading residential developer London Square has been ranked 39th in The Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For 2015 – just under five years after its launch.
The awards celebration was held last week (Wednesday 25 February 2015) at Battersea Evolution in London.
Particularly noteworthy employee survey responses reveal the strong company values shared by all staff at London Square. 91% of staff believe in the ‘Old School Principles’ promoted by Chief Executive, Adam Lawrence. On a daily basis, Adam, can be seen living and breathing the values which include the highest standards of professionalism, whether he is eating lunch with his staff, playing table tennis in the garden or encouraging his team to approach any member of the company when they need to with a relaxed open door policy.
Staff numbers grew from 46 to 60 people in 2014, who feel excited about where the organisation is going (94%).
Employees at London Square are loyal, with 94% of staff saying that they aren’t looking to leave – a top three positive score. Chalked up on the blackboard in the kitchen are the London Square specials. These aren’t dishes, but divisional targets for selling, planning or costs for the homes it builds. When a team reaches its targets, they are crossed out on the board and the members are one step closer to achieving their bonus.
Working practices designed to boost productivity amongst staff, include key motivational words, quotes and sayings in the distinctive black and white London Square branding from the mission statement, vision statement and core principles are emblazoned across the walls outside of the meeting rooms; a reminder to their guests and employees about what the company stands for. The staircase of the office is adorned with a magnetic photoboard for sharing images, and everyone has a personalised mug in the kitchen. Senior managers are good at listening (88%), and every department has a blackboard on which people can chalk up jokes, thoughts and anecdotes, with a quote from the divisional director.
People can share their concerns and talk openly and honestly at “cafe-style” informal meetings with managers (89%), but they say they feel well treated, fair and square (83%). London Square has implemented the Cycle to Work scheme and has also organised corporate membership rates at nearby Hillingdon Sports Club, to help promote a healthy lifestyle to their staff. London Square has table tennis in the garden, which staff can enjoy during breaks throughout the day, giving them a chance to unwind, catch up with colleagues or even help brainstorm new ideas over a different kind of meeting table.
Every Friday is lunch club day at London Square, with a barbecue in the garden, with staff taking turns to cook and serve the salad. With London Square operating from numerous sites within the M25, staff social events are thrown regularly to encourage all-staff integration. In 2014, they held a summer drinks party to celebrate the company’s four year birthday and a team building go-karting track day.
Adam Lawrence, Chief Executive at London Square, comments: “It is a fantastic achievement to be ranked 39th by Best Companies on our first time of entering and a great boost to our upcoming fifth birthday celebrations in April. The Best Companies survey provides us with invaluable information that ensures we continually strive to be a great employer and provide a really great place for our bright, dynamic and decisive team. Best Companies accreditation is very important to us as we pride ourselves on our people and providing a safe and healthy working environment for all of our staff and suppliers.”
Best Companies have been producing and publishing the ‘Best Companies to Work For’ lists since 2001 to measure and acknowledge excellence in workplace engagement. Each year hundreds of organisations from a wide range of industries use the employee survey to measure employee engagement. The responses from these surveys are collated and combined to produce an overall engagement score for each organisation. Only the organisations with the highest level of overall employee engagement quality for the 100 Best Small Companies to Work For list in 2015.