25% of undergraduates and postgraduates told us that company culture attracted them most to their current employer. With strong competition for the best graduates, employers are doing everything they can to create a great working environment for their staff.
We collated graduate ratings for their employers across all sectors and the results are in! The three top employers with the highest rated company culture include…
1. Innocent Drinks (4.94)
2. SW6 Associates (4.86)
3. Chaucer Syndicates (4.83)
So what makes these companies stand out from the rest? We asked graduates to share the best and worst things about working for their employers;
1. What are the best and worst things about working for Innocent Drinks?
Best: Given lots of responsibility from the outset, really stimulating environment and lots of opportunities for social events both in & out of the office. The company values also remain at the centre of everything we do. Working in supply chain also means that I am right at the heart of the business so I get to deal with new products which we launch.
Worst: Occasionally, because my job is operational, tasks can be repetitive.
Ingredients Specialist, Supply Chain at Innocent Drinks
Best: It is a great company with great opportunities to learn and progress. Innocent have created a perfect environment for effective working and socialising. Everyone who works here lives by the innocent values and they are a pleasure to work with. My job allows me to work cross functionally with many other teams and suppliers and always keeps me on my toes.
Production Planner, Production at Innocent Drinks
Best: There is a great culture at innocent and a very supportive environment in which to develop your career with lots of opportunities across the business.
Worst: Working in supply chain is non-stop; you will be thrown straight in and it can be over-whelming to begin with. If you enjoy the fast pace of the work you’ll flourish but it isn’t for everyone.
Graduate, at Innocent Drinks
Best: The culture and the people. Everyone here is so supportive and everyone wants everyone to do well. There is still competition of course, it is still recruitment, but it’s healthy competition!
Worst: The hours can be really long at times and candidates can be hard to manage! But again that is recruitment…
Candidate Consultant, Grad Team at SW6 Associates
Best: Company culture – Everyone is down to earth, hard working and likes to go for drinks together and there is a great team spirit. Career progression .The potential to learn and grow within the company is clear. From entering as a Resourcer you are set realistic targets to hit in order to progress through the firm. Earning potential. With the opportunity to earn commission and bonuses it is definitely a more lucrative option than most graduate roles.
Worst: The hours are fairly long but it is only to be expected for the industry.
Candidate Consultant, London at SW6 Associates
Best: The team morale and the energetic environment in the office, along with the earning potential and the lifestyle that comes with the job through its reward schemes.
Worst: Be aware of the long hours required to make it to the top. The tough times – no market is ever smooth running there are hard times which you have to be resilient to.
Senior Recruitment Consultant, Recruitment to Recruitment at SW6 Associates
Best: Chaucer offers a great work/social life balance, which is a great way to interact with the wider business in an informal environment. The nature of the rotation programme means that you get to explore different areas of the business and see how teams interact with each other. You would also have the opportunity to work on varied projects and enhance your knowledge and skill set. The people working at Chaucer are very friendly and approachable, always willing to help out and share ideas.
Worst: Be prepared to work longer hours on occasions, some teams generally work longer hours than others.
ERM Graduate Trainee, Underwriting Management at Chaucer Syndicates
Best: You are given a lot of responsibility early on which really helps you learn your strengths and weaknesses quickly. There are lots of social or charity events throughout the year that give you a good opportunity to meet people that you do not work directly with. When studying you are given a generous amount of study leave and support. Working for Chaucer allows you to have a good work / life balance.
Enterprise Risk Graduate Trainee, Risk at Chaucer Syndicates
Best: The best thing about Chaucer are the people that work there. Everyone is very friendly and approachable, including the more senior members of staff. There are regular social events organised by the company, which make it easy to meet new people both within and outside the business. The company offers excellent training and development opportunities. This includes being allowed to study for the ACII insurance qualification, for which you are given a generous amount of study days. There is a variety of interesting tasks to do each day, which enable you to get first hand experience of how the Lloyds’ insurance market works.
Worst: Studying for examinations after work is sometimes difficult. However, it is manageable, especially due to the fact we are given ample study leave.
Enterprise Risk Graduate, Risk Management at Chaucer Syndicates
Interested in finding out more about the best rated companies to work for? Take a look at our Top Rated lists here!
When each graduate completes a job review with TheJobCrowd, we ask them a number of questions such as ‘what is most important to your career?’ or ‘how long do you expect to stay in your current job?’. These responses from thousands of grads have given us some great insights into what they’re really after.
To find out more about TheJobCrowd’s graduate insights, say hello at [email protected]
