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The FT’s inaugural survey of the UK’s best employers suggests that money alone does not drive satisfaction — though it can certainly help.
Across the different organisations assessed in the ranking compiled by data provider Statista, one sector stands out: health and social care. Some of the highest-scoring organisations are not those that offer high wages for their staff — notably those working in elderly care and health-related charities. They instead offer purpose and prospects in sectors that continue to grow as the UK’s population ages.
Home Instead, for example, the UK division of an international franchise operator of home-based care for the elderly, ranked third overall. Yet among the 12,000 care professionals in its network, most earn only a “living wage” according to Martin Jones, chief executive.
“When people join health and social care, they do so because it’s a calling and not necessarily because of a desire for money,” he says. “They enjoy working with people and building a great relationship with clients.”
He suggests that the company’s strong employee satisfaction ratings may reflect a mixture of its national brand and local family-based franchise operations. That has allowed it to offer an employee assistance programme, including wellbeing support, while its individual franchisees provide facilities for staff to meet in person and online because otherwise they would have little contact with each other.
Jones says Home Instead operates around the “five needs” of employees: self-esteem to help workers feel valued; being viewed as professionals to be supported, including with training; social needs of belonging and motivation; values that put clients at the centre of their mission; and monetary rewards, including pay, counselling and broader supporting services.
Nonetheless, annual staff turnover reflects what Jones describes as “quite a transient sector” locked into relatively low wages constrained by the payers’ unwillingness to spend more, whether individual families or local authorities.
When people join, it is because it’s a calling, not necessarily because of a desire for money
In his own role outside work as a board member of the Care Workers’ Charity, Jones says there is a need for home care to do a better job of promoting the positive aspects of the profession, in contrast to other relatively low paid sectors such as hospitality and retail.
Non-profit healthcare organisations also perform well, reinforcing the value of purpose in employee satisfaction. Cancer Research UK, which ranked 12th overall, is among several high-scoring health-related charities. Others include St Andrew’s Healthcare, which offers inpatient and community mental healthcare services, and Sue Ryder, the palliative and bereavement network.
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, says: “Employees have a positive experience working with us and make a life-changing impact on the lives of people affected by cancer. They are passionate about our mission, highly motivated and use their skills well. They appreciate our approach to flexible working, wellbeing and inclusion, and they live our values.”
Other private sector health employers — which may have capacity to offer higher salaries — are also highly ranked, including Prima Dental Manufacturing and HCA International, which operates a network of private hospitals, and outpatient and medical centres — both, like Home Instead, ultimately owned by US businesses.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, professor of economics and behavioural science at Oxford university’s Saïd Business School, cautions on how far the different trends across all health and social care organisations can be compared.
The NHS, for instance, which was not ranked, provides a strong sense of purpose, but satisfaction for many staff is low because of factors such as the intense stresses of the job.
More broadly, De Neve points out that structural aspects of the workplace tend to be more important drivers of wellbeing than interventions offered to individual staff. As he argues in his latest book (co-authored with colleague George Ward) Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters, overall “the majority of people are not happy at work”.
“The main drivers of low or high wellbeing are the structural environment more than the individuals themselves,” De Neve adds. Based on detailed research primarily focused on employers in the US, he says the main drivers of satisfaction are job security; relationships and a feeling of belonging; and independence and flexibility. Less important overall are earnings and safety in the workplace.
The good news for employers is that enhanced staff wellbeing can improve talent retention, productivity and financial performance. Money also certainly helps in driving employee satisfaction but, as the FT rankings suggest, other factors dependent on management culture and the nature of the job itself are also highly significant.
