Revealed: The 50 best companies in Scotland to work for

It's a car dealership that grew from one small showroom in Leicester 50 years ago. Now Sytner Group has been named the best company to work for in Scotland in a comprehensive survey of staff.

The survey asked more than 500,000 across the UK for their views. Picture: PA

The firm, which holds dealerships across the UK and specialises in premium franchises such as Audi, was placed first in a list of 50 companies operating north of the Border.

Second was Chess, the cybersecurity specialist, while Abbot Risk Consulting was third.

The top 50 list, which is reproduced in full at the end of this article, was based on the results of the 2018 b-Heard survey, which asked more than 500,000 employees across 769 organisations in the UK how they felt at work.

The survey, conducted by workplace engagement specialists Best Companies, asked people how they feel about eight aspects of their working lives to determine a Best Companies Index (BCI) score for each organisation – the company’s unique measure of workplace engagement.

Since 2001 the highest-scoring businesses have appeared on the national Best Companies to Work For lists published by The Sunday Times.

The company have now launched regional lists to recognise those organisations who have high levels of employee engagement.

Founder and CEO of Best Companies Jonathan Austin said: “The new Best Companies lists will deliver comprehensive regional benchmarking from up-to-date engagement data.

“Our hope is that companies will be able to see how they compare with similar local organisations to enable them to implement changes and make significant improvements to their engagement levels to make the world a better workplace.”

The full top 50 best companies in Scotland list

1: Sytner Group

2: Chess

3: Abbott Risk Consulting

4: The Royal College of Nursing

5: Explore Learning

6: DFS Trading Limited

7: Beaverbrooks the Jewellers

8: The Entertainer (Amersham)

9: Iceland Frozen Foods

10: Bright Care

11: Blue Arrow Group

12: Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP

13: Hilti (Gt. Britain)

14: itison

15: Creditfix

16: Halfords

17: Ogilvie Fleet

18: Savers Health and Beauty

19: Buzzworks Holdings

20: EY

21: Clark Contracts

22: Peter Brett Associates LLP

23: Heathrow Business Support Centre

24: Cairn Housing Association

25: Marriott Hotels International

26: Build-A-Bear Workshop

27: Accenture UK

28: Fleet Alliance

29: Macs Adventure

30: Deloitte

31: EE

32: Thorntons Law LLP

33: Fife Housing Association

34: AXA

35: David Lloyd Clubs

36: Santander UK

37: Bridge Leisure Parks

38: Majestic Wine Warehouses

39: Cairngorms National Park Authority

40: River Island

41: Bravissimo

42: Manorview Group

43: ISG PLC

44: Warburtons

45: Apex Hotels

46: Intelligent Office UK

47: Loreburn Housing Association

48: ODEON Cinemas Group

49: SCARF

50: Edinburgh Leisure