Several Scottish firms have appeared in this year’s ‘The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For List’.
Amongst them are People’s Post Code Lottery at 9, Anderson Anderson & Brown at 37, Search at 54, Buzzworks Holdings at 73 and Morton Fraser at 84.
Accountancy firm Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB) has been a Best Company for 12 consecutive years and has also secured a place on ‘The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For List’ for 4 years.
These achievements are a result of AAB employee’s responses to questions within the Best Companies engagement survey, which examines the ins-and-outs of company life and reveals how employees really perceive their work environment.
AAB had an incredible response rate to the survey, which could be a reflection of the numerous ways in which the firm engages with its employees, as well as the exciting growth and development the firm has experienced over the last twelve months.
The firm’s dedicated ‘Social Club’ organise a variety of different fun and social events for staff to get involved with, including some new events for 2018 such as rounders, pumpkin carving and ‘The Hungry Games’. The Hungry Games took place over the summer months where AAB teamed up and competed against some of their neighbours at their Aberdeen HQ in Prime four Business Park through games such as basketball, welling ‘wanging’, a quiz and a hotdog eating competition.
The firm’s charity, the Anderson Anderson & Brown Charitable Initiative (AABi) hit a huge milestone during 2018 when it reached an incredible total of £100,000 of grant funding donated to 57 charities in addition to donating over 3,300 volunteer hours.
The firm also experienced a significant amount of growth during 2018 with their ‘official’ arrival in Edinburgh and the move to a new office in Lochrin Square, their London presence continuing to strengthen as well as growth across some key sectors including food and drink, rural and E&P to name a few.
AAB is an incredibly ambitious firm and this growth presents a significant volume of opportunities for the AAB team through working with new clients resulting in new and varied projects as well as the opportunity to work in other places across the globe.
Internally, AAB has introduced a ‘Firm of the Future’ project aimed at delivering continuous improvement across the firm so that they are well placed to embrace the challenges and opportunities associated with an ever-changing marketplace, and indeed a changing profession.
In addition to all of the above AAB continues to invest heavily in the training and development of its people, and 2018 saw their highest intake of trainees to date with 40 people joining their various different programmes.
Graeme Allan, Managing Partner at AAB said “We are absolutely delighted to be recognised as a top company to work for once again. The award status is great for the firm, but ultimately, knowing our employees feel driven, stimulated and empowered to get the best out of themselves is the real achievement.
Karen Stewart, Chief Human Resources Officer at AAB added “This is a fantastic achievement for AAB, and we only have our amazing employees to thank for it. Ensuring that we have the best people working in our team across all levels and areas, and that they are happy within in their role is key in ensuring the continued prosperity of our firm in the future.”
At 84, Morton Fraser is the only Scottish law firm in the UK-wide list.
Maggie Moodie, Chairman at Morton Fraser, said: “Collectively we’re extremely proud of this achievement and I am delighted that our people feel Morton Fraser is a great place to work. Few law firms take the steps we have to embed change in our working culture and this recognition is a vindication of the environment we’ve strived to create across the firm.”
In 2018 the growing Scottish independent law firm introduced a formal ‘agile working’ policy as part of a wider focus on employee wellbeing and organisational flexibility. The decision saw the firm break down traditional notions of legal practice in order to offer its staff greater choice about where and when they work.
