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We have taken a fresh approach in this year’s Good Employer Guide, deliberately focusing on specific workplace initiatives designed to improve staff’s daily lives and, by extension, business performance. Of course, the companies that have made it into the Guide have had to prove themselves to be all-round good employers, offering a range of benefits and showing a willingness to go the extra mile for their people.

We wanted this year’s entries to provide evidence of well thought-out and innovative programmes that have helped change the way people foster positive places to work

But over and above offering generous employee packages, we wanted this year’s entries to provide evidence of well thought-out and innovative programmes that have helped change the way people foster positive places to work. To that end, we created five categories and invited firms to explain how they are blazing a trail in the following areas: training; outreach and recruitment; flexible working and parental policies; connection and communication; and wellbeing.

The guide reveals individual companies’ responses to a whole host of issues, from plugging gaps in apprenticeship skills training and introducing nine-day fortnights, to collaborating with other companies in order to promote wellbeing and launching a series of open-to-all events to share innovative ways of thinking.

It is truly uplifting to see so many examples of best practice, and for the first time we are able to nominate 10 companies for a brand-new . The overall winner will be announced at the ºÚ¶´ÉçÇø Awards ceremony on 6 November. We congratulate everyone for making it into this year’s Guide and wish those on the shortlist the very best of luck on the night at the awards.

Chloë McCulloch, acting editor, ºÚ¶´ÉçÇø