In 2021 Orbis decided to enter our first Best Companies competition, because we have reached a stage as a company where our strategies are paying off, and we think the results are worth sharing.
We do things a bit differently, and they work. From prioritizing our people to constantly questioning industry norms to push our potential further, we wanted the chance to show off just a little bit, because we believe that the representation of companies moving forward is essential to inspire positive change.
In the first stage of the competition, we were awarded a three-star accreditation, which signifies world-class employee engagement. Check out our profile on the Best Companies website here: https://www.b.co.uk/companies/orbis
We were shortlisted for the London, Consultancy, and UK national list.
To mark the award results and celebrate together, we held company-wide gatherings in London, Glasgow and our US offices. The entire Orbis team got together in real-time, on a global scale, and it was a really special way to reflect on our progress as an organization so far.
The categories we were assessed on were:
- Leadership
- My manager
- My company
- My team
- Wellbeing
- Fair deal
- Giving something back
With 4 as a neutral score, all our results came out over 5, and we were over the moon to see the hard work we’ve put into our company culture reflected in the experience that our colleagues described.
Our top-scoring category was My Team. We feel really strongly that this is due to our open and inclusive culture, the policy of bringing our whole selves to work, and above all the great people we have built our team around. We enjoy strong team bonds, not just based on pre-existing relationships outside of the business, but which are built in the office through support, encouragement and pride in one another.
We continue to make it a priority to carve out time to have fun because our culture is not something we are willing to compromise on as we continue to grow.
These bonds extend not only between peers but across all levels of the business up to leadership, and every employee has equal, consistent exposure to leadership which we feel is essential not just for progression and development but for the overall cohesiveness of the team.
We don’t believe in having a hierarchical structure and this is reflected in our working practices and social settings too.
The way we have built this team is by balancing our referral scheme with open-mindedness. We trust in the judgment of our existing community and welcome their connections and recommendations, however, in order to safeguard against the risk of moving towards a homogenous workforce, we are launching our Academy training programme this year, as an alternative structure to most schemes, which is inclusive to all backgrounds and education.
Our lowest score was in the well-being category. We not only want to be open but actually forefront of this.
The main challenges in the recruitment industry include long hours and routine stress which can impact both mental and physical health. We recognise these and intend to do more than ever to combat them. We maintain at Orbis that just because something is normal or common does not mean it is right, or acceptable.
Where we share similar challenges with the rest of our industry, we want to be forerunners in tackling them.
Actions we have already taken to enhance our employees' experience in well-being include our January Kickstart series, which ran throughout the month of January 2022, and involved well-being sessions from Mindset and Breathwork to Nutrition, HIIT sessions and financial strategy.
Our next lowest rating and another area we’ll be focusing on were ‘Giving Back’, and to this end, we have several exciting plans in the works for charity events and activities this year.
Moving on to the final results!
In the Best Companies Live event on Friday we found out our rankings…. We were awarded:
1st place in Best Small London Business
3rd place in Consultancies
4th place on the National list
We’re nothing if not self-believers at Orbis, and we had high expectations… But we think it’s fair to say they’ve been exceeded!
Overall, we are incredibly proud of the team and everything we have going on, the progress we are making, and our culture of fun, inclusion and high performance. Working at Orbis offers vibrancy and fun as well as great potential, in an environment that’s never static.
We believe in Inclusion before Diversity, meaning acceptance of every view and trait people have, not just ticking boxes or filling quotas based on demographic, but embracing everyone as a rounded human being.
People must feel listened to and know they are valued; we encourage creativity and ideas so that every employee can shape the character and journey of Orbis, adding to our culture and stepping outside of a strict job description where they choose. Wearing several hats allows us all to bounce off one another
So once we’re done celebrating how far we’ve come (cheers!) and reflecting on how we got here, we’re ready to focus as always on moving forward.
We thank everyone for their support and hope you’ll stay tuned for some big developments that are on the horizon for Orbis in 2022!
