We genuinely recognise that our staff are our most important resource. In recognition of this, and in pursuit of our goal to be the best employer we can, we decided to participate in the Best Companies assessment process.

This involved a survey of all our staff, which was undertaken by an external organisation - Best Companies. The assessment considers 8 key areas; Leadership, My Company, My Manager, My Team, Wellbeing, Fair Deal, Giving Something Back and Personal Growth. Staff are asked a number of questions in each area, and their responses turned into points.

These points are totaled up, and determine the rating achieved. The rating system is based on the prestigious Michelin star system, so progresses “One to Watch”, 1 Star, 2 Star, 3 Star.

In our first year, 2010, we were pleased to achieve a ‘One to Watch’ status.

Following the assessment we undertook an extensive feedback exercise, and gathered ideas from our teams as to how their working lives could be improved. A constant cycle of development is now underway in order to further improve the way staff feel about working at Juniper.

Having made a commitment to pursue Best 100 status, obviously the validation is important to us. This is a perfect example however, of the journey being as important as the destination! The improvements we have made/are making are aimed first and foremost at improving the culture here and the levels of employee engagement – the accreditation is a by-product of people feeling good about working at Juniper. We recognise that we all need more out of a job than just the salary!

Despite setting ourselves a goal to achieve a 2 star rating in 2011, we actually achieved the highest accolade possible – a 3 Star rating.