The contract caterer has been placed at number 21 on the list - the UK’s definitive survey on engagement in the workplace based on employee feedback.

Since becoming the first ever contract caterer to make the list in 2013, Elior has continued to invest heavily in employee development, resulting in improved scores across the board - wellbeing, leadership, fair deal, and personal growth. This continued improvement has also gained Elior a One Star rating from Best Companies – another exciting first.

Catherine Roe, chief executive, Elior UK says: “Being listed as a Best Company to work for is a reflection of our continued commitment to all of our team, investing in our people to ensure we have a strong colleague culture across the business.

“Over the past three years, we’ve developed a unique and compelling proposition for the contract catering market: to deliver great customer experiences and to measure and demonstrate this mission. This could only be delivered by motivated and well trained employees.”

As part of its commitment to employee training, Elior UK has developed eXperience, an award-winning customer service training programme. Employees at each of the caterers 650  UK sites select a peer who they feel delivers a great customer experience to become a Service Champion. These Service Champions deliver the eXperience training to colleagues in short, interactive sessions using a series of games, cartoons and practical tasks that bring the modules to life.

Arran McDowell, HR director, Elior UK, says: “The eXperience programme and our emphasis on two-way communication gives our employees a sense of inclusion and is a huge part of our culture. We may be a big organisation but every employee has an identity, is referred to by name and impacts the customer experience through their daily roles. It might sound simple but happy employees equal happy customers.”

Catherine adds: “I recognise that our success is only made possible by the dedication of each and every one of our team working at our sites and I hope they’re as proud as I to feature in this prestigious list for the second year running.”