Pub firm named as one of The Sunday Times’ 100 Best Companies To Work For 2015

A gastropub chain which has its roots in Tring has earned a place in the prestigious Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to work for in 2015.
Let's take a selfie! The team at The Akeman in TringLet's take a selfie! The team at The Akeman in Tring
Let's take a selfie! The team at The Akeman in Tring

Oakman Inns & Restaurants Limited has 10 pubs in its portfolio, including its flagship property The Akeman in Tring, the Kings Arms in Berkhamsted, the Red Lion in Water End, near Hemel Hempstead and The Akeman Inn in Kingswood, near Aylesbury.

The award will be presented at an awards dinner on Wednesday, February 25 and will be published in The Sunday Times on Sunday, March 1.

The 100 awards are given by Best Companies, which is a national body that acknowledges and works to improve corporate excellence in workplace engagement.

Oakman Inns achieved a 3 star “extraordinary” rating, which is the highest level possible.

The award was assessed across eight key factors, which are:

> Leadership: how employees feel about the head of the company and the senior managers

> Wellbeing: how they feel about pressure levels and the balance between work and home life

> My manager: people’s feelings towards their immediate boss and day-to-day managers

> My team: people’s feelings about their colleagues and how well they work together

> Giving something back: how much people believe their firm puts back into society in general and the local community in particular

> Fair deal: how happy the workforce is with pay and benefits

> My company: feelings about the company people work for, as opposed to the people they work with

> Personal growth: whether people feel challenged at work, that their skills are being used and that they have scope for advancement

Chief Executive of Oakman Inns chief executive Peter Borg-Neal said: “This is an amazing accolade and serves as a huge boost to the reputation of Oakman Inns and the 350-plus people in our team.

“Myself and my human resource team, led by Linda Halliday and Jill Scatchard, have always understood that people are our most important asset and we are hugely committed to engaging with our team and making Oakman a great place to work.”

Oakman Inns is no stranger to receiving awards as last year it was judged as the best small company in the industry when it was named ‘Best Employer (1-50 sites)’ at the Publican Awards.

Mr Borg-Neal said: “Winning two Publican Awards last year drove us to raise our employee engagement standards even higher and I really hope this recognition helps demonstrate the rewarding career opportunities offered by the hospitality industry.”

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