WaterAid ranks 5th in list of UK’s Best Workplaces™ with a special recognition for Excellence in Wellbeing

WaterAid has been placed fifth in the 2020 UK Best Workplaces™ large sized category by Great Place to Work®, and received special recognition as a centre of Excellence in Wellbeing. 

This prestigious award comes two years after WaterAid became the first international charity ever to feature on the list, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and is considered as the gold standard of employer awards. The charity was also named one of the UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Women the same year, the first time it had applied. 

Featuring alongside 162 other organisations across all categories, WaterAid has this time been ranked in fifth place of 35 large-sized organisations (with 251 – 1,000 staff) who reached the coveted list. 

A rigorous staff survey and audit showed that staff trust, engagement and wellbeing were particularly high within the organisation and that an astounding 91% of employees say, “This is a great place to work.” 

WaterAid Chief Executive Tim Wainwright said:

“We are delighted that WaterAid has been recognised as a Great Place to Work for how we promote trust, pride in our transformative work, and wellbeing amongst our employees. These strengths are proving more important than ever in the current situation as we learn to work in a new way whilst delivering life-saving hygiene campaigns across all the countries where we work.

“As well as feeling motivated and fulfilled, we want people to flourish in an environment where they feel they can be the best they can be, since this is fundamental to our mission to improve access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene in the world’s poorest communities. Each and every one of us knows we make a difference and are committed to tackling some of the most important challenges in the world today.”

The charity was seen to have improved on its staff satisfaction levels in the wellbeing category, particularly in the area of work-life balance – which scored 94% – and the organisation was praised for creating a working environment where staff feel part of the ‘family’. 

Great Place to Work® states that the national average level of trust in UK workplaces is at 82%; WaterAid achieved an impressive score of 86%. Other key highlights from the survey and audit are WaterAid’s staff engagement score of 89%, while its level of wellbeing is at 84%. 

Rachel Wescott, Director of People and Organisational Development, said:

“At WaterAid, we have all worked really hard together to create a culture of wellbeing and a balance between work and home life, and we’re pleased this is reflected in the responses people gave in the survey. This has particularly come into play recently while we have been under lockdown and working from home. More than ever, we have emphasised the importance of collaboration, and understanding and supporting our people.”

The opinion of employees is key since the survey that employees answer (Trust Index©) represents two-thirds of the final score to enter the ranking. The remaining third of the score is the Culture Audit©, a business-driven questionnaire that Great Place to Work® uses to understand and evaluate the organisation’s HR and leadership practices, policies and culture.

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