Haines Watts North East recognised as one of the region’s top 20 companies to work for

The achievement sees the North East region moves into the top 20 for the first time, whilst Haines Watts have also been listed as the 7th Best Accountancy Firm to work for. This comes after the firm secured a prized one-star accreditation for employee engagement from Best Companies.

According to Best Companies, the 1-Star accreditation shows ‘very good’ levels of workplace engagement.

Over the past 12 months, Haines Watts has introduced a number of measures to help support their teams’ welfare, such as a series of mindfulness, yoga and stress awareness training sessions, attended by 560 of its staff across the country.

Regional managing partner, Donna Bulmer said: “We are delighted to have been named as one of the top 20 companies to work for in the North East. Team engagement is something we are really passionate about, and that has become more important than ever since the start of the pandemic.

“We have made major investments into our people, culture and support systems and want to ensure Haines Watts provides a safe and positive environment in which our team can flourish.

In the last year, Haines Watts has seen a significant average wage increase, while staff turnover dropped by 30% compared to the previous year. The firm have also welcomed 24 new team members across the North East and Yorkshire offices during the lockdown period.

In addition, a large cohort completed managers’ skills courses, leadership development programmes and a number of senior people are currently participating in the executive leadership development programme.

Jonathan Austin, CEO of Best Companies commented: “I would like to congratulate Haines Watts on its achievement. Best Companies has been producing the accreditation standard since 2006 to acknowledge excellence in the workplace. Organisations like Haines Watts have continued to focus on their employees and have been rewarded with an engaged workforce who tell us that this is a best company to work for.”

Best Companies has over 20 years’ experience in helping organisations measure and improve employee engagement using a robust methodology, with their accreditation standard certifying excellence in the workplace since 2006.