The Billericay-based specialist mortgage distributor, which topped the list of the top 100 best small companies to work for in the national survey, was praised for its ‘extraordinary’ levels of workplace engagement.
The award was judged from a bespoke staff survey circulated among all employees.
Clare Jupp, people development director at Brightstar Financial, said: “I know that the work culture makes such a difference to the success of an organisation. When I was a teacher years ago, I took a school through the investor in people process and I saw the difference it makes to the way people feel. It makes them feel valued and empowered.”
Brightstar, which was founded in 2011, was an early adopter of the Women in Finance Charter and has been a trailblazer and ambassador for the campaign ever since.
It has also been a pioneer in championing awareness about employee wellbeing and mental health issues. In 2017 the business opened a wellbeing room to provide its people with a dedicated space to relax and unwind as part of its mental health action plan.
Outstanding achievement
Jupp said: “We are absolutely delighted to have received the fantastic news that we have not only made the 2019 ‘Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to work for’ list, but that we achieved first place.
“This is an outstanding achievement that we are all incredibly proud of. It sets us above our peers and epitomises our Brightstar value of ‘we love what we do’.
“Our team at Brightstar share an outstanding attitude to work and we are fully committed to giving a fantastic service experience to our introducers and clients.
“We believe that we have created a working environment and business culture where there is a strong sense of belonging and where our people feel cared for, motivated and rewarded for their contribution and achievement. Because of this engagement, our team work tirelessly together to make Brightstar the very best at what we do, which of course is fantastic news for everyone who works with us.
“This was our first opportunity to be eligible to make the Sunday Times list and receive the Best Companies quality mark and we are so proud to have achieved such amazing things and obtained the highest ever placing of any organisation in our sector.”
Jonathan Austin, founder and CEO of Best Companies, said: “I would like to congratulate Brightstar Financial on its achievement of a Three Star Accreditation status and being named the UK’s Best Small Company to Work for.
“This is not the first award that Brightstar has won for its commitment to people development and culture. In July 2016, Brightstar was named the Investors in People (IIP) Gold Employer of the Year, beating more than 300 companies from 29 countries across the globe.”
He added: “Brightstar won from the top seven per cent of all IIP certified businesses in the world. Brightstar was also named ‘Equality employer of the year’ in 2018 and is also a living wage employer.”
The statistics behind the win
• Top three last night were all new entrants to the list
• Brightstar emerged top in 20 out of 70 category measures
• Average score of 90% positive in all category measures
• 97% of staff love working at Brightstar (first amongst all businesses in the list)
• 99% feel proud to work for the organisation (first amongst all businesses in the list)
• emerged in first place for Leadership, 1st for My Company and 1st for My Team in the overall areas – top 3 out of 8
Overall stats for the event:
• 737 applications
• 650 accredited firms
• 134 firms achieved the 3 stars
