When Opus Technology first surveyed its workforce with Best Companies in 2023, the managed service provider achieved a 1-Star accreditation. While a 1-Star rating demonstrates a “Very Good” foundation of engagement, leadership recognised the potential to achieve much more. Fast forward just twelve months to 2024, and the business made an extraordinary leap to a 3-Star rating, the highest accreditation awarded by Best Companies, representing “World Class” workplace engagement.
Even more impressively, Opus Technology successfully retained its 3-Star rating in both 2025 and 2026, consistently increasing its overall Best Companies Index (BCI) score year after year.
Through a dedicated strategy focused on transparent communication, department-level accountability, structured personal development and living their core values, Opus Technology has built a culture where high standards, mutual trust and genuine employee care seamlessly coexist.
We sat down with Chris Terry, Chief Operations Officer, and Bridget Dale, Head of People, to explore how Opus Technology turned raw survey data into a powerful vehicle for lasting cultural evolution.
Moving Beyond ENPS: The Search for Structure and Honesty
Prior to partnering with Best Companies, Opus Technology relied on an internal version of Employee Net Promoter Score (ENPS). While this metric served a basic purpose in the company's early days, leadership felt the need for a framework with greater depth, structural rigor and sector benchmarking.
"ENPS served a purpose to a point", explains Chris Terry. "But we felt that we wanted something more structured, more detailed, something where we could benchmark against other companies as well, so that we could understand what good looked like and what the standard was."
Crucially, the complete anonymity guaranteed by Best Companies gave employees total confidence to share their honest feedback without fear of identification.
"As their Identity was kept secret people felt they could be truly honest", Chris notes. "It really gave our team members a voice. The feedback you get, good or bad, enables you to focus on particular areas to make decisions about how you can improve things, as well as confirming what you're doing well."
Pinpointing Strategic Gaps: Communication and "Vivid Vision"
The initial 2023 survey confirmed a suspicion senior leadership had begun to sense: while operational execution was strong, strategic communication needed refinement. Opus Technology excelled at task lists and deadlines, but frontline employees sometimes felt disconnected from the overarching company strategy. They knew what they were doing day-to-day but didn't always understand why it mattered to the company's long-term destination.
To bridge this gap, the organisation introduced a “Vivid Vision”, a rich narrative detailing exactly what the company will look like, feel like and accomplish three years into the future.
"The first survey really uncovered the fact that we could do so much better with communication", says Chris. "We were always very good at the granular stuff... but sometimes that can get a little lost when you don't know how that feeds into the wider strategy on the front line. Creating a Vivid Vision gives absolute clarity about where you wish to be... describing how the company will perform, what it will feel like, and what will be important to it."
To launch each Vivid Vision, Opus Technology gathers the entire company for an energetic annual event that serves as a cultural touchstone.
"Each Vivid Vision gives everyone a big boost of energy for the upcoming year", adds Bridget Dale. "We do an annual event to cover where we've got to and what the next steps are. Everyone leaves that feeling really motivated."
Department-Level Accountability and Whiteboarding Real Solutions
Following their 2023 survey, Opus Technology established a practice that remains central to their engagement strategy today: dissecting survey data department by department. Rather than averaging scores across the entire workforce, the area leaders, Bridget and the People team conduct face-to-face workshop sessions with every individual department with the intent to use it as a conversation starter, rather than a scorecard.
"We broke down the survey for each department", Bridget explains. "With each team we discussed the positive feedback from the survey and where our people felt we could improve. We put them on a list and got to work fixing them."
By taking localised action, leadership proved that the survey was a genuine tool for positive change. Frontline staff realised their opinions carried real weight, creating a powerful cycle of trust through collaborative action planning.
"Our people on the front line recognised that we were taking their feedback seriously", Bridget reflects. "As such, they felt like they could answer the survey honestly."
Navigating Growth: Cultivating Leadership at Every Level
As Opus Technology expanded toward the 150-employee mark, executive leaders could no longer maintain daily, direct interaction with every frontline team member. To maintain their core culture, the organisation shifted significant focus toward developing line managers as cultural torchbearers.
"As we grew as a business, it became harder for our long-standing leaders to directly impact our people on the front line”, Chris explains. "So we've got to focus on creating great leaders elsewhere in the business through training, mentoring and coaching. Without an engagement survey, you can't get that granular feedback, you would only hear what people want you to hear."
Unlocking Personal Growth: Career Development and Shared Learning
Opus Technology's focus on individual progression is reflected in their survey data: their Personal Growth score has risen by 12% since 2023, placing Opus 13% above the Technology sector average.
This score is driven by the organisation’s ‘Career Development Pathways’. Designed like an interconnected spider web, entry-level teams like Customer Service serve as talent incubators for departments across the business, including sales, accounts, PMO, HR and compliance.
“The idea was to drive a culture where people think beyond their current roles alone”, says Bridget. “We want Opus to be a place where ambitious people can build a long-term career, continually developing both professionally and personally.”
"We spent over a year developing our career development pathways. We now have former customer service team members in almost every part of our business. Where we can career-develop people up within the organisation, we definitely do. We've even transitioned team members returning from maternity leave into specialised roles like compliance and HR to retain their valuable talent."
Underpinning this development is a strong learning culture, supported by a curated intranet library of foundational business and leadership books.
A Fair Deal Built on Mutual Trust and Tangible Value
Opus Technology’s Fair Deal BCI score stands at 15% above the sector average, reflecting an environment built on respect and tangible support. Rather than relying on temporary perks, the organisation focuses on high-value benefits:
- Health & Support: Private Medical Insurance (PMI), cash plans, and complimentary office breakfasts.
- Connection: Cross-departmental "Crews" competing in monthly fun challenges.
- The Dream Ball: A quarterly draw where an employee wins £3,000 toward a personal dream (from home renovations to trips to the Grand Prix).
"A lot of the flashy things that companies do are often to plaster over cracks", Chris points out. "People really appreciate tangible things that really matter. If you're thinking about work on a Sunday night and you're not dreading it, that's half the battle because you've found somewhere you belong."
“Simple tangible things that really matter are what truly make the difference”, Chris continues, “Such as celebrating contribution through recognition, development and internal progression. This what creates a culture where people feel trusted, respected, supported and genuinely valued, beyond any formal reward programme alone”.
Advice for Other HR Leaders
"If you're willing to accept feedback for what it is and put the time in, I can't imagine why you wouldn't invest in staff engagement programmes such as Best Companies", Chris concludes. "You won't achieve high standards unless you have an effective methodology to gather honest feedback so you can act on reality."
"It puts accountability into the hands of department leaders and the teams themselves", Bridget adds. "Solutions aren't always found by leadership telling you what to do, they require everyone's input."
Chris Terry - Chief Operations Officer, Opus Technology
Chris Terry joined Opus Technology over 28 years ago when the business was a small team generating £500,000 in revenue. Rising through the business to become Chief Operations Officer, Chris has been instrumental in scaling Opus Technology into a leading managed service provider with around 150 employees. A passionate advocate for high standards, structured mentoring and values-led leadership, Chris focuses on building sustainable management frameworks and ensuring every team member understands how their work contributes to the company’s vision.
Bridget Dale - Head of People, Opus Technology
With 19 years of service at Opus Technology, Bridget Dale heads the People function, driving employee engagement, talent development and workplace culture. Having completed her CIPD qualifications sponsored by Opus Technology, Bridget, working closely with other key Operational board members designs and champions the outcomes we are achieving through the company’s ‘Career Development Pathways’. She plays a central role in translating survey data into actionable departmental improvements, facilitating open workshop sessions and supporting internal career growth across hybrid, office and remote teams.
