BAKEWELL TARTS, SCONES and Victoria sponges were all on the menu after a bake-off by Catermasters employees at its last annual meeting. The event brought together employees from every department of the contract caterer but the focus was on having fun rather than finding the next Delia Smith. Teams in this organisation tend to work well with each other, scoring 64% positive, the 12th best result in our survey. Catermasters encourages its employees to get stuck into balancing the books too. It wants to make them more commercially minded and to take ownership of their restaurants, so staff have been given access to sales patterns and targets, as well as till and sales data. They say what is expected of them is made completely clear (80%). The company's founders, Nigel Johnson and Richard Moody, are trained chefs who give their cooks the freedom to come up with menus. A job well done does not go unnoticed. Managers regularly express their appreciation (80%, in eighth place). Bosses motivate workers to give their best every day (71%) with rewards including flowers, meals out and vouchers. Extra holiday is awarded for 100% attendance. To help promote healthy eating and fitness, the firm organised an unusual job swap last year when Sara McGreavy, the 100-metre hurdler, changed places with Catermasters chef Ryan Holmes for the day. Leamington Spa-born McGreavy has been sponsored by the company, which is based in the town, in her bid to compete in the London Olympics. A 70% score for Wellbeing questions in our employee survey gives Catermasters its highest factor ranking, 14th. www.catermasters.co.uk
