THE QUEEN'S ABDICATION was one prediction for 2016 made at last December's Crystal Ball Breakfast by a panel that included John Witherow, the editor of The Times, and Ed Williams, chief executive officer of this communications marketing agency, which hosted the event. Set up in 1967 by its Chicago-based parent, the subsidiary now has 437 staff at its London headquarters and three other locations in the UK. To foster creativity on behalf of clients including Unilever, the UK operation spent £520,000 on professional development last year. Employees are convinced the experience they gain here is valuable for their future, an 85% positive score; seventh among mid-size enterprises in our survey, and good for their personal growth (83%). Executive training schemes, including a new mentoring programme, are designed to help leaders to support and develop talents. People appreciate the attention, saying their manager cares about them as individuals (78%) and regularly expresses appreciation for a job well done (82%). Despite the agency dropping from 46th place in last year's Best Companies list, Edelman has an esprit de corps that remains undimmed. People say that their immediate colleagues are fun to work with (84%) and they go out of their way to help each other (81%). www.edelman.co.uk
