Officially a Very Good
Company to Work For
Officially a Very Good
Company to Work For
Officially an Outstanding
Company to Work For
Officially an Outstanding
Company to Work For
Officially a World Class
Company to Work For
Officially a World Class
Company to Work For
Officially a Good
Company to Work For
Officially a Good
Company to Work For
When a survey identified that staff needed exercise to keep them fit and healthy while working from home, accounting and business advisory firm, Ellacotts, organised a virtual Summer World Tour which involved teams “travelling” from its head office in Banbury to Sydney in Australia. Over three months employees combined distances walked, run or cycled to work their way through countries to the other side of the world with weekly competitions and activities including photo montages of countries “visited”.
Founded in 1960, Ellacotts employs more than 100 people across its Banbury, Kettering and London offices and provides accounting services and business advice with niche specialisms in areas including agriculture, academies and charities.
As a training practice - trainee accountants make up around 20% of its workforce - employee development is paramount and Ellacotts' comprehensive programme puts theory into practice. Unusually client relationships are not led predominantly by the firm's partners with Ellacotts actively delegating and encouraging more junior staff and even trainees to get involved in complex and challenging queries and to develop strong links with clients.
The independent firm's five core values: Progressive, Teamwork, Integrity, Focussed and Enthusiastic are woven into the fabric of the firm and demonstrated in its response to the pandemic from the swift rollout of laptops and Bluetooth headsets to its plan for offices to become collaborative meeting spaces rather than workplaces.
Weekly team catch-up meetings start with social activities where individuals can find out about each other, cementing relationships and supporting new starters.
My manager cares about me as an individual
The management development programme has run virtually throughout the pandemic. Weekly bite-size training videos support managers across a range of topics including difficult conversations and managing time and teams remotely. Workshops on running virtual performance reviews have also been set up.
I am happy with the balance between my work and home life
A series of cross-functional and team social events were organised to boost interaction and morale, including gin tasting, gingerbread man decorating, quizzes and bingo. Prior to the pandemic Ellacotts created a mental health awareness guide and it has begun recruiting volunteers as mental health first aiders.
My organisation encourages charitable activities
When it refreshed its IT equipment to make its workforce more flexible, staff were able to buy the old equipment with much of the proceeds going to charity. Most tax returns and accounts are delivered to clients through an online portal which has more than halved printing.
Companies offering a final salary scheme to all employees, or one in which the employer's contribution is at least 5%.
At least 40% of senior managers are women.
