RM crowned UK's top IT employer

Education VAR given full marks in annual study with NCC, IM Group and Integralis also commended

Max power: RM gained the maximum score in each of five criteria

Education specialist RM has been crowned the UK's top IT employer, gaining full marks across the board for its company culture and HR policies.

In its yearly rundown of the country's top companies to work for, the Corporate Research Forum (CRF) singled out four IT firms for commendation: RM, Information Management (IM) Group, NCC and Integralis.

RM was given a five-star rating for pay and benefits, training and development, career development, company culture and working conditions. CRF's detailed profile of the education firm reveals staff bonuses are paid according to employee grade, ranging from £750 to 15 per cent of salary.

Other benefits include pension contributions of up seven per cent of employee compensation, as well as free private healthcare, life insurance, nursery facilities and long-term disability insurance.

Software and services outfit IM Group gained top marks from the CRF for training and development and career development. The London-based firm was given 4.5 stars for working conditions and pay and benefits, and three for company culture.

In IM Group's employer profile, managing director Nakis Papadopoulos said: “Because of the type of business we are, we are always looking at leading-edge ideas and we encourage people to come to us with fresh ideas on how to improve things."

Security services and consultancy specialist NCC Group was awarded four stars for working conditions, and 3.5 for career development. A three-star rating was given for company culture, training and development and pay and benefits.

Security heavyweight Integralis achieved three-star scores across the board, except for training and development, in which it gained 3.5.

Managing director Simon Church, who took the reins at the VAR in August, said: "When I joined Integralis, one of my first activities was to instigate employee and customer surveys, the results of which reinforced the positive perception of the quality of our teams and reflect our accreditation as one of the UK’s leading IT employers. We will continue to place our people at the heart of our strategy as we pursue a policy of continuous performance improvement."