Softcat gets paws on best workplace accolade

VAR finishes tenth in mid-sized company contest

Softcat has been ranked as one of the UK's best workplaces by a research and management consultancy.

The reseller finished tenth in the mid-sized category for firms with between 75 and 499 staff by Great Place to Work Institute, adding to the first place it achieved in the Sunday Times' Best Small Companies to Work For in 2010.

Managing director Martin Hellawell put the accolade down to the recruitment process, communication and transparency within the Marlow-based company.

"On day one, we make it clear that it's a community," he told ChannelWeb. "We are quite prescriptive and it's all common sense; we make sure people say ‘good morning' to each other and not just keep their heads down.

"Most of our employees are office based so it creates a good buzz."

Softcat employs 450 people, with regional offices in London and Manchester.
"A good part of our employees are people who are starting their first job; they are a similar age group so they have lots in common," he said.

We put on a lot of parties and incentive trips too - they cost the company a lot of money but we see this as a real investment."

This is the first time that Softcat has entered these awards. Although he is proud of the award and wants to enter again in the future, Hellawell said Softcat will not be doing so just for the sake of winning.

He added: "We are really proud of who we are, we won't deny that, and our employees are really proud of what they have achieved. But, [winning] is not what we are about, you've really got to believe in [the company].

"We strive to get better and better."