Softcat leads channel in best workplace rankings

UKFast, EMC, NetApp and Microsoft also ranked among the UK's best workplaces

A handful of channel and tech firms has stormed the Great Places To Work (GPTW) rankings, with Softcat coming in at number two in the Large business category.

At a GPTW event in London last night a record 100 companies were awarded the status for recognising the importance of maintaining a highly trusted and engaged workplace with the aim of improving business performance and profit figures. The accolade is mainly based on results of employee satisfaction surveys.

In the Large business category – for firms with more than 500 staff – reseller Softcat came in second place after being pipped to the top spot by financial services firm CapitalOne. The reseller is a regular on the GPTW rankings and this year marks the first time it entered the Large category due to its soaring headcount, which now stands at more than 600.

GPTW also dished out a special Excellence in Leadership award to the reseller after praising its management team.

Softcat's managing director Colin Brown said the company's commitment to staff is behind its strong financial performance.

"We take our employees' happiness very seriously – in fact, we pin it at the heart of our operations," he said. "Every year as we hire more and more staff we strive to maintain the values with which we started in 1993: to keep our employees rewarded and motivated. In turn [this] drives great customer service, and then the financials look after themselves."

Softcat was joined by Microsoft and Rackspace in the top 10 in the category after the duo came in fourth and sixth place respectively, while storage giant EMC popped up in 16th position.

In the Medium division – for companies employing between 50 and 499 staff – software outfits Madgex and Intuit lead the way after coming in eighth and nine place respectively.

Peer1 Hosting ranked in 11th position, followed closely by 12th-place UKFast which also achieved Laureate status after receiving the GPTW accolade for the fifth year in a row.

NetApp, Autodesk and software firm Liberty IT also showed their faces on the list.