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9 Cool UK Companies Hiring Now
Glassdoor Team
Glassdoor Team | Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 9 Dec 2016
So what are the things that make these employers so great? You can’t see it or feel it but it seems culture is the most important factor which leads to long-term job satisfaction according to Glassdoor research.
Whilst this year's Best Place To Work winner (Expedia) is well loved by its employees, there are other companies equally as great. Employees within these nine UK organisations have given their employers a rating of 4.0 or above for Culture & Values on Glassdoor. Best of all, they’re all hiring now.
OpenMarket
Culture and Values Rating: 4.8
What they do: This international telecoms brand has offices in Seattle, Washington, Detroit and London. OpenMarket enables enterprises in any industry to use mobile to directly engage their target audience and ultimately provide value to their business.
What makes them so cool: This 200 strong telecoms brand offers staff flexible working options to facilitate a better work life balance. They also offer half price membership to Virgin Active gyms which can help burn off the free pizza and beer employees get at the end of the month.
What employees say: “Organisational Health is truly at the heart of the GM's top priority. All companies I have worked before so far also stressed the importance of the employee but I never felt it meant and lived as much as at OpenMarket. The spirit is remarkable!” Open Market Employee, London
See job openings at OpenMarket
Sumo Digital Culture and Values Rating: 4.6 What they do: Sumo Digital is a game developer with a team of over 230 staff currently based in Sheffield. Since inception in 2003, they have had a string of successful titles across all gaming platforms for partners such as Microsoft, SEGA, Sony, Disney and many more. What makes them so cool: Sumo Digital is a world-class, award winning game development studio that develops games such as Fast and Furious, Dead Island and Crackdown- what’s not cool about that? They also offer a range of cool perks such as flexitime to improve work life balance as well as a free on site gym, free food and drink, all expense paid company days out and additional annual leave the longer you work there. What Employees say: “Extremely pleasant working environment, great attention to people and their level of seniority. Very talented people from every part of Europe to share knowledge with and great projects to work on.” Sumo Digital employee, Lead Environment Artist, SheffieldSee jobs openings at Sumo Digital
ARM Culture and Values Rating: 4.4 What they do: This Cambridge based tech company designs scalable, energy efficient-processors and related technologies to deliver the intelligence in applications ranging from sensors to servers, including smart phones, tablets, enterprise infrastructure and the Internet of Things. What makes them so cool: Recently rated one of the top ten highest rated companies in the UK for work life balance, ARM Holdings also offers employees a four week sabbatical for every four years of service. ARM Holdings is at the heart of one of the world’s most advanced digital products with 95% of smart phones using ARM technology – now that’s pretty cool accolade. What their employees say: “Lots of brilliant and friendly people. Great work environment, no stress, free coffee, nerf guns. Good internship projects. Tons of intern events throughout the summer. TONS of goodies. Good pay for an internship. Gym in the main building. Mail room to get parcels. Good canteen with lots of different things on the menu every day. It's not free though. ARM shuttle to go to work. Consoles in the kitchen.” ARM Holdings employeeSee job openings at ARM Holdings
Immediate Media Company Culture and Values Rating: 4.4 What they do: The immediate Media Company creates compelling content on platforms that enhances the way people engage with what they love. This award winning brand is one of the biggest consumer media businesses in the UK and one of the largest magazine media publishers. What makes them so cool: Employees can set their own hours at the Immediate Media Company or work remotely if they need to. They offer free year round parties, free Easter Eggs right through to a free summer festival which is a full day of partying for all employees. What employees say: Superb company culture with significant investment in employees, both in terms of training and softer staff like parties and little perks (e.g. free Easter eggs on every desk). Some fantastic brands, talented and amiable people, and a genuine vision for growth in a tough media market.” Immediate Media Company Employee, BristolSee job openings at Immediate Media Company
Skyscanner Culture and Values Rating: 4.7 What they do: Skyscanner is a leading global travel search website offering flights, hotels and car hire comparisons. Founded in 2003, Skyscanner receives over 50 million visitors each month and is available in 30 languages. Skyscanner employs almost 800 staff with offices in Barcelona, Beijing, Budapest, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Miami, Schenzhen Singapore and Sofia. What makes them so cool: With over 50 different nationalities working at Skyscanner, it’s a diverse and multicultural environment which offers employees the chance to work from their home country. Employees enjoy flexible working, free food and drinks, great social events and share incentives. ‘Skyscanner University’ offers a range of courses for tech and business topics, learning new languages or budding photographers. They also give staff a better than average annual leave in all office locations, the only question is how much travel can you fit in? What their employees say: “Culture of ownership and independence; rather than having managers breathing down your neck, you are given high level direction, but it's up to you to choose the best way of getting there. Interesting work; being in a high-growth area means always looking at new ways of doing things, and experimenting. Generally the attitude is: got a good idea? Go ahead and test it!” Skyscanner EmployeeSee job openings at Skyscanner
Holiday Extras Culture and Values Rating: 4.7 What they do: Holiday Extras is a 30 year old business based in the heart of the Kentish countryside. It’s the UK market leader for travel add-ons - with airport hotels, airport parking, airport lounges, airports by rail and coach, and holiday insurance as its core offerings. Arrangements for seven million travellers are made every year. What makes them so cool: Every HXer (as employees are affectionately know) is given the latest Apple kit to work with along with massages, circuit training, free bikes, flu jabs, free fruit – the list goes on – staff even get a day off work for their birthday. Personal development is key which is why Holiday Extras also offers staff access to ‘The Academy’ which they spent £250k designing. Its aim is to nurture technical excellence, talent development and creativity across the business. They host events such as book clubs, coaching clinics, management and leadership development workshops and language classes. What their employees say: “Lovely team, great coffee, friendly environment, lovely open plan office, good career opportunities and opportunities to stretch yourself if you like to be challenged! Supportive management.” Holiday Extras Employee, KentSee job openings at Holiday Extras
Metro Bank Culture and Values Rating: 4.7 What they do: Founded in 2010, London based challenger brand Metro Bank is Britain’s first new high street bank in over 100 years. With their unique, customer-focused retail business they are reinventing the rules of retail banking, making every effort to remove all ‘stupid’ bank rules from our day to day services. What makes them so cool: Customer service and an excellent branch experience really sets Metro Bank apart from competitors. What their employees say: “The culture is the most inspiring and positive culture I have ever worked in. Colleagues are encouraged to develop and supported throughout their career. The Metro Bank University offers world class learning opportunities for everyone at all levels. Everyone who works here is working towards the same vision which means that we are surrounded by high achieving and 'happy to be' here people! Anything is possible for your future here, no matter what part of the bank you work in.” Metro Bank Employee, LondonSee job openings at Metro Bank
Spotify Culture and Values Rating: 4.6 What they do: With Spotify, it’s easy to find the right music for every moment on your phone, your computer, your tablet and more. There are millions of tracks on Spotify. So whether you’re working out, partying or relaxing, the right music is always at your fingertips. Choose what you want to listen to, or let Spotify surprise you. You can also browse through the music collections of friends, artists and celebrities, or create a radio station and just sit back. What makes them so cool: Do you fancy live gigs while you work? This is all part of ‘day in the office’ when you work with Spotify. They also offer free food and drinks, great social events and cool offices. Overall it seems the business ‘takes influence from a Swedish work life balance mindset’. What their employees say: “Loads of opportunities, lots of smart people, live gigs in the main offices, usual tech perks and fantastic culture.” Spotify Employee, London Culture and Values Rating: 4 What they do: This London head quartered sports retailer started life in a boutique store in Notting Hill Gate in 1998. From humble beginnings, Sweaty Betty has now evolved into a global multi-channel fitness fashion brand. Their mission is to inspire women to find empowerment through fitness. What makes them so cool: With 50% staff discount on Sweaty Betty products and free office based classes this is a pretty cool retailer to work for. Employees are also offered a discount on local gym membership if the in-house classes are quite to their taste. What their employees say: “Great culture. Great people. Inspiring leadership. Lots of room for progression. It is honestly the best company that I have worked for. I have full autonomy in my role and am surrounded by like-minded talented and ambitious women. I get paid to work out too - bonus! Sweaty Better Employee, LondonSee job openings at Sweaty Betty
*Methodology: Companies featured represent a selection, in no particular order, of companies on Glassdoor with a Culture and Values rating of 4.0 or above. Company ratings on Glassdoor based on a 5.0 scale: 1.0=very dissatisfied, 3.0=OK, 5.0=very satisfied.
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