Bespoke named Best Place to Work by The Sunday Times

Lancashire-based digital marketing agency Bespoke has been named by the Sunday Times as one of the Best Places to Work in the UK for 2024.

The nationwide workplace survey, published by The Sunday Times on Sunday 12th May, honours and celebrates Britain’s top employers – which number over 500 organisations across industries and sizes – and acknowledges the best workplaces for women, LGBTQIA+ community, disabled employees, ethnic minorities, younger and older workers, and wellbeing.

In compiling the list, The Sunday Times partnered with employee-experience platform WorkL to deliver fresh insights into what makes the Best Place to Work.

The Sunday Times Best Places to Work awards survey uses 26 questions from WorkL’s employee engagement survey, developed by behavioural scientists, data analysts, psychologists, business leaders, academics and other independent parties to most accurately monitor employee engagement, wellbeing and discretionary effort in the workplace.

To achieve a high overall engagement score, an organisation must score well across WorkL’s six-step framework encompassing: Reward and Recognition; Instilling Pride; Information Sharing; Empowerment; Wellbeing; Job Satisfaction.

Bespoke, which has offices at Strawberry Fields in Chorley, was recognised in the survey’s Small Organisation category.

The report accompanying the listing said: “This Chorley digital agency puts a development programme in place for staff, with a three-year plan for those seeking a role in the company. Plans are reviewed annually and extended once colleagues have been with the agency for two years. The 12 employees work a 50-50 hybrid week – with a budget provided to kit out home offices – while the whole team has lunch together twice a week.”

Bespoke co-founder & CEO Steve Brennan said: “I couldn’t be prouder of the team, or more overjoyed for us all, to have been listed on The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list.

“It’s such an incredible accolade for the culture we have built here over the years. We fully recognise that it’s our people who make us what we are, and we are dedicated to providing them with the happiest working environment, which is something that everybody pitches in with, so the entire team can rightfully be extremely proud to have their efforts be recognised in this way.”

Chris Longcroft, EVP publisher, The Times and The Sunday Times, said: “All organisations are only as good as the people they employ and retain. The Sunday Times Best Places to Work awards recognise companies that are innovating to create an engaged and fulfilling working environment for all and in so doing they are creating the best possible platform for business success. To be named on The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list is a true recognition of excellence and I congratulate those organisations who made the grade this year.”

Lord Mark Price, founder of WorkL, said: “I’m absolutely delighted for this year’s winners of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work, powered by WorkL. Many Congratulations to you all. We’ve been absolutely blown away by just how many brilliant companies entered the awards in the hopes of being recognised, so it’s a real achievement to have made the list. WorkL are proud to power these awards and support organisations in retaining and recruiting the very best employees.” 

Zoe Thomas, editor of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work, said: “It is my pleasure to introduce the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024. These include a huge range of businesses and not-for-profits, from innovative start-ups with a handful of employees to big multinational corporations staffed by thousands. The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024 spans all industry sectors and are located throughout the UK. Uniting them is the commitment to make their organisation a better place to work for everyone, and there is no limit to the creative lengths they go to to engage employees. Why have a job just anywhere when you could be carving out a career at a Sunday Times Best Place to Work?”