O2 recognised as 6th ‘Best Big Company’ to work for in the UK

O2 UK Ltd today announces that it has been named one of the top employers in the UK, being ranked 6th in The Sunday Times’ 2008 Best Big Companies to Work For List. In addition to being placed in the top 10 in the List for the second consecutive year, O2 has also been awarded a three-star accreditation denoting an ’extraordinary’ company. The award is measured against eight key factors; Leadership, My Company, Personal Growth, My Manager, My Team, Giving Something Back, Fair Deal & Well Being. 2008 saw O2’s position improve in seven out of the 8 categories in comparison to 2007’s assessment. This ranking is based on extensive research of company employees, assessing workplace culture, practices and employee sentiment towards their employers. The ‘Best Companies’ accolade is awarded through three separate Lists to the best small, mid-sized and large companies that achieve the highest scores within their respective categories. Ronan Dunne, CEO O2 UK commented: “6th place is a fantastic result and I would like to thank all employees for helping O2 achieve this success. We are committed to making O2 a great place to work and this award recognises our progress towards achieving this goal.” With its roots in employee engagement, the O2 people strategy, the People Promise, focuses on making it feel great to work at O2 and is founded on the principle that O2 employees are key to the overall success of the business. Recognising the importance of feeling connected, it enables all employees to play a part in making O2 an even better place to work. As part of this, O2 also encourages employees to provide additional feedback through mechanisms such as O2’s Employee Forum, Real Directors and OpenVoice, an online anonymous discussion forum. O2 also understands the importance of recognising and rewarding employees through unique events and initiatives such as 2007’s employee “premiere” event. Around 10,000 UK-based employees plus their partners were treated to a sensational line-up of top entertainment at the UK’s most exciting new venue, The O2. As well as giving all employees the chance to sample The O2 experience before the general public, The O2 Premiere was an opportunity to thank employees for their contribution to the success of the business during its first five years and celebrate O2’s 5th birthday. In addition to these unique experiences O2 also runs an annual internal recognition programme, the Spirit of O2 Awards. Aimed at celebrating employees who have made a big difference to O2 over the last twelve months, each person has the opportunity to nominate someone or a team they feel has made a difference. The finalists are then invited to the now legendary Spirit of O2 Awards night O2 also has a number of initiatives that allow its people to make a difference in the community. For example, in 2007 O2 committed £1 million towards a nationwide community improvement programme. The Its Your Community programme provides cash awards ranging from £100 up to £1,000 to individuals and groups for projects that will make a positive change. The programme also enables employees to vote on local projects and become actively involved in improving their community. All of O2’s UK business units participated in the survey, which includes O2’s calls centres and retail outlets. -ends-