For the fourth year in a row, we’ve made it into the Top 25 of the UK’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list, coming 22nd for 2021.
It’s the sixth year in a row we’ve featured in the Top 100. And we’re still the #1 Accountancy Firm to Work For in the UK, too.
The Best Companies awards have always meant a helluva lot to us here at Cooper Parry, and after the bizarre rollercoaster ride we’ve all been on over the last 15 months, even more so.
Because when our people are happy, engaged and playing to their strengths every day, we know we’ll attract and retain the best talent. We know we’ll deliver a remarkable service to you, our clients. And then, we’ll keep working with more and more likeminded businesses along the way.
WORKING FROM ANYWHERE. ANYTIME. FOREVER
During a year that threw the whole world into a spin, we stuck to what we know best: a culture built on trust.
Back in 2020, at the beginning of Lockdown #1, our CEO, Ade Cheatham, announced we were now ‘Working From Anywhere. Anytime. Forever’ – a decision based on the trust to produce your best work whenever, wherever, and however suits you.
Tapping into years of prior Microsoft Teams experience across the business, we started to think about how we could turn it into a more inclusive digital space; the virtual heart of our culture – and all that entails.
We shared some of our thoughts on ‘Making Digital More Human’ in this article. Looking back, they’ve aged well. And, importantly, they paved the way for us to quickly introduce our re-vamped, remote-ready Wellbeing Wheel – making sure our people felt engaged, supported and connected, even while we were apart.
At regular intervals throughout the year, we also livestreamed and recorded our ‘CP Hollas’. These are internal, informal updates designed to bring everyone up to speed on what’s hot at CP, presented by Ade and April Bembridge, our Chief People Officer, with hundreds of people tuning in live and asking their questions in the chat, and plenty more watching the recording back after.
PEOPLE. PLANET. PROFIT: THE B CORP WAY
Our B Corp journey also began this year – a commitment to using growth as an opportunity to make a wide-reaching, long-lasting, positive impact on our employees, communities, and the environment.
To become B Corp Certified, you have to score 80 or more in the ‘B Impact Assessment’, designed to help measure and manage your social and environmental impact at every level, across all stakeholders.
The process has taught us so much already, giving us the chance to re-think, re-imagine and improve every aspect of CP. And in March 2021, we brought together a group of B Corp business leaders for two roundtable chats to hear their advice for anyone thinking of starting their own journey. So, if you’re interested in leaving a legacy that goes beyond profit, check out the plentiful nuggets here.
THE FUTURE
We still want to be the #1 Best Company to Work For in the UK by 2025, and as our teams grow across the country, fine-tuning our digital culture is going to play a huge part in that. Especially now we have all our offices firing on all cylinders – including our cool new space straddling Shoreditch and the City in London.
Diversity & Inclusion is another key ingredient – a topic thrust into the global limelight by the Black Lives Matter movement – and our nudge to look inwards and reflect on how we can do more to level the playing field and make sure everyone enjoys equal opportunities and outcomes here.
In our latest No Bull Podcast, Abi Bown, our Chief Growth Officer, Linda Marston-Weston, our Transaction Tax Partner, and Elisa Howe, our Audit Director, discussed how we can get people talking to build a more diverse, more successful business and society, with a focus on female leadership. It’s a great listen. Check it out here.
Finally, with a cocktail of our B Corp learnings and the feedback from our weekly happiness surveys shaping the road ahead, of course we’re hoping for a smoother ride over the next 12 months. But if COVID has taught us anything, it’s that the power of culture can go a long, long way. In the great times. And the unique ones.
Ade Cheatham, our CEO, said:
“I’ll remember the last year forever. We all will. A rollercoaster of “oh f***” lows and immensely proud highs, with our Best Companies position being up there with the pick of the bunch.
“We’ve always put our culture and our people at the heart of CP. We’ve always known that when they love working here, they’ll produce awesome results for our clients. And having the freedom and the trust to shape your work around your life (and not the other way round), is a huge part of that.
“2020 accelerated a lot of businesses’ thinking. Ours included. But as the dust starts to settle and we come out of lockdown closer, more connected than ever, it feels like it all worked out. These awards from Best Companies back that up. And of course, they’re testament to the brilliant people we’ve got here and the culture they’ve built.”
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