Welcome to The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For 2008, the biggest survey of workplace opinion and employee engagement in the UK. This year, no fewer than 868 organisations sought a place on our three Best Companies lists – the 20 Best Big Companies, the 100 Best Companies (detailed in today’s 88-page supplement) and the 100 Best Small Companies (published free with The Sunday Times last Sunday, March 2).

These two supplements – also available online at timesonline.co.uk/best100 – contain listings and detailed profiles for 220 of the most enlightened, progressive and enjoyable workplaces. We know this is true, because their positions in our orders of merit were not determined by a panel of business worthies, but by the people who work in them every day. By you.

More than 180,000 employees were surveyed, making this the definitive piece of research for companies aiming for best employment practice, or anyone looking for somewhere to work where their mind will be engaged, where their skills will be utilised to the maximum, and where they will be treated and respected as individuals, rather than be perceived as anonymous cogs in a corporate machine.

I applaud all 868 organisations who had the courage to take part in the three Best Companies contests. It takes a brave chief executive to allow employees to pass judgment on their business, and then be subjected to scrutiny by an outside organisation and a national newspaper. But the culture in all our winning companies embraces honesty and openness from the boardroom to the shop floor.

Turning up the Heat pays off

Strong training and a sense that work is to be enjoyed add up to Heat powering past its rivals into top spot this year

Background

• Hats off to great leadership

• Getting the message across loud and clear

• Fly high with the X Factor

• Why it pays to know what you’re doing

Background

• Charity wins top small company award

• Special awards for best practice

• Rules of engagement

• 100 Best SME's to work for 2008

Multimedia

• Best Small Companies to Work For 2008

• Highlights from the awards ceremony

If reading this supplement inspires you, or if you think your organisation could stand toe-to-toe with the very best, nominations are open now for the 2009 lists. Go to bestcompanies.co.uk and follow the instructions on how to nominate your business or another for next year’s awards.

Anyone can nominate an organisation, from the chairman to the cleaner. Our contests cover listed and privately-owned companies, charitiesand public sector organisations.

I thank Best Companies Ltd for its continued dedication to seeking out the best workplaces in the UK and our sponsors, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. And I offer my congratulations to all those organisations that have made our lists, whether big or small.

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