With a “treat yourself” staff allowance of £315 per year to spend on indulgences such as hotel rooms or massages, it’s clear that every little helps add value to the employee experience at marketing firm Dunnhumby.

The company behind Tesco’s Clubcard loyalty scheme has some of the most enthusiastic workers of any listed firm — with a positive score of 87% only two companies did better for having employees who are excited about where their company is going.

And it’s not hard to see why, given the sharp upward curve of Dunnhumby’s success since its humble beginnings in a back bedroom of its founders’ west London home. Husband and wife team Edwina Dunn and Clive Humby set up shop in 1989, with an idea that capitalises on retaining and analysing data so as to offer clients and customers more relevant marketing. The relationship with Tesco started five years later, helping it develop and operate its loyalty card scheme.

Despite now being largely owned by Tesco, Dunnhumby is run separately, with the supermarket holding 84% of the company, and the remainder held by the founders. But Dunn and Humby refrained from selling up completely, preferring instead to redouble their business objectives. The official vision now is to be a billion-dollar company by 2010 and to that end the business is expanding into international markets and working with retailers such as Kroger in America.

Related Internet Links

• Company website

• Dunnhumby's entry in 2007

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

The ambitious entrepreneurial outlook makes a compelling working environment for the burgeoning staff, whose votes place the business eighth in the list for thinking the experience they gain from their job is valuable for their future (84% positive), 13th for their

job being good for personal growth (82%) and 14th for feeling there are plenty of opportunities for them to learn and grow within the organisation (73%).

With an average age of 31, staff can expect to be given plenty of responsibility while they are still relatively young.

“There are people on our board who are only 34. It’s really meritocratic,” says Sarah Sleap, commercial director for the fast-moving consumer goods sector.

She’s not the only one who relishes the prospects on offer. Global client executive Caroline Lynch joined on the graduate scheme and can’t speak highly enough about her employer. “It’s such a young and dynamic company. The opportunities to progress are just phenomenal,” she says.

Senior consultant Nathan Jones, meanwhile, finds being surrounded by like-minded people a real buzz. “There’s lots of really capable, intelligent, creative people here. They’re similar aged, sociable, outgoing. Everyone’s really approachable and hugely passionate about what we do,” he says.

Another advantage of having a young, vibrant team is the quality and quantity of work-based socialising that takes place. A social committee organises events such as sports days, scavenger hunts and Thames cruises. A company-funded budget pays for about 10 events per year, with others subsidised, and there are monthly drinks in the atrium of the company’s Ealing headquarters.

Dunnhumby is unequivocal about wanting to attract and retain the best people it can. “We go after the clever maths and science graduates,” says Humby, and the organisation has a benefits package to compete with its peers.

The on-site gym is free for staff and the services of a personal trainer can be bought using the treat yourself allowance. Another popular choice is to use it for a course of massages, which take place in a dedicated room adjoining the gym.

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