Topaz: Sense of Pride
Topaz, a convenience and fuel retailer based
in Dublin, Ireland, has now been recognized as
one of the Best Large Workplaces in Europe for
the fourth time. Topaz is one of only three Irish
companies to be recognized, placing ninth—the
company’s first time making it to the top 10. Topaz
also was recognized as one of the Best Workplaces
in Ireland for the 11th time.
All this recognition has resulted in “an enor-
mous sense of pride for all our current employees
as people outside of the company recognize what a
great place to work it is,” says Ruth Mellett, direc-
tor of human resources. “From a talent attraction
perspective, we have reaped the benefits as we
have outstanding candidates in the market who are
eager to join all areas of our business.”
And it’s not just job candidates who are excited
about working at Topaz, current employees are
also actively engaged. “We are a fast-paced and
dynamic company and our employees are key to all
new innovative projects we take on. As part of this,
we do use an annual engagement survey, but we are
focused on our overall employee communication
and engagement at all times,” Mellett says.
For the surveys, Topaz partners with the Great
Place to Work Institute. “The reason we use it first
and foremost is a way of measuring engagement
and then we follow up on the results of our survey
annually with each of our teams. That way we
can ensure we are following up on as many of the
points raised by our employees as possible,” she
says. “Obtaining a place on any of the Great Place
to Work Top Workplace lists is a bonus for us.”
WANT TO BE
RECOGNIZED?
If your company is interested in being recognized as a great place to
work check out the Great Place to Work Institute at greatplacetowork.com.
The Institute produces more than a dozen Best Workplace lists, including
the annual Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list and the Great
Place to Work’s Best Small & Medium Workplaces list.
The first step is paying to register, then submitting information about
the company. The Institute assesses the culture of your organization
through answers provided on an employee survey and examines your
workplace through a cultural audit management questionnaire.
If your employee survey scores meet institute requirements, your
company is then certified as a Great Place to Work for 12 months.
Certified companies are automatically eligible for all Best Workplaces
lists during that time.
“The leadership had better walk
the talk or team members see
it. It has to be transparent. If
you don’t have that, it’s going
to be an uphill battle.”