Three years as a Great Place to Work: what our people told us

Certification Nation Day, on 15 October, is when Great Place to Work certified organisations talk about what a great workplace means to them. At Circles, that includes everyone from senior leadership to the teams on our clients’ sites.

Circles has been certified as a Great Place to Work for three years, and we’ve been on the Best Workplaces in Retail, Hospitality & Leisure list for the last two. We’re proud of both but a badge says little by itself, what matters is what sits behind it.

Circles provides hospitality inside workplaces. Our front of house teams give every visitor a personal, warm welcome and keep the site running smoothly. Our concierges take on personal tasks so employees can focus on their work. Our community managers bring people together, in the office and beyond it, to create a real sense of belonging. Between them, they shape what it feels like to come to work at our clients’ sites.

Good hospitality comes from people who enjoy what they do, which is why how our teams feel about working at Circles matters to us.

That’s why the Great Place to Work survey matters to us. It’s open to everyone at Circles, from senior leadership to front-line teams, and people answer anonymously. Nobody in leadership writes the answers for them.

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In our last survey, one colleague told us:

“Everybody genuinely cares about their colleagues, and customers/clients, always striving to be honest, authentic, empathetic and deliver the same experience to others as they want for themselves.”

Another wrote:

“The value placed on people is second to none. I feel incredibly privileged to work for a company who truly live the beliefs they uphold.”

Wellbeing was a recurring theme, mental health in particular. We’ve trained mental health first aiders and run wellbeing initiatives, and people noticed:

“It’s rewarding to be part of an organisation that doesn’t just talk about wellbeing but actively invests in it.”

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Flexibility was another theme. Hospitality isn’t a desk job, and flexible working on a client site takes real planning from managers and teams. Colleagues told us they feel encouraged to look after themselves, and that it makes a real difference.

Our clients trust us with the experience of their own people. That only means something if the teams delivering it have a good experience of working here too, and Great Place to Work is how we check that they do.

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