Despite a turbulent and challenging year, the 2010 Best Companies to Work for survey shows that staff engagement is still high on the agenda for UK organisations.

A record 1,086 organisations from the private and public sectors applied for Best Companies Accreditation this year and of these, just 30 organisations in the East Midlands received accreditation this year.

The Best Companies accreditation measures what the organisers call “Workplace Engagement” within the company, by allowing each individual to provide their opinions anonymously on a range of different subjects.

After being recognised in 2009 with a ‘First Class’ single star, Northampton based business solutions provider acs has received an ‘Outstanding’ two star award in 2010.

acs's Joint Managing Director Jon Thorpe said, “We were delighted to be recognised for our commitment to our employees in 2009’s awards. To receive an additional star in this, our most challenging year of trading, makes us feel especially proud. To be one of the best companies to work for in the region is a fantastic achievement and makes us want to work harder than ever to provide the very best training and environment for our hardworking staff. A big thank you also needs to go to our customers who have helped us achieve our growth and continue to support our team at acs.”

Jonathan Austin, CEO and founder, Best Companies comments:

“We would like to congratulate acs on their outstanding achievement. An engaged workforce is essential as organisations move out of the recession and into a more stable economic situation. No doubt many organisations have tackled redundancies and rapid change this year. But organisations like acs that have kept on engaging their staff and making sure they are involved in the business will be in a good position for the future and should be congratulated for their efforts”.

Best Companies established the accreditation award scheme to acknowledge excellence in the workplace. Based on staff feedback, it looks at employee engagement as an integral part of a company’s success and growth, and sets a benchmark for other employers. The accreditation scheme follows a Michelin star style system with companies awarded one star for first class, two stars for outstanding and three stars for extraordinary performance.