AkzoNobel Receives 12th Consecutive UK Top Employer Certification

AkzoNobel, the leading paints and coatings business, has today been recognised as a Top Employer in the UK by the Top Employers Institute for the 12th consecutive year.

The Top Employers Institute programme highlights and celebrates organisations dedicated to a better working world, as judged by their commitment to best-in-class HR practices and people policies. The HR Best Practices Survey covers six HR domains consisting of 20 topics including People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Wellbeing and more.

AkzoNobel's people first approach, alongside its commitment to sustainability as a business and engaging HR initiatives, demonstrating its outstanding dedication to colleagues, were highly regarded by the Top Employers Institute.

AkzoNobel continues to make strides in achieving its sustainability goals and is a recognised sustainability leader in the industry, outperforming its peer average across numerous sustainability rating bodies. These include: being the only paints and coatings company with an AAA rating in MSCI; being listed in the top 1% of all companies assessed by EcoVadis; and receiving a low risk rating by Sustainalytics1.

Some of our key initiatives include Thrive, AkzoNobel’s wellbeing programme which is created by colleagues, for colleagues. It is led by a group of colleagues who want to create their own networks and drive their own agendas, covering everything from diversity, equality and inclusion to mental health support and physical health advice. These have gone from strength to strength, with eight networks across the business in the UK.

In addition to this, Top Employers Institute recognised AkzoNobel’s commitment to celebrating its people. One of the ways in which this is done is through its reward and recognition programme #Achieve. Each month, colleagues are nominated to win a #Achieve Award, for which they receive a £250 voucher and their caricature drawn and added to a large display board, which is photographed and shared and celebrated company wide.

Discussing the certification, Edward Elliott, HR Director UK, Ireland and the Nordics at AkzoNobel commented: “We’ve been certified a Top Employer for twelve years in a row and are hugely proud of this achievement. Fundamentally we want to create a brilliant place to work, where our colleagues feel supported and included, so that they are engaged in the business and feel passionate about the role they play within it. Top Employers is a stringent certification process, and we find it is invaluable in identifying our strengths, as well as any areas for improvement, so that we can continue to drive our high-performance culture, in a supportive and inclusive working environment.” 

David Pink, Chief Executive Officer at Top Employers Institute commented: “In a world where geopolitical, societal, and macro-economic developments follow each other in rapid succession, the Top Employers 2024 are showing once again that they are a beacon of stability and reliability. Top Employers have shown that despite turbulent times their focus remains on creating the best workplace possible for their people to thrive. Together, the class of 2024 leads the way to creating a better world of work. This is a great milestone to celebrate, and this will happen again in person, around the world in 15 locations in early 2024. Congratulations to all Top Employers around the world.” 

With over 3000 employees in the UK, the business prides itself on encouraging its people to take ownership of their careers. 

Home to leading brands including Dulux, Heritage, International, Sikkens and Cuprinol, AkzoNobel has been recognised in a total of eight countries, with repeat certifications across all eight. As well as these local country certifications, the company has been recognised as a European Top Employer due to its certification in five countries across Europe. The programme has certified and recognised over 2,300 Top Employers in 121 countries/regions across five continents, and AkzoNobel is honoured to be included within these.

Source : AkzoNobel

For all the very latest news and intelligence on the UK's largest home improvement and garden retailers, sign up for the Insight DIY weekly newsletter.