The UK’s largest independent co-operative society, the Midcounties which trades in the Swindon area, has been named as one of the best large businesses to work for.
The accreditation in the nationally-acclaimed Sunday Times list puts the society, which employs more than 9,000 staff, alongside some of the largest and highest-profile businesses and organisations from across the country. 
It is the fourth year it has been included in the list of 25 organisations, which is based on employee feedback and recognises organisations that have high levels of employee engagement.
Last year it was ranked at 13th place in the latest rankings, up from 24th position in both 2012 and 2011. The 2014 rankings will be announced on February 27 at an awards ceremony in London.
The Midcounties Co-operative also secured a coveted two-star rating in the Sunday Times poll, which puts in the ‘outstanding’ category and comes shortly after it achieved its best-ever result in an independently-managed annual employee survey, with an engagement score of 80 out of 100.
Chief executive Ben Reid said: “To be recognised as a top big company to work for based purely on colleague feedback is a great honour and also a significant endorsement of the co-operative values which our society embodies.”
The Best Companies accreditation follows a ‘Michelin-star’ style rating system. It is based on employee feedback in areas such as leadership, personal development, wellbeing and remuneration.
