Virgin wins hands down in MW Top Employer survey

Virgin has been crowned the clear winner in the first Marketing Week/Michael Page Top Employer Survey.

Sir Richard Branson’s group was chosen by marketers who were asked which company they would most like to work for, if given the choice.

A quarter of respondents, taking part in online research conducted by Fusion Communications, listed Virgin among their favourite prospective employers. Some 724 companies were mentioned in all.

Innocent Drinks, the smoothies company set up in 1998 with a view to becoming a “sustainable FMCG” company, finished second, reflecting the rise of young, dynamic brands depicted in the survey.

Founder Richard Reed comments/ “There is an opportunity for developmental and entrepreneurial growth. The main reason why people want to work for us is because we’re a fast-growing, exciting, creative company.”

While Procter & Gamble finished third, brands that were traditionally seen as the training and breeding grounds for marketing talent lagged noticeably behind. Unilever was only joint 17th, and Nestlé failed to make the top 20.

Top companies to work for in respondents’ own sectors included/ BMW in automotive; Oxfam in charity; HSBC in finance; Innocent in packaged goods; Tesco in retail; Orange in IT/telecoms; BBC in media; Sony in hi-tech and consumer durables; and Virgin in leisure and transport.

Cover story, page 23