Glasgow-headquartered Fleet Alliance has been named one of the UK’s Best Places to Work. It is the eighth successive year that the UK’s leading fleet management and finance company has been listed in the Best Workplaces results, featuring in the category for medium sized businesses (51-250 employees). Run by the Great Place to Work Institute, Fleet Alliance has also moved 13 places up the rankings since publication of the 2019 results, which follows the successful integration and completion of its Neva acquisition. “While we are delighted to be recognised by Best Workplaces it is unfortunate to come at such an unprecedented time,” commented managing director, Martin Brown. “It seems hardly credible that our offices are largely empty of the fantastic people that make Fleet Alliance such a great place to work.” The Best Places to Work are judged solely on the feedback of staff along with details about the programmes and practices that make the Fleet Alliance workplace such a unique experience. Underpinning the Fleet Alliance working environment is the Fleet Alliance Loves programme. Based on four core values of Fairness, Trust, Engagement and Respect it is designed to create a happy, caring and fun atmosphere, encouraging staff to participate in wider social and environmental activities. These include charity fundraising campaigns and care for the socially disadvantaged. Employee benefits include Wellness Wednesdays (stress-down workshops, therapies and treatments, yoga, meditation and breathing exercises), mental wellbeing care and a counselling service to balance work/home life, along with flexitime to make it easier for employees to fit work around their life. Every month there is also a free themed lunch, from Mexican to fish and chips. Other employee benefits include free health cover and financial support for further educational studies. “While we continue to find new ways to make our workplace environment even better, we have also tried to extend these features to staff who are now working at home or are on furlough during the coronavirus crisis,” continued Brown. “Now, more than ever, they need our support.” Scott Ross, people and culture manager at Fleet Alliance, added that assisting staff with some of the side effects of lockdown was a key point: “We have been able to adapt very quickly to the new way of working, which is a tribute to the resilience of our excellent team ethic. Like many employers we have also made video conferencing technology work for us to encourage the importance of face to face communication. “Just as importantly, because we have invested in the infrastructure to support the wellbeing of our people, we have been able to hit the ground running and preserve much of what we offer for staff in relation to employee assistance and mental health awareness, the latter being a key emphasis for the business since lockdown started.” One employee who is benefiting from the Fleet Alliance employee assistance package is sales support team leader Julie Kidd. Julie, who has recently returned from furlough, is taking advantage of the flexible working arrangement to provide the work/life balance she requires. “Being able to work four days a week to assist with my childcare requirements has been really so useful. It’s taken the stress out of trying to balance my work and my family. The flexibility on offer is really appreciated.” Martin Brown added: “While the future remains unclear, one thing is certain: we will continue to make sure our employee welfare comes first, wherever they are presently working.”