Awards: top academic reveals what makes an outstanding employer

“That’s great, but it’s not what we’re looking for,” said David Spicer.

He is an associate dean at Bradford University School of Management, category sponsor for the outstanding employer of the year in The Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards.

The title of outstanding employer is always hotly contested.

To be a contender, companies must be able to demonstrate excellence in dealing with the tensions and conflicts that emerge in the workplace around good people practice and the strategic and economic needs of the organisation, said Dr Spicer, an expert in organisational change.

“This is one and the same thing. The best employers are generally of the mindset and attitude that people are a strategic asset and they manage that asset in the way they manage all their wider assets for the organisation.”

Nor do companies have to invest millions of pounds in training programmes or sparkling new facilities, said Dr Spicer; they just should just show what they do to maximise the value of the people within the organisation.

He highlighted Plusnet, the broadband services provider and a past winner of the award, as a good example.

“They are a great business and have a very clear employment strategy,” said Dr Spicer.

The academic, who sits on the judging panel for the awards, said he will also be looking for examples of companies that have embraced flexible working for employees at different stages of their working lives.

Dr Spicer is keen to see how companies in Yorkshire are using technology to encourage people to work in different ways as Bradford is the technology university of the North of England.

The awards are now open for entries and companies have until July 6 to submit their details: go to www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/businessawards and follow the simple instructions.

The main categories are:

• Companies with a turnover up to £10m, sponsored by Yorkshire Bank.

• Companies with a turnover between £10m and £50m, sponsored by PwC.

• Companies with a turnover above £50m, sponsored by DLA Piper

• Young business, sponsored by Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses programme, for companies up to three years old

• Outstanding employer, sponsored by Bradford University School of Management, for excellent employment practices

• Innovation of the Year, sponsored by Drax, for companies that can demonstrate innovation in their approach to growth and development

• Exporter of the Year, sponsored by thebigword, for companies that have made progress in overseas markets

• Community, sponsored by QBE Insurance, for businesses actively working in the community to enhance education and skills development

• SME Manufacturer, sponsored by Elevation Recruitment, for companies with a turnover up to £10m

• Young Entrepreneur of the Year, for owner managers and directors aged 35 and under

• Individual award, sponsored by The Yorkshire Post.