May 4, 2021 - News

3 Years in a Row; Version 1’s Growth as a Best UK Workplace

The 2021 Awards

Version 1 was honoured last week to have been named one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for the third time, placing 20th in the 2021 listings. The annual Great Place to Work-Certified™ benchmark study signifies outstanding employers who are characterised by a trust-based, ‘people first’ workplace culture their employees love. This includes values ​​such as credibility, fairness, respect, camaraderie, honesty and pride. In addition, Best Workplaces have an effective management culture that focuses on the individual, their strengths and potential. All of this promotes innovation in the company and its associated economic success.

Our Growth in the UK

Version 1 has come a long way on our UK journey. We started building up our Belfast team in 2012, and then had our first UK acquisition in 2013. In the last 3 years of being a Best UK Workplace, we have almost doubled our numbers in the UK, and we’ve seen massive progression within our Oracle Applications practice, as well as the establishment of our UK Digital, Data and Cloud practice in 2019 (a department which has grown by more than 50% over the last 12 months alone). 

While there isn’t any single initiative that makes us a Great Place to Work, there are many things that set us apart and enable continuous growth, including our strong core values, culture of trust and empowerment and a vision for customer success. Living these beliefs every day is what will continue to make us a rewarding and fulfilling place to work. Positive statistics from our 2021 staff survey include:

  • 95% of our staff agree that people at Version 1 are treated fairly regardless of their gender, age, race or ethnic origin, sexual orientation or disability.
  • 88% of Version 1 staff agree with the statement “I am treated as a full member here regardless of my position”.
  • 92% of our staff believe that management trusts people to do a good job without watching over their shoulders.
  • 93% of our staff agreed that when you join Version 1, you are made to feel welcome.

Our key technology partnerships are also no doubt a major contributing factor in our success; for customers seeking a true partner who will make a real difference to their businesses with IT, Version 1 UK offers the specialist knowledge, experience and expertise to make it happen. Just two of our many recent Customer Success stories are featured below:

Barts Health NHS Trust

Landmark E-Business Suite 12.2.9 Upgrade and Migration to OCI

Read Success Story

The Security Industry Authority (SIA)

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) awarded a major digital services contract to Version 1, to take over support for STeP, the SIA’s online licensing system

Read Success Story

Overcoming Adversity: Adapting to Digital-First Practices during COVID-19

Whilst it is always humbling to receive employer awards, winning one after a tumultuous year that saw COVID-19 impact the global economy is remarkable. Version 1’s Employee Engagement Partner, Amanda Kelly, and our Support Services, HR and Employee Experience Teams have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure the best remote experiences possible for all employees. “Whilst we normally love meeting all of our new starters face-to-face, we have been running our onboarding and induction sessions remotely during the regional lockdowns,” Amanda said. “Because everything is done virtually, we are not limited by who is on-site to speak to our new starters; now, we are able to showcase a range of presentations from across our areas and teams to give new joiners a thorough overview of what we are working on currently, and what life is like as part of the Version 1 team.”

Virtual onboarding is just one part of the wider ‘Becoming Naturally Digital’ efforts that Version 1 has undertaken over the past few quarters. As People Success Director, Jarlath Dooley, explains, the new normal now requires us to review all ways of working, people practices and the technology we use. “Over the past few months Version 1 has taken quantitative steps to become an organisation whose people, technology and ways of working are all naturally focused on digital-first ways of working, enabling our organisation to adapt, compete and win in a rapidly changing, competitive and uncertain environment. Winning our third consecutive Great Place to Work award in the UK on the back of this new way of working is fantastic and truly evidences that Version 1 has an agile culture where the focus is on impact and outcomes and where our employees feel the environment is collaborative, purposeful, productive and efficient.”

Version 1 Named a "Best UK Workplace" 3 Years Running

Read More About Life at Version 1: