The Caterer Best Places To Work in Hospitality 2024 has released its top 30 operators who are leading the way in employee engagement and workplace culture, and the Eden Hotel Collection – which Bovey Castle is a part of – was included after generating an overall employee satisfaction score of 86.6 per cent – a 16 point increase on the previous survey.

Companies included within the top 30 are recommended by their own employees, and the rankings are seen as an influential tool in helping hospitality organisations retain and recruit talent.

In the survey of Eden’s 500-strong workforce – 150 of which are from Bovey Castle – more than 80 per cent agreed that the company cares about its people, creates a welcoming work environment, and provides recognition for a job well done.

It comes as Eden Hotel Collection has seen vacancy levels reduce by 62 per cent across the Group over the last three years, while the business’s 90-day retention rate has risen to 96.4 per cent over the same time period.

A key driver behind this has been the introduction of a new reward and recognition programme for staff to celebrate each other – called The Happy Hub – which promotes feel-good hormones amongst teams via a social recognition wall, instant rewards through gift vouchers and peer-to-peer e-cards.

Lisa Redding, Group People Director at Eden Hotel Collection, said: “This recognition underlines our commitment as an organisation to create an environment where people can thrive and develop, while having fun along the way.

“Seeking and acting upon feedback from our people has been key to our success in building a positive working culture where they can be the best version of themselves, which not only benefits their own lives, but upholds a great experience for our guests too.

“It was particularly pleasing to see that more than 90 per cent of our staff felt like the company cares about its people – which has been supported by our Happy Hub initiative which has generated more than 400 pieces of recognition in under three months.

“Recruiting and retaining the best talent is also a priority for us and underpins everything we do, so it was also useful to gather constructive feedback to ensure we are continuously enhancing our working environment for our people to aid our ongoing growth.”

Dean Gunston, General Manager at Bovey Castle, added: “There’s a real team spirit that runs throughout our workforce – whether it is covering someone else’s shift at short notice, or recognising a colleague when they have gone the extra mile for a guest – which truly makes this a great place to work.”

Mark Chambers, Managing Director at The Eden Hotel Collection, commented: “It is no secret that the hospitality industry has struggled with recruitment for a mixture of reasons, but at Eden we are making headway in bucking this trend by creating an attractive environment to forge a long-term career that is based on feedback from our people.

“Our low vacancy and high retention levels underline the great culture at all of our hotels. While it is vital that we conduct regular health checks with our own people, participating in external surveys such as Best Places are equally important to understand how we compare to the wider market to ensure we remain one of the leading hospitality employers in the UK.”