Press release

(Wakefield–based) YPO, the UK’s largest publicly owned purchasing organisation, has been named one of the best not-for-profit organisations for employee engagement, according to the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For 2015. The prestigious list, announced last night at an awards ceremony in London, ranks YPO in 71st place from a shortlist of 100 not-for-profit organisations from around the country.

The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For recognises excellence in workplace engagement, with rankings derived directly from the views of employees. Over 40 per cent* of YPO staff responded to the survey, which asks employees to feedback on their workplace experience.  Specifically, staff are asked to provide feedback on areas such as leadership, work-life balance and opportunities for personal growth.

Simon Hill, Managing Director at YPO, said: “I am delighted that we have achieved such a fantastic ranking in our first year of entry. This success is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to our staff and our effective employee engagement programme. We pride ourselves on making sure that all staff feel valued, motivated and part of the YPO team.”

Each year hundreds of organisations from a wide range of industries measure employee engagement using Best Companies to Work For employee surveys. The responses from these surveys are collated and combined to produce an overall engagement score for each organisation. Only the organisations with the highest level of overall employee engagement qualify for the 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For list.

For further information visit www.ypo.co.uk

* Surveys were distributed to all staff at YPO. At least 40% of these had to be returned in order to be eligible for the list.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact Rebecca Elvin or Helen Ketton at Grayling on 0113 273 9900;rebecca.elvin@grayling.com; helen.ketton@grayling.com or David Lunn at YPO on 01924 834907david.lunn@ypo.co.uk

Notes to editors:

• YPO is the largest public sector buying organisation in the UK. Fully owned by 13 local government member authorities, YPO has also established formal relationships with further 33 organisations – known as associate member authorities – across local government and the wider public sector.
• YPO has an annual turnover in excess of £500 million, with a range including approximately 32,000 products and 100 frameworks.
• Established in 1974 to aggregate the procurement spend of its owning local authorities, YPO has helped drive public sector efficiency savings through its bulk buying power for product supplies and centralised contract services initiatives.
• YPO was crowned Supplier of the Year in the over £10 million turnover category at the BESA Education Resources Awards in March 2014.
• YPO has been shortlisted at the Institute of Customer Service Awards 2015 in the Customer Commitment, HR Employee Engagement, and Customer Strategic Leadership award categories.
• YPO has been shortlisted at the CIM Marketing Excellence Award 2015 in the Digital Transformation and Customer Experience categories.