Partnering with WorkL, the employee experience platform which measures, tracks and improves employee engagement and employee happiness at work, the awards says it reveals the Best Places to Work in the country.

The awards says businesses entering will not only understand their own Flight Risk score, but also understand their organisation's overall engagement score, their Confidence in Management indicator, Diversity and Inclusion Indicator, NPS, their Six Steps to Workplace Engagement Scores and have their data benchmarked against global and industry scores. 

Those opting for the enhanced option will receive their own personalised Instant Action Planning, Action plans around WorkL's Six Steps to Workplace Happiness, Heatmaps on all WorkL standard questions and the ability to filter results by several demographics, such as age and length of service, adds Sunday Times. 

The survey, which entrants will send to their employees via a personalised link, features 35 questions centred around WorkL's widely approved employee engagement theory: Six Steps to Workplace Happiness, which includes Reward and Recognition, which are integral to retaining talent. Developed by behavioural scientists, data analysts, psychologists, business leaders, academics and other independent parties, the survey accurately monitors employee engagement and well-being in the workplace, adds the awards. 

According to Sunday Times, to achieve a high overall engagement score, a company must consistently perform well across its six-step framework, encompassing:

  • Reward and Recognition
  • Instilling Pride
  • Information Sharing
  • Empowerment
  • Well-being, and 
  • Job Satisfaction. 

Each of WorkL's Six Steps consists of between three and five key elements, which are measured on a 0 - 10 scale. 

The awards says it will recognise organisations with the highest levels of employee engagement, well-being and satisfaction and businesses will be recognised by company size:

  • Best Places to Work: Small Organisation (10 - 49 Employees)
  • Best Places to Work: Medium Organisation (50 - 249 Employees)
  • Best Places to Work: Big Organisation (250 - 1 999 Employees), and
  • Best Places to Work: Very Big Organisation (2 000+ Employees).

Other areas that Sunday Times South Africa says it may choose to recognise are:

  • Best Places to Work for Women
  • Best Places to Work for Disabled Employees
  • Best Places to Work for Ethnic Minority Employees
  • Best Places to Work for LGBTQA+ Employees
  • Best Places to Work for 16-34 year olds 
  • Best Places to Work for 55+ year olds, and
  • Best Places to Work for Employee Well-being.

The awards says the deadline for entry is Friday, 17 October, with results announced towards the end of 2025.

Lord Mark Price, Founder of WorkL, concludes, "As we enter the second year running the awards with the Sunday Times, I am delighted to continue to help employers in South Africa to better understand their workforce as well as support employees looking for Best Places to Work. Entering the awards gets an organisation recognition as a best place to work and also will help them understand opportunity areas within the business that need addressing to improve employee engagement and experience. I look forward to seeing the results and recognising the winners."

For more information, visit www.timeslive.co.za. You can also follow the Sunday Times on Facebook, X or on Instagram. 

*Image courtesy of contributor